humble thyself.

It occurred to me tonight. Since I’ve been a resident of Africa, I’ve spent almost every night in houses with barred windows. I’m not sure if, when I finally arrive at a house without bars, I’ll feel free or scared to death!

After days filled with packing and getting ready, we set off on our new adventure: Tanzania, our new home. We arrived in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday and are staying with some NTM friends until we head off next Sunday for Iringa and Rivervalley Campsite. Aka, camping in the African woods and studying up on some Swahili for four months!

Our friends here, the Ellis’s, live in a giant house with high ceilings and awesome moldings on some of them. And the showers… oh my. I’ll post a picture soon. When I saw the downstairs bathroom at first, I didn’t even think it had a shower in it. Then I saw the little dip in the tiles and the showerhead. “Is that the shower?” I asked stupidly. Yep, sure enough. I was excited. I love new shower experiences! Too bad this one has to include a squeegee after each shower…

When we flew into Dar, I felt better. I was finally home for a few months. Dang it’s hot, though! There are times when you’re constantly wet, and it’s not from that shower-curtain-less shower either. I have a new appreciation for fans, even when I sleep. J The city is big, and I love it. And the traffic… it’s something else! The city’s growing. Too bad the roads aren’t as much. It’s nice to just relax in the backseat while the taxi driver slams on his breaks.

Walking anywhere is an adventure… You wanna watch your step so you don’t step on anything too foreign, but you wanna watch out that you don’t run into anything too foreign either, which could cause a different sort of issue! J The Tanzanians are a beautiful and generally friendly sort of people and I love them already. I am sure to fall even more in love with them as I learn more of their culture and language.

After a couples days at Ellis’s, we hopped in a taxi and headed off to the international school that the kids might attend in August. Upon arrival, we got a ride to the guesthouse (and house where I stayed) before returning to school. Avery and I went to grade five and Tricia and Garrett went to grade seven. I loved going back to the fifth grade. Avery didn’t. Course, it makes a difference when you’re still IN grade five. It was so hot and I think I was getting dehydrated. I felt sick. So while waiting in the admin building for Tricia and Garrett (who instead played football with his new friends), I drank lots of water. After the tour and a yummy lunch, we eventually returned to the guesthouse.

Let me tell you, the house where I stayed, next to the guesthouse, was like a mansion on a hilltop. With a view of the sea and a cute little swimming pool that the kids and I took advantage of too. Silent Marco Polo is the way to go when the pool is small ;)

Sometimes you don’t realize you need alone time until you get it. And then you think, ‘This is so refreshing!’ I got to nap a bit in the afternoon in my room, and then spend some time with Avery blowing up one of the guesthouse tvs and locking us out of the guesthouse…

We really didn’t mean to. You see, Tricia and Garrett were away at youth group and Avery and I wanted to watch a movie. There were two tvs, one with cable, one with a dvd player. There were even dvds in the house to watch. So we struggled and I eventually got the extension cord for the tv/dvd plugged into our adapter and into the wall. Avery turned on the tv, and was turning the volume down as I left the room. All the sudden I hear a noise, and Avery says, ‘Naphtali, the tv’s on fire!’ I rush in to the smell and sight of smoke puffing out of the tv. Gaah! It was scary and I felt awful.

Talk about a humbling experience. I talked to the director and his wife Marilyn about it. I was staying in their house. They were so very kind and gracious about it. Thank goodness it was an old tv at least.

Avery and I watched a movie on Garrett’s computer, and I avoided the house most of the night. Then we went outside to stargaze… And I managed to get us locked out of the house. We briefly discussed trying to get in thru the bathroom window, but after asking one of the workers if they had a key, we had to humble ourselves and ask Marilyn for a key. She was so sweet about it. Man, God sure knows how to keep me humble in life…

Our time at the mansion on the hill top was relaxing and just what we needed. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t sleep under a mosquito net and I actually had air conditioning! The house was beautiful, and Marilyn was a wonderful host. She set out great breakfast goodies the next morning, and then we enjoyed our morning there. I attempted to finish my book, but alas, I visited with Marilyn and Rosemarie, one of the other houseguests.

I am so thankful God knows our needs and when we need them. The house where we stayed was like a home to me. It was beautifully decorated and filled with pictures. I was able to get some downtime and just enjoy the kids. Before, I was floundering a little. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to stay up late with mom and her cookies. Scratch dad’s back. Get a coffee and walk in downtown Tacoma. Wear my old, somewhat trendier clothes. Curl up with whatever movie I wanted and eat as much popcorn as I’d like. And drive my car. Somewhere. ANYWHERE.

