Video of our trip! :)

We wanted to post a video of our entire trip here so it's easy to find - this includes our time in Dar as well as our time in Arusha and (I feel) it's worth the watch! Hope you enjoy it :)

We will be presenting this as well as stories of our time in Tanzania at Christ Lutheran Church in Alvord on January 13, 2013 at 10:30am - you are welcome to attend and grow in your knowledge and love for the nations! Bring a friend :)

Venturing Home...

As much as I wanted to hurry up and get home to Sarah as soon as we left Neema House, I still cried as we drove away and cried even more when we flew out of Dar to leave Africa on Sunday (Nov.25). We were so blessed to finally, the 4th time we flew over it, see the top of Mount Kilimanjaro as well as the Ngorogoro Crater...

We had a couple more long layovers ahead of us, one in London overnight where we stayed with my old Youth With A Mission friend Sheniz and her family :) then another overnight stay in Chicago where we crashed at a hotel the airport gave us a discount on (fell asleep for the evening at about 5pm...OOPS!). Needless to say, we were too tired to really go see the sights there so maybe we'll return someday.

Of course we couldn't get home easily! Once we landed in Sioux Falls a fire alarm went off in the airport and we were all escorted back out onto the landing pad to stand in the cold and wait to be allowed back in (at this point I'm practically laughing like a mad scientist saying we're NEVER getting out of here!!!! and then we saw a tumbleweed roll by and just died laughing... guess we're home!)

Being away from Sarah for 2 weeks was absolute torture so I'm very thankful that we kept ourselves so busy & were just exhausted by the end of the day so we could both rest and not worry. She stayed with my mom and dad in Alvord the whole time & had a lot of fun spending time with them and getting hooked on 'Dora'. It was nice to talk with her via Skype (online video chat) as well. When I saw my baby at the airport once we were home, you all know I was a mess! I'll never leave her for that long again - she's coming with next time we're gone more than a couple days!!! I just covered her with kisses and gave her a huge hug a didn't want to let go of her EVER! I was SO thankful (at age 2) that she wasn't too mad at us and still gave us hugs and kisses and chatted away with us about... well who knows what, I was just happy to hear her babbling to me! 

Afterward we ate at the pancake house with my parents and then steve and I took her to the washington pavilion in Sioux Falls to see an imax movie (lots of fish, she loved it!) as well as play with all the learning toys, camp out at the awesome water table, and even pet a couple turtles! It took us all about a week or so to figure things out again once we were home - We were so tired and Sarah was desperately clingy and dramatic with us (as I write this we've been home 3 weeks now and everything is wonderful - we have both noticed that she still enjoys giving extra hugs and making sure we sit next to her while she plays or watches a move... which we don't mind at all). All in all this has been a life-changing experience we will never forget!

Neema (Grace) House Baby Orphanage

On Tuesday (Nov.20) we flew from Dar to Arusha in northern Tanzania to stay and serve (until Saturday) at Neema House, which is a baby orphanage started by a retired pastor and his wife (from Texas) along with a young woman from England who has done past volunteer work at a baby orphanage. Their dreams to start their own lined up and Claire is the director while Michael & Dorris split their time between working there and being back home fund-raising. They have over 20 babies under the age of 2 in their care!  The need is great...

Actually many of the babies living at Neema House will eventually go back to their families. In several instances the mother died in childbirth and the father (or whoever else in the family took over their care) simply can not afford the expenses of formula and medical care so they will receive care at Neema until they're walking and eating solids before going back home. Others are there because they've been abandoned... there are babies we cared for and grew to love that were abandoned in such places as the bus station or on the side of the road, but the worst case was of baby Innocent who was found in what we would refer to as an outhouse and once rescued and brought to a hospital they had to remove maggots from his ear, which is an excruciatingly painful process... we know that what satan meant for evil, God will redeem. Our prayer is that he would be adopted into a loving christian home very soon.

We weren't completely sure what we were supposed to do when we got there so we just hopped in and assisted with holding babies, changing their diapers, feeding them, playing with the toddlers, and praying over them all as often as possible. It's a very busy house and they just opened their doors June of 2012 so they haven't had many volunteers yet, but it's pretty self-explanatory what you can help with :) Below is a photo of me with Frida and Steve is holding his new little friend Zawadi (the nannies were shocked that when he picked her up she just instantly stopped crying, guess she's a bit of a handful - Steve was often found holding her - which was hard because she's up for adoption, but it's very difficult for an outsider to adopt here)

We were quite blessed to find we would have our own private room and bathroom - our accommodations have been wonderful on this trip! We even had a beautiful mosquito net that made our room look quite fancy :) but I will say we hardly even noticed the mosquitoes in Arusha compared to Dar = they were horrible in Dar! I suppose because of the humidity there.

