Life in Tanzania

I am adapting to life in Tanzania, and the Lord has been so faithful to me here. Although, I do have to say that there are so many times where I look at my pictures from Uganda, and I just tear up. I miss those kids with all of my heart!

Last weekend, I went to an orphanage, wanting to volunteer in some way while I am here as well as hoping to ease the ache of holding my kids at Smile. It was quite the adventure of getting there... walked around for about an hour. Finally, I found the place, and I was ushered into a room full of women who spoke only Swahili. Now, my Swahili is very pathetic right now, but I tried to tell them that I was from Iringa International School and that I wanted to help with the kids. Then I kept asking, "watotos wapi?" (where are the kids?) The woman all looked at me, so confused. It was really awkward. Finally, I found some of the girls that lived there. It was a small orphanage and for girls only. There were about 15 girls around, and none of them could speak English, and not one even shook my hand. I couldn't help but think how at Smile, I would be assaulted by hugs the moment I stepped through the gates.

This is the church right next to my apartment. Isn't it beautiful? 

The first week of school is finished! I'm teaching P3 and P4 (which is like 2nd and 3rd grade), and I have 15 kids from over 8 different countries! All the kids are so sweet, and I think I'm going to enjoy it a lot. It's not an uncommon site to see "Ms. Stacy" flying down the soccer field in her dress with the kids at break time. The kids love it. I love it. It's great.


This is the view that I see on my walk to school every morning! The rock jutting up is Gangilonga rock, which we hiked up yesterday!

I also found a really good church, which I'm excited about! It's only every other week, and it's a group of about 40 mzungus that gather together. There's not a pastor, but people take turns preaching and leading worship. It was so refreshing to be able to sing in English and to sing songs that I knew. It was such a sweet time of worship and fellowship. There's a Bible study every Tuesday, and in a few weekends, there will be a retreat that I'm going to. The Lord completely provided Christians to be in fellowship with, and it's been so good.

This is at Neema Crafts- a coffee shop and craft store that serves as a ministry for deaf and disabled people in Tanzania. It's one of my favorite places to go in Iringa, and I often do my work there and have a chapatti and samosas... my African food favorites!

Some of the teachers and I at the top of Gangilonga rock!

This last weekend, some of the teachers and I hiked up Gangilonga rock, which was both beautiful and fun! Then, we went over to the Phillip's farm (a family who has a daughter at Iringa International School and who goes to the church I went to). Every Saturday, they have people over for volleyball. They live in this peaceful, quiet little area in the mountains, and it is beautiful there! We had a wonderful afternoon of playing volleyball, soccer, and chatting with various people. To finish it off, I went to the other teachers' apartments and had some pizza... so amazing! And I got a warm shower there to boot... could it get any better?!


This is the Phillip's farm house. So quaint... I love it!



playing some volleyball!

one of the many beautiful African sunsets

Some of the teachers eating our delicious pizza!



“You smile because you know. You know that in the end you are not really giving away anything at all. Instead you are gaining… so with joy-with joy!-you sell it all, you abandon it all. Why? Because you have found something worth losing everything else for.” –David Platt

I want to spend the rest of my life abandoning/gaining everything because He is worth it all.   

Miss you all so much!

A New Chapter

It seems as if I haven't written in so long because everything has changed for me in this past week! I am no longer writing from my beloved Uganda, but I am writing from Iringa, Tanzania. I have struggled to completely close the wonderful chapter of Uganda. There are times where I just long to be back with the kids and people that I have come to love so dearly. But I am trying to delve fully into this new chapter, and I hope that I will come to love Tanzania as much as I have come to love Uganda.

On August 11, I flew into Dar es Salaam (and we got to see the coast from the plane... so beautiful!) I had some problems getting my visa, and my driver (who had been waiting for 2 1/2 hours) was within 10 minutes of leaving, but thank the Lord he hadn't left yet! We drove 2 1/2 hours through traffic to get to the hotel, and then my driver left me on my own. I don't think I have ever felt so utterly alone in my life. The only person I knew in the country was my driver, and he hardly even spoke English! I went on the internet to call my parents, so that their voices could soothe the ache of loneliness. Less than 2 minutes into our conversation, the internet went down. I felt the Lord prodding my heart saying, "Stace, why don't you turn to Me to find comfort?" Honestly, I was just frustrated the internet wasn't working, and I just wanted to hear my parents' voices! But I finally consented to get out my Bible, and Philippians 4 was brought to mind. I was greatly encouraged by verse 19: "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." All of a sudden, I knew that I was not all alone in a new country, but I was in the presence of the God who goes before me, beside me, and behind me. And He was going to meet ALL of my needs because He is more than capable! And that is comfort that lasts, whereas the comfort that comes from talking on skype is only temporary.

