One month away!

View from hiking Flora Lake of Chilliwack Lake
(just added for looks :D) 

Hey everyone! It's Rachael.. For those of you that don't know I am leaving for a 6 month long trip in exactly one month today! I am going to Hawaii for a DTS (discipleship training school) through YWAM (youth with a mission). The first 3 months consist of a lecture phase that consists of topics such as God's nature and character, God's intentions for individuals, God's redemption, and God's plan for our lives (Can go here for more information if interested  - http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=103&lang=en). The second 3 months is the outreach portion. This is where we go into groups around 10 people and go into different places around the world. For the particular DTS that I am doing, Compassion DTS, we will be going into a developing country (which we will find out during the lecture phase) where the goal is to address issues of poverty and injustice in a world gone wrong. Three of the possible countries that we were told so far are Rwanda, Cambodia, and Colombia. I don't know exactly where I will be going or what I will be doing yet, but I will try and keep everyone up to date through this blog as I go :D I am both excited and nervous for this trip to happen... I have only ever been away from my family for three weeks, and that was only last year... and 6 months is quite a bit longer than 3 weeks, but ultimately I know that this is what I am supposed to do, and there is always skype! 
As for the trip planning for mine and Jocelyn's trip next September, it will continue to happen through Jocelyn back at home and communicating between each other... so far we have the change jar fundraiser (if you need a jar let us know - we still have some :D), we are having a pub night on September 23 (we still have some tickets - $10 each for a meal and a drink), and once I get back we are planning a golf tournament! We still have lots of fundraising ideas and are continuing to pray about what God wants us to do to prepare. Jocelyn will continue to keep everyone updated with her planning here at home through this blog and I will do the same from where ever I am at. 
As for right now I am asking for prayer in that all goes well in the next 4 weeks as I prepare to leave. I need prayer for calmness in knowing that this is God's plan and that everything will work out according to HIS plan.. (even if things don't go as I plan it). Sometimes I worry a little too much about the little things and forget that God's got in all under control. 
Thanks so much! I'll try my best to keep blogging while I am gone! 
Please leave a comment if you have any questions.. here or on facebook :D

coming home

I never knew I would feel such a connection to Africa in such a short time. Having loved Africa for as long as I can remember I knew I would one day go, yet now that my time in Tanzania is over and I am coming home I feel like I need more. More of Africa, more of the people and more of all Africa’s countries have to offer.

Coming home may be more of a shock then Africa was supposed to be. This simple life that became so natural and easy to live by isn’t possible at home. I am not ready to leave Tanzania, this place that I can call home.

we are ALL connected

 Sitting in the JFK airport in NY I can over hear conversations about things that do not matter. Behind me there is a teenage girl complaining to her mother about the wrong coffee she received, and how she refuses to drink it. These are the things I am not ready to be around again. Yet as the minutes pass by my arrival time becomes closer. I must now conquer myself at home, not conforming to the life I only once knew. 

each day the sun rises

The sun is hot on my back, too bright to look up in the clear blue sky. The air is thick and feels as if I can’t get enough oxygen. The wind is sporadic, but when it comes the breeze is cool and refreshing. The sound of the palm trees swaying in the wind and the birds chirping as they fly by. Cars continue to pass by, always honking and often hearing the sudden screech as a vehicle quickly stops themselves from hitting either the car in front of them, or the person running across to cross the street who more often then does without looking to see if cars are coming. The paved roads bordered with dirt sidewalks that are unsafe to walk on as there are boulders sticking out at random places and pot holes, every second step I am dodging from side to side trying not to trip from either a mound of dirt, boulder, or a pot hole. As I pass through the shops they are all eager to get me into their store, greeting me with “Karibu” which means welcome. Constantly trying to get me to buy something, giving me their “best” price, and in the end either reducing it far below their asking price, or not budging at all, and not getting the sale. The kids on the side of the road are pointing and smiling at us, sometimes running after the Bajaj that I am in. Waving, and having the most incredible smile on their faces as they stare and run after us. For some this is their first time seeing a mzungu, and for others this could be a part of their regular every day routine. Sometimes when they do this I feel like I am more important then I actually am, like I am some sort of celebrity

Throughout my time here in Tanzania I have been reminded daily of how blessed I am, of how blessed we all are. Not only because we can afford to buy clothes, eat good food, live under a roof, drive a car, but because we have the ability to do whatever we want, if we want to. Because we have the option of doing anything, we have the choice to choose the life we want to live. Here in Tanzania they don’t get the chance to choose, they often don’t even have the opportunity to be anything more.

Each day is a blessing to be breathing on this beautiful Earth, whether in Tanzania, South Africa, New York, Seattle, Abbotsford, or anywhere else in the World.

Everyday is a new beginning and each day the sun rises we have the choice to make something great of it. 

a brief story through the lens

me and K at Kinduchi on the colorful trampoline

view of Dar coming home from South Beach

traffic on the way to Tanga-there was an accident

baby kittens

caves

silly girls: met them before my canoe ride

priceless

sea cliff

step into the ocean

along the streets in Stone Town

Stone Town

entrance to the food Market in Stone Town

leaving Tenga

the chefs who made my nutella, banana and mango desert! 

delicious 

sunrise on my morning walk in Dar

looking like a Grandma

Me and Boots hanging out

S and Speedy. 

View of Zanzibar, before we threw up :/

time is flying

The past few weeks have flown by. I feel as if i just got here yesterday, and yet i leave to go home in two days. I feel as if my time here is not yet finished, maybe for now, but not forever. 

k and I enjoying our first breakfast of the day <3

peanut butter with crushed m&m's

So much has happened these last couple weeks that i don't know where to start. The power is always unpredictable here, and for a while we didn't have it at all, along with no water. But for the past two days we have had nothing but power and running water, which is sort of a surprise. They say that Tanzania is going to have a huge power outage soon, along with a scarce of water. 


