Morning prayers and nightly feedback with Intimate Grace
Whoa. Amazing. Intimate Grace is my third team to be on for my Race, and it is hands down my favorite team thus far. This team is God’s gift to me, and I am so blessed to be a member of this powerhouse, loving, and intimate team. Each morning we get together and pray for what is on our hearts, for each of us, or something specific. Nathan leads this organic, Spirit-filled time, and he sometimes plays a song on his guitar to enter us into prayer. The nightly feedback sessions we have as a team are deep and come from a place of love. We enjoy giving each other positive and constructive feedback because we truly care about each other and want to see us all grow as much as possible. I lead this time because I love feedback and am passionate about all feedback being life-giving and edifying.
Feedback with Intimate Grace!
Dance parties at church
The African church members love to dance to display their love for the Lord. It is beautiful to watch the crazy amount of joy they have in their worship. At the beginning of each service, three different groups: the children, the youth, and the adults, sing and dance on stage for the church body. Let me tell you, African youth know how to move it!
Never-ending Tanzanian joy
For the most part, Tanzanians have an almost unbelievable amount of joy … ALL THE TIME. It does not matter what their living conditions or circumstances are, they exude huge amounts of joy. Tanzanians are also quite hospitable and love serving us. It blows my mind to see their generosity and love for us.
Jen and Christina (she owned a small convenience store where we frequently bought bottled water, bread, eggs, toilet paper, soda, and biscuits)
Christina's store
Alys and Margaret plucking the feathers off a chicken
Crazy amounts of love and joy from Tanzanian children
I have never met children, whether they are street kids, orphans, or any other child, who love as hard as Tanzanian children do. Whenever we were around children, which was often, they would wave frantically at us, blow us kisses, run into our arms, or yell verbal greetings at us. When we held them, they would cling to us like saran wrap.
In our courtyard with some of the kiddos
Missy and some kiddos
Getting loved on!
Being sick the whole month
I will post a blog soon about my experiences with malaria, vertigo, worms, and weird GI issues soon, but for now, know that I was sick the entire month, barely participated in ministry, was barely out of my tent, and am still figuring out what God wanted to teach me through all of it. He definitely taught me to accept the enormous amount of help that my team and Alys provided to get me through all of it; everyone got to nurse me instead!
A lab tech analyzing our blood smears for malaria
The pharmacy at the clinic …
malaria meds, Tylenol, antibiotics, and anti-worm meds galore
African body odor … oh my goodness
Africans don’t use deodorant. So that means you can smell their B.O. from a mile away. We are in Africa during the “winter” months … I can’t imagine what it would be like in the summer months.
Africans trying to hustle us to buy their snacks
Lots of beans
Otherwise explained as excessive, never-ending bloating and gas. Yup, no shame.
