Waiting on Me

Yona and I

“Waiting on me means directing you attention to me in hopeful anticipation of what I will do. It entails trusting Me with every fiber of your being, instead of trying to figure things out yourself. Waiting on Me is the way I designed you to live; all day, every day. I created you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your dual duties.

I have promised many blessings to those who wait on Me; renewed strength, living above one’s circumstances, resurgence of hope, awareness of My continual Presence. Waiting on Me enable you to glorify Me by living in deep dependence on Me, ready to do My will. It also helps you to enjoy me; in My Presence is fullness of joy.”

-Jesus Calling

Tanzania 101: (The taxi Cont.)

Corrinne and I are trying to catch a taxi. We hear it honking and are running to catch it. We pass through a few people’s corn fields and yards to get over to the side streets faster. When we finally flag the taxi down, we realize that it is pretty full. We can’t see inside but we can tell there are a lot of people inside. After a five minute discussion and a little bit of shuffling, the driver tells us to get in. Corrinne goes first and sits in the back, and I am getting in second to sit in the middle seat. When I get in I realize there are A LOT of people… I mean A LOT. There are three people hunched over in the back and I can’t even see the people sitting down, five people are in my row, and two of them are standing, and I can’t even see the people sitting up front but there are four of them. After a quick head count, Corrinne and I realize there are 16 adults in an 8 passenger van. I think that I am used to all the craziness, and cramped spaces, and yet there are still days where I am shocked and just have to laugh.

Another interesting thing about Tanzania driving is; when you are broken down you use tree branches instead of flares to alert other drivers.

This week has been a very slow week other than Kay leaving. She is heading back to America for a month, and then will return the same time as my parents. Lucky for me, I won’t have to go to 

 DAR to pick them up :D. 

The children had half days this week, except for our youngest, Yona. I spent a lot of time with him; we played Frisbee with one of this school friends and practiced some English. I also ended up getting a cold this week so I have been trying to hibernate in my room. The kids have had afternoon classes from one of Kay’s kids, and he is a fantastic teacher. He has been working on math and English with them, and they basically adore him. 

Yona:

He is the most adorable little boy in the whole village. Ok maybe not but he is pretty darn cute, and not to mention has the sweetest smile. When he joined our Sunrise crew you could tell a huge difference in his lack of English, and how advanced our kids are, but he is picking it up. He is always excited for hugs and likes to just spend time with one of us. He has this gentleness about him that just melts my heart.

We are getting really excited for Angel, our new volunteer. She is officially arriving on May 9. Lots of really exciting things are happening here and it’s great to see how awesome our God really is. He always, always, always provides. I am really trying to work on loving people in the way God requires of me, but it’s hard to do, and I can’t do it on my own. I had this grand idea that it would just happen overnight, and one day I would be blind to all things, and never lose my patience, never get frustrated, turn into Ghandi or mother Teresa, and everything would be roses. But then God told me to take it one day at a time and that I can’t do it alone. I can’t just flip the human switch and expect that to work. I have to actually dig into his word, be in constant conversation with him, and learn to see people like he does. 

I realize that I am falling more and more in love with these children. Some days I miss home, some days I am so frustrated by the cultural differences, some days I just want to scream, and then God reminds me why I am here. It’s for the children. It’s for him. It’s not about me doing it alone, trying to change some lives, hoping that everything works out and I can keep my cool. It’s about me giving my life over to him because I know that he is in control. It’s about loving these kids and thanking Him daily for them. It’s about letting God do his thing, and accepting the invitation to join him. Now that we have this new volunteer coming and all these exciting things are happening, sometimes I think that maybe I can go home sooner. Maybe my time here can be just a little shorter and I can head back to the life I know. Then God reminds me that He is not done with me yet. He reminds me that I am exactly where I should be, and that the life I want to go back to, will still be there when I am done. He gently tells me that he isn’t done with me yet, that there is so much more that he has for me here, and then He gives me eleven really good reasons to stick around. And they are really good reasons. 

I think that struggling is part of the journey. That missing home sometimes is ok, and I am a loud to have those moments. In fact they are necessary for my relationship with this awesome God.  They are the moments that remind me I have two choices. One, I can day dream my life away about going home, and truly miss out on all he has to offer me here. Or two, I can lean on him, share my pain, and let Him show me how much love He loves me, and how he ALWAYS provides. 

I just want to thank everyone for all the love and support that is sent me way. I appreciate all the prayers and believe me, I need them. I am so excited for my parents to come visit, share in my joy, and fall in love with this place that I love. 

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised.”

-Genesis 28:15

Just a cute picture of our cats, in a box.