Titles are hard.

I just wanted to make a quick update.. I am feeling better. I slept well and my housekeeper took wonderful care of me. I took some antibiotics that she got for me and I am doing much better.

Since Nancy and Carol are leaving this week, I decided to have a little sleepover back here at Fr. Simon's. It has been nice to socialize with them and catch up on what they've been up to.

Fr. took us out to celebrate his receiving his 3rd Visa for his last stint in the United States and it was very nice. We met more of his priest friends there as well. But, the best part was just the conversation we all had. He asked Nancy, Carol, and I what has struck us most since we've been here and we all shared, which was nice, but then he went on a long tangent that made me cry several times. I wish I could properly sum up his words, but, sadly I cannot. Long story short, I don't know why the Lord has called me here, especially since we haven't seen eye to eye in awhile (well, I guess I should say it was moreso me.. He still thinks I'm the bees knees..) But, I know I'm supposed to be here. He planned this trip and I'm here and although it's 500% different than any other mission I've been on, I know this is where I belong for now. I can't say anything else. I can't say that I'm supposed to be home next year and be an SEA. I can't say I'm to go back to school. I can't say that I'm supposed to get married. I can't say that I'll ever be back here again. I can't say anything but live for now. and right now, I am to 'love until it hurts' on the daily here in Biharamulo, Tanzania.

I wish you a good weekend. I can't believe it's July so soon. Miss you all.

PS-Since, I know you're reading.. I've talked about you so much today, Grandma, that Nancy and Carol know all about you. Thank you for your unending love and support.Cannot wait to see you. And Go Bucs!

Home is whenever I'm with you.

Well, I woke up around 3 this morning, thinking that my throat was closing shut and I was quite fearful.. Father Simon is out of town still (he stayed in Kigali after dropping off Karen, Ken and Rosemary to work on his Visa) and I wouldn’t know who to call in an emergency. Nancy, of course, but she cannot drive to pick me up.. and Boniface drives, but there is a language barrier.. maybe he’d understand “HELP!” hahaha

Anyways, my throat wasn’t closing, but I’m having severe allergies again-- I wouldn’t even qualify it as allergies.. or, if I can, it’s the worst kind of allergies one can imagine. I sneeze continuously, my eyes water and nose runs uncontrollably, my throat is sore, scratchy, and filled with mucus, I have a headache and I’m quite cold.. I somehow have acquired a cold in the summer in Africa. However, the asst. principal (my main contact at school besides Sr. Amelia) told me to go home and rest because he is fearful I have the flu. I do not believe I do, but, if I’m not better by lunch, he’s sending a doctor for me.

Earlier this week when my allergies were so bad, Nancy noticed how puffy all my bites are (and no, not from scratching, family) but like they’re all infected, even brand new ones.. she proposed that I’m possibly allergic to them and since I have 28? I think, maybe my body is just really mad at me. My bites have been bad everywhere though.. the States, Jamaica, and now here.. here is just scarier because of all the diseases they carry.. I’m faithful w/ my preventative medicine though, no worries!

All I have to say is.. it sucks that it’s 3am at home and I can’t call either my mom or grandma.. or dad, I suppose.. but dad deals with scary/painful things like resetting bones, dislocations, and spinal taps.. mom and grandma are the womanly care of aches and sads.

Time to rest w/ hopes of healthiness upon waking! 

Lucas, my brother.

Last night Boniface (Father Simon's brother and the father of those kids I've posted a lot of pictures of) came and picked me up so that I could socialize with Carol and Nancy for a bit.. Perpetua (or Mama Bonita--mothers go by Mama and their first child's name more often than their own name after motherhood) was there, nursing Lucas, and when he was done, he ran around and what not. Perpetua and I talked, as much as the language barrier allows us, and what I got out of it was that she wants me to take Lucas to the United States someday and, of course, I said yes! Have you seen that kid?! Precious . Anyways, the best part was that after that I said "mimi caca" and pointed to him, which means "my brother", and he laughed and laughed and laughed and then said "Mzungu, mimi dada", which means "white person, my sister."

