Since I have been here I feel that my health has improved. I do a lot of walking. Sometimes walking up the hill my heart rate gets up around 150 but the recovery rate is good. The exercise strengthens my heart so that most of the time my resting heart rate is in the 60’s. I enjoy the weather here. I think I have worn a long sleeve shirt only 2-3 times and that was early morning when we had a frost over night. While working it does get hot although it really isn’t – it is probably in the 70’s. I remember talking with a friend of mine back at EVI and remember saying that if the Lord was sending me I would be happy here. I have heard that happiness is a mind set. I can choose to be happy in the worst situation; or I can choose to be miserable in the best situation. So in that case, yes I am happy although I do sorely miss my friends and family.
When I pray I pray for patience. In answer to my prayer the Lord brings situations and trials to test my patience. I have been tested and tried everyday and yes I fail some, but mostly at the end of the day I can see times where the Lord had strengthened me at the right time and the victory was mine. I still have a long way to go for trials still come, but I have prayed for the Lord to change me to make me ready for heaven; I feel He is working on me still and praise Him for it. The victories bring happiness to me also.
I believe that the Lord brought me here and I can see myself staying here longer as long as the Lord is keeping me here. If I didn’t have contact with family and friends it probably would be harder. Also knowing I have friends praying for me helps. I know that as long as the Lord is with me there is nothing too hard to stand.
My co-worker, Janet, is actually my boss and she is doing what she does best. She gets things done that needs to get done in her way. She is good at what she does and accomplishes a lot.
have a variety of work that she gives me to do and I enjoy the variety. I like keeping busy and there is plenty of that here. But….
I am beginning to befriend the village kids. In one of my blogs I mentioned something about 5 girls that sat with me while I worked on the computer. Well we decided I would teach them English and they would teach me Swahili. Ever since then, I believe they have told most of the kids in the village. When a group of kids see me, they call out my name and wave. If I am close enough they point at something and ask what it is in English. These aren’t even the girls I originally talked with. This is exciting for this is how Jesus worked. He befriended the people, healed their bodies and souls. When I work with the kids, yes I feel like a missionary. I feel like I am accomplishing something and it is coming naturally, not something that is planned and I have to make appointments and the like. It just happens any time of day. I know the other work I do is important and needs to be done; somebody has to do it and I do enjoy it; but, when I work with the people I really enjoy it, especially when I don’t plan it and it just happens. Please pray that my Swahili will steadily improve. I have started reading a condensed book about the Swahili language and I am praying that it will happen soon.
I hope this puts peoples mind at ease. Love and miss everyone. I could be happier if some of you were here.
Good bye for now from Mago…
Deniece
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Completed But The Lids
Hello to everyone. Today is Monday the 14th and Janet has gone to direct our guest to our location. Steve Grabner, his mother and two other women will arrive this afternoon for a two day stay here. They will be looking over our operations here. On Wednesday they will arrive back at Riverside for their board meeting. We hope their stay here is uneventful and yet full of events.
We completed yesterday our water containment system at the beginning of our spring. We completed at least all but the lids. It was a little rough going yesterday. I built the boxes so that the boxes can be taken apart easy after the cement dries. Well they were put together a little too easy and they started coming apart while putting the cement in. We nailed put to no avail. We ended up bracing it on all sides with boards going up against the embankment and then other smaller boards going perpendicular to them, hammering down until they are tight. When we left last night it was still intact. Prayer is now what we are using to keep it together. This was a learning experience for me. This was the first time I had built a form for cement like this one. When I saw it coming apart, all I could do was pray hard. God is so good! We were able to get it done by a prayer.
We will be using the water at our house and also at the industrial school at least for the construction right now. We now have to string out the pipe line from the containment system to here and onward to the school. We need the connectors and more pipe which Janet will be ordering soon if not already.
There is so much needed to get done that one just has to do what they can. Our house needs painting, door knobs put on doors. All the doors squeak terribly. Kitchen cupboards built and bathroom, kitchen and laundry room set up. We did have someone here who is to give us a price on doing the plumbing which needs to be done. So things are slowly getting started.
The church ceiling still needs completed, but I needed to work on something else first. In time it will get done.
Don’t know when this will get posted, today hopefully, if not by Wednesday for sure. Love every one and miss you too.
Goodbye from Mago….