I have to say we were blessedly free of sunburn, mosquito bites, and tummy trouble while in Africa! The heat wasn't even unbearable and although the forecast made it appear that it would be raining all the time during our trip, whenever it did it'd only last a few minutes and dry up just as fast! I think I had 1 night I took something for my stomach and on our way home while in London I didn't have much of an appetite but that's nothing compared to what we were expecting to deal with! :) In Dar we seemed to eat more western food because that's all we knew how to cook unless we ate at a restaurant, but in Arusha we didn't need to do much of our own grocery shopping since there is a cook there that makes a late morning snack of chai tea and chipati (kind of like fried flat pancakes) and then in the afternoon made a more traditional meal. Our first experience of this was very tasty: rice, beans, cucumbers, & ugali!

I really can't say that this venture brought us a ton more clarity as to what God has for our family in Africa in the future, but a few things we did learn (& made it all worthwhile) would be:

1. Prayer & quiet-time with God is a must every day
2. We really need to learn Swahili
3. The people there are very passionate & it can be channeled toward good or evil
4. There are over 3 million orphans in Tanzania alone & orphanages provide for only 3,000 children.
5. Giving money isn't as important as giving food - shelter - clothing - a means to work - & God
6. Always be aware of your surroundings there, theft is quite common with so much poverty
7. We still have a heart for the youth (teens), but I still have a huge heart for the little ones as well...
8. Whatever God will use us for there, we need to train for back home (work with these age groups)
9. We only had 1 vaccination instead of the slew recommended and were perfectly fine - just need to be cautious
10. Our heart for adoption has increased dramatically - God showed me a vision while at church in Dar. It was of our small African daughter holding Sarah's hand and running off together to play... I was a puddle of tears & can't wait to meet her someday... I don't think she has been born yet, but will continue to pray for her & her family :)

To learn more about Neema House or to give a tax-deductible gift visit: www.tanzaniaorphanhelp.com 

Sala Sala Kids Club

On Monday (Nov. 19) Steve and I went on on a couple adventures! The first was our desire to check out a cafe that wasn't too far away - we ended up walking quite a ways and thankfully ran into a couple of others from our guest house that were just leaving there so we knew we were going in the right direction! It was actually a very cute little place with a grass roof and friendly, english-speaking staff!

It was also a bit entertaining to order from a menu with prices all in TSH!! $1 is about $1,500 TSH - I had french toast and Steve had a yummy sandwich. They also sold coffee and jewelry and homemade cards there to support the women who made them. We thought it was great they were trying to help others!

Our next big adventure was to make our way to the Indian Ocean! We had about an hour to spare so we thought we'd at least attempt to take some pictures there and stand in it if nothing else :) since it was only a few minutes away and all! We caught a bajaji for a ride to a hotel that supposedly allows ppl to use their beach, but when we got there were told we had to pay (quite it bit for what we wanted to do) so we started to walk back the way we came to find the public (dirty) area we had driven by... it was a bit of a walk and we weren't 100% certain where we were going, but eventually we saw the ocean again and an open beach for us to pass through! It was very dirty and the water was at low-tide so there was sea weed everywhere, but it was still a nice experience! We found it quite interesting watching several people just wade out into the low water all the way to a boat!!!

Even though it wasn't ideal circumstances, we made it to the Indian Ocean - certainly a first for both of us!

It was fun to experience the warm water of the ocean & feel the soft, powdery white sand as we walked across the beach :) really wish we had more time there, but we had to get going to Sala Sala...

Unfortunately, the venture to Sala Sala was THE most frustrating experience of our entire trip :( We started walking back to our guesthouse as we tried calling our Bajaji driver who was supposed to pick us up... we were trying to explain for him to pick us up by the ocean & the white sands hotel instead of our guesthouse, but I guess he didn't understand because nobody came... we walked for quite a ways and I was getting very frustrated before we gave up and had a bajaji driver that we saw take us the rest of the way (we were a LONG ways off yet & should've gotten a ride right away, but we really thought our driver was coming!). Once we got back, 2 friends of our driver were there waiting for us (they didn't look very happy that we had kept them waiting) so I was really bummed to have someone frustrated at us - especially locals! Thankfully we didn't end up being too late to Sala Sala, although I do think they were waiting for us :( The volunteers rounded up and joined together in prayer before we went to the gate to welcome in the kids.

