Kenya is over.
Tanzania hasn’t started yet.
We’re sitting at a little over halfway through the year, and that’s
exactly what it feels like. I’m just in
the middle – which is a fine place to be…for now. I know I just can’t stay in the middle or
I’ll get stuck. It’s getting to the
point where things are more routine, where there are less surprises, where this
is just life. Sure there are ups and
downs and surprises and challenges and revelations and mysteries, they’re just
becoming less frequent and less profound.
I’m trying to stay motivated, trying to stay excited, trying to create
newness, but it is coming less naturally.
Most days I love it and I feel full and satisfied and optimistic. Some days I wonder what I’m doing here or if
I am actually making a difference. In a
lot of ways I think that’s normal, the feelings, the questions, but I also know
that if I stop pushing for something more, if I start settling, I’ll miss out
on a lot. My fear is that I’ll get
bored, and my prayer is that I’ll never get to a place where I take being here,
or this opportunity for granted. Maybe I
shouldn’t write stuff like this, maybe it’s not how I’m “supposed” to
feel. I don’t know, but it’s honestly
how I feel, so I figure you should know.
Last month was one big blur. One day we
were just beginning and the next we were leaving. In the middle we did have a full schedule –
door to door ministry, manual labor, a youth weekend, and even street ministry
and preaching in the market. Each
experience was new and different from anything we had really done this year. I met a lot of amazing, and very interesting
people and had some really great conversations.
I got a few chances to preach in two different churches and experienced
in a very real way how much more a church is than a building. We sang a lot, which I love, and really just
spent a lot of time enjoying and encouraging the people around us. I don’t know exactly where the days went, but
I’m ok with that. I didn’t think I was
until now, but looking back, I really like the way the month turned out.
Now, between our time in Mpeketoni and before we can leave
for Tanzania, we are taking a few days to relax in Mombasa, Africa’s second
largest city located in the south east corner of the country on the Indian
Ocean. There are basically two parts of
Mombasa, the downtown/city area and the resort/beach area.
The city part is mostly what I have come to expect from any city worth calling
a city that is not the capital of a less than first world country. It’s not big, but it is dense. It’s not glamorous, but there’s a lot of
“stuff.” It’s full of people, full of
traffic, full of “restaurants”, and littered with small shops and stores that
all seem to sell the exact same things.
The beach side is where we are staying – in a hostel that is little more than a
large, mostly empty house. It is the
only backpacking hostel in Mombasa and has only been open a month, so it’s
relatively empty. Aside from a few
coming and going night to night, it has been occupied by the seven of us, three
of the four owners, and a group of four travelers consisting of a couple from
Zimbabwe, a French guy, and an Australian guy, who studied together in
Australia and have spent the last few months working their way back to southern
Africa. I’ve loved hearing their stories
and talking with them over the last few days.
The unique perspectives, experiences, and views have really entertained
me these past few nights.
It has been good to relax for a few days – have normal food, a normal toilet,
normal showers, and a normal bed before we head into the unknown yet
again. From what I know about where
we’ll be in Tanzania (Morogoro), it is surrounded by beautiful mountains, and
not much else worth noting. English is
much less prevalent in Tanzania, so we’ll see how that goes. It will also be our longest month of the
year, at about 5 weeks.
Thanks for all your continued support and prayers. I love opening up my inbox and seeing
encouraging emails and updates, or just comments on blogs. It may seem like a little or insignificant
gesture to you, but it helps me feel like I’m not completely on the other side
of the world all the time – which some days, is the greatest gift you could
give me. Please continue to let me know
how I can be praying for you.
Some specific ways you can be praying for me are…
1. continued health, safety, and protection
2. continuing to grow in intimacy, love, and relationship with teammates
3. against feelings of homesickness, laziness, or lack of motivation
4. specific person(s) to connect with in the coming month of ministry
5. our contact, his ministry, and our relationship with him
6. life after this year…whatever that means
Thanks so much! See you in Tanzania…
