Friday, October 29, 2010

Updates and Prayer Requests

I've been sick at home for the past 2 days with what is most likely strep throat. I'm very blessed to have 2 wonderful friends and colleagues here who are able to help me and who checked me out and got me on an antibiotic (no prescription necessary here :)). Lisa Martin, the school nurse, and Carolyn Simpson who teaches Science here and is also a doctor (both of whom are also amazing friends and people). I've spent the day watching Season 9 of Friends on my laptop (which has been an absolutely wonderful temporary break from life in Tanzania- thank you, Carrie, for the dvd's!!) and listening to the blaring loud campaign trucks drive by for the Presidential election which is this weekend (big pick-up trucks full of people and enormous loud speakers drive by about every hour blaring music and/or announcements at the volume of someone shouting at the top of their lungs into your ears..... seriously, you wouldn't think such a loud volume is possible when it's NOT 2 inches from your ear, but somehow with these loud speakers it is. The trucks have been driving around for weeks but the frequency has increased greatly over the past few days with the campaign coming up on Sunday.)

Anyway, as I've laid here (and I'm feeling much better already), I've realized this would be a good time to post some specific prayer requests:


1. My health in general. The fact that I didn't realize I was sick (and wouldn't otherwise have) until I had a 102 degree fever just shows the common state of my health here. I pretty much always feel sick due to the constant black exhaust in the air that I'm inhaling (from trash being burned on the sides of the roads everywhere; there are no landfills here) and the allergens in the dust that are everywhere and that make my sinuses go crazy every day. This combined with me getting very little sleep each night due to the incredibly loud street that our house is on and the fact that I still don't have a real space of my own (more of an explanation in a second) and sleeping without AC every night..... all combine to make me generally feel sick and tired on most days. Not to mention teaching 13 grades and 300 students. So I would love your prayers for my health and energy. (And malaria prayers can always be added in there, too.... I did my first do-it-yourself malaria test last night because of my symptoms- roomie Kate got to prick my finger.... it was thankfully negative, but malaria is always a constant possibility here)

2. My housing situation. It's a long story, but I'm moving from the current house I'm in to another one on the compound. The house I'm in started out with 4 of us teachers in it. My bedroom had never before been occupied because it is..... well, unlivable. And I've now proved that. The window the bed is on is right on top of a crazy-loud street (i.e. the campaign trucks I mentioned are just one tiny aspect of it) and nothing stops at night so it makes it impossible to sleep through the night- or even a solid hour- in this room. Not to mention the incredibly poor ventilation which makes it constantly hot and stuffy. So after trying for weeks to sleep in this room and realizing the impossibility of the task (and fyi, I'm an incredibly deep sleeper and can typically sleep through anything), I spent the first couple of months sleeping on a bunkbed in the hallway (which is our area set up for guests). I've spent the past month sleeping on a mattress in Kate's room while another teacher (Laura) moved out here from California and is sleeping in my old spot in the hallway. Anyway... Laura and I are going to be moving into another house with another teacher (Heather) very shortly. The major benefit is that we'll each have our own room and space (with AC in each bedroom!), and the house is much quieter than the one we're currently in because it's further away from the street (though "quiet" would definitely still be a big stretch). The downside is that the house is almost completely unfurnished and we're all new teachers so we somehow need to scrounge up cooking supplies, furniture, etc. etc. (there are some basic pieces of furniture in the house but not everything). It will be much better in the end but the process of actually moving and making a big unfurnished house in Tanzania livable is a huge task and not one that I'm looking forward to on top of my already very busy and tiring days.

3. My job. I love my job, and I love my students. And I love teaching Art. And I LOVE the opportunity and privilege of having an impact in 300 students' lives. But it is also very tiring. I'm basically do a 2-person full-time job teaching K-12. Next year there will be 2 of us, as there ideally would be this year, so that reveals a little of what my work load is like this year (as there's only one of me).


So I don't mean for this to be a negative blog post full of complaints. They just consist of a lot of the difficulties and stresses that daily life here entails. (and I didn't even mention the heat, crazy traffic (imagine LA's traffic but only one lane of it, throughout the entire city), sporadic electricity and internet, transportation, difficulty grocery shopping, having to cook everything from scratch, plumbing, ants in our kitchen at all times, etc. etc...) It is much harder than life in the states, in many ways. And it can be very frustrating, tiring, and stressful at times. But my life here is still much easier than the majority of Tanzanians' who live on a few dollars a day. And it is still much easier than the majority of people in the world. And though it can seem difficult at times, I also know that Jesus never called me to a comfortable life. He asked me to take up my cross and to follow Him. And "taking up a cross" isn't fun or easy. But in the end, it fulfills HIS purposes. It makes me die to MY self and thus lets HIS life live and shine and work through me. And in the end, this life is only temporary. It isn't meant to be easy or perfect. That's what the next life is for. It will be lasting. It will be eternal. It will be easy and perfect. And this one will seem like the blink of an eye.

