other monduli pictures

at the market

fresh samaki

dinner

breakfast

playing with our food

my first school:)

within the first two weeks of arriving in Arusha we were in intense training. Everyday for a week we had Swahili lessons, history lessons, geography lessons, and then we moved onto teaching lessons! There was about 15 of us. 5 or 6 of us were americans and the other were tanzanian "counterparts" meaning they were there to help teach and translate as well(they actually worked for Global Service Corps). The second weekend we were there we left Arusha for Monduli, which was about an hour and a half away! There we all stayed in guest houses which were actually really nice:) we were all broken into small groups and then placed at different schools to teach for the next two weeks!

i was placed with two tanzanian counterparts, Helen and Immanuel at Orkeeswa

words could never be enough to describe their selfless loving hearts.

these were some of our students.....

it was such an amazing experience. Very HARD, but amazing. I have never met children so hungry for knowledge that they would walk for miles to get to school. The school its self was a good hour (driving) away from our guest house so some mornings we would pick up our kids on the road as we passed them. Some days a few of the girls would have to leave early so they could make it to the water hole and back home before dark. I have never known such pain and hard work....my heart broke for each one.

One student that really touched my heart was Lucas:) he was not much older than 16 and he was considered a man in his tribe. His hands were callused from the hard labor. His joints ached after we came in from free time from walking such extreme distances and lack of adequate food. And his faced showed the scarring of his tribe where he had been circumcised. He was so smart and sweet. i miss Lucas and our talks very much. i pray for him daily.

another student was happy. She was about 15 and had 12 mothers and one father which was the norm for her tribe. We use to sit under the boubou tress and lay in the grass as the other students played basketball. She had this laugh that could make the harshest man melt:) Happy had 72 brothers and sisters.....i pray for her everyday.

this was our last day at Orkeeswa

the class graduation picture with their certificates 

i will never forget these faces:)

why i want to do it....

when i was a little girl i wanted to change the world. I loved adventure and meeting new people. i yearned for new concepts and ideas. to learn about different ways of life and thinking. i read numerous books and went on numerous adventures:) every summer i would travel with my Church somewhere around the US and a couple times internationally working with children and families. Doing local back yard Bible schools and constructing new buildings, working alongside the local workers. There has always been a strong pulling of my heart to DO MORE. 

i have always felt God leading me into the land of poverty, disease, and isolation.

some statistics for you.....
* in 2005, 2.3 million people died of AIDS in Sub-Suharan Africa
....that means 1 person died of AIDS every 13.1 seconds
.....23 people died every 5 minutes
......274 people died every hour
........6575 people died everyday


the numbers needed to describe deaths, infection, and orphans brought by AIDS in Africa are too large for us to understand. We can simplify these numbers into abstract models; show them in relation to one another; chart them, graph them, subdivide them into smaller more tangible numbers. However, we have to accept at the end that we are not capable of grasping the scale in which people of Africa are suffering and dying due to HIV/AIDS.
.......could you imagine living in this world? drowning in poverty, sickness, and stigma? 


WHO will make a change? WHO will go? 


this blog is very short:) when i first went to Africa this past summer i actually had another blog on Word press that i am now changing. i used it as a form of communication with my support group here at home! Their prayer is what kept me going. i am hoping to get both of these up and running. one for statistics and change in the tactical health aspect and the other my thoughts and emotions. when i was young i was always active and doing some sport or going somewhere! I think this is where i get my love for Health:) my major at MTSU is community and Public Health, soon to graduate with a BS in community and public health with minors in nutrition and global studies:) i dont want to work at a local gym or the health department. I want to GO..........i want to go back to my home in Africa. i want to make a change!!!


Have you ever felt destined for more than what you are settling for?


i feel this so much...i think because of my disobedience God is allowing me to take the longer road, which is teaching me alot....but i will get there someday and i will change the world!
   one of my biggest inspirations for a few years now has been a young girl, not much younger than me named Katie. Her blog is so moving. She has followed Gods calling for her life and sacrificed all she knew here but has gained much more priceless rewards:) i encourage you to read her blog...the link is located on the right of my blog its called "The Journey" she is real, so be ready to be moved it should not be taken lightly. a dear friend of mine named Ryan introduced me to an amazing writer named John Piper. Well, let me clear that up, he introduced me to his writings! I have always loved challenging books lie C.S. Lewis for example! I like fun reads but find myself getting bored easily....who knows why ADD i guess:) Anyway, there is a book Piper wrote called Dont waste your life (only one of the amazing books he has written) it rocked my world! there was a quote he used in it that with the book and all the other scripture has stood out to me for sometime now. it goes as follows....


"Most Men are not satisfied with the permanent output of their lives. Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within his followers except the adoption of Christ's purpose toward the world he came to redeem. Fame, pleasures and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans. The men who are putting everything into Christ's undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards"
-J. Cambell White




Amazing huh:)
 this is why i want to do it. I would sell all i have to return to my african home. to change just one life would be more than worth it. i am thankful for what i have been given all my life, i am more than blessed. i could easily stay here in the states and be perfectly content, going on about my day doing what i do, but what life is that? Some are called to stay and live an amazing life here. But i am called to go. It will not be easy. it will not always be happy. there will not be any money. there will surely be death. but i will go.