Deniece
Hello to everyone. Today is Monday the 14th and Janet has gone to direct our guest to our location. Steve Grabner, his mother and two other women will arrive this afternoon for a two day stay here. They will be looking over our operations here. On Wednesday they will arrive back at Riverside for their board meeting. We hope their stay here is uneventful and yet full of events.
We completed yesterday our water containment system at the beginning of our spring. We completed at least all but the lids. It was a little rough going yesterday. I built the boxes so that the boxes can be taken apart easy after the cement dries. Well they were put together a little too easy and they started coming apart while putting the cement in. We nailed put to no avail. We ended up bracing it on all sides with boards going up against the embankment and then other smaller boards going perpendicular to them, hammering down until they are tight. When we left last night it was still intact. Prayer is now what we are using to keep it together. This was a learning experience for me. This was the first time I had built a form for cement like this one. When I saw it coming apart, all I could do was pray hard. God is so good! We were able to get it done by a prayer.
We will be using the water at our house and also at the industrial school at least for the construction right now. We now have to string out the pipe line from the containment system to here and onward to the school. We need the connectors and more pipe which Janet will be ordering soon if not already.
There is so much needed to get done that one just has to do what they can. Our house needs painting, door knobs put on doors. All the doors squeak terribly. Kitchen cupboards built and bathroom, kitchen and laundry room set up. We did have someone here who is to give us a price on doing the plumbing which needs to be done. So things are slowly getting started.
The church ceiling still needs completed, but I needed to work on something else first. In time it will get done.
Don’t know when this will get posted, today hopefully, if not by Wednesday for sure. Love every one and miss you too.
Goodbye from Mago….
Deniece
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
What Do We Eat?
This question has been asked a number of times. Well, here is the answer:
Yes, I do eat rice and beans, but not every meal. Sometimes I eat beans with potatoes or with spaghetti. Sometimes we have a “gravy” sauce with TVP in it to put over our potatoes, rice or spaghetti – which ever is being served. Sometimes the rice has potatoes in it, sometimes it don’t. We have spaghetti with chopped onions and chopped Roma tomatoes in it. Mariam, our cook, bakes bread most every night so that we can have bread for breakfast. We put honey or jam on the bread. Sometimes we have avocados to put on our bread. We have cabbage to eat. She cooks the cabbage with tomatoes and onions in it, which is very good. We also eat the cabbage raw, which also is very good. This morning we had conde; which is something like our hominy with beans mixed in it and had some bread to go with it. Sometimes we have potatoes cooked in a kettle, sometimes boiled, sometimes baked. As far as fruit goes, right now we eat bananas and sometimes oranges. Right now there is not a lot of fruit in season.
I don’t eat supper right now for two reasons. One - is that they eat later than what I would like and, two - sometimes it is too heavy of a meal. I am planning to buy some popcorn and make some of that at night. Right now on some nights I just make me a cup of hot carob drink around 6:30-7:00 to drink while I am reading a book before I go to bed. Sounds cozy, huh? Janet has made some biscuits a couple of times for breakfast and I am thinking that the next time she does, I may make some gravy.
So there is variety in our meals and I am satisfied with what I am eating. Yes, there are some things that I miss, but the Lord is good and has supplied my needs when it comes to the variety of food I eat.
Love and miss each one of you and hope is well at your side of the world.
Until next time…
Deniece
This question has been asked a number of times. Well, here is the answer:
Yes, I do eat rice and beans, but not every meal. Sometimes I eat beans with potatoes or with spaghetti. Sometimes we have a “gravy” sauce with TVP in it to put over our potatoes, rice or spaghetti – which ever is being served. Sometimes the rice has potatoes in it, sometimes it don’t. We have spaghetti with chopped onions and chopped Roma tomatoes in it. Mariam, our cook, bakes bread most every night so that we can have bread for breakfast. We put honey or jam on the bread. Sometimes we have avocados to put on our bread. We have cabbage to eat. She cooks the cabbage with tomatoes and onions in it, which is very good. We also eat the cabbage raw, which also is very good. This morning we had conde; which is something like our hominy with beans mixed in it and had some bread to go with it. Sometimes we have potatoes cooked in a kettle, sometimes boiled, sometimes baked. As far as fruit goes, right now we eat bananas and sometimes oranges. Right now there is not a lot of fruit in season.