HOPAC stands for Haven of Peace Academy and is a school for missionary kids in Dar. An outreach they do (led by Shaun & Karen Graham) is to invite the kids over that live behind the school in a quarry for bible lessons, crafts, and of course - soccer (or football, as it's known here)! Steve went with the boys and played soccer in flip flops (poor guy!) and although I think he had fun, was pretty sore later :)

Steve also experience 'Sala Sala red' = being covered in the red dirt from playing with the kids! haha

While Steve was off with the guys, I figured it'd make sense to stay with the girls and observe what they do on a regular day at kids club. They started out playing a game with those little square scooters you can sit on a do relay races with. After that we had a bible lesson & crafts (made angels & had fun with glitter).

It was great to see the girls all focusing on what Karen had to say (through a translator) as they learned about Mary - they have been learning about main bible characters, I believe somebody new each week (this age group meets every Monday afternoon). 

After a very long, frustrating day, it was a welcome relief to have Karen walk me out the back gate and show me the quarry behind the school where the children of Sala Sala live. I especially enjoyed seeing some of the young girls that were children of missionaries speaking fluent swahili and interacting with the girls... gave me some perspective on how helpful it'd be for Sarah to start learning now! Karen continued to share a bit more about the history of their program with us and how the kids used to be almost violent when they first came, always fighting and it was a bit organized... but after lots of love, consistency, and time Steve and I were both very impressed to see how great the kids all did!

Before we left I was excited to get a photo of a Baobab tree (like the one Rafiki from the Lion King lived in! lol) and Karen told me this land where the school sat was covered in hippos not long ago & was very dangerous! Guess it makes sense, but was still interesting to hear! :) We were very grateful when Karen offered to just give us a ride back to our guest house in their family van (with the wheel on the wrong side I might add!) since they really didn't live all that far from us! I was actually very sad to say bye to Karen and her sweet family... she seemed like someone I could really get along with & I loved seeing her little cutie pie Benji (about 2 year old son) running around interacting with the kids of Dar... I continue to wonder what God has for our family in Africa :)

Kurasini Orphanage Weekend

Yesterday, Sunday, we were picked up by our new friends Alissa (Ali) and Winston who are friends of our friend Marie and work at HOPAC in Dar. We took a bajaji and then a bus and then a taxi to the Kurasini Orphanage across town (took over an hour I think) which is the only government-run orphanage in all of Tanzania... (seriously?!... yeah..)

We arrived to a very large walled-in area with buldings and large shade-trees and kids/teens everywhere, Ali took out markers and paper right away and the little ones flocked over. Steve and I were a little unsure what to do or where to start so we talked with the director, Rama, for a little bit. He's pretty much the dad around there. Eventually we had Rama round up the kids and said whoever helps us clean up trash (it was literally everywhere) we would give them a gift. So we passed out black garbage bags and set to work.

We were thankful to the ones who participated and hopeful that maybe this would be a tiny step in the right direction for them to take some pride in their current home... it was mostly older boys but several children as well :) I encouraged them to wash their hands with the soap we brought afterward then had them come over to our suitcases we brought along packed with beanie baby bears and a bag full of colorful bracelets with christian phrases on them. What was meant for the helpers obviously ended up going to everyone and because of the language barrier and lack of know-how in that particular mobbing situation (lol) we just went with it :) Eventually everyone had a bear and bracelet (for the older boys that helped I was worried they'd feel jipped at the gift options, but Steve reminded me that he had given them a brand new soccer ball with the gospel message in swahili printed all over it so I felt pretty good about that trade-off. Hope they did 2.)

One shocking thing about Kurasini is that there were actually 2 BABIES there!!! I was not made aware of this so was totally unprepared (I was told the kids ranged from 4-18... they didn't say anything about the 'kids's children!!!) One mother is 16 and one I believe is 18, the baby girls are 7 & 8 months. One of them was crawling around the floor in here with all the kids clammering to receive a gift Steve showed mercy and rescued one from the impending kick in the head from all the commotion... and YES I was VERY jealous that he got to hold a baby in africa before me! I actually never had a chance to hold either of the babies and I have no idea how that's even possible but he said i will probably hold more babies than him before our trip is done after we get to the baby orphanage :)

That night we walked all the way to a pharmacy and grocery store to get bread, hot dogs, ketchup, and pringles to have for supper (yes we're americans!) so the food really hasn't been a problem so far - Dar is actually quite 'westernized' and we often feel like we're in LA or New York or something until we notice how we're the ONLY white ppl around and then look over and notice a cement block house with a tin roof surrounded by chickens.... oh yeah we're in Africa! :) We slept VERY well that night!