And I died. right there on the spot.

"Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become."

Mambo! : )

I hope this blog finds you well, human being. 

     I have finally moved into my ‘apartment’ here at St. Severin’s and am writing from here.  I know I updated my blog recently in a little tangent regarding sacrifice in a monetary way and such things, but now I will give you an update on what I’ve been up to.

So, to start.. I have to say again that Nancy has been such a lifesaver. She reminds me so much of my mom and I’m already so comfortable with her. She also has been on many missions, mostly in Mexico, and gave me some clearance on what’s been up here.. I have been really struggling because I do not feel like I’ve been really on ‘mission’. All I’ve been doing is nonstop visiting families, locals, priest, parishes, hospitals, etc. But, I haven’t been ‘ministering’ to them, in the way I have been taught and have done. But, Nancy reassured me that THAT IS MISSION. These people are so dumbfounded that we would give up our time to be here that they just want to be around us. We are treated like royalty and they do not want us to really serve them. They want to just soak us up. Many just want to hear about America and if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.. it’s so different from the other missions I’ve been on. I’m used to receiving just as much as I’m giving, but I haven’t felt like I’ve given much yet..

Speaking of which, we stayed in another BEAUTIFUL hotel in Mwanza last week.. I mean, breathtaking.. Honeymoon destination type deal. I was spoiled for (most likely) the last time. I had fish fillet, instead of full tilapia with bones and such, and delicious other foods and more than comfortable accomdations. We went to one of the most visited tourist locations here in Tanzania, Serengetti National Park which, hopefully you’ve seen my pictures on facebook, was like a massive zoo without fences. It’s just natural! There were dead animals and all that stuff. The only human intervention is if many are dying off (they try and see what is going on) and during the dry season (now) they burn a lot of the grass to make it grow quicker . Let’s see.. some of the animals I saw (and this is not a comprehensive list): Wildebeest [thousands upon thousands], impala, giraffes, hippos, elephants, lions, zebras, vultures, warthogs, tortoises, and one black mamba (one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa) It truly reminded me of the Lion King! The ride was bumpy and crazy but it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I greatly enjoyed!

Junk hit the fan after that, to put it lightly.. the group has just not meshed properly and the complex arrangement of personalities is probably the major factor in that. We just aren’t destined to get along very well haha So, Nancy, Father and I sort of made a pact and left the group to go have a drink at the hotel I stayed at last time in Mwanza and then we returned back to ours. The rest of the group went to the Serengetti another day (it was awesome, but not for $120 again awesome..)  and we laid back, helping Fr. w/ errands and what not.  Nancy and I explored some of the backstreets of Mwanza and met up with some very fun guys who tried to sell us everything in their shops. Boney was my favorite and he said he is going to add me on facebook, how fun. Hahaha

We returned home on Sunday and had quiiiite the trip. One of the ferries had broken down, so there was only one running across Lake Victoria.. so, what was supposed to take about 45 minutes took us about 3 hours.. and then only 30 minutes after that, one of the two cars in our group broke down.. if anyone knows car lingo, the timing belt snapped? I believe.. So, Fr. took three of us to the closest town, dropped us off and got a mechanic to come and fix it.. Meanwhile, I felt sicker than I have the entire trip. My allergies were worse than they’ve ever been in America or any place.. to the point that I was becoming nauseous and feeling very ‘out of body’. I thankfully was able to be in shade with Nancy and Rosemary, but it was a rough afternoon. What was to take us about 4 ½ hours managed to take about 12. It was crazy. I was supposed to move into my apartment when we returned home, but since our arrival time got pushed from mid-afternoon until midnight and I was feeling so terrible, I waited. I slept for almost 11 hours and felt much better in the morning. That day was a relaxing day.. some of us went to town and bought some toilet paper and water and then when we returned home, two of Fr.’s nieces, Happiness and Flaha decided to braid my hair.. but they got bored about halfway through so what started off as pretty great turned ugly fast hahaha I felt bad taking it out right away, so I left it in for the day and took it out before leaving for  St. Severin’s.

