This year has been different then other years in the past. I have been able to experience a season in my life of continual thanksgiving. Tonight I spent the evening with a wonderful group of people at a gathering to celebrate American Thanksgiving. Several missionaries in the Mwanza area got together for a meal and fellowship afterwards. The Lord blessed me with a Canadian Thanksgiving, time spent with family and friends reflecting on all that we have been given and how we are so thankful just before I left for Tanzania and now I get to experience that wonderful celebration again. I thoughtto myself tonight, just how it truly has been a season in my life, this season of thanksgiving.
This week I became more submersed in working at the hospital, although the week was dispersed with many other great experiences such as a day trip to the Serengeti and continuation of language class. I have been truly beginning to feel at home here in Mwanza. The Lord has provided me with increased confidence in my Swahili so that greetings now are becoming more regular and I can slowly begin to create sentences. I find my self in situations where I am challenged to understand, but have been blessed also with many Tanzanian friends that speak English well and are very gracious when I make mistakes. Monday, the health centre was short staffed so the Nursing Officer and I worked directly with patients as we admitted over 10 patients in the course of two hours. It was a day of learning! And that is something I am so thankful for. I was able to learn an essential skill here at the health centre, IV insertion as many patients come to the centre with malaria and need to be treated with IV medication. I never got the opportunity to learn this skill in Canada as there are different things put in place for nurses in hospitals that I have worked in up to this point. I appreciated the guidance and direction from the Nursing Officer and look forward to more skills that I can continue to develop here. Continue to pray not only for the patients that I will interact with on a daily basis but also for the staff, as there are many different stresses on those working in the health centre here in Mwanza. I am learning that having enough money to buy the medication to treat the patients and having enough staff to carry out the treatment and monitor properly are often daily challenges that we must together overcome.
I am also very thankful for my new neighbours! An American couple is moving in to the house next to me this weekend and will be working closely with me at the AICT. Margaret and Gordon Tan will be volunteering in Mwanza for 6 months as well, through the CRWRC. I will be working on a daily basis with Margaret as she is also a nurse and Gordon will be spending his time assisting the General Secretary through the church. It such an answer to prayer that the Lord provided a Christian couple to move in and I look forward to getting to know them more.
Communication to my family and friends has been something that I continue to pray for. Having the Internet here in Tanzania has been a blessing, something that several years ago may not have been as easy to access. I thank the Lord every day for the ability to be able to communicate on a regular basis, even if that is only once a week.
As I prepare for a new week, I am continually reminded of just how blessed I truly am. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there is nothing more precious then that. I was impacted this week by several verses through quite time and friends sharing insight. Psalm 96:1-2 and Psalm 4:8. It is incredible how the Lord speaks to us through His living word at different points in our lives and brings us back to those verses and concepts months later to continue to instil His thoughts in our lives. I am so thankful for His guidance in my life and continue to pray that I will remain in His presence. Thank you for all your support over the last month, I have felt all your prayers and am so encouraged by your kind words and emails.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
No power in Mwanza
I sit here typing by candle light as I experience one of the realities of living here in Mwanza. Often we are without power! With a gas stove and several candles I can do without the electricity but makes the days a lot shorter as one seems to get tired much quicker when there is a lack of light. Although there is no power running through the wires here in my house right now, I have experienced the Sovereign power of the Lord in the last week. Monday afternoon, on my way home from language class, three young teens came up to me and stole my gold necklace right from me. I was very scared as I continued on my way home, in a very quick pace, trying not to think about what happened or I would just begin to cry. The Lord protected me that day, as I was not harmed in any serious way. His angels were standing over me as I walked and ensured that I got home safely. After a phone call home, Jan, a friend and one of the missionaries here through the CRWRC came over. I spent the rest of the day at the Michmerhuizen’s house trying to work through a few of the feelings that I was having.