It’s so nice to be in the center of God’s will. I wouldn’t choose to be anywhere but here. Africa is where God has me. Africa is where I shall be. I am thrilled to head off to language school in a week and call someplace home for a few months. Dear Lord, help us not fall on our faces in the dirt with this new language. And if we do, please dunk us in the river and clean us off. J

pink shells. who knew they came in such a color?!

i promise, i did put on sunscreen! the crazy thing is,
my legs got burned some too. but obviously.. not as much.

young coconut milk: good on the body. bad on the taste-buds.

my first monkey sighting. he even stayed in the tree long enough for me to get my telephoto lense and snap lots of pictures. thanks little friend! 

our happy little beach vacation family. :)

the island.

fish!

glad it wasn't loaded.. i hope.

we got to tour this quaint and hidden little bed and breakfast.  and it had this awesome little rooftop  view!

splish-splashed and speechless.

Around one-thirty this morning, DJ woke up with chills, fever, and nausea. It felt like malaria. So he took some malaria pills and went back to bed. At around seven this morning, he got up, feeling ok. At around eleven this morning, he boarded a plane that after some stops and flight changes, would make him bound for our fair country of the U.S. for a week and some days. Three words: God is GOOD! It was awesome to watch the Morrisons trust the Lord in this and continue in his peace even when things were uncertain. See how I want them to rub off on me? J They already are. I am so grateful to be around that all the time, and it’s a daily encouragement to me.

Today we watched movies. Lots of movies. And ate bread and ice-cream. Tonight we even had melted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. It hit the spot. It’s my favorite! (ooh, and we had some avocado too. Yummy, another favorite!)

Prior to today, we’d been running. After our beach vacation of course. You know how it goes: after you get back from vacation, you need to recover FROM that vacation! We had guests for coffee break on Friday, then lunch at some friends and dinner at some other friends. To share my true feelings, I really just wanted to go nowhere and hole up at my new home and watch movies. I guess we made up for it today J On Saturday, there was packing up the house and then company. The Morrison’s old neighbors when they lived in the city came. Two African couples with their kiddos. The husbands spoke English, the wives didn’t.

I was hesitant about the whole thing due to that small thing called a language barrier. It makes it a little tough to carry on a conversation if you haven’t noticed. And just a little side note: it’s quite stifling for me nowadays here since I used to be the kind of person who smiled and said hi to everybody and their mother. Now most of the time, I am left speechless. But alas, I have learned a tiny bit of Portuguese. It makes me more thrilled to get to Tanzania and dig into some Swahili so I can actually talk to people!

Anyhow, back to yesterday… So, these two families came, one with a sweet little baby. I felt a bit awkward at first. But you know what I discovered? You can communicate a lot with a smile. That’s what I love about smiles: they carryover to all people, regardless of the language. And hand motions do a lot of good too. The ladies were sweet and kind. And when I was holding little Miriam after Tricia fed her a bottle, she had leaked out of her diaper and gotten me a little wet. One of the ladies said (and Tricia the translator translated for me), “Miriam, how could you do that to your auntie?” I felt almost as if, despite the language barrier, I was a part of their family, like they were welcoming me in. Thank you Jesus!

In case you were curious about my beach bumdom, it was quite a new and curious experience. While visiting the island of Ilha (which, hehe, means island), we ate some of the best food I’ve ever had, and had some cookies stolen from the coolers in the back of the Zook’s (the other family we bungalowed with) truck. Oh life…

When we actually got to Shocas to spend our three nights there, Tricia, the kids, and I went for a dip in the ocean. The INDIAN Ocean. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an ocean so turquoise. And warm! Man, the temperature beats the Pacific any day of the week. And the sand: it’s almost white! The next morning while strolling with Tricia and Chris (our other bungalow buddy), I discovered shells I’d never seen before in colors like pink, and white white. Ahh-maa-zing!

The next day, we snorkeled. This was quite the new and exciting and troubling experience for me. Troubling because you have to breathe through your mouth into a tube and taste and occasionally swallow the saltiest water of your life. New because, well, I’d never done it before. Exciting because, number one: I like new things, and number two: I got to see fish I used to only know from Nemo and tropical fish tanks.

There are so many beauties in God’s creation that one doesn’t give much thought to or even thinks about experiencing. One lives their life without experiencing most of them. What an amazing blessing to get to see and do some of those things. Thank you Morrison’s for these opportunities. Sometimes I wonder if I’m in a dream…

In other news, I am currently a recovering lobsterette. Let me tell you, that equator sun is something else! That mixed with Doxycycline, sunscreen that I don’t think is waterproof, and the ocean, and I was toast. Literally! Even my legs got burned, something I’ve practically dreamed of a lot of my 21 years.