I arrived here at my apartment Monday evening and immediately felt very emotional. Most of the Americans had been driving me crazy, but they were at least company..and English speaking company on top of that! Here I was, all alone.. most of the people around here speak English (since the school is an English primary school) but not conversationally well.  It was hard. And for the first time, I cried for my mom and/or grandma to come and comfort me. Lame, I know. But, I’m still a kid! These adults are all 50 and up and here I am 21, staying twice as long as any of them. And without any companions. Karen has her husband, Ken. Nancy has her best friend, Carol. Rosemary doesn’t have anyone, but she’s been here before and has known Fr. for 9 years. I really hit rock bottom for a few hours and my hopes that school in the morning would help didn’t turn out so well either.  No administration decided to tell me that they were testing all week.. so my three classes that I have lesson plans for were all cancelled. I had one class first thing that was more of just an introductory to me type-deal . I supervised one class of Form 6 kids while they took an exam and then I graded some of the principal’s tests for him.. They surely did not do well. I think it’s difficult for them to learn in English, but here, if you speak English—it shows you are educated. It’s kind of terrible but for these kids to have a successful life and have any hope to move out of this tiny village, they have to speak it. After I finished with that.. there was nothing for me to do. And no one gave me any instruction, I asked several times. They are so laid back here and just go with the flow (the lack of time schedule really bothered me, but I’m slowly getting used to it..okay, let’s be real, I’m not.. not being on time really bothers me) I am hopeful that things will get better.. it’s just hard to not be busy when you’re alone and no one fluently speaks your language. Father is only a 20 minute walk away (I made it later this afternoon when I was done)  but Karen, Ken and Rosemary go home tomorrow (Wednesday the 26^th) and Carol and Nancy follow next week.. so, I really will be alone here soon. The month of July will be challenging. I’m hoping that my increased introvert time over the past year will help my brain stay focused on the task at hand and not be too jealous of my fellow companions already going home. I do wish I was going, to be honest. But, I know that I will probably learn so much more about myself and life in general in these next four weeks than I have in the comfort and safety of the Americans and Father at my side 24/7.

Fr. Simon is such a blessing. Not only for giving me this opportunity, but what a guy. I truly did not know him very well when I said yes to this mission trip, but, boy am I glad I did. He is incredible.  I can’t wait to tell you all about him in person and hopefully have him to Altoona sometime in the near future when he has break at school. Everyone will love him.

I got to talk to my grandma TWICE this week! What a blessing. What a woman. Love you, gram. Bushels and pecks. See you later, alligator. 

Please pray for me as I have some anxiety about these upcoming weeks. The lack of running water, heat, bland/boring food, and language barrier don’t bother me half as much as my heart does as it aches for home.  Pax. 

"It's easy to forget, sometimes we just forget..

and being on this road is anything but sure, maybe we'll forget, I hope we don't forget... Follow me there, a beautiful somewhere, I place that I can share with you."

These lyrics to a Yellowcard song I used to be obsessed with kept playing in my head these past few days.. so, instead of a post describing everything I've been doing (and maybe if you're good, I will write another about them..) I'm just going to share some thoughts, especially pertaining to the replay of this song in my brain.

It's not realistic for Americans to live in huts with grass roofs, or travel by foot to other towns and cities, or have electricity only about 3 days a week.. But all of these things and more are daily occurrences here in Tanzania. Some people come to 3rd world countries and try to live this unrealistic life upon returning to the States.. but, living like a Tanzanian in America is practically impossible. But, what can I do? Yes, you could send money and donate items, which is all well and good.. but it's easy to forget (sometimes we just forget) that sacrifice can go a long way. I 'waste' more water a day in America--showering, using the facet, using the washing machine--than most VILLAGES receive for an entire week. The smartphone I have at home? Just the phone itself could purchase electricity for a home here for over a year, I'm not even considering the bill itself.. My college debt could pay for about 45 kids to go to college for 4 years. So, what? When I get home, will I stop using my running water, not use a telephone, or tell the government that I'm not paying that debt? (well, the 3rd one.. I sort of wish..) No. That's silly. But, it puts things in perspective. What am I wasting? What could I cut back on so that a did have a couple extra bucks to tithe? Where could I make my life more simpler?