The Lord provided me with peace as I continued to talk with friends and my family about the whole situation. Several things have been put into place now so that I will no longer be walking by myself. I have a great community here in Mwanza and have several numbers to call if I need to go to the store or market for food. A friendly taxi drives me to and from language class each day, which has been a blessing beyond measure. I was comforted by Psalm 91 which was given to me by my Mom the day the incident happened and several other friends afterwards. It is amazing how alive the Word of God is!The rest of the week I spent relaxing and getting adjusted to my new environment here in Mwanza. Today was my first day working as a nurse. This was a day that I had been dreaming, praying and waiting for, for several years. Just like several other firsts, it had its good times and hard times. I am beginning to understand more about the routines at the AICT Makongoro Health Centre but continue to struggle with the language barrier. Continue to pray that I would find peace in the reality of learning a new language, allow myself to make mistakes and create ways to remember important words for working as a nurse and living in Tanzania. I praise the Lord for new friends like Dave and Heather, Naomi and Esther. Each day I wake up with a renewed sense of my relationship with the Lord and pursue after Him in all that I do. And as I finish this post, there continues to be no power, but I have experienced His power in my life and want to share that with the Tanzanian people.
The Lord provided me with peace as I continued to talk with friends and my family about the whole situation. Several things have been put into place now so that I will no longer be walking by myself. I have a great community here in Mwanza and have several numbers to call if I need to go to the store or market for food. A friendly taxi drives me to and from language class each day, which has been a blessing beyond measure. I was comforted by Psalm 91 which was given to me by my Mom the day the incident happened and several other friends afterwards. It is amazing how alive the Word of God is!The rest of the week I spent relaxing and getting adjusted to my new environment here in Mwanza. Today was my first day working as a nurse. This was a day that I had been dreaming, praying and waiting for, for several years. Just like several other firsts, it had its good times and hard times. I am beginning to understand more about the routines at the AICT Makongoro Health Centre but continue to struggle with the language barrier. Continue to pray that I would find peace in the reality of learning a new language, allow myself to make mistakes and create ways to remember important words for working as a nurse and living in Tanzania. I praise the Lord for new friends like Dave and Heather, Naomi and Esther. Each day I wake up with a renewed sense of my relationship with the Lord and pursue after Him in all that I do. And as I finish this post, there continues to be no power, but I have experienced His power in my life and want to share that with the Tanzanian people.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Journey
My journey continues in Tanzania. A few weeks have passed since my first blog and many things have changed. I type this message from my new house, a huge blessing! I have begun to get settled here in Mwanza on the African Inland Church of Tanzania compound. I have a small house to myself, set up with a bed, desk, kitchen and small sitting room, and yes running hot water!
Today I was walking up to a friend’s house, the Michmerhuizen family and was thinking about how I could decribe to everyone what has been happening over the last few weeks, and all I could think of was the word journey. The road to their house is not that long, but interesting and I am enjoying the time that I can spend thinking as I walk up for a visit. Journey. As I looked around I was struck by how so many people in this world that are on a journey, whether they are walking up the road or down, whether they are going to church on Sunday morning or selling fruit on the side, they are on a journey. In our lives, we have the opportunity to be involved in many people’s journey. Saturday night, this week was a farewell to a missionary couple working in Tanzania for over 33 years, and even though I didn’t know them at all, I was part of their journey as we all bid them a good trip back to the States.
I was impacted by their work here and am grateful for the relationships that they began with the people of Tanzania and those coming after who will continue the work. We are all on a journey. I pray that as I continue on my journey in the next 6 months, the Lord will provide new relationships to develop and new experiences to embrace. I pray that I can continue to strengthen the friendships that I have already been blessed with at home through emails and phone calls.
To get as many people caught up on what has been happening here I will give a brief overview. I got to Mwanza about a week and a half ago now and spent the first few days meeting with AICT members and visiting the health centre where I will be working. It is called the AICT Makongoro Health Centre, right in the city of Mwanza. There are approximately 30 inpatient beds ranging from young children to women and men. There is also an outpatient clinic where they provide medication and treatments for people who do not need to be admitted to the hospital. I will be working closely with the Nursing Officer and hope to get started soon.
