Joy

In John 15:11 Jesus says "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete". Just before this verse, Jesus was talking to His disciples about how we are to remain in God and if we follow Him, He will remain in us. I believe it 100%. I'm so incredibly happy to be here in Africa and having the opportunities I have to serve others; children and adults. All this week, I've been overcome with the complete joy I've been experiencing here. I love seeing my students. I love teaching them; even though they are not always on their best behavior. I love the fact that I have been accepted into this completely foreign community. I love that I get this opportunity to learn and practice another language. If there ever was a doubt about whether or not I was meant to do missions, I am sure there is none any longer. Following the calling that God placed in my life and coming here has made my joy complete.

I find it a bit strange that it no longer strikes me as completely odd or insane that I live in Africa. Now, living in Africa is just, well, normal for me. They say it takes about a year to become bi-cultural, and I'm quickly approaching that mark. I know what to expect in most situations and I definitely have a lot more confidence when new situations arise. The thing that strikes me now is my view of "the poor". Before coming here, I imagined the poor as being hopeless, sad, and lonely. I think a lot of that has to do with how "the poor" are portrayed through media and even in church. But, now, I can truly say that I have met "the poor" and they are not poor in many respects. There is so much joy, and my goodness, the worship and singing at church is breathtaking in so many ways. There truly is passion that I think many churches miss out on in America. The kids smile, laugh, and play just like every other kid in the world. Honestly, for me, it has been a privilege that I have gotten to know them and teach them.

In other news from the week:

On Tuesday, Kjirstin and I got up early as usual, and as we were getting ready for school, we noticed that we didn't hear any of the usual screams from children running around and playing. We wondered over it, but didn't dwell on it for too long. When we arrived at school, we learned that the government was doing vaccinations for the students against some disease that I've never heard of before. Well, surprise, surprise, Kjirstin and I ended up having a free day! It was kind of overwhelming for me when I was all ready for school and teaching and suddenly I had to shift gears and think of something else to do. But, no worries, there were plenty of things that needed working on (mostly graduate school applications and such) and I also got to read a LOT; which is something I haven't gotten to do quite so much of recently. It was a cooler day than we've had in a while and it was nice to just sit around and relax at home. (unfortunately, it's starting to heat up again. I haven't needed my fan at night just yet, but I know the day is coming quite soon)

My piano student, John, just had his 13th birthday on Sunday. I didn't find out about it until I had read his journal entry from this week and he had mentioned it. So, I decided that I wanted to do something simple, but special for him. I decided that after the piano lesson on Friday, I would get us drinks and some chips mayai. I also had part of a package of Oreos left that I thought would be good for our celebration. So, that's what we did today after his and Elizabeth's lessons. We ate and drank together. I asked if he had gotten to do anything special this past weekend for his birthday and he said "no". It made me a bit sad inside. Maybe it's difficult at a children's home or orphanage to give each child a special day. I hope that our little celebration helped him to feel a little bit more special; it certainly gave me joy. :D

On Saturday, I played frisbee, got knocked down and totally scraped up/bruised my knee pretty badly. It's pretty well swollen up right now. I've not been a person who has suffered significantly from injuries in the past, but it seems that ultimate frisbee is a pretty dangerous game. Since I began playing with the group (sometime in February) I've managed to twist the same ankle twice, sprain my big toe, and now mess up my knee with this bruise. (all of these have healed minus the new injury) I'm beginning to wonder if I need to stop...? Anyways, afterwards, I met Kjirstin in town and we bought some bananas at the market. Then, we continued on to meet up with my friend Anne who is volunteering at the Lutheran Jr. Seminary with the kindergarten. We got lunch at Ricky's together and had a great time talking and then made a few stops at a some stores on the way back home. This afternoon, I was working on the blog entry, I repaired the holes that have formed in my mosquito net, and I attempted to work on graduate school applications, but not no avail because the internet connection was so slow.

Looking ahead into the future, next week is supposed to be just a normal week at school, but we will see about that. Haha!

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
~Christine