Today I met Sr. Helen, a religious sister that my mother corresponded with through a mutual friend before my trip here.. she lived in the US for about 10 years. She stated: "Life is much simpler there in America." and I replied no.. Life is easy. It is not simple. They live simply here. and in that simplicity, they are happy. Life is America is easy.. we have food available literally twenty-four hours a day, most everyone has running water that is also drinkable, we have homes or apartments or a stable place to live. We don't fear our lives when we get small diseases because the hospitals are so poor. We are spoiled. and we take it for granted. We take our easy lives and add such complexity and strain! Ellen Degeneres in one of my favorite stand up acts says, "You won't find a pygmy on Paxil." How true is that! Easiness is lame. I'd rather work hard and have these Tanzanian issues if I was as happy as these people. Last night, there was an argument among the group and one of the women got very upset, yelling and crying.. Father's 78 year old mother (who speaks no English) was with us and she was very distraught. I asked Fr. why later on and he said that people have no reason to cry here outside of death.. so she thought someone close to her had died.. that life is difficult for everyone, so what should they do? Cry all the time? That's just ridiculous. So, they don't.

Do I have some kind of solution for this problem? Do I think that upon returning to American I'll turn away all of the amenities I will have missed for so long? Negative. But, as Yellowcard has informed us.. 'being on this road is anything but sure'.. what if our personal selfishness leads to severe internal sin? I'm not judging anyone, nor do I want judged.. who knows how the Lord will judge us when we die, but since I've been blessed to see these things, I don't want to forget. I want you to 'follow me here to the beautiful somewhere I can share with you'.  

Update!

Hello again, I’m sorry for the delay, but the internet I purchased has MUCH to be desired slash doesn’t really work at all sometimes.. which is indeed frustrating because it wasn’t exactly cheap. 

Anyways, I will try and summarize the past few days. On our way back from Mwanza, Father stopped at his home village, Rukora, and we hung out with his family for a little. It was very fun, even with the language barrier. We traveled home, had dinner with the whole gang, caught up on the past few days and in the morning, Father left w/ Olivia for the airport.. he was also to retrieve two women from his parish in Illinois, Carol and Nancy who were flying in the same day she was flying out. 

 
While Father was gone, I went to town and purchased things I will need for Father’s dads memorial service on Tuesday the 18th and a really nice pair of sandals as well! I met with Sr. Ameila, an English speaking nun who helps run St. Severin’s where I’ll be teaching, and the principal of the school later that day. We discussed my strengths and weaknesses and even though I am without any sort of teaching license, I will be an English teacher starting on June 24th! The kick of it all is that I have also been asked to teach the form 6 (a chunk of high-school for America) Biology! HAHAHA WHAT!? I am studying up myself now. I told them I was more comfortable w/ English and religion, but, they really needed someone w/ University experience to teach them biology because their state exams are the week after I leave.. so, that should indeed be interesting. I’ll have 3 classes every day and two on Saturdays! (It’s a boarding school.. most here are, actually) My schedule ranges quite a bit, but I’ll always be done by 230pm at the latest. I am excited and ready to do something more productive. 