I don’t eat supper right now for two reasons. One - is that they eat later than what I would like and, two - sometimes it is too heavy of a meal. I am planning to buy some popcorn and make some of that at night. Right now on some nights I just make me a cup of hot carob drink around 6:30-7:00 to drink while I am reading a book before I go to bed. Sounds cozy, huh? Janet has made some biscuits a couple of times for breakfast and I am thinking that the next time she does, I may make some gravy.
So there is variety in our meals and I am satisfied with what I am eating. Yes, there are some things that I miss, but the Lord is good and has supplied my needs when it comes to the variety of food I eat.
Love and miss each one of you and hope is well at your side of the world.
Until next time…
Deniece
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Work Begins
Janet arrived back today from Kibidula with her son, Jason. We went down to the site where our industrial school will be built. Jason, his co-worker Eric, Janet and I laid out the first building with stakes and string. We will probably start digging the footers as soon as Janet gets back. It is happening! She just left to take Jason and Eric home. They should arrive at Kibidula somewhere around 11:00 tonight.
While working on my computer, to get internet I go up the hill and sit on a section of a tree lying down next to a stump. I use the stump as my table. This set up lies near the path that the students take to go home from elementary school. Well, yesterday 5 girls stopped by and watched me work. In “talking” with them (me English them Swahili) we decided I would teach them English and they will teach me Swahili. I got their names and they mine. Well, they saw me coming from the bathroom and called to me. I went over to the path and talked with them. I remembered their names, Praise the Lord, and they even remembered mine. We went through some items such as house, machete, and bucket – them learning English and me Swahili. Am I learning, well, some but it sure is slow going. We also went through the face features such as eye, ear, nose and mouth and a few other items. We will probably have to go through them every day for a while. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I have a older mind that is getting older by the day and has slowed down substantially.
Anyway, things are still going on to keep us busy.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will tell you about the food we eat here. Some have wondered before I left and my sisters have inquired on Skype.
Until tomorrow…
Deniece
Janet arrived back today from Kibidula with her son, Jason. We went down to the site where our industrial school will be built. Jason, his co-worker Eric, Janet and I laid out the first building with stakes and string. We will probably start digging the footers as soon as Janet gets back. It is happening! She just left to take Jason and Eric home. They should arrive at Kibidula somewhere around 11:00 tonight.
While working on my computer, to get internet I go up the hill and sit on a section of a tree lying down next to a stump. I use the stump as my table. This set up lies near the path that the students take to go home from elementary school. Well, yesterday 5 girls stopped by and watched me work. In “talking” with them (me English them Swahili) we decided I would teach them English and they will teach me Swahili. I got their names and they mine. Well, they saw me coming from the bathroom and called to me. I went over to the path and talked with them. I remembered their names, Praise the Lord, and they even remembered mine. We went through some items such as house, machete, and bucket – them learning English and me Swahili. Am I learning, well, some but it sure is slow going. We also went through the face features such as eye, ear, nose and mouth and a few other items. We will probably have to go through them every day for a while. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I have a older mind that is getting older by the day and has slowed down substantially.
Anyway, things are still going on to keep us busy.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will tell you about the food we eat here. Some have wondered before I left and my sisters have inquired on Skype.
Until tomorrow…
Deniece
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hello again from Mago,
I know I had said I would post a blog every night; and I know that I had said I would email. Well, I did not know the whole picture over here regarding internet. If you can imagine living in a remote area on a mountain in Tanzania, Africa, a 3rd world country, you will understand that we don’t have cable, we don’t have high speed (like I thought with satellite), nor do we have a land line. We have a “gadget” that we load a cell phone card on and it gets converted to megabytes. It is considered dial up. Anyway, to make a long story short – access is not as easy as anticipated. I even have to walk a distance of about a football field up a hill to get good access.
I have been talking with my sisters on Skype at night (that is my time) and that is about it. I can’t get email yet with out it costing a lot. I am trying to set up Outlook, but I am getting an error message and can’t figure out the problem. Hopefully I will find out soon. Steven Grabner and family and friends will be arriving and I have hopes that he might be able to assist in the matter.
Janet is out getting the lumber for an industrial school project today (Friday) and she already has brick, gravel, and sand. She was going to get the cement last week and she did get some, but she only got 20 bags and this is for our septic tank. She needs to order something like 200 plus bags for the school project. She has laid the plans out on paper and we should probably start digging for the footers this next week.
