CORRECTION
Funny how much difference one letter can make. In the title of my last post I got the address correct but in the article link I left out a letter. The correct link is
So sorry for any confusion!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
where did you go?
It has been weeks since I wrote on this blog and don’t know where to start now. So much has happened. I had bronchitis a felt pretty bad but some of our workers had much more serious diseases. during the time I could muster the strength to read and write I have been writting long over due letters to supporters.
I am also very excited to announce that I have set up a website. www.denamoore.com will host both blogs, hold my newsletter and give a little info on me and what is going on with the work here. This blog will bemoving to www.denamoore.com where new posts and listed along with archived posts. It’s not snazy but it is important easy to remember info. www.denamoore.com Check it out and tell me what you think.
revamping
This blog as well as my newsletter are getting a whole new look! You may have already noticed some changes on the blog, but I am even more excited about the changes I am making to the newsletter. I have had people ask me at different times if I could add some pictures of what I am doing or the work that is happening. So in the newsletter I will be adding a couple of photos each month and on the blog I will attempt to find one that matches the post in some way.
The new look of the newsletter will limit the length of it as well. A few people loved that I was putting in so much detail but more said they only read the first paragraph or two. So the newsletter will become shorter and more to the point. The heart-felt stories that go more in-depth will be posted here on this blog. If you would like to be receiving the newsletter, please send me a private message with your email address and I will be happy to add you to the list.
Also for those on the newsletter you may occasionally get a digital “post card” from me. Usually these will be an update of what is going on or possible prayer requests that I want sent out right away and not wait for the monthly newsletter.
Be looking for these changes…happening TODAY!!!!
Wind storms tonight
We are having storms tonight with high winds. It has taken down several trees on property. One tree almost fell on a guard as it came down. She ran in a toilet structure and was spared harm. One tree fell on a power line, two others grazed buildings. Our window screens are torn from branches. Torn screens open the flood gates for mosquitos to enter the house carrying infections like Malaria. See previous post to understand why that upsets me so badly.
Screens and nets will go a long way to preventing Malaria. Think I will douse the mosquito net with extra bug spray and crawl under it. Right now! But not before saying that I see God blessing us even in the middle of this storm.
The meat of the newsletter
As requested below is my newsletter mentioned in my last post. *** is missing information that I cannot share in this forum. I will not be posting my newsletters here on a regular basis. See the note on safety at the bottom for an explanation. We have had limited internet and power. Please excuse the delayed responses.
I send you a long overdue greeting from East Africa
In this letter I will share with you how God has been moving in my life for the last few months. I could write many pages about recent happenings. I will however attempt to give you an abbreviated version.
Before leaving I was blessed to meet and visit with so many of you! Your encouragement is what keeps me going. I had some technical difficulties just before leaving. I may have lost some of my emails. If you know someone who would like to be receiving this letter please send me their address. So that you do not have to continue forwarding, I could put them on my list and send it directly to them.
Moving ahead Early on August 24 good friends picked me up from my mother’s home and took me to Dallas where I stepped on board a plane that would carry me to a new life of service and blessings. Late on the 26th I arrived at what would be a very temporary home. I stayed several days *** while I got acclimated. ***
Language school A week after arriving *** I enrolled in a language school where I am learning to speak KiSwahili while learning the grammatical rules of all Bantu languages. This will make it easier to learn the traditional or vernacular language of the people group in which I choose to work.
My teachers are very young but have shown grace, understanding and patience far beyond their years. Most of them are waiting for a university appointment. They all have heart breaking stories about life. ***
Church at *** I have become pretty good friends with one of the secretaries at the school. She invited a couple of the students to come to a special harvest Sunday at her church. Her home and the church are in a village “near” the school which is where I am staying temporarily. There is a path that cuts through a farm, the forest, down the railroad tracks and through her village. On this trip I found that “nearby” in Africa is a LONG way for an overweight, out of shape American. The walk was about 30 minutes, moving at a pretty fair clip.