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Sunday morning we were picked up by Ali and Winston and their driver friend Abeydi to head over to The Ocean Church in Dar which is actually in a movie theatre! It was pretty cool with an american pastor (who actually calls minnesota home right now and has been to the church I went to youth group at in high school in brandon, sd!!!!!!!!) It was all in English with several white missionary families but mostly tanzanians :) We both really enjoyed it and had a nice chat with the pastor afterwards :) Right after we were dismissed from church we experienced our first power outtage! Welcome to Africa!

After church we went with Ika (a friend of Ali and Winston's) in her car to Subway for lunch (we are truly suffering here...) and then to Kurasini (can't even express how much more comfortable this drive was! haha). Today has been my favorite so far, the moment we got there kids ran up to us as we were now familiar faces and one of the little ones, Zawadi (means 'gift' in swahili) immediately decided that I must hold her constantly! If I set her down she would want right back up, but really... why would I want to set her down?! I'm told she used to hit a lot and was quite violent until Ali, Winstone, & others started visiting every weekend :) she still tries sometimes but was so funny and sweet it's hard to imagine her old self.

Today was a lot more relaxed, we had more craft items (construction paper, styrofoam stickers, crayons..) and we blew up balloons for some of the younger ones to play with... I questioned taking them out because I knew once they popped they'd just sit on the ground and didn't want the babies to eat them... but honestly if you had seen what was lying everywhere you would know this was the least of worries unfortunately... These children are so precious, after only 1 day many of them completely accepted us.... which actually made me sad because I knew we would have to say good-bye so very soon :'( Another little one that decided to befriend me was Amisi (Ah-mee-see) who wanted me to carry him everywhere and would be upset if I tried to put him down... but just keep in mind, Amisi is not a small 2 or 3 year old... he is 7. I also want you to know that even though I've never been so sore or tired... I've never been so happy and full of love aside from getting married and having my own child... we can't get enough of this... 

I must say my perspective on adopting an older child has completely changed after this experience because in all honesty I would've opted to have them both adopted and brought home with us if that was an option... they were so precious and obviously desiring a family to call their own. I held Zawadi and Amisi a lot today, Amisi even fell asleep in my lap for awhile as I scratched his back and prayed over him, and my eyes just welled up with tears as I realized it was time to say good bye... I hope to meet them again, but they will always be in my heart and prayers. It was an honor to be their momma for a day.

God Keeps His Promises....

In the wee hours of the morning, right as the sun was coming over the horizon - Steve and I were in an airplane flying over Kenya... as the light brightened the ground beneath me and I could see through the clouds to what was below I quickly put on my ipod to the song 'Here we stand' by Newsboys and listened as my eyes just flooded with tears!

God keeps his promises, 8 years ago He called me to this land - East Africa and here I was with my husband flying over what I truly believe to be 'our nation' that God has given to us! This is the place God has great things in store for us and our family... we literally can only stand in awe at all that is to come...

When we landed in Dar it was pouring rain, but by the time we got our visas and baggage and got outside it was sunshine and warmth greeting us from all sides - it was glorious!!! We purchased tickets to Arusha for Tuesday morning (a day earlier than planned = YaY!) and waited for our driver to pick us up. I spotted the Friendly Gecko sign and waved at him, his name is Jacob and doesn't speak very much english but thanks to our trusty english/swahili dictionary and phrase book we got him talking a little bit (as I was humorously smashed in the back seat with 3 large suitcases and a broken window that wouldn't roll down - lol I was still smiling!!!) Oh yes, my seatbelt was broken as well so I just had to pray a little harder as we weaved in and out of traffic barely missing buses, cycles, and PEOPLE that were literally everywhere! We also saw a lot of people walking through the slower/stopped traffic trying to sell things.