Yona (one of the Bible Workers) and I have been putting up the tongue and groove ceiling in the church foyer. We have about a foot left in the foyer to do plus the hallway and pastors study before completion. Pictures will come. Right now the conference pastor is using our church for meetings with all the Bible Workers in this district/area and so our work has come to a stand still until next week.
Today is the 7th and Janet has gone to Kibidula for a few days. I got water from the ditch to do laundry and also to water gardens. Such a blessing, water that is. Tomorrow we continue with the ceilings at the church.
More later,
Deniece
I know I had said I would post a blog every night; and I know that I had said I would email. Well, I did not know the whole picture over here regarding internet. If you can imagine living in a remote area on a mountain in Tanzania, Africa, a 3rd world country, you will understand that we don’t have cable, we don’t have high speed (like I thought with satellite), nor do we have a land line. We have a “gadget” that we load a cell phone card on and it gets converted to megabytes. It is considered dial up. Anyway, to make a long story short – access is not as easy as anticipated. I even have to walk a distance of about a football field up a hill to get good access.
I have been talking with my sisters on Skype at night (that is my time) and that is about it. I can’t get email yet with out it costing a lot. I am trying to set up Outlook, but I am getting an error message and can’t figure out the problem. Hopefully I will find out soon. Steven Grabner and family and friends will be arriving and I have hopes that he might be able to assist in the matter.
Janet is out getting the lumber for an industrial school project today (Friday) and she already has brick, gravel, and sand. She was going to get the cement last week and she did get some, but she only got 20 bags and this is for our septic tank. She needs to order something like 200 plus bags for the school project. She has laid the plans out on paper and we should probably start digging for the footers this next week.
Yona (one of the Bible Workers) and I have been putting up the tongue and groove ceiling in the church foyer. We have about a foot left in the foyer to do plus the hallway and pastors study before completion. Pictures will come. Right now the conference pastor is using our church for meetings with all the Bible Workers in this district/area and so our work has come to a stand still until next week.
Today is the 7th and Janet has gone to Kibidula for a few days. I got water from the ditch to do laundry and also to water gardens. Such a blessing, water that is. Tomorrow we continue with the ceilings at the church.
More later,
Deniece
Hello from Mago, Tanzania!
Sorry for the delay, this is what I wrote 1 ½ weeks ago. Also, no pictures until I get Outlook working.
After leaving Denver we landed in London and had about a 6 hour lay over Wednesday the 19th. We were met by Bill and Irma at Dar es Salem early Thursday morning. We then traveled about 10-12 hours by Land Cruiser to Kibidula where we were warmly welcomed by Janet’s son Jason, his wife Antonette and their two daughters Trulisa and Emily. Their third daughter, Shilo, was sleeping. We spent the weekend and left after breakfast on Monday for our last leg of our journey.
We finally made it through the final leg of our trip and arrived on Monday evening, I think somewhere around 5-6:00. We received a warm welcome from Baraza, Mariam, their sons Abraham and Isaiah. We had a good nights rest and then all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning we were running all over lining up deliveries of sand, gravel, lumber, brick and cement. In fact right now (Wednesday afternoon) Janet has left to go to order cement and have it delivered tomorrow. Soon we will be starting our industrial school. We will get pictures as we begin the project.
Another project we are working on is getting water to the house. The ditch is being dug a good 600 meters from the spring to our house. They hopefully will be done very soon. They have a short distance from behind the church and then continue to the back of our house. I am not sure, but I think also when the water gets to the house we will also get our septic tank made for our indoor plumbing. To be honest, I don’t mind walking out to the bathroom/outhouse nor do I mind bathing and washing my hair with water in a basin, I enjoy camping; but it is the convenience of having everything close at hand in the house that I miss, if you understand what I mean. J
Anyway, we are doing well, just keeping busy. Today, Wednesday after lunch, is the first time I actually have done any accounting work or blog entries. This blog was typed the Wednesday, August 26, after arrival here and it is getting posted on September 4.
Most of you might remember Desima, the young man who has epilepsy that keeps falling into the fire. Well, we saw him two different mornings sleeping on the side of the rode. This morning Janet stopped and inquired about him and we out that he keeps running away from his step mom and also his grandfather and uncle. We brought him home and he evidently has had another seizure and fell into the fire again and has his left knee and left shoulder burnt real bad. Janet cleaned the wounds and they gave him a bath and clean clothes. He will stay with us for a while.