I’m not sure how much you could grasp from previous posts and what not, but it’s been quite difficult living with these other Americans. Father even finds it so.. they knew they were coming to Africa.. they knew water, electricity, food, and accommodations probably wouldn’t always be great.. what’s even more frustrating is that the biggest complainer has been here twice before!! I think that’s another reason I am very ready to move on to my house at St. Severin’s. All of those things I mentioned are MUCH better than I ever expected, especially after visiting some of his family in the neighboring village or just seeing other homes as I pass by the roads.. So, what’s the point of all this? Carol and Nancy have been lifesavers. They are very down to earth, they’re hilarious, they don’t make me feel like I’m too young to be here, they’re interested in what I have to say, and probably most importantly, they’re very motherly.. and sometimes, it gets hard to be here alone without much communication. They will only be here until July 4th, but it has been a wonderful gift to have them around so far. We’ve done some mini missions of hanging out with kids and meeting locals, trying to converse, even with only smiles and laughs.. we went back to Rukora on Sunday the 16th and while Father was having a planning meeting with 30+ family members, we took 20+ children around the village, walking through banana, coffee, pineapple, and other such plantations. It was a barrel of fun. I also spoke with several of my ‘age-mates’ as they call it here.. 20-22 year olds.. about America and things like that. They were practicing their English and it was nice to hang out with them. They all deemed me their sister, so I now have 3 brothers! Huzzah! I will post pictures on facebook when/if I can. 

OH! Another thing I forgot to mention was that on mass on Sunday, Paula, one of the Father’s nieces, who enjoys me quite a bit, came up in the beginning of mass and sat on my lap the entire time. You have to process up twice during their mass, once for offertory and once for communion—both times, she came with me, holding my hand.. now, we mu-zun-gos (white people.. and that’s spelt phonetically, not for reals) are always starred at, but every.single.head turned when they saw a little African child holding on for dear life to a big ol’ whitey. It was kind of funny, but I did enjoy her company quite a bit. 

Speaking of being big, I was born in the wrong country! Skinny women here are very unattractive. If a boy brings a skinny woman home, she is almost shunned and most families disapprove.. now, you’re probably thinking that most of the women here are skinny, and you’d be correct.. but, all in all, bigger women are more attractive and beautiful to men here. So, you can imagine that I am quite the sight. A big, young, white girl walking around.. Father has already promised my hand in marriage quite a few times.. which is slightly embarrassing.. hahaha but, it’s all in good fun. 

Since I was hoping this trip would clear my head about my future.. I’ll give a little tidbit about that.. all of the adults here have asked my plans, of course.. so, I’ve said the same thing several times.. even to the American PA’s that were here on Saturday.. and almost all of them said, you shouldn’t just lay out two paths, you’re 21.. don’t narrow your focus just yet.. Who knows what I’m to do, I guess.. I just want to be happy and feel like I’m doing something to better at least someone or something.. that’s the only requirements! 

I was glad I got to call my dad for Father’s Day, I also had a quick hello to Riley, which was nice, too. 

We are going to the National Park in Serengetti in the next few days, I am excited—this’ll be the last vacation-type thing I will be doing while I’m here, so I better enjoy it!
Thanks for the read! ( :

What a reward.

The past two nights I have been able to spend in a luxurious hotel that would cost at least $200 a night in America and only cost me $50.. it has beautiful, comfortable beds.. extremely hot water, internet access, a pool, a lake-side view.. just stunning. I am sharing it with Olivia, one of the other Americans.. she sadly has to return home on Friday because of work.. she's my favorite..

Anyways, we've had to stay because Fr. Simon's fathers 10 year memorial service (10 years after he's passed) is next week and things had to be arranged here in Mwanza, which is 5 hours from our home village. This memorial service seems like a very big deal.. I even purchased an African dress today to look more appropriate.. and who knows, maybe I will get braids before then, too! :P Try to fit in better and all that.. I am very excited for this memorial service, not only because it will be a huge party, but because I think it will help me heal with my struggle with death even further.. Africans do not mourn for long amounts of time.. they celebrate! Like wakes, sort of? I think..

We went shopping and touring around today with Fr.'s niece who lives here, while he did his errands. It was very nice. I got some amazing photos, which will sadly have to wait until I return home due to the lack of good internet.

