19 minutes into Monday

I have nothing special to say, but I felt like posting anyway.  

So here's one of my favorite photos from my trip to Zimbabwe last summer!

Timeworn.

This week's prompt at The Sunday Creative is "Timeworn".  How fun!  I originally had a photo of an old typewriter or scale that I had taken in mind for this, but then I came across this one....

I love how this woman (a "gogo" (grandmother)), clearly weathered by a lifetime of knowledge, joy, hardships, family, and just experiences, is so engaged in what she is learning, which is, as a matter of fact, how to bring home-based health care to people in her small village in rural Zimbabwe.  I can only pray to be as engaged and giving of myself at her age.

Illuminate.

This week's prompt on The Sunday Creative is "Illuminate".

I couldn't stop myself from using this picture.  I have others that I've taken even more recently that may fit the prompt better, but there are three things I love about this.

1.  I love the way his face is just illuminated with joy, and the contrast of his sparkling eyes and blue sweatshirt against the concrete wall.

2.  I love the way the light reflects in his eyes, so much so that you can even see the sky, me, and the other kids gathered around.

3.  I love the way this picture lights up my life every time I look at it.  And that's what photography is supposed to do, right?

Also, I think I'm going to join a little project called 365 Days {A Photographic Journey}, another brainchild of Maegan over at Madeline Bea (I just LOVE the blogging community!).  I'll be taking one picture a day for the next year, starting today, August 29, 2010, and ending on August 28, 2011.  It's not going to be easy, but I'm so eager to grow and develop my photography further, so here goes!  For the sake of not overrunning this blog with that project, I'm going to be using my Flickr account, so feel free to check it out if you want, and if you enjoy photography, consider joining in!

Hope you've had a restful Sunday and are ready to face the week!  :)

Shapely.

This has been a ridiculously busy week.  A week filled with 4 hour dress rehearsals and the opening and closing nights of Charlie Brown.  It's been a long, very fun, but very busy summer!  So, as I finally got time to relax tonight, I checked out The Sunday Creative for this week's prompt, and it just happens to be "Shapely".  The first picture that I thought of when I read this prompt was, of course, one from Africa.  Perhaps one day, I'll move on to using pictures of other things and places for this project, but I couldn't not use this one!

Naked.

I stumbled upon a cute little blog today that runs a creativity project on a weekly basis called The Sunday Creative.  This week's prompt is "Naked".  I think this is a really cool idea, and I not only love taking pictures, but sharing them with others, so I thought I'd join in this week.  When I first read the prompt, this photo came to mind:

Besides being one of my favorite still life photos from Africa, it is also makes me think.  I find a lot of beauty in it, but at the same time, it is a portrait of something that is dying and naked as winter approaches.  I like to imagine the petals and leaves that were once attached to this spindly skeleton that made it a gorgeous flower.  

So, if you're reading this, check out The Sunday Creative and get your creative juices flowing!

I was feeling a little bit lonely today, but then I found this picture.

Now, I'm still feeling a little bit lonely, but with a new perspective.

Antelope sightings: 0

On Thursday and Friday, after a week of ministry, we got a "break" in the form of about 30 hours at Antelope Park.  Situated 2 hours outside of Bulawayo, the park is a game park with a resort incorporated into it.  First off, it is absolutely GORGEOUS.  Secondly, the food was excellent, the lodgings great, and the activities were so much fun.  We had an absolute blast!  From chasing zebras on foot while on a game drive, to a lunar horseback ride, to an early morning walk with two lions, it was 30 hours packed full of awesome experiences!  Here are just some of the 300-400 pictures I took there!

The African sky has no rival.

Yeah, so our lodge was right on the other side of that lake.  Worried, much?

Working pretty hard to catch.....nothing.

This is how they summoned us to meals!

Impala

Hey there, pretty lady.

Ronnie:  Can we get out and chase them?

Iti:  Sure, Ronnie.

A papa Kudu.

Yeah, not exactly a little kitty.

I'm so hardcore I didn't just walk with them, I held their tails.  Yeah, that's right.