There is so much to write but I don’t want to write a book right now, so I will write more hopefully tomorrow.
Bye for now.
Deniece
Sorry for the delay, this is what I wrote 1 ½ weeks ago. Also, no pictures until I get Outlook working.
After leaving Denver we landed in London and had about a 6 hour lay over Wednesday the 19th. We were met by Bill and Irma at Dar es Salem early Thursday morning. We then traveled about 10-12 hours by Land Cruiser to Kibidula where we were warmly welcomed by Janet’s son Jason, his wife Antonette and their two daughters Trulisa and Emily. Their third daughter, Shilo, was sleeping. We spent the weekend and left after breakfast on Monday for our last leg of our journey.
We finally made it through the final leg of our trip and arrived on Monday evening, I think somewhere around 5-6:00. We received a warm welcome from Baraza, Mariam, their sons Abraham and Isaiah. We had a good nights rest and then all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning we were running all over lining up deliveries of sand, gravel, lumber, brick and cement. In fact right now (Wednesday afternoon) Janet has left to go to order cement and have it delivered tomorrow. Soon we will be starting our industrial school. We will get pictures as we begin the project.
Another project we are working on is getting water to the house. The ditch is being dug a good 600 meters from the spring to our house. They hopefully will be done very soon. They have a short distance from behind the church and then continue to the back of our house. I am not sure, but I think also when the water gets to the house we will also get our septic tank made for our indoor plumbing. To be honest, I don’t mind walking out to the bathroom/outhouse nor do I mind bathing and washing my hair with water in a basin, I enjoy camping; but it is the convenience of having everything close at hand in the house that I miss, if you understand what I mean. J
Anyway, we are doing well, just keeping busy. Today, Wednesday after lunch, is the first time I actually have done any accounting work or blog entries. This blog was typed the Wednesday, August 26, after arrival here and it is getting posted on September 4.
Most of you might remember Desima, the young man who has epilepsy that keeps falling into the fire. Well, we saw him two different mornings sleeping on the side of the rode. This morning Janet stopped and inquired about him and we out that he keeps running away from his step mom and also his grandfather and uncle. We brought him home and he evidently has had another seizure and fell into the fire again and has his left knee and left shoulder burnt real bad. Janet cleaned the wounds and they gave him a bath and clean clothes. He will stay with us for a while.
There is so much to write but I don’t want to write a book right now, so I will write more hopefully tomorrow.
Bye for now.
Deniece
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Home at Last
Well, Janet made it home. I tried to get her to do the next entry into this blog, but we were so busy between her arrival and ASI that we didn't get to it; down at ASI the internet was not as readily available so it didn't get done there either. Her and Frank are now in Spokane and so I have decided to do the entry.
Tuesday (less than a week) we will be leaving for Africa. We knew before hand, but down at ASI we were told again that we have a container of 1 Day Churches coming to our mission. That is 30 buildings that we will be putting up for various usages. Hopefully we will have more on it later when I can get Janet to write on it.
It is hard to believe that we will be leaving in less than a week. We are pretty much packed, which is a good thing, because they will have to drive from Spokane to EVI leaving Sunday afternoon and get here by Tuesday afternoon so that we can load and get to the airport in time.
Once we get settled over there I am planning to do daily postings. Some short and some may be longer, but hopefully it will be daily. It also depends on the internet over there. Anyway, more later.
Deniece
Well, Janet made it home. I tried to get her to do the next entry into this blog, but we were so busy between her arrival and ASI that we didn't get to it; down at ASI the internet was not as readily available so it didn't get done there either. Her and Frank are now in Spokane and so I have decided to do the entry.
Tuesday (less than a week) we will be leaving for Africa. We knew before hand, but down at ASI we were told again that we have a container of 1 Day Churches coming to our mission. That is 30 buildings that we will be putting up for various usages. Hopefully we will have more on it later when I can get Janet to write on it.
It is hard to believe that we will be leaving in less than a week. We are pretty much packed, which is a good thing, because they will have to drive from Spokane to EVI leaving Sunday afternoon and get here by Tuesday afternoon so that we can load and get to the airport in time.
Once we get settled over there I am planning to do daily postings. Some short and some may be longer, but hopefully it will be daily. It also depends on the internet over there. Anyway, more later.
Deniece
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