Tonight, because of the impending doom that the snow storm was sure to bring Auburn on Friday, I decided to drive home a day early. Because of my early arrival home, I got to catch the tail end of the first meeting of our mission team to Africa this summer. I got to meet a few new faces and see some team members from last year.
Even just walking in to the last part of the meeting, I had flash backs of being in the position that the new members are in now. With Steve and SL telling stories and everyone else nodding in agreement, all you can do as a new member is sit and pray that things will come together.
I love that even just seeing and rekindling friendships with familiar faces can remind you of the wonderful times that you spent with people on a completely different continent.
I can't wait to pack my trunk again and get back to my favorite place in the world.
ashmaster
I'm homesick. Not necessarily for my home in Mobile where my immediate family resides, but I've been missing my home many, many miles away.
I got to talk to Musa briefly the other day. Musa was part of one of the Jesus film teams we went with last year. He is in school now, but still has HUGE visions for ministry in Africa. He found that Christ in him, the hope of glory and he wants to share that hope with an entire continent, even if it's through song.
Also got to have a skype date with a guy with whom I treasure our friendship, Kendall. I am so glad that even though we are both really busy, especially with him trying to get into med school and deciding what he wants to do with his life in this season, that we have still found time to talk and continue what has blossomed into a beautiful friendship. We talked about Africa and are going to meet up over Thanksgiving break to have some face time.
The other day I was looking up at the stars in the parking lot at the church. I was walking to my car in the back of the parking lot by myself. I started crying on the walk. All I can think about when I look at the stars is how the southern cross constellation isn't there, and I can't even see it unless I'm in Africa.
These longings in my heart really confirm the things that God is showing me about my future. I have seriously been doing a lot of research into water, sanitation, and other poverty issues on an international scale. It absolutely breaks my heart to think that not everyone has the opportunity to even use a toilet or have access to any fresh water resource. Still praying through a lot of things, but God has seriously been placing these issues on my heart.
Thanking God for bringing home our team from Uganda on Thursday. Their experience was amazing and I can't wait to see how their lives will change because of it.
When the Africans were setting up the stuff for the film, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about whether their equipment was actually going to work. But they all proved me wrong. That sheet thrown over those two metal poles actually worked well for a movie screen.
Everyone was very receptive to the film. This was the first movie that most have them had ever seen or probably will see. They did an altar call during the crucifixion potion of the film. I couldn't even count the number of people who were raising their hands to accept Jesus.
The Jesus Film guys then split everyone up into groups of men, women, and children for counseling. They wanted the Americans to lead the counseling sessions, but they forgot to tell us what to do, so we will do that on other nights.
This film is just another way that God is moving in this place.
The "cho's" they built for us are the best I have seen so far. It has a legitimate toilet seat which is so refreshing. I am so thrilled to see all the things we will get to do today. It's a beutiful Sunday morning and this is the day that the Lord has made.
I love Chibotti bread. It's amazing. It's like a fun piece of fried dough that is a little sweet. Lazaro, our African cook, is the best.
This morning we walked around our grounds and prayed over them. It was an almost physical power that you could feel wash over the area. There is such peace in this place.
As we walked by the evangelism room, the harmonies that were coming out of the room were amazing. They were all singing "How Great Thou Art" in Swahili. The blend of their voices was probably some of the best music I have ever heard.
Then we sang Power In the Blood. Musa taught us the words in Swahili. It was great to join in with the Africans like that.
Then we got to actually meet all of the Africans for the first time. These were the people who would be the barriers between language differences throughout our entire trip. They were a vital part of the ministry and interacting with them was life-changing to say the least.
It took over an hour to get everything medical set up that morning. We were missing some medical materials and we got to a late start, but everything came together. The children showed up right after our singing though and we got to interact with them right away.
the kids here are amazing. Always smiling, and I would have to say that they are the most well behaved children I have ever seen. A lt of them are very timid when it comes to getting close to us. This village is so far out there that they have never seen people who look like us or speak a different language like ours. I'm praying that they'll be a little more affectionate as we progress. I really just want to hug them all and never let go.
Play time is crucial. We played in a group for an hour today, which is a lot harder than it sounds because of the language barrier. After play time, Mama Anita told the story of Blind Barnabas.
During that story time, I snuck out of the room to explore a little.
I ran into Moses, an African, who thought it would be fun to introduce me to some of the local women. They all found it absolutely fascinating that I was trying to speak their language.