Our house has gone from thirteen, to two in just a week. It is sad seeing everyone go, only confirming that it is one day closer to home time for myself. 
before i found myself lonely in a house full of people, finding it hard to fully be me. And now i am calling this place home. Everything just seems to work here, the cold showers, the excitement when the power is on, and the joy of candlelit dinners every night, eating frozen azams, and going to the orphanage. this routine has fit so perfectly and has become something i could get very used to. Not to say i am not excited to come home, because I am. But not because I miss "home" but i miss my family and friends. This place has become a part of me and will always have a piece of my heart. 


We have adopted five, now four orphan kittens. Their mother was killed two days after they were born. Ever since she passed away we have been taking care of them. Feeding them through a bottle, which is extremely priceless to watch, wiping their bottoms with a warm towel as if it were their mothers tongue, and jumping for joy when they finally pooh, and giving them their weekly bath.It has been so much fun to see them grow, and develop little personalities, even though they are only kittens. And to most people here in Tanzania they would think we are crazy, taking care of kittens. Pets are too expensive to have here, finding it hard to feed themselves let alone kittens seems like such a waste, and maybe it is, but for these kittens i think they need it, at least while we are here. 


M, J, D and I went to Tenga for a few days. it was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was riding around on bicycles and the people there were somewhat more friendly then here in Dar. It was neat to see so many bicycles out, day or night. In Dar there is so much follow (traffic) at all times of the day, and in Tenga they did not seem to have that problem. While we were there we went to see the caves, climbed a coconut tree, went to a local market, and just enjoyed the company of one another. We also met some locals who helped us get around, and had no problem directing us in the right direction, even giving us a free ride to the market. Although we had just met them that day, we quickly built a friendship and so easily connected to one another. The best apart going to Tenga was the children i met while waiting to go across the river. They were all just staring and standing there until i brought out my camera. It was like a switch changed, one moment they were just staring and waiting, and then the next they were making funny faces and jumping in front of the camera. When i would show them the pictures they would just laugh hysterically, it was so contagious. After a while we were dancing and sharing more laughs. I was on such a high from the kids for the rest of the trip. It is shocking to know how easily you can make a child laugh, and how the sound of laughter and the way their eyes twinkle can move you so deeply and have such an impact on someone -or at least it does for me. 


For our final trip M, J and I went to Zanzibar, which is somewhere you HAVE to go, if you come to Tanzania. According to our taxi driver M, he says that once you have seen Zanzibar you have seen all of Tanzania. So i guess my trip here is complete, until next time. The ferry ride was a blur as I slept the whole way, waking up to the edge of Stone town-which is absolutely amazing. The architecture of the buildings and the history it holds is incredible. The town itself is somewhat touristy and yet still so local. In the evening their is a food market, where all the locals come and cook anything from squid, octopus, various fish, can sugar juice, crepes with any sort of filling you want, and so much more. The start are shining brightly above, lanterns are surrounded along the edges of the tables and the food is filling the entire table, it is a sight to see. 
After spending a night in Stone Town, we headed up north, after of course the outburst of rain, which filled the streets quickly and if you weren't under cover, within a second you were completely soaking wet!
We had no plans coming on this trip, all we knew was that we were coming Tuesday and leaving Saturday. So arriving was a bit hectic as we had no where to sleep, and did not know if we would find a place to stay. But going with our gut, we knew we would find a place eventually, and if all else failed we would sleep on the beach...Luckily on our ride up North our driver found us a place to stay. Even finding a ride to the North was an adventure, we were passed down from at least three different people who said they were going to take us and then eventually we were told to get in a van and put or bags in the back. Not knowing if we should trust him or not, we hesitated a bit, but eventually just got in, holding onto our bags-just in case someone decided to steal them... At this moment i started to wonder my own thoughts of the people here in Tanzania. It is hard to find a balance between trusting someone and being careful. I know i have trouble trusting strangers easily, and so this trip has been challenging. I feel that if I don't trust them, or question their ways that I am being rude and disrespectful. It has been a challenge finding a balance between safety and respect of their culture, and as individuals. 


While in the North we spent our days on the beach, relaxing and finally soaking up some sun, when it was out of course. J had never been snorkelling before, so we did that with her for the first time on our last day! it was so much fun, a bit disappointing that there was not more for her to see, but it was still an adventure going out on the ocean and experiencing snorkelling in a different part of the world. 
The water was so blue and clear, definitely the nicest beach i have seen here in Tanzania, next to South Beach. 


Our time in Zanzibar also ended quickly and before we knew it it was time to get back on the Ferry and come home, home to Dar. Our ferry ride was one of the worst experiences of the trip. J and I both were sea sick and had to use  more then one "sick bag".  It was such an awful feeling, even wrting about it makes me a bit queasy. But all in all it was such a fun trip and it was so nice to get away and just relax and do nothing. 


Yesterday we had the kids over for our last dinner. Every night at dinner we share our peaches and pits, which are the best and worst part of your day. We have had a few dinners with the kids so they know how it works. As L was sharing his, he mentioned that he is not sad that we are going because he knows that he will talk to us and it is not good bye, but it is talk to you soon. And as he was i almost broke down in tears. He also said that by us coming here it has stirred something up in him and has opened his eyes to the change he can be in the world, which is so encourgaing. Those words coming from his mouth made my heart so warm and my eyes water. But I had to keep it in. These kids have done so much for me and they do not deserve to see my cry or be sad. They have brought nothing but joy into my life and have opened my heart to the roots of Tanzania. 


And now here I sit, my time coming to a close. I don't want to leave this way of life, the simplicity, and the joy of all the children. They are what I will miss the most.