Missing Faces

I'm missing Zimbabwe a lot today.  Well, actually, I miss it a lot every day.  But for some reason, today especially.  There were moments in the beginning of the trip, before we had really dug down into ministry and relationships, where I felt like I really wasn't cut out to be there.  I had spent the past decade or so feeling this pull towards Africa and missions and I couldn't understand why I felt so out of place.  I think part of it was that I was with a group of people I didn't know all that well, and the other part was that I wasn't exactly feeling God's presence.  There were two turning points for these feelings, though, and they were when the Mass team got there and we started to bond as a group, and when we were hanging out with the kids.  And today, I'm really missing it all.
There's something beautiful in a relationship built on everything but talking.  There were a bunch of kids that we got to know throughout the course of the trip that we couldn't verbally communicate with.  We, obviously, spoke English and they, Ndebele.  But I learned pretty quickly that communication doesn't have to be verbal.  That three minutes of chasing them around to tickle them, that look during evening service, the hug when we first arrived, they were all ways we built relationships with these kids.  I said a few times during the course of the trip that I am in no place in life to have a child, but I would take a few of them home with me in a heartbeat.  Whether it was through making a balloon flower or handing them a lollipop or praying over them, each kid was, and is, a special, sweet child that I loved spending time with.

Inexpressible and glorious JOY

One thing that I learned in Africa is how to be joyful, whether it be in worship or just in life in general.  The entire church building shakes with the dancing that is going on within during times of worship.  I loved standing still and looking around and taking it all in and even more so, I loved being a part of it.  In a typical service, they have a time for "items" which can be anything from a testimony to a song to a dance.  One night, there was a hip-hop routine.  The next, a friend named Rejoice, although readily admitting he is not a singer, felt called to share a song.  There is no concern with appearances or worries about being not good enough to stand up in front of the congregation, but rather they embrace the verse in Psalm 100 that says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."

At first, I didn't think I was as shaken as I expected to be from this experience, but when I think about things as simple as joy, I realize that I gained a huge insight.  I think about all the times I complain about little, dumb things.  All the times that I forget to be joyful at the life God has given me.  All the times I sulk or scowl or get down because things aren't going my way or life is tough.  Then I think about how I never heard a kid complain about the color balloon that they got or about how they didn't like the cherry dum-dum and can they please have a blue raspberry one instead.  Let alone complain that their sweater wasn't warm enough for temperatures in the forties or the fact that the only shoes they had were worn out plastic sandals.

The fact is that I'm blessed in so many ways, and so often, I take it for granted.  People keep asking me about what I learned from this trip and I haven't had a specific answer up until now, but I think one thing I learned and want to carry with me is how to be joyful in this lifetime.  I never want to be complacent or too comfortable that I fail to be filled with inexpressible and glorious joy at the life God has given me.  When I think about Africa, there is a part of me that is brokenhearted, but so much more is joyful at the ways God is moving there.

Blessings

As I begin to adjust back to life in the states, I'm definitely blessed beyond belief.  I'm blessed to have a wonderful family and group of friends who love and support me.  I'm blessed to live in this country.  I'm even blessed by the fact that jet lag really hasn't gotten me too badly.
In Africa, I had the absolute pleasure of working alongside of a great missionary family who are so giving of all they have.  Jim has a ministry that he's titled "Covered and Grounded" in which he helps pastors fund building projects as long as they agree to be discipled by him.  In his words, "spirituality in Zimbabwe is a mile wide, but only an inch deep."  He's seeking to help not only put a roof over a church body's head, but to help them dig a bit deeper.  Cookie runs a ministry called "Home-based Health Care" in which she teaches classes on how to care for the sick in a safe manner and how to love them like Jesus would.  It's primary focus is really more of a pastoral care of the spirit coupled with catering to the physical needs of the person.  Their daughter, Christi, is also great.  At 14, she has spent the past 7 years living in Zim, and has settled in for the long haul.  She plays on a worship team and has friends at a number of different youth groups.  The Strysko's also have two sons, the older, David, lives in the states with his wife, Elizabeth, and the younger, Johnny, whom we were able to meet, just finished his first year of med school at St. George's.
The whole family is clearly a blessing to those they serve and work alongside.  Pastor's in Zim told us that they wouldn't have made it through droughts and famines if Jim hadn't brought them water or food.  And while I was a world away from my family, they were a blessing to me, offering encouragement and a peek into their lives in God's will.
Another huge blessing was my team.  They were just absolutely awesome, and I can't even begin to describe how they all made me feel loved and covered while we ministered together.  We had so many fun moments and saw God move and breathe in so many ways, that I can't imagine having shared this trip with anyone else!

