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Published: March 28th 2008
A few things have been going on here...Here's another update!!!
When we first arrived, I was having trouble sleeping because it was HOT at night and mosquito nets tend to hold in every degree of body heat so it's even worse....My favorite nights were when it would rain. I would pray during the day for rain at night so I could sleep well. Guess what...it has been the rainy season so most nights it rains!!! Praise the Lord!! Because of the rain, we have limited power, water and internet. I think my team mates get running water once a week....you should see the light upon their faces when they can hear the water running through the pipes. I swear they hear it miles away. I barely notice. It's one of my favorite looks while here.
I am in my last month here and I am noticing how fast time flies by. I remember being in grade school and feeling like school was sooooo long when it was the first day and now...I am 23, about to leave Africa. I have struggled day after day of homesickness and now realize that I will be homesick for Africa when I go back to LA. I have been trying so hard to strengthen relationships and spend more time with people who genuinely care for me. When lost power last night, I was laying on the couch and shortly after, Martha, laid on top of me, laid her head on my chest and we talked in Swahili. Martha is only 5 and it dawned on me that when she grows up, she might not even remember me. She won't remember the excitement she gets in my eyes when I come home from work. She won't remember her whispering "nakupenda" (I love you) in my ears and then giving me kisses. She won't remember jumping on my back and running around trying to tag the neighbor children. And I began to cry. I love this little girl so much and long for God to remind her when she gets older, the mzungu that staid in her house when she was just a child.
The Lord has been answering my prayers and burning a passion in my heart for Him and through that, a passion for the people that are around me. I have jumped deep into the Word lately and love that I can feel Him speaking to my heart and loving the deep connection I feel with Him. I am currently going through 2 Peter and in the beginning, Peter speaks of diligence and for a while, I have been praying for strength over this one sin of mine and through Peter speaking of diligence in the virtues, I came across self control as one of them. The Lord spoke to my heart and pointed out the many times God had given me escape and yet I didn't exercise diligence in my own self control. It was an eye opener and now I can see that it's not that I don't have enough strength, it's that I'm not exercising my own self control. Like 2 Cor. 10:13 says, " No temptation has over taken you; such as is common to man. But the Lord is faithful and with the temptation, makes the way of escape that you may be able to bare it." That passage has been speaking to me lately.
A few cool stories as of late:
-A cockroach was living in the lock on my door and everytime I came home, I would see him hanging out. It gave me the creeps and finally I asked one of the girls to help me kill him. He came out of the lock and they came in with spray to kill it. I jumped onto my bed, holding onto my mosquito net while they battled the cockroach on the floor. My mama covered it with the bottom of the can and fell to the floor in a fit of laughter over my fear. When she finally killed it, she held it up and I swear, it had shrunk half of it's size.
-I technically went on my first African date yesterday. Frank asked if I wanted to see his college and my family actually let me walk with him alone, with no escort. I was shocked this happened and felt uncomfortable. My team mates later asked if he walked on the other side of the tire tracks and if we left enough room for Jesus....yes. I found out later that night that my host baba is trying to hook Frank and I up. It won't happen but at least Baba has good taste.
-The ministry I work at, has a sponsor a child program and one of the girls I have fallen in love with. Her name is Dorkas and she is 16. She came to the Lord right before I arrived here and when her step mother found out, beat her and then arranged for her to be married so she could collect the bride price of Dorkas (the groom has to pay the bride's family a "bride price" which is determined by the bride's family. It usually consists of a number of cows, chickens and planting of a tree). Dorkas ran away and with the governments help, has found shelter in the arms of this ministry. When I arrived, she would never look at me, would nervously play with the pleats in her skirt, never spoke nor smiled and always looked on the verge of tears. Since running away, she has blossomed and now plays with us, laughs, runs around and teases us. She also loves to have pictures taken. It was a huge step when she actually looked at the camera and smiled!!! When she ran away, she gave up her schooling and now can't attend because she can't afford it. I have chosen to sponsor her so she can go to school and get an education. Dorkas loves school and is very excited to be going back next school term.
- We were able to go on a safari and see hundreds of wild animals. It was such a blessing to see animals in their natural habitat. One thing I pointed out was that animals mingle in the wild. you will see elephants among zebras and monkeys hanging out with the gazelles.
-I got a package from Reality with a bunch of letters and a video of everyone sending their messages. It was sooooo amazing and really blessed my heart! I was struggling for a little bit and to receive such a blessed package was beyond amazing. I of course cried. Thank you to everyone who sent something or did a message on the dvd! It was such an inspiration and encouragement!
I have to head off line soon. Hopefully I can upload some new photos soon! 😊
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chloe
non-member comment
Yay
Sabrina, you are such an encouragement to me! i'm so glad everything is going well, and the package got to you safely! i love you sabrina! and i miss your face! -Chloe