I drank my first African beer today! It was delicious. I also learned that the language barrier has nothing on me.. because laughter is universal.. Fr. Simon's niece spoke good English, but other family members that we met up with for dinner did not.. but I told good enough stories that they all just laughed and laughed.. It was wonderful :)

I can't think of much else to comment on right this second.. Tomorrow, we head back on the long and crazy journey home.. hopefully I will be moving to my permanent place here soon.

I will try to keep you updated! xoxo

We meant what we said, and we said what we meant..

This quick addition to the blog is because of a gchat I just had with my mother.. If anyone knows me, I have a very keen sense of smell and I adore the smells of close friends and family.. Grandma's living room, our laundry, Chelsea's whole home, Cassie's deodorant, Hannah's lipchap.. and here's a copy of the chat, proving our biological sisterhood on top of the legality of it all:

 me:  hah its okay, yes. hows ri? and sister clem?

 Kelly:  Ri is ok..has slept in your bed every night..lol.  Sr clem is ok hope to come home today

 me:  really? haha oh what a stinker

 Kelly:  No she wants to "smell" you

Amen.

Karibuni to Afrika!

Hello! (Translation: Welcome to Africa--everyone greets us with that!) I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write, but the internet
has been so spotty that I could not run two pages at a time and I felt that
communicating with my family via gmail was more important! However, I am now writing this
during some free time (without internet) and will copy and paste it as soon as I can!
I will try to recall the past couple days! I got in very late on Friday and Fr. Simon met
me at the airport right away, accompained by another priest, Fr. Ignus (who I will be staying
with at a later time) They took me to the hotel and the next morning I awoke to a few Americans
at breakfast! I was delighted to know that 3 out of the 4 would be here until the end of June!
We then departed for Biharamulo, which is where we would be staying. (I am moving about since I
will be here much longer, but that is where they are staying for the month--at Fr. Simon's guest house,
which is very nice all things considered.) We arrived there and were greeted with such friendly welcomes.
All the people here are very friendly. There is quiiite a language barrier however! Fr. Simon slightly
exaggerated when he informed me that 'most people speak English'. I'd say some.. and out of that some,
and out of that some, they moreso understand. We went around that village and saw the City Center and then
traveled to the local seminary which was celebrating a Jubilee.
The next day was Sunday so we went to Mass--what an experience! Firstly, it was 2 hours long. Second, they have an incredible choir that sings for.. well, most of the mass.. hahaha Fr. Simon co-celebrated and introduced us at the end of mass. We mostly hung out that day, meeting locals and what not--there are so many children, you wouldn't believe!And they love to be around us, especially to see themselves on a picture! The first kid I met was named Rousseau, which is humorous because that is a friend from school's last name! I also saw two Redskins shirts, a couple Redsox,
and many Boston Celtics shirts, which made me laugh. (I am waiting to see the misprinted 2nd place team shirts from pro-sport championships!) I went along with Oliva, a nurse from California, to the Biharamulo hospital..Oh my lanta, talk about break your heart. The main doctor is 26 and he is incredible, but the conditions are so poor.In the children's sect, they have 70 kids and 40 beds.. so most share (which includes a parent for each sleeping in the single bed) We also saw a couple newborn children.. I think that was the biggest culture shock so far. Fr. Simon then took me to see the primary school where I will be staying.. I think I will move there later this week? Possibly. It'll be nice to be able to unpack and be settled.. The room is nice, not as nice as Fr. Simon's, but it is too far to walk everyday to stay there. ALSO! It is an English primary school, so I will be able to easily communicate with them!
Monday we traveled many places.. I won't try to spell out the names of the villages because it would just be too difficult..We met the Bishop and had lunch with him first, and then we met the Mother Superior of the main order of nuns around here(Franciscans!) And then we went to the main orphanage, which was both amazing and heartbreaking. I gave away many of theballs and other things I brought, and they were so thankful. You should have seen their eyes when Sister distributed the
dum-dum lollipops! It was like Christmas. and then watching them play with the balls--ahh. I held a few little babies but then we had to leave for a secondary school because they were having an assmebly for us. (I will probably be going backthere to live with Fr. Ignus and work at the orphange in July.) The seconday school was also nice.. We are staying in a hotel over here (it was a 3 hour journey) and then tomorrow headed for Mwanza, which is a large shopping center where I will be able to buy my own modem for internet and such things! It is also quite far though..
Other little notes that don't fit anywhere else: I have been very surprised by how chilly it gets here? I only packed 3pairs of pants total, so, my jeans will be worn thin by July! I've never seen such beautiful scenery as we drive.. youwouldn't believe it.. and the pictures do not even do it justice! The stars at night are also very beautiful--it gets dark here so early! I was very homesick and struggling to find my place.. all of the Americans know one another through a program with Fr. Simon (Bridges of Promise, check it out) and two of them are married.. I just didn't feel like I was part of anything and I missed my family and friends very much.. it is also hard to not have the promise of communication whenever I'd like. However, being able to interact with all the children made me feel much better and it doesn't matter if I do not fit in  with the Americans, I am not here for that. Later this week, I'll be on my own living.. and that is a little scary, but
the children make me happy--and that'll be enough. I've been a little sick in my stomach recently, but nothing too terrible which I am thankful for. If it stays this way, I will be very happy--I can deal with a little.. just not vomiting or anything of the sort!