As I watch Garrett and Avery and see their struggles, especially with their attitude, it’s not easy to see. Sometimes their noses end up on the wall (a very smart punishment from their parents). But it struck me (again. I think it has in the past sometime too) just yesterday when Garrett was having a bout of bad attitude with his mama: I’m that way with God. He tells me something, and I hardly ever just say, “Ok Lord, let’s do it, you know what’s best.” Nopers, I kick and scream until I’m so dang miserable that I’d rather do whatever he’s asking then be in this terrible state anymore. Where’s my trust in the One who holds the whole world in his hands?

Two days and a morning and then we’re off on a new adventure: Dar es Salaam for a bit and then – ta-da! – Rivervalley Campsite, our new four-month home. I am so excited for more new sights and sounds and smells and a whole lot of learning. Oh, and pictures, which I hope to post (more) soon. J I wish all my fellow blog readers a very wonderful and happy week. And hey, maybe go out and do a new thing sometime this week! PS- I get to Skype with mama and daddy Lord-willing in the morning. Hip-hip hooray!

just a taste of three and a half days in paradise.

what an amazing trip. thank you jesus, you are the master artist! who knew the ocean could be THAT blue? (with the help of lightroom since my camera washes the colors out a bit!)

right about now you must be thinking that i am one rich chica. and right about now i will tell you that it takes 27 meticais to one US dollar... :)

this is my little lizzard friend who i discovered in the window. garrett tried to catch it later for me after i took this picture so i could hold it, but in the process the little guy lost his tail. it should grow back though :)

clear skies and butterflies.

Well, I must be adjusting quickly. Last night when we were watching Marley and Me, I found myself slightly surprised that they drove on the left side of the car instead of the right. Ha! Silly me.

Today we had guests for lunch, and afterwards the husband was telling snake stories. My breathing started changing and become more labored as he told them. Oh goodness, this could be an interesting few months. I don’t do well with giant snakes (or spiders!).

It seems every day here is one of firsts... Yesterday I had the most curious opportunity to try a cashew fruit… If you take off the cash and leave the rest that pretty much sums it up. Glad to have tried it. Once.

One of my first days here, Tricia and I went into town. I was sort of scared to death after my first experience of driving through town and being stared at. But you know, you kind of almost stop noticing after awhile. I got to go to market and everything. Wow. Colorful foods. Colorful people. Lots of funny smells. The worst was that if someone would try and say something to me, I couldn’t respond with much more than a smile. Maybe I should have studied some Portuguese before I headed to a country such as Mozambique! What a novel thought…

This week I’ve enjoyed sitting in on some of Garrett and Avery’s classes and seeing what they’re like. Hehe, nothing like keeping the kiddos on their toes with a strange person in the classroom! Yesterday I even got to take a math test with Garrett’s class and got second place in a competition too.

Life is good around here: we get to take rests every afternoon. And trust me, you need it. After almost constantly feeling wet and sticky from humidity, and getting up early, you are drained by then!

I’m having to learn Portuguese via Google now that I’m here in Mozambique.. Makes getting around by blog and gmail a lot of, umm, fun? Well, whatever, it’s work and guessing that’s for sure!

DJ and Tricia are some of the most patient, gracious and calm people on the planet I have decided, and it’s such a blessing to live around them. Dear Lord, please help them to rub off on me. The Lord must constantly teach me patience. Don’t you wish you could just absorb patience instead of having to learn it by experience? Oh life…

This family makes me smile and laugh, and it’s like I finally have siblings. Garrett’s such a stud, and I’ve decided he’s a night person. He comes alive and actually carries on conversations from dinnertime on. Avery has a huge personality, and when she likes something, you know about it. Right now it’s Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band, and we’ve heard it more than two times tonight. I’m sure her parents were thanking me in their head earlier tonight for bringing my iPod with crazy songs on it… ;)

My mama dear would be thrilled to know that I’ve been doing some baking… And seriously, it’s rewarding stuff to make just about anything that involves food. We don’t have a mixer, or even a proper whip. So when you actually get something done, YOU FEEL ACCOMPLISHED!