The next day, my driver brought me to the ocean (by special request!). We only stayed there for about 5 minutes, and it wasn't the nicest stretch of beach, but it was absolutely wonderful just the same :) My driver then brought me to the bus where I spent the next 11 hours. It was quite exciting though! Here are all the things I saw: two men wearing Vikings jerseys, a man wearing a Timberwolves jersey, and a man wearing a Twins jersey (who would've thought there would be such a strong Minnesotan presence in Africa?!). I also saw giraffes, elephants, antelope, and baboons. The moment I first caught site of the animals, my eyes popped open and I may or may not have gasped. The Tanzanians around me thought this to be rather funny. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of any of these because I chose to sat on the wrong side of the bus, and we were just moving so fast.

I finally arrived in Iringa, which is beautiful. It's high up in the Southern highlands (and it's rather cold... especially at night!), and there are beautiful flowers all around. It's much more modern than Uganda was, and everyone speaks Swahili. I'm living by myself in an apartment about a 15 minute walk away from the school, but I'm hoping to do a home stay with a family from the school after this month is up. I just miss being in a home!

this is my bathroom

and here's my bedroom

The past week, I've been doing training for the IB program, which is the program that Iringa International School uses. All the planning and the teaching is done by the inquiry approach, which is what I learned in school, so I'm excited to see it put into practice! I also met my cooperating teacher, and she is just a bundle of spunk and creativity, so I am looking forward to learning a lot from her! I also met the other teachers, and they are all super friendly, which has been a blessing! I've gone over to their apartment quite a few times for supper or to get a warm shower, which is always so nice :)

some of the beautiful flowers! This is my favorite stretch of the walk to school :)

sunset my first night in Iringa!

Some prayer requests:
-The Lord will equip me to be the best student teacher I can be!
-I will get connected with a family who I can live with
-I will fully be able to transition to life in Tanzania
-I will shine forth Jesus in all that I do

Love and miss you all so so much!

Leaving

We are now in Kampala after a long car ride in a jam-packed car. We were even stopped by the police for "overloading" (I don't know if they missed the taxis going past that carried twice their capacity or what). But we ended up bribing him with about 20,000 shillings (about $10 American dollars), and ended up not getting penalized. Oh Uganda. We did prison ministry in Kampala at a prison where there are more than 6,000 prisoners! We only shared with a small number of the women there, and it went well. In the afternoon, we had pizza (the closest we're going to come to American pizza at least!) and went into the biggest supermarket I have seen in 2 months. Kind of overwhelming, but I was pretty excited to find some pringles and gummy bears :)


eating our "American" pizza

Our last day at Smile was really good. I started to give away pictures from my photo album that I had brought along, and let me tell you, absolute craziness! I wrote a little message on the back of the picture and signed it... suddenly about 50 kids were stampeding the clinic and they all wanted a picture and for me to sign it. Never before have I felt so famous! The kids ended up just stealing most of my pictures... not sure if that was the best idea.

However, it WAS the best idea to have a water fight. Our entire time in Uganda, we have been saving up our water bottles. We made them into squirt guns by poking holes on the top, and then we handed them out to all of the kids. We had so much fun. The kids has so much fun. It was wonderful. The only downside was that we were completely outnumbered, so all the muzungus got pretty soaked :)


Like I said... outnumbered.

 

All too soon, the kids had to leave. The kids all had different reactions to us leaving. Some were sad and cried. Some were angry and didn't want to talk to us. Some were indifferent. But I just hate that I was only here to love on these kids for such a short time and then I had to leave. And I hate that I have disappointeed them because of that fact.



Aren't these boys adorable??

 All the workers at Smile had a little goodbye ceremony for us after the kids left. Some of the widows who I taught the past couple months came as well. They all gave speeches and we all gave speeches. There were a lot of tears, hugs, and gifts. Each worker gave us a piece of jewelry that they had made or bought for us. So incredibly sweet.  

It was so hard walking out of the gates of Smile, not knowing when I will enter through them again. Already, I long to hold Alupot, dance with Ocheng, wink at Peter, laugh with Roberto, hold Boy Peter's hand, kiss Ben on the cheek, and hug sweet Fate. And my heart breaks at the thought of not being able to do any of those things again.

I do know that I will hold these precious kids in my heart for all of my life. And I will never forget the incredible people of Uganda and the love that they have shown towards me.

Mungu akubariki (God bless!)

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Today is our last day at Smile. I'm dreading it. As the day of our departure draws nearer, the kids ask with more urgency, "Stacy, you are coming tomorrow?" And tomorrow, I will finally have to tell them no. I wish I could tell them when I will be back, but that is up to the Lord to decide. Those kids are His, and I am SO thankful that He gave them to me for these past two months to love on and to be loved by.

The past couple days, we have been eating at everyone's houses and saying our goodbyes. I have been so blessed by the people of Uganda- their kindness, their hospitality, their faith, their joy, and their giving spirit.



out to eat with some of the wonderful workers at Smile!



eating at "Mama Teddy's" house. It is Ugandan tradition to wash the hands like this before and after eating. Such a similar picture to Jesus washing the disciples' feet.

eating at Pastor Ruth's house... such an amazing woman!