At this point, I have so many things going through my mind. It's hard to process sometimes, it's overwhelming. I really have never understood what it is like to have nothing and to grasp the amount of luxuries that I really have. Even living in a tent, I have more than these people. Around 80% of this village is Muslim, and most of that 80% don't even know what it means to be Muslim.
The sunsets are prettier here. The moon seems brighter. Things are just so calm. No worries about material things. No worries about what people are thinking. Everything and everyone is geared strictly on helping, serving, and loving these people and this land.
I wonder to myself why I was so uneasy that first night. Just a few hours later we would be in the absolute middle of nowhere living outdoors in tents. A guard outside would be but a thing of the past. Now preparing for the ten hour bus ride that we are about to take on.
Breakfast included fried eggs, hot dogs (that posed as sausages), pineapple, oranges, and large pieces of cold bread. All of this was accompanied with Africafe, which is the instant coffee that they drink. It was the most refreshing thing we could have had after our 5am wake up call.
The Roika Inn looks completely different in the morning light. The walls are painted a pale yellow which makes things look more cheery than the dark night did. We are now boarding the bus to leave the hotel. We still don't have our trunks yet, but I'm sure everything will work out.
I'm truly learning what it means to be on "Africa-time." We Americans are all used to our schedules and being punctual. Africans just seem to go about with whatever they want to do. It's like there's no pressure to get things done, so if it's put off until tomorrow then it's no matter. I'm learning so much from their pace. The only thing that I do see is that there is such a lack of inner drive here with a lot of the people. It's like they're not aiming for anything more, just survival.
Now we're traveling to a village known as Migugu, which is outside Singida. Once we hit the gravel part of our journey, the road became very tough to handle. The people from the Roika fixed us all box lunches to take on the road. I had no idea that they would be filled with FRIED foods and things that were crazy to put in a sack lunch. Probably not the smartest of ideas on our part to eat the lunches after we hit the gravel road.
The bumper on our bus broke off and somehow we came across a few huts that just happened to have a welder there. We only paid an equivalent of $5 USA to have the bumper fixed. while we were here waiting to get the bumper welded, we got to love on some families in the area. As soon as we got back on the road, we were stopped by a highway policeman. He wasn't going to let us pass, but after some prayer and some smooth talking, we got to leave after paying a $25 fine.
*On a side note, it's been so nice to get to know the team better on this bus drive. We each have different hearts and we each have different passions. It's been so neat seeing how each of our lives could come together and blend successfully.
Got to use my first "cho" in Africa today. It was an experience to say the least. It was a line of holes in the ground, and I know I've talked about some of the smells we have encountered so far, but none compares to that.
It seems that at every place we stop, even if it's just for a second, we draw a crowd of people. The kids are so interested in interacting with white people. Most have never seen someone of our skin color.
Today we reached a point on our bus travel where Steve stood up and said, "Ok, past this point, no Methodist has ever been. Do we happen to have any Methodists with us?" I slowly raised my hand. And so my name became Indiana Ashley.
So our ten hour bus ride turned into a twelve hour bus ride. Everytime we would get to a stopping point, Lai, our guide would estimate an arrival time of another hour and a half. We would then drive another hour and a half and consult with Lai again. He would then say, "Oh, probably another hour and a half." It's funny...now. The bus ride was twelve hours of the roughest terrain. I am surprised tht our bus still had wheels on it by the end.
There was another traffic stop on our way that questioned us about our bumper that was recently welded. Although most of the team was a little intimidated, I was pretty excited because I got to see an AK-47.
Criteria for sending Here's Life teams out in Africa is a village population of under 4,000 and never been reached before. Around 10pm, we pulled off the main road to nowhere and were greeted by five or so Africans. They led us off the beaten trail even further to nowhere. Our bus just kept driving and driving. It's so surreal to think that there are really people that live out here and they will be coming by the hundreds to see doctors at our site, or just to see what's going on. We all talk about the ends of the Earth, but honestly we have no way of really grasping how big this world really is. Being here really gives me a sense of understanding the Great Commission. we are told to make disciples of all men to all nations and all races. the people that I will be coming in contact with this week are mostly polytheistic or Muslim. They have no true grasp that there is a God and He is love.
As we arrived to the camp late last night, thankfully all of our tents were already set up. We grabbed our cots and went to bed. It's rather chilly up here at night, but I'm not exactly sure what elevation we're at.
After we got settled in our tents, we got to go to the kitchen where Lazaro, our African cook, had prepared us a fabulous meal of beans and rice.
Long day, learned a lot. Ready to set up clinic.