I discovered the tiniest little baby lizard I’d ever seen in our window the other day… I felt happy after that and wondered why. Then I remembered the little guy.. It’s the small things in life sometimes J

I must also take the time to mention that I am fresh blood and the mosquitoes love it. I don’t care if DEET is bad for you: 40% of it is protecting me and I am thankful! …I’m white as a ghost in the dark night sky, and we’re beach bound on Monday. Dear Lord, protect me from lobsterdom.

I have had my share of longings for home and the familiar. The honeymoon stage of loving Africa and all that it entails wore off after a few days. But after it did, it felt so amazingly wonderful to take comfort in Jesus and give it all to him. I was reminded that I am just as safe in his arms here as in the U.S. Is there any more wonderful a feeling? I am so thankful I can take God with me everywhere! J

This is the place where we sip Coke from glass bottles, discover exotic bugs all the time, and every day is a new adventure. This is the place where rain comes down in a hurry and is often accompanied by some of the best thunder and lightning storms I’ve ever experienced. This is the beautiful place where God has me right now, and I am excited for the next six months of opportunity and firsts (and seconds and thirds and fourths…) J  

you know those african sunsets you see in pictures? here's another one and i'm living in it :)

this is an avocado tree.. and the other day we ate one of the biggest ones i'd ever seen after DJ brought some of them home. this place is the best!

home. for a couple weeks :)

me and the men getting ready to board. mozambique bound we are!

after fifteen hours on a plane, i do look a little, umm, wasted? but i made it. hello jo'burg!

around the world.

Greetings from the far side of the world. One filled with little tiny baby lizards, branchy cashew trees, and beautiful, colorful people. I think I could blog for hours about all my experiences in the last five days, but then that means you’d have to read for hours and I really don’t think you feel like doing that!

After my last blog post, I rushed to my gate to board on time. I got a little confused along the way, went the wrong direction, and had to take the train back. Oh Atlanta airport, thank you for being organized, but why must you be so incredibly huge?!

I made it thankfully, and jumped in line to board. I was pleasantly surprised when I did: the South Africans were friendly and sweet people! After bidding my family goodbye for the last time via phone, I went down the hallways and got on the plane. More surprise… Pretty much the whole plane was full of nice people. A stark contrast to the cold and closed people on the Seattle/Atlanta flight who obviously weren’t morning people. I gave up my window seat to a lady who wanted to sit by her family, and settled for a middle aisle seat which turned out to be perfect. One of my seat buddies graduated to first class! So, it was just Mike and me, a friendly middle-aged South African who enjoyed his alcohol on the 15 hour flight, with a seat in-between us, perfect for stashing things.

Sleeping. Movies. Journaling. Eating. Yep, pretty much my flight summed up in four words. And somewhere over the Atlantic, it hit me that I was very far from home and this was really happening.

We arrived to a freshly wet and humid Johannesburg, South Africa ahead of schedule and I eventually made it to immigration and then to claim my bag. Thank you Jesus, that was easy! I did feel a bit uneasy since I’d read and been warned by the South Africans that theft was common in the airport. I kept my camera and bags close to me as I trekked through customs and then out to meet my soon-to-be new friends, the Verlaan’s, NTM missionaries serving in South Africa. They were waiting and kindly took most of my bags from my half dead arms. Note to self:  pack a little lighter next time please?!

When we got to the car, Maria went to the driver’s side door and I was a bit surprised. Then I got in. That wasn’t the driver’s side door! That was a new experience. Driving was a bit interesting, but we made it to Checkers for some tomatoes, I learned that South Africans love their meat, and we made it home for tea and relaxation. It was a night full of yummy cheese-plus sandwiches, visits, and being awake. On my whole trip, I jumped ten time-zones, so my body was quite perplexed. I did eventually fall asleep after a refreshing shower and emailing my mama to let her know I made it safely. I slept off and on and then couldn’t stand it any longer and got up at 5:30. Let me tell you, the birds are very cheerful in the morning there!

It took some shinigling of my bags to get my carry-on down to 18 pounds. And then when I finally did get to security after gratefully telling the Verlaan’s goodbye, they didn’t even weigh it. dang-it, I could have not had to pay eight kilos worth of over-weight! Oh well, honesty is still the best policy J Being able to stay with Maria and Tony was such a blessing. They are amazing people of God with huge servants hearts. Thanks friends!

Once behind security, I played the tourist and bought some souvenirs and made it to my gate. I started to really feel the minority and out of place when I hopped on the bus that would take me to the plane. I was like a giant pink petunia amid a mass of white and black man forest, most of who spoke words I couldn’t understand. In fact, on the whole flight I think there were only about five other women, one of who was the flight attendant. There was this guy who was staring at me at first on the bus, and then we occasionally sort of made eye contact. And when I got on the plane, he was my seat buddy. AWKWARD! We both flipped through the plane magazines and said not a word to each other. I’m not even sure he spoke English. He jumped to the window seat in front of us when no one sat there. Thank goodness!