I know that my life has been changed throughout my time here, and I think I will be uncovering what the Lord has taught me throughout the next few months/years. More updates to come later...   

I also just want to say happy birthday dad! I wish I was there to spend it with you. For those of you don't know Jeff Ahlm, he is an amazing man and an incredible dad. He has always let me know how proud he is of me, I have never once doubted his love for me, and he gives the absolute best world-famous hugs. I have always known this, but I know it now more than ever, that I have the best dad in the world. I love you so much dad! I hope you have a wonderful birthday!  

Some prayer requests:

-One of the teachers at Smile has been in the hospital for a few weeks due to Typhoid and Malaria. She is getting better, but still has trouble moving and talking. Be in prayer for a full recovery!

-Tomorrow, we are going to do prison ministry in Kampala. We will be preaching the Gospel to those on death row. Please pray that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and that Christ will soften hearts.

-Transition, that both we and the kids will be at peace with leaving.

-For my upcoming adventure to Tanzania!

Thanks so much!

Preparing for Goodbye

It is hard to believe, but we are in our last week at Smile. Time is a funny thing, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve been here for so long, yet at the same time I feel like I just got here. 

never want to leave this boy!

We had quite the exciting day on Friday. Two young men from outside Smile’s fence began stoning sweet David (who’s about 13 years old). We got the security guards of Smile, and they found one of the men. He had to kneel in front of David and apologize. Of course, about 100 kids wanted to watch this and started chanting in Swahili, “Shame on you!!!” They followed this man the entire way out, dancing, and chanting at the top of their lungs. I couldn’t help but laugh. The man was so embarrassed, but it serves him right! He was stoning poor David for no reason at all. That night, we watched The Lion King (aka Hakuna Matata according to the kids), which is their favorite movie. They always sing “Hakuna Matata”; however, those are the only two words of the song they know.

excited to watch the Lion King!

 A couple days ago, one of the boys, Peter, was quite mad at me because I was holding another boy instead of him. He went and cried in the corner, refused to smile, and gave me the cold shoulder every time I tried to console him. I kept thinking how ridiculous that it was that he wanted my love, yet he refused to accept it. He could’ve stepped into my embrace at any time, yet he chose to soak in self pity and isolate himself. I just wonder how often I do that with God. How often do we refuse to step into His loving embrace? How often do we ignore His love even though we still long for it? But praise be to God that He accepts us back every time we choose to come back to Him!  

The last couple days at Smile have been both crazy and fun. There have been other teams of muzungus at Smile, and they have loved on the kids and brought many useful gifts for them. They have done a great job of sharing the Word, doing skits, playing games, and loving on the kids. The other day, they brought new clothes for the kids… shorts, shirts, and shoes! For one of the first times ever, Habuchi did not want to be held… he just wanted to hold my hand and walk in his new tennis shoes, which is an experience he has never had before. It was such a tender moment. However, the next day, Habuchi was back in his t-shirt full of dirt, snot, and spit. His dad is an alcoholic and most likely sold his new clothes to use for his addiction. The entire day, Habuchi just wanted to sleep in my arms, and I couldn’t coax a smile out of him.  

Ocheng and Habuchi in their new outfits... don't they look great?!

Today, one of the teams brought toothbrushes and toothpaste for all the kids and were taught how to brush their teeth. The kids were very excited about this, and even more excited to smile for all the muzungus afterwards! However, I think the kids also thought the toothbrush would be a useful tool in building their little mud houses… most toothbrushes were a nasty color by the end of the day.



the toohtbrushes by the middle of the day...



All of this has been making me struggle with the question: how can I really help these children here? What can I bring that will be sustainable in their lives? With the thought of leaving so soon, I just can’t help but think I’ll be another person in their life who has loved them and has left them/disappointed them. I’m still struggling with this question. All I know for now is that I need to leave them with Jesus and leave a legacy of Him. Please be in prayer for these children and ourselves as we make the transition and leave.

after I squirted the boys with my water bottle-made-squirtgun. They loved it. I loved it. It was great.We have been saving our water bottles up so we can give them to all the kids and have a huge water fight right before we leave. We're pretty excited for it!



Today, I taught the widow’s English class again. Those women are SO sweet, and we’ve had a wonderful time learning together! We also went to a prison again yesterday. The prisoners were on their way back from a work project, but there were about 5 men that had stayed behind. In order to kill time, we all ended up sharing our testimonies. When the rest of the prisoners arrived, the pastor requested that we all share our testimonies again along with the message because they were very powerful. Sometimes I feel inadequate in sharing because these men have been through SO much in their lives, but it’s so incredible that God can use an American girl’s testimony to touch the life of a prisoner in Africa. Christ makes us competent, and He can use all of our testimonies in any circumstance to bring more people to Himself. Praise the Lord! 6 men came forward to be saved, so once again, please be in prayer for these new believers!

some of the ladies that come every Wednesday to learn English

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement! I am so blessed by you all J  

pooped by the end of the day!



"He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water." -Isaiah 49:10