Its the halfway point. 4 weeks since Ive left and 4 til I return. We busted out that Bon Jovi song earlier today when we realized that, and McKenna was like hey we really are living on a prayer. And as corny as that sounds, we are. God has challenged me in so many ways so far and has forced me to rely on Him in ways that i have never had to before. Each day is a challenge—with water and cooking or being far from home or just so many of the random things that come up. I constantly have to rely on Him to get me through it all. There are some days when I have no idea how I am going to make it through the next one, but I know that with God I can..I just have to remain in Him, pray, and take it one day at a time.
Right now I am sitting in Njewa at our midway retreat. All the Chiwengo girls are so excited to be here. It is like a vacation for us—running water, showers, no cooking. It is amazing. I flipped out when I could wash my hands under a faucet ha. It has been cool to see the other interns as well. We just got here, so we have not spent that much time with them yet, but I am excited to talk to them and exhange stories. I missed these guys—one girl screamed and ran to tell the others when we pulled in ha. Feels like old friends.
This week has probably been the best week so far. Everything is clicking. On Wednesday, Anna, Morgan, and I went to a hut that belonged to a man named Maxwell. COTN had established a relationship with this man years ago and so us three have started to go every Wednesday. We had to mud the floors in his house to smooth them and make them stronger—so much fun. Yesterday we went to Gideon village for outreach. I was standing around while the people were breaking into groups for the message, and one of them uncles came up to me and asked if I had my Bible. I told him I did and he pointed to a group of about 20-30 older girls and told me to preach to them. I had about a minute to collect my thoughts and figure something out. Crazy. And I had to use an interpreter. But God helped me through it! I have been getting closer to the kids, and I enjoy just hanging out with them—even though it is really exhausting. We do not have that much time to ourselves so that is tough as well and forces me to rely on God a lot more.
One of my favorite things to do is to just go on a walk around Chiwengo. Its been hot lately—every other week was cold. This week has been nice so Ive gone on a lot of walks and just talked to God. It is still so unreal that I am standing on African soil.
One thing that I will not miss in the States is the constant staring. People are always staring at us because we are azungus—white people. One of the funniest things that happened to me was when McKenna and I were walking out of a house after morning chores. There were two little kids just sitting right outside. They saw us and ran away screaming and crying. So unreal and hilarious—apparently blonde hair really scares them though..like ghosts ha.
Even though it is a month away, I know the return home is going to be really hard so please pray for that. It is going to be hard to leave the kids. I am excited to go home and share my stories, but it is going to be tough. I will definitely experience culture shock. In addition to that, having to go back to school is going to be really hard. Thanks for all the support so far—and the letters that I get everyday! The other interns all say that I have the best friends. So thanks for your love and prayers and support. They help keep me going. Keep it up for this next month!
Love,
Kristen
whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did -1 john 2:6
Friday, July 17, 2009
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2 comments:
charlie was right about being blonde. haha.
I know I say it a lot, but I am so proud to call you my friend. Little Sharon and I went through an awesome book this summer, and one of the things that stuck with me was about how the things that make the deepest, widest impacts are the things that hurt us the most to do. And you are creating one massive crater my friend. Its okay to be proud of yourself every once in a while too ;)
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