Upon descent into Nampula, Mozambique, right after the surprise of the mountains jutting from the plains, I was shocked by the houses. Mostly wooden huts and buildings with grass roofs, and just general poverty. After landing, meeting up with DJ, successfully getting my visa and having the visa guy tell Trish he wanted to marry Avery, we drove through town. More shock. Dusty paved streets. Crazy drivers. Masses of people, some of which walked scarily close to our car. Very poor looking buildings. And stares at the white people. Lots of stares.

It being the rainy season, the dirt roads were bumpier than I don’t know what. We finally made it to the SIL compound where the Morrisons live, took my stuff in, and had a Coke on the porch. I was generally in shock and awe pretty much that whole first day, some of which I can’t even remember. It was sunny, hot, and humid. ‘Todo, we are NOT in Kansas anymore!’ (or anywhere near it for that matter!) Praises to Jesus that I made it smoothly!

adventure. day one.

last night i took a nap. from 12:15am-2:30am. and when my alarm sang to me, i just wanted to go back to sleep. forget my africa trip. I WANT TO SLEEP! but i got up. and kind of cloudily got ready for my day [(s) because i'm wearing these clothes and everything until tomorrow!] mom and dad were big helpers and whisked me out the door around 3:30. we showed up at seatac at just the perfect time. my first challenge: trying to go up the escalator with two rolling suitcases. i had to let people go ahead of me. i felt like elf on his first escalator adventure.we met up with mark jordan (my sort of escort) at the top of the escalator and got my ticket/checked my bag. before security, dad sweetly read some bible verses and prayed. i don't remember much of the prayer because i was just mentally prepping myself NOT to cry. it was a success! but i know i'll cry at some point. i love my parents TOO MUCH not to cry over missing them madly!

i learned something today. in fact, i learned a lot of things today. but the one i'm talking about is the "carry-on, only a quart ziploc's worth of liquid" rule. i had about three times that much. and they let me keep it! i won't make that mistake again. mark (who works for delta) said to me after that, "i've never seen that happen. that was a miracle! God must be on your side." that is exactly right. thank you Jesus, you're good!

sadly, mark, had he come to atlanta with me, prolly would have been stuck here over night. so we bid each other farewell and i boarded the plane. slowly. it seems almost the only fast thing about flying is that the planes go fast. once on, i discovered narrow asles. VERY narrow. i'm pretty sure i bumped a few people with my junk as i skinnily walked along the asles to almost the back of the plane.just keep walking, just keep walking, walking walking.... after my carry on was too fat, i took stuff out and the flight attendant kindly stowed it away for me. window seat i come! and so i was. for four hours. unfortunately for me, i had to go potty almost as soon as i got on the plane. and i decided to wait a while. and so i did. my seat buddies fell asleep! if only i could have just jumped over them. but i didn't. they finally woke up, and about 45 mins before we landed i worked up the courage (thanks to my apparent urgency) to ask if i could sneak out. sneak hardly. but out, yes. airplane bathrooms are my favorite. so intimate and cozy! seriously.

at first i felt bad for having so much stuff. then i realized, unlike everybody else, i'm bringing stuff for six months. most people bring stuff for six days! i felt a little better :)

the window seat was perfect for lots of outside pictures. after flying over hundreds of miles of flat, i became more thankful for growing up in tree country. thank you mom and dad for living in idaho! who knew there could be so many miles of fields?!

upon arrival in atlanta, as i disembarked from the plane, my first smell was: food. fried food. and i got some. YUMMY!!!

this is an odd situation to be in, completely alone and not knowing (that i can think of) anybody who lives even remotely close to atlanta. i felt quite lonely at first. now i love it. ahh, independance!

note to self: pack lighter for trouncing around the atlanta airport. it's HUGE! i'm loving the moving floors and trains and escalators. they are my favorite. and i just watched the sunset. ahh so pretty.

mostly so far so good on day one, although i had to spend $3.48 on OJ to get this internet. oh well, totally worth it! happy weekend friends :) on to movies and sleeping and 15.5 hours in the air!

joy.

ok, so this is very late in coming. in fact, i shot tessa and lucas's christmas card photos in,  umm, november. but, better late than never. here's what helped me raise some support! thanks my dear and beautiful friends for such great fun!