I'm back...

So, it has been a while and I have started to miss writing so I have taken up my blog again…no guarantee how long this kick will last but I thought that I would spend some time writing my thoughts on life, what God has been teaching me and all the exciting adventures that I am having here in Michigan (oh wait, what exciting adventures??)…thanks for reading!

For starters…here are a few pictures of my small group…twelve freshman girls…always full of energy and life and a passion for God…I love them and it is a blessing to work with them and walk through life with them...they make me smile!

Small Group Winter Retreat...getting ready for broomball...dont they look fierce!

They got the crazy idea to do a theme each week...this week we were colors

Theme..."Rockford Superheros!" They are definitely getting more into it each week...we shall see what happens next week...

My girls...Kaeleigh, Hailey, Kendra, Audrey, Courtney, Kimberly, Macie, Lauren, Jenelle, Erica, Natalee, Andrea and Brittany (my co-leader)...love them!

Taking time to Reflect...

In my Old Testament class, we are just finished reading and studying Chronicles. Not a book that we often turn to…but one that we can all learn from. The book of Chronicles was written as a reflection of what God had done in the history of His people. It is interesting because a lot of the information in Chronicles is found elsewhere in Kings, but the authors focus is different. The book of Kings focuses on all the kings did wrong and how far they drifted from God. The mood chances in Chronicles though, as the author looks back at the covenant that God has with His children and how faithful God has been throughout their history. I found this really interesting because we don’t often take time to look back and recognize how faithful God has been in our lives and how everything that He has done and is still doing is connected. After reading Chronicles, I started thinking back to God’s work in my life and was amazed at how His hand can be clearly seen in every experience that I have had and every person I have met…but the thing is this should not surprise me…God promises to be faithful and God always keeps His promise. Let this be a challenge to each of us to not only live to God in the present, but also to reflect on the past and the faithfulness of God in each of our lives. 1 Chronicles 16:7-36 records a psalm of thanks from David. A couple of verses that stick out to me:
1 Chronicles 16:8-12 – “give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of His wonderful act. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done.”

I was going through things the other day and I came across my pictures and journal from the first time I was in Kenya when I was in college. I have had so much fun this week looking through the pictures and reading what I wrote back then…I have laughed so many times at the memories. It has also been fun to remember what God was teaching me back then and think about where I am today. I never knew then that I would spend three years in Tanzania, but God did and He used that whole experience to shape me and prepare my heart for His work. I also found a letter that I wrote to myself; we wrote them the last week that we were there and then the school sent them to us a few months later. As I am reflecting back on God’s faithfulness, here are a few parts from the letter that I wrote to myself and all that God has taught me:

Letter written from me, to me on December 15, 2002

Emily
This is a little weird to write because when I open this to read, I will have forgotten about it but I hope that the experiences that I write about will be fresh in my mind. I have just come off a semester in Kenya and so much has changed. I came into this trip not really expecting much other than that I would definitely be changed, and this is definitely what happened. I don’t think that I would have been able to come here and not be changed in some way. So much happened in five months that I don’t really know where to begin reflecting about it. I have been stretched and changed as a person and have been put in situations that have really made me think. I have met people who have challenged me and I have learned so much about who I am.
I think that some of the way that I have changed is in my dependency on God. I hope that even at home I will realize the need to be dependent on God for everything. I think that a lot of times it is really easy for me to be completely reliant on myself and to only call on God when I am in need. This trip has helped me realize that I always am in need and that I need to be dependent on God at all times. So, Emily, how are you doing with this?
Being away has also made me realize that I take so much of my life, experiences and relationships for granted. I am young, yet God has already blessed me beyond what I can imagine. Yet how often do I thank God for all the things that He does for me and has given me. I hope that as I look back and reflect on what I have learned that I will be able to see all the things that I take for granted and will be more grateful.
I know that this trip and my experience have played a huge role in shaping who I am today and hopefully my life. I hope that as I take time to look back that it will fill me with emotion and that I can honestly reflect about my experiences and how I have grown.
I think that my theme verse has been Philippians 4:12 – it talks about being content in all situations. I know that this is something that has been a struggle not only on this trip but also throughout my life. I hope that looking back I can honestly day that I can be content and at peace no matter what situations arise or what I face in my life. God has given me the ability to be content and I know that He is all I really need in life and only through Him will I be able to be content in all situations. God has given me talents and visions for my life and through relying on Him I am able to do all things.
Emily

Take time this week to reflect on God’s faithfulness and what He is teaching you…

Two final quotes:
“How differently would we live if we believed that every event in our lives – from the happy to the tragic to the mundane – was part of a meticulous and purposeful design in which all the elements intertwined with breathtaking precision?” (The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias)

“What is we were so moved by who God is, what He has done and what He will do that praise, adoration, worship, whatever, continuously careened in our hearts and pounded in our souls?” (Praise Habit by David Crowder)

It's the little things...

