Weeks Worth of Fun...

Hey friends!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update this! This is apparently one of the worst seasons for electricity reliability, so it has seemed that any time I wish to e-mail or update, the electricity prevents the fruition of my good intentions.

Things have been going well. School is in full swing, though this Friday was a holiday and next Friday we begin our week long mid-term break. :-) The highlights (or downlights :-)) of life recently have included:

1. A lot of quality conversations with my compoundmates. I'm really beginning to see that the Lord has brought me here for multi-faceted purposes. One of those is to minister to my compoundmates. He has opened up opportunities to do so with several of them recently and I praise the Lord for the openness and healing that he is bringing about.
2. Ramadan has started here and many Christians and our HOPAC students are getting ill. Please pray that God's power would be revealed in an even greater degree during this time of fasting and prayer by followers of Islam.
3. Realizing the awesomeness and blessing that is our roof. :-) At first, I was very unhappy with the house we live in and the fact that in my eyes, it is more comfortable than it would need to be here. However, one thing that I am beginning to understand as a blessing from God is the fact that we have a roof overlooking the Indian Ocean and I can sit up there for hours on end enjoying the breeze, the sun, and the shade of the banda. (not to mention rig up a mosquito net and haul three mattresses up there so that all six of us compoundmates could sleep up there a couple of nights ago!) It has given God a lot of time to speak to me, to encourage me, and to challenge me. Please pray that God would continue to speak strongly and gently to me and that in the midst of a hurting world here, I would not lose sight of the fact that God wants to us this time to heal and change me as well!
4. Our Masaii guard, Papolai, had to be fired because he did not show up for work for several days. He has now returned to his Masaii village and we have hired a new guard, Isaac. He is a huge blessing. He is a Christian who had been out of work for a year. He has a wife and three children to feed so he is very grateful for the job and is working oh so hard to keep it.
5. Lots and lots and LOTS of Swahili. For me, this is a joy as far as learning more about the culture and gaining more confidence in being able to speak with locals but it is also a great creative outlet. I cannot tell you how many sentences I have made up about sharks and giraffes in the last few weeks. :-)
6. A few of us attended a Christian Crusade at a local church. It was great to support our Tanzanian friends who had invested a lot in the events. It was also quite interesting to see all of the Muslims and non-Christians who stayed and listened. For me, the type of evangelism here is far from gentle leading or loving sharing due to the cultural view that screaming somehow brings more attention. The African do not seem to mind it though and actually respond quite well to the tactic.
7. Friday After School Activities (FASA) began at HOPAC. My housemate Emily and I are leading the Community Service Club, which I am WAY excited about! We are planning to go to a neighborhood nearby school and do a sports club with the kids and share the gospel in Swahili. It is a very poor area and we are excited to give our children at HOPAC the reality of the poor in their own country. The first day, Emily and I asked them to define servanthood and here are some of the answers we received:

"someone who bows down and kisses your feet"

"someone who does what his/her owner says"

"someone who works in my house or cleans"

Please pray that their hearts would be opened to Jesus' love and concern for the poor.

Well, friends, that is all for now, but electricity willing (well... really God-willing) I will try to write more VERY soon! Love to you all!