On Wednesday in our staff meeting, a teacher remarked that a tree doesn't have to "try really hard" to produce fruit. If that tree is near the water source and near the light source, with its roots firmly planted, it WILL bear fruit. There is no effort required. And the same applies for us. "Blessed is the man who's.... delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law He meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3) When we stay close to our source of *light* and water (living water!), and keep our roots firmly planted in Him and His word, we WILL bear fruit. We won't need to "try really hard" at it. It will happen naturally. As I strive to stay close to my source of water and light, I appreciate your prayers and will pray that you do the same. Thank you!! :)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

My Jesus

This song came on in the car I was in yesterday, as we were driving through the crowded streets of Dar es Salaam. Through the masses of hurting, poor, sick, and 'the least of these' in this world.

Take a second to listen to the song:



What does our Jesus look like? Would we recognize Him if He came into our church this Sunday? Would we even allow Him in, much less worship and follow Him?






Thursday, October 14, 2010

Dar Half-Marathon & 9K

Last Thursday I ran a 9K here... I was actually the 1st Female to finish and the 3rd overall, and I won a $100,000 tzs ($65 USD) gift certificate to a great restaurant here (Waterfront). It all seems pretty unbelievable to me, but it was a really cool and fun experience so it feels worthy of a blog post.

The main event was the Half-marathon, so all of the "real" racers were running that and there was therefore much less competition for the 9K. The 9K actually seemed like more of a race for the ex-pats, while the fast Africans ran the Half. Apparently there were 5 renowned long-distance runners competing in the Half, but I saw at least a couple dozen sprint across the finish line in what looked like an Olympic race. In American races, there are often one or two Africans who come to compete and sprint across the finish line with entire crowds gathered to watch.... Here these dozens sprinted across with barely any acknowledgment from the crowd, and I just stood star-struck with my mouth open amazed at their times and ability. Oh, how I love running. Watching these elite runners compete filled me with such a passion and enthusiasm for running that only those really great "runner's high" moments can otherwise give you.

The finish line

Runners after the race


Here are some funny "TIA" ("This is Africa".... i.e. things that can/do only happen in Africa) moments and details about the race:

-At about 6:45 am, someone called on a loud speaker for the racers to head over to a field for the "race warm-up." I was very curious as to what this could be, so I made my way over to the field to witness as the facilitator led the crowd in step-aerobics style moves and some very basic stretches to the tune of the Mamma Mia soundtrack. It was absolutely hysterical and definitely a "TIA" race warm-up, but I have to admit that hearing the tunes of "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia" did help invigorate me for the race. :)

The "warm-up"

-The Half was supposed to start at 7:00, and the 9K was supposed to start at 7:30. The Half started at 7:15, and the 9K started at 7:25.

-Both races started with a blow on a vuvuzuela (the horns that were blown constantly during the World Cup).

-Tanzania's former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi came to the race, walked the 9K, and presided over the Awards ceremony at the end. (I'm also convinced that he now has my trophy.... they gave him one for being the "oldest" to finish the 9K and didn't give one to the first female to finish (only to the first male).... thinking they "changed" their award selections at the last minute .... ;))

The former president, in the middle with the white hair

-About 7 of the fastest racers started the Half 10 minutes into it (i.e. they came up from behind and sped past me after our race had already started). These racers still finished at the front of the competition. (Apparently, there was also some discrepancy in tracking the race's route and a few racers cutting shortcuts.... I wouldn't be surprised if these were the ones who did).

*****

As for my little "shining moment", I can not give more glory to God and almost laugh at His awesome ways. Just last year, many of you know that I had a really bad stress fracture in my hip from running and wasn't able to run for 6 months. The fracture wouldn't heal and God literally healed it in a miraculous way through prayer right before I left for Tanzania (short synopsis can be found here: http://fbcd.jointhejourney.com/log/62967). Now, just a few short months later, I am one of the first to cross the finish line of a race and handed an award for what seems to equate a million dollars here ($100,000 tzs... $65 US). God gave me the joy of running the entire race at the front of the crowd, being handed an award and having my picture taken as I was cheered across the finish line, and even experiencing the pains of finishing strong at the end to outrun another woman while I felt like my legs and lungs were about to give out. (I'm not used to that kind of competition in a race... I'm usually "competing against myself" :) so it was a cool and different experience to have to really compete at the end.)

During that last long stretch I prayed continuously for the Lord to give me the strength to "run and not grow weary" and to "mount up on eagles' wings" (Isaiah 40). For Him to give me the needed energy and endurance to finish the race strong that I may glorify His name... So, let me do just that. He healed me in a MIRACULOUS way last year through prayer and supplication and has blessed me not only with this health and strength but now with a Victory that only He could ordain. (i.e. by giving me a race with little competition in a country where the racing system is not very well-organzied.... ha! :)) He is so good, and His ways are good and true and right.... Always. Through the long, dark nights (my 6 painful months of not being able to exercise) as well as the shining moments. Trust in HIM, for He alone is worthy.

"Oh Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me." -Psalm 30:2

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." -Psalm 40:1-3