Me with the Hubbards and the Stryskos

The team minus Robyn

Stateside

Well, I'm back!  Unfortunately, I didn't exactly have an internet connection after Jo-burg that allowed me to update here.  If you checked back frequently to see what I was up to, thanks! and sorry for the false hope of news!  To say that my trip was eye-opening and amazing would be a total understatement.  Over the next few days, I'll be posting pictures and stories about the past two weeks.  If you're interested, check it out.  I had a great time and I'd love to share it with you!

The awesome Strysko family...from left, Johnny, Christi, Robyn & Greg Hubbard, and Cookie and Jim.  They're doing really great work in Zim!

These girls are my loves and I can't imagine this trip without them!

Just Passing Through

As I'm typing this, I'm sitting in a business center at the Inter-Continental in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Yep, not exactly in the plans for this day.  Where you all are, its about 4am, but for me, its a ripe 10:05, African time!  When we got to JFK and got our itineraries yesterday, something looked a little odd.  I did the math in my head and figured out that our 3-4 hour layover in Joburg was more like a 26-hour stay.  But I just really hoped that I was wrong.  I wish.  What this all means is that we had to find a room for the night.  What a blessing for us that there is a great hotel right across the road from the airport.  Greg was able to use his priority-member points and we're all checked in to two rooms.  So far, Africa is great!  Our flight was really a breeze, and it was only 14 hours, compared with the 17 we were expecting AND we got to witness our first African sunrise from somewhere over Namibia!  Granted, I've only seen the airport and this hotel, but everyone we've encountered has been so friendly and obliging, and I can't wait to get to Zimbabwe and really get into this trip. 
Here, they're preparing for the Fifa World Cup.  Funny, because last time I was overseas (Germany in 2005), we were stuck in the middle of them preparing for the cup.  There's such an air of expectation when a country is about to host a huge event like this.  Everything is getting dressed up and readied for the masses that are about to descend on this nation. 
If I'm being honest, I was a bit apprehensive about going on this trip.  Ok, I was a lot apprehensive.  It's one thing to talk about it and raise support and even to take a vaccine or two, but it suddenly became all-too real when my parents dropped me off at the Hubbard's on Monday.  In reality, I did really well.  I barely cried, and the fact is, I've been away from home for much longer.  Heck, I've even been overseas for longer.  But there was just something about this trip that's scary.  Maybe it is that everything is so unknown and I'm not exactly sure what to expect.  Maybe it's the feeling that what I'm about to see and experience is going to break me clean in two.  At some moments, I've even thought about June 3rd, when I get to step back on US soil, and wished for that day to come swiftly.  But amongst all of that, I know that I need to be present in this experience.  This is by far the most adventurous trip I've ever been on.  It's exciting and new and already a blast.  I don't want to wish it away.  I want to savor every moment, every sight, every smile, every tear.  
Thank you so much to those of you who are supporting me and my team, whether it be financially or in prayer (or both!) while we are on this adventure!  I love you all and can't wait to share my stories and pictures with you! 

Zimbabwe Itinerary

Below is my itinerary for my trip to Zimbabwe.  It is definitely subject to change, but it's a basic structure of where we'll be and when we'll be there.  If you can just keep the entire team in your prayers for safe travel and for God to move during our times of ministry, that would be a huge blessing!  We'll have internet access sometimes, so I'll try to post, if only briefly, on here!
18 MAY TUE

►AM- PA team leaves JFK at 8am (Greg & Robyn Hubbard, Krista, Betsy)

20 MAY THU

►AFT- PA team arrives

►PM- Get settled at SDA Conf Ctr. Early dinner at Stryskos, no eve service.