I have put off writing a blog for so long because I did not know what to say…I am still not sure that I know what to say, but here is my attempt at making sense of what I have been thinking and feeling…

So many people have asked me how I am handling being back in the States and my answer so far has been that I am doing good – that I am flexible and do pretty good wherever I am, that I am not having any culture shock, that I am enjoying being back…all of which are true statements. I have come to realize that it is not the big “culture shock” things that are the hard part, it is all the little things. It is the day to day things that became so natural living in Dar that I come to expect here and the disappointment when they are different. Yet on the other hand there are all the exciting things that living here brings…some days my mind just swirls. Some days are more overwhelming than others. I need to keep reminding myself that it is going to take time…I did live in Tanzania for three years so it is going to take time to adjust to being back here full time. I think that I am kind of living with the thought that I am here short term and will be going back soon, so I have had to struggle to make myself a part of a community here. I just have to remind myself that life is a journey and this is the path that God has for me and though there are ups and downs and twists and turns on the journey, I will continue “run with perseverance the race marked out for us…Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1,2).

So…these are just some of my thoughts right now as I am looking back over the last few years and looking ahead to all that God has in store for me.

The little things that are different…

*I can wash, dry and fold clothes in 2 hours…in Dar this process would have taken at least 2 days if not more.
*I always have power and when it does go off it is a major crisis…it went off once and the house alarm started freaking out…and then my dad said that if it did not come on again soon, that we could turn on the generator…we have a what?? I never knew people in American had generators…we did not even have one in Dar and we would lose power all the time!
*If I need something, I simply get in the car, drive straight there, get it (because stores always have everything in stock) and drive home…simple as that!
*I can have a warm shower (not from a bucket) every morning…more times a day if I choose.
*It is quiet at night…I mean quiet and dark here…no bright moon or security lights, no honking cars, no dogs parking, no guard walking around outside…
*I can drink the water right from the tap! Still takes some getting used to…
*I keep naturally inserting certain Swahili words into my sentences…like we did in Dar…and people always look at me strange…I don’t care though…I will still use them!
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*The list could go on and on…but just a little taste of what I mean by the “little things”…the everyday things that are a part of my life no longer…that’s where I am having the hardest time adjusting.
Thanks for reading…and for your patience…I promise…more to come…soon. I am inspired now and have many “blogs” running through my head!

Missing Tanzania...

I have only been home a week but...


Things I miss about Tanzania:


*Meg, Melissa, Gibbie, Medinas, McFarlanes, my girls, my grade 10 class and all my other students, fellow teachers, Burest and Asha...

*fresh tropical fruit...I am enjoying the berries here but nothing beats fresh pineapple, mango, passion fruit, bananas

*the warm sunny weather...it is cold here!

*Addis in Dar (an Ethipian restaurant) and Anghitis (an Indian restaurant)...so GOOD!

*rice...minute rice just does not do it.

*the beach, of course

*ice cream at Slipway...weird I know, but it is really good!

*watching reruns of tv shows on dvd with Meg and Melissa...tv will never quite be the same!

Things I don't miss about Tanzania:


*driving - even though it is always an adventure and there is a part of me that kind of likes it, I must admit that it is nice to be able to get around without traffic, daladalas (buses), flooding, etc!

*mosquitos, ants, rats and other creatures

*wearing the same clothes over and over...I am enjoying a wider variety of clothing options.


These are just the things that came to mind right now...I am sure that as the weeks go by that there will be other things that I miss. At the same time, there are things that I like about bring back in the States, such as being with my family, quick internet access, bagels and cream cheese, all my books...

Tanzania will always hold a special place in my heart and I have so many fond memories of my three years there. Who knows, maybe I will be back there in a few years!

Three weeks in Europe...

We're back! And we had an amazing time travelling in Europe. Alanna, Daniel and I spent three weeks travelling in France, Italy and Greece and we saw so much. Alanna and I started our trip in London and spent a few days seeing the sights and then met up with Daniel in Paris. We happened to be in Paris for their independence celebration and got to see fireworks in front of the Eiffle Tower - very cool. After Paris, we headed to Marseille and we got to see both the World Cup of Beach Soccer and the AVP Beach Volleyball. From there we went to Venice which was a very unique city with all its canals and bridges. Then off Rome which was one of my favorite cities with its history and monuments. From Rome, we headed to Crete which was absolutely beautiful and our hotel was upgraded to a 5 star resort so we were pampered. We took a very long ferry ride from Crete to Athens and spent a few says seeing the ancient sights. Overall, we had a great time and it was a blessing to be able to spend this time with my siblings.