I miss y'all very much.

Well, I think that's enough for now.. will update again when I can. Please keep me in your prayers as I will do the same.

I have arrived!

It is the middle of the night here in Rwanda, but I have made it and am posting from the lobby of a hotel we are all staying at until tomorrow morning. We are LEAVING at 6am, which to my body will be 12am.. so that is a little nervewracking! But, it'll be alright! I can sleep in the car!

I am still feeling very torn--I am so excited and I can't believe I am actually in Africa, but at the same time it's hitting me that I will be spending two months alone without much interaction with friends and family. But, I know it'll be okay : )

Thanks for readingggggg.

Turkeyyyy Airport.

Hello,

I am just writing quickly in the Istanbul, Turkey airport to let y'all know that I am here safely.. the flight went quite well. The good-byes weren't too bad, but it didn't hit me until take-off, whilst raindrops were hitting the windows, what I was doing.. and I cried alongside the clouds hahaha
But, I slept well and I feel pretty good right now. My flight for Kigali, Rwanda leaves in about an hour and a half, but I am boarding here shortly. Hope to speak to you soon.

-Erin

Africa?! Why not!

       Hello faithful followers! After an almost 3 year stint of not blogging after my European adventures studying abroad, the Lord has provided me an absolutely mind-blowing opportunity to work as a missionary in Africa for the summer. I will be serving all around Tanzania from June 7th-July 26th. What will I be doing, you ask? Anything and everything. Unlike our Americanized version of life, Africans often fly by the seat of their pants on plans.. and the priest I met last July, Fr. Simon, who has arranged this entire mission also does. The only thing I know for sure is that I will be placed in a school in the beginning for a bit and then moving to an orphanage for awhile, which is my absolute dream. (I've already informed mom that a car seat or two may be necessary in July because of wanting to bring children home..)
         My dadio will be driving me to Dulles International Airport on Thursday around 5 PM for my eight hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey and then a three hour flight after that to Kigali, Rwanda where I will be staying for the night before traveling. Stractch that! I do math well.. I have a TEN hour flight to Istanbul and a 6 hour flight to Kigali.. returning home you ask? 23 hours total.. holy heavens!

        I am not sure how well the internet will be there, but, I promise to blog about the crazy amount of adventures I will be having during my missionary activity. I am nervous, yes. But, considering the ample blessings that have already occurred from just the planning of this trip, I know that my life will be completely rocked! (In hopefully the best of ways) I am so thankful for my family for assisting me so much in fundraising and allowing this incredible opportunity.
        Keep my family (espesically my mother) in your prayers as I prepare to leave, please and thank you!