Reach Out

so that title is for my friend, Lacey. i can't thank her enough for getting that song in my head over and over again - especially during this phase of my life called 'outreach'.

so guess where i ate lunch yesterday? in a large crater - that's Ngorongoro crater. seriously - it was flippin' amazing! i've escaped from outreach for a few days in order to go on safari with some americans who are volunteering at the base. they aligned all the details then asked me if i would be interested in going to see the large animals and big hole. of course! i would interested in escaping from 'reaching out!' and going to see those things while speaking english! we had a great time! and we did get to see some animals. at first we saw hundreds of zebra and wilderbeast. then i grab the binoculars and guess what i saw? YES - you guessed it - the most amazing animal - a rhino! it was sweet. the critter was a long ways away, but it was for sure a rhino - a black one. that made the trip so worth the money! speaking of money - props to my friend kimberly for bailing me out of a jam. we also saw some crazy birds. oh here's a stort about one of those birds (and maybe i shouldn't write about it because it's not very pg rated, but it's still so funny that i'm cracking up laughing just sitting here thinking about it.

our driver is tanzanian, but speaks english quite well. we asked him what this particular bird was, and with his thick swahili accent he said 'colored bastard'. we all looked at each other with confusion (and a bit of laughter), then we asked again what the name was. again he repeated it. we had to look in the book to figure out that the bird is really called. it's the 'cory bustard', and that's just part of the adventure. (just for the record, i don't mean for any of that story to be racist, because we all knew that was not the name of the bird.)

today 4 of the americans and i took a little trip to arusha to attend the vineyard chruch, which is in english. then got a lift from michelle from the Arusha base to shoprite. during the lift the people in the vehicle were from germany, australia, phillipines, namibia, and all over the USA. (this is one thing i absolutely love about YWAM!) after that we ate lunch at this little shop called mcmoody's. sweet american food. and yes, i did eat a burger, but it just didn't compare to the ones in america. oh yeah, and i had a pineapple shake which wasn't too shabby either! after lunch we headed out toward the maasai market. tourist trap, but it was quite cool. i've discovered that i'm able to speak a bit of swahili. had a great conversation with mamafina, who has stolen my heart. i will return to visit her, if at all possible.

guess i should write about outreach... we are staying near the gate of the kilimanjaro national park - the place where all the hikers enter in order to climb the beautiful mountain. because of the influx of white people in this area, many of the people speak english. i'm loving that! the area has different problems than we experienced in mkata. Thank Jesus that we don't have the blaring islamic chants and drums all night long. we are staying on the floor of someone's house, and that's a bonus also. the area is more cold than where many of the students are used to, so there are many complaints about the weather. i love it! during the nights, the temps drop in 40's, and during the days it's in the 70's. the area is lush with banana trees and so much foliage - truly a blessed area. yet there is so much drunkenness and bad theology in that area. the chrurches war against each other, and there is some witch doctor practices. going door to door and talking with the people opens our understanding to many things, and some of the people are giving their lives to Christ. there are some emotional issues growing in our group also - many of us are getting a bit homesick. we miss the easiness of life at the base and our homes. i have 2 months left and i don't just want to endure thru the end - i want to have joy along the way. i can't say, 'thanks,' enough to those who are praying for me to experience joy. it's a deep need for me...

some joys that i've experienced lately:
the trip to see the crater
time with the english speakers
time with Gemma
lunch with amelia, stephanie and the americans
having a day in moshi by myself on friday
the conversation with mamafina this afternoon
chatting a bit with some friends from america via Skype
how God has been speaking clearly to my heart
my friend who bailed me out of financial woes
these few days at the base

so that's what's new with me. i leave again in about 14 hours. i'll have to update my photos later since now it's dinner time and then i don't want to be anti-social since i have english speakers here. i'm homesick for the food and good conversations with friends and families, but most everything else is good. i've gotten over the hump - i feel comfortable here overall. so thanks again for all your prayers and the email - i love reading about your adventures in the states and elsewhere when i return from outreach.