Once we got the Friendly Gecko over an hour later, the director was not there and we were feeling a little clueless  because our phone & the internet was not cooperating and we couldn't even find a clock anywhere, but then again we're on Africa time now and God's teaching us trust & patience so we survived. Eventually we found some european volunteers and they directed us toward a western restaurant which we got to by bajaji (like a car build over a motorcycle or something (has 3 wheels), anyways we survived that and had a nice lunch: cheeseburger, french fries, and pepsi! I know, not very adventurous but we thought we'd have a treat then commit to the culture (haha) although I'm a little worried because it would seem eggs, beans, & veggies are staples and pardon the bluntness but do they WANT everyone to be gassy 24/7 cuz I just don't see any other way around it?! lol, other than that our tummies are still doing fine and we're in good spirits if not just a little tired yet :) I think we'll get the hand of the time change very quickly though.

This afternoon we are going with one of the guesthouse's volunteers (Flora) to the Help 2 Kids orphanage to hang out with their 30 children so that will certainly be exciting and then dinner with everyone at the guesthouse tonight at 6pm (but remember our time here is 8 hours later than what it is back home in Iowa).

We appreciate your prayers, traveling was awesome apart from being excruciatingly tired at the aiport in London before we took off for Dar but did just a little sightseeing in London for Steve (since I've been there) and he really enjoyed that so it was worth it :) Very smooth sailing and actually slept pretty well from London to Dar which was great cuz that meant it was actually night-time in Dar as well so our sleep shouldn't be too far off now :) this is going to be quite the adventure and will certainly be over MUCH too soon but I still can't wait to get home to see my little princess.... it really hurt to say bye to her :'( but I hear she's having a BLAST hanging out with grandma and grandpa (my parents) and watching her new favorite person = DORA (lol)

(sweet little girl, I believe this was Angela, at the Help 2 Kids orphanage the our guesthouse works with & supports - a portion of proceeds from our stay goes straight to them!)

And So It Begins...

Today... YES, today!!!

Today is the day that Steve and I will fly out of Sioux Falls to Chicago, then to London, & then to Dar Es Salaam, TZ (East Africa) where we will bring our FOUR very large (& heavy) suitcases full of blessings to the Kurasini Orphanage in Dar (this saturday & sunday) & Neema House in Arusha (hopefully all next week)!

Back when this mission was just a thought, I'm not sure either of us really believed we would ACTUALLY be in Africa by the end of the year, but that thought eventually turned into a bit of a pest! It was constantly coming up in conversation where we'd find ourselves speaking theoretically about a trip to Africa very soon... After that it turned into a full-out BURDEN in our hearts to prepare & get there as soon as possible. I"m not certain of the exact date, but before newsletters went out we both agreed that over Thanksgiving would be a great time to go (what better place to realize all you have to be thankful for?!). We actually toyed with the idea that if for some reason the funds weren't in by Thanksgiving, we'd go over Christmas or just whenever it worked as soon as it worked... anyone else notice that we ARE in fact going over Thanksgiving?!

Once we put our dreams into writing and sent newsletters to family & friends we began praying... together... DAILY for all the details to be worked out, for God to give people a specific amount that was to be used to support this mission, and that all would join us in prayer. Since letters went out I can not recall ever getting stressed about God providing a way for us to get to Africa, nor did we worry about how much we should donate or to whom... we've just had total peace that God would provide & that He would lead us... Well, let me just say that we are taking a LOT more (like double) what we were initially thinking was a good number to take along to cover our own expenses and to bless others... which means = God wants us to dream BIG!

There truly is nothing too big for God! Kurasini Orphanage needs their washing machines fixed? Done. Neema House needs a donation to help them purchase their own property & build what they need? No problem. It costs $3,000 for 2 adults to get a round-trip to Dar? Piece of cake! These things that might not have been, WILL BE because of the faithfulness of His people, because of YOU! God is so good & we praise Him for all that will be accomplished during these next 2 weeks.

Prayer Needs:
That God would hold our hearts together as we say bye to Sarah for the longest absence we've ever faced...
That He would protect and strengthen all of us...
Traveling mercies - no missed/delayed flights & that Steve and I will always get to SIT together!
That we would hear Him ever so clearly EVERY moment throughout this beautiful adventure...
ABUNDANT energy & passion like we've never experienced before to do all we're called to do!!!

(If you're unsure how to pray = Google 'the Lord's prayer' or look up Matthew 6:9-13 & just say that with your thoughts toward us... I like the King James Version... oldy but a goody ;) Blessings to you!