I tried to narrow down our pictures to just a few but here is a glimpse of our trip...

In the London Eye

Paris

Marseille

Venice...the city of canals and bridges

Inside the Colloseum

Inside the Vatican City

Some more ruins...not sure what they are supposed to be!

More Ruins

Beautiful Crete

The Acropolis

Athens

The first modern Olympic Stadium

Final views from Dar

I am amazed at the speed of the internet in the West...my pictures uploaded so fast! It used to take me most of the day at school to get a few pictures uploaded and here I am able to do it in a few minutes...crazy!

Here are the pictures that I tried to upload before I left Dar...enjoy...

From the SELOUS...

The view from our plane looking out over the vast Selous Game Reserve...the scenery was breathtaking.

Alanna and I posing in near the Rufiji River

An elephant by the side of the river

A wild dog...they look just like normal house dogs expect they are very fierce (apparently!) Most of their population live in the Selous. This was the first time I had seen them.

More animal pictures...you can never have enough!

A hippo on the river. There are hundreds of them on the river and this is the closest picture I have ever got of one...just after I took the picture, this one started doing the breast stroke toward us...literally! It was swimming right at our boat, quite fast might I add, and was a little nerve-racking since hippos are HUGE and actally quite dangerous.

Speaking of things charging at us...the very next day while on a game drive, we stopped to watch this herd of elephant in the distance. All of the sudden one of the elephants reared up and started charging at our car, at an alarming rate might I add. Our driver immediately started to drive away but the elephant kept charging. It ended up following us a good distance, even stopping once to regather the herd. It was amazing to see! Our guide said that he had never seen this happen before but he had heard of a herd of elephant that did not like cars...probably because of the poachers. (We did ask after we were far away what would have happened if the car had stalled or got stuck and the response we got was "that would be a big problem"...not too comforting!)

The stunning beauty of a sunset - a good reminder God's love for us!

I like this picture!

Alanna and I on our boat safari

Self-portrait...we are getting quite good at these since there is no one else to take the picture!

On to ZANZIBAR...

We went to Prison Island, which is a small island off the coast that was once used to house slaves, but now is the home to some massive turtles. It also has great snorkling...but it was freezing when we got out!

Another self-portrait

And another...

We decided that we wanted to get henna done so went searching for a place to do it. We stopped at the first sign we saw and decided it would work...little did we know. We picked our designs from a large book and the lady set to work (after going out to buy the henna which should have been our first sign). She started with Alanna and ended up with nothing like the design she had picked and what she had done was not very good. I decided to go ahead and get mine done as well since Alanna had and mine turned out slightly better because we had learned our lesson. We laughed a lot about our "budget" henna and were glad that it started to wash off a few days later.

I love this picture because it not only shows our henna but also shows how tan I am compared to Alanna...it made me feel good!

Final Travels in Tanzania...School is over and Alanna is here…

I was going to add some pictures to go along with this but the internet was really slow so I was not able to...hopefully I will get the posted soon...

School ended with a whirlwind of activity and goodbyes. Melissa left a few days after we finished but then Alanna arrived and so started our 5 weeks of travel! My mind is filled with thoughts of leaving Tanzania but I have not had time to process these thoughts yet, but will pass try to articulate them in a blog in the near future. For now, you can all live vicariously through our travels so far…

After spending a few days here in Dar, we headed to the Selous National Game Reserve. It is about a 30 min flight (on a small puddle jumper plane) and is one of the parks that I have not been to and I heard good things about it. Although it was not the best safari I have been on, we enjoyed ourselves and it was great to get out of the city and away from the business and just relax. I have been on many safaris (at least 15 that I can remember) and I am still amazed and reminded of the beauty of God’s creation. All around were signs of His creativity and His amazing love for us. From the smallest bird to the largest elephant to the most amazing sunsets, God made everything for you and me. It is not possible to go on safari without turning back to God in praise and adoration for all that He has created.

After being back in Dar for only one day, we headed out Zanzibar (a small island off the coast of Tanzania). In my three years here, I have been to Zanzibar many time, but have not made it over there this year and was glad for the chance to make a final trip there. Zanzibar is a beautiful place with a rich history (It was the last place slaves stopped on their way out of East Africa). Zanzibar also has the best beaches I have ever seen! We spent our time relaxing, snorkeling and shopping…nothing better.

We are now headed to Europe (where we will be joined by Daniel) for three more weeks of travels…I will try to update with some pictures of I am able to.

I still cant believe that I am leaving Tanzania tomorrow…