21 MAY FRI

►AM: free

►AFT ESIGODINI SECONDARY SCHOOL 2:00pm  (25kms out of BYO. Depart SDA @ 12noon))

►PM COWDRAY 6 PM depart SDA at 530

22 MAY SAT

►AM free

►AFT Mass team of 5 arrives

►PM HOLY SPIRIT MEETING For Bulawayo District. Several churches from the BYO Dist are invited to Cowdray for HS emphasis.

23 MAY SUNDAY

► AM- Leave SDA 9am to arrive at Cowdray Park 9:30. Team can do CHILDRENS CHURCH, probably under a makeshift tent. This will be a long service 930am-130pm or so.

►AFT-Service will end approx 130-2pm. Then we go to SDA for lunch, naps, showers. Then return  6pm. ►PM- COWDRAY 6 PM

24 MAY MON

►AM-Optional morning phys work at Cowdray. Cutting grass with “slashers”.

►AFT- 3pm KIDS MEETING.

►PM- GREG COWDRAY 6 PM

25 MAY TUE

►AM-Leave 7am for rural church, GARANYEMBA HOME-BASED CARE TRAINING 9am-1pm. Concurrent will be a KIDS SCHOOL MEETING across the road at Garanyemba Primary School, probably under a large tree. ►AFT- 2PM HOLY SPIRIT MEETING For Gwanda District at Garanyemba church. Meeting ends promptly at 3:30. ► PM- DEPART GARANYEMBA PROMPTLY AT 3:45 THEN JOINS GUY AT COWDRAY PARK.

26 MAY WED

►AM-GREG at LUVEVE SECONDARY SCHOOL (near Cowdray) SESSION ONE: 11:00-11:45AM. SESSION TWO: 12:00-12:45 (actual times may be adjusted)

►AFT- KIDS MEETING AT COWDRAY

►PM-6PM We  all join Cowdray Park AG at their weekly PRAYER MEETING. (no formal ministry)

27 MAY THU

►AM- Leave 8am for ANTELOPE PARK. Arrive 1030am. Settle into rooms. Relax.

►AFT-1 PM Lunch. Optional activities  

►PM-Dinner at 7pm

28 MAY FRI

►AM- 6am Optional WALK WITH LIONS.  Breakfast at 8. Optional activities.

►AFT- 1pm lunch. Leave for Bulawayo (2 hours) mid afternoon.

►PM-At 6pm we go to Bulawayo Academy of Music Hall for the worship band Christi is involved with, “LIVE OUT LOUD” (A Youth For Christ ministry)

29 MAY SAT

►AM- Leave 8am for rural church BEZHA (1.5 HRS). Team can do some painting (bring paint clothes) and they can do a KIDS MEETING during the mid morning. 

►AFT- After a bag lunch, GREG can speak at 2pm. We depart at 430pm (so as to not drive at night)

►PM-no service

30 MAY SUNDAY

► AM- We return to BEZHA for church services, CHILDRENS CHURCH, outside under a tree.

►AFT- When church ends we can depart then stop along the road for a bag lunch. Arrive at SDA late afternoon.

►PM-6 PM we join Christi at her Sun eve youth service. After worship GREG SPEAKS. Then we can go out for “pizza”

31 MAY MON

►AM-We depart SDA @ 8:30am for GWANDA  (1.5 hr drive) to vist and pray at  SIZIBAS, NYATHIS home and church. One or two school assemblies. Optional:  another service or a  KIDS MEETING.

►AFT- Depart Gwanda @ 4:00PM. Arrive at SDA 5:30

►PM-Dinner@ SDA around 6:30 and if you want share some testimonies or comments, photos, videos, experiences, questions, suggestions etc. Hand in evaluation forms to Jim Strysko.

1 JUN TUE

►AM-After breakfast, Pack. Mass team leaves for the airport by 12pm

►AFT- Ministry TBA

►PM-Dinner with the Stryskos

2 JUN WED

►AM-Pack and depart for airport

This woman is planning on cooking 4 goats for us.  yippee.