I received my work permit on Friday – Praise the Lord! With all of the prayers and support from everyone back home, the process went smoothly. The Lord’s hand was directly involved with all that happened in regards to immigration. I started language classes on Wednesday and plan on spending more time in the coming weeks with studying and practicing. I am going to be in an environment in which speaking Swahili is imperative, thus an on going prayer request that I will grasp the concepts of the language quickly and feel adventurous to make mistakes as I learn how to interact with Tanzanians . This is all part of the journey.
I have been challenged over the last few days as things settled down, to continue to understand more of what the Lord has planned for me. I go to sleep at night with excitement about what will be ahead of me the next day, thankful for all that has already occurred. Everything here is new for me and that also brings its challenges. As I try to explain to you what is going on, there will be things that I can’t put into words. Pictures will help, but may not fully explain it all. And that is what the journey is all about. We all interact and connect in different ways along our journey. My walk up the road this morning really brought home the fact that it is okay if my journey is not so clear right now, it is when the Lord provides for me my next step that I will be thankful. I came across the following verses in my daily devotions, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs ... I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away ... On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again.” Zephaniah 3:17, 19-20. Ultimately our daily journeys may not look the same, we may not fully understand what the other person is involved with or passionate about, but the promise that the Lord has given to each of His children is that on the final day, we will all be gathered together and He will bring us home. Praise God!
Today I was walking up to a friend’s house, the Michmerhuizen family and was thinking about how I could decribe to everyone what has been happening over the last few weeks, and all I could think of was the word journey. The road to their house is not that long, but interesting and I am enjoying the time that I can spend thinking as I walk up for a visit. Journey. As I looked around I was struck by how so many people in this world that are on a journey, whether they are walking up the road or down, whether they are going to church on Sunday morning or selling fruit on the side, they are on a journey. In our lives, we have the opportunity to be involved in many people’s journey. Saturday night, this week was a farewell to a missionary couple working in Tanzania for over 33 years, and even though I didn’t know them at all, I was part of their journey as we all bid them a good trip back to the States.
I was impacted by their work here and am grateful for the relationships that they began with the people of Tanzania and those coming after who will continue the work. We are all on a journey. I pray that as I continue on my journey in the next 6 months, the Lord will provide new relationships to develop and new experiences to embrace. I pray that I can continue to strengthen the friendships that I have already been blessed with at home through emails and phone calls.
To get as many people caught up on what has been happening here I will give a brief overview. I got to Mwanza about a week and a half ago now and spent the first few days meeting with AICT members and visiting the health centre where I will be working. It is called the AICT Makongoro Health Centre, right in the city of Mwanza. There are approximately 30 inpatient beds ranging from young children to women and men. There is also an outpatient clinic where they provide medication and treatments for people who do not need to be admitted to the hospital. I will be working closely with the Nursing Officer and hope to get started soon.
I received my work permit on Friday – Praise the Lord! With all of the prayers and support from everyone back home, the process went smoothly. The Lord’s hand was directly involved with all that happened in regards to immigration. I started language classes on Wednesday and plan on spending more time in the coming weeks with studying and practicing. I am going to be in an environment in which speaking Swahili is imperative, thus an on going prayer request that I will grasp the concepts of the language quickly and feel adventurous to make mistakes as I learn how to interact with Tanzanians . This is all part of the journey.
I have been challenged over the last few days as things settled down, to continue to understand more of what the Lord has planned for me. I go to sleep at night with excitement about what will be ahead of me the next day, thankful for all that has already occurred. Everything here is new for me and that also brings its challenges. As I try to explain to you what is going on, there will be things that I can’t put into words. Pictures will help, but may not fully explain it all. And that is what the journey is all about. We all interact and connect in different ways along our journey. My walk up the road this morning really brought home the fact that it is okay if my journey is not so clear right now, it is when the Lord provides for me my next step that I will be thankful. I came across the following verses in my daily devotions, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs ... I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away ... On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again.” Zephaniah 3:17, 19-20. Ultimately our daily journeys may not look the same, we may not fully understand what the other person is involved with or passionate about, but the promise that the Lord has given to each of His children is that on the final day, we will all be gathered together and He will bring us home. Praise God!
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