The church was wonderful. They knew we were coming and reserved two “pews” at the front for us. The pew was a board on stacked bricks. This was a special service with a guest speaker. They were taking a second collection for a building fund. The other students and I were given seats which not everyone got. They have erected brick walls around a dirt floor and have no roof.
The sermon was from Exodus 36. It was hard to keep up with the totally Swahili service especially after the chicken tried to make a getaway and ran into me. A chicken in a church sounds odd until you stop to realize the people brought whatever they had for offering. If they had money they brought it, but if they had a chicken or grain that is what they brought. There was even a pig and two goats offered that day. A building is seen as status and will draw more people. So giving your prize pig to the church is sacrifice to Him. These were obviously first fruits not just whatever was left over. When they carried in a regime of bananas that was still green I wanted to cry. I realized that was income and more than one meal for the family. The people who were in attendance offered to purchase what they could and the rest was taken to market. I have no update if they raised enough to build a roof.
New Driver’s License Last week I went to the Revenue Authorityto get a driver’s license. I am allowed to drive on the American DL for 90 days but that will be up soon. I went to the traffic office to get an application where you have to take a test. I failed…yep…failed. I think they were asking questions that weren’t really on the test just playing with me. Then they began to allow people into the room to watch the proceedings. People from other offices began coming in to see what was happening and meet me. One man leaned over on the desk and quite seriously asked me a question in Swahili. I very hesitantly and almost in tears replied “Semehani, Sijui Kiswahili.” (Excuse me, I do not know Swahili.) He then said “Well what about English? Do you know English?” My reply was “only a little bit.” The whole room cracked up. The rest of the day was just as tenuous but I got it.
Questions I have already been asked many questions that are difficult to answer. I expected some of these at some point but don’t think I realized now is the time. I want to teach the scriptures and let them determine the answers. The questions have included what are the scriptural reasons for divorce, is it ok to have more than one wife, do you baptize babies and why. I try very hard to give scriptural advice instead of personal opinions which can sometimes be tricky. It wasn’t until I was addressed as “teacher” by one of my teachers that I realized how seriously my words are taken.
Prayer requests ***
***
One last word about safety You may have noticed that I often say here or East Africa instead of a specific location. That is for my own as well as my teammates’ safety. If you need specific information please contact me through email or call my mother. ***
May grace and peace be yours.
For a moment in time…
Poetry is not normally my thing. This is for those who write rather elementary. For me it is heart felt. About a girl who turns into a woman and her faith journey. This is my offering for today. For a moment in time…She teetered on tip toes and giggled with glee Investigating and seeking to learn, she would often say “me do” She sat and marveled at the blinking lights on a shinny Christmas tree Quickly outgrowing the baby’s coo For a moment in time, she bounced with pompoms and danced with fire Still investigating and growing she turned to a young lady from this little girl Facing life’s challenges never losing her passion or desire Her life would move as if in a swirl For a moment in time, she loved and lost Dancing through life as if walking on stars Never hesitating or stopping to count the cost She moved with the wind not thinking how far For a moment in time, she climbed over life’s rocks Seeking shelter and cowering from lies Then with gentle guidance she roamed again among the flock God’s comfort she came to realize For a moment in time, she looked to Him Once again seeking with a child’s eyes The evils from her life He would trim Placing her on mountain tops where she touched the skies For a moment in time, she would come to see Everything that touched her heart He had caused to be From those she was never really far apart For a moment in time, she remembered these words “Remember me in love and laughter” She walks by His protection, in her hand His sword All the while singing, “I’ll meet you in the ever after”Body Bags
In learning a new language one is bound to make a few mistakes. All languages do not have the same word order or word construction. In English we put our adjectives before the noun. In Swahili the noun comes first. When speaking English you have separate words for nouns and verbs. In Swahili the verb must agree with both the subject and object as well at indicating tense. In Swahili there are 18 noun classes instead of genders. The nouns and adjectives change depending on plurality. It can all be a little confusing.
I had not been to the office in two weeks and needed to go for several reasons. One of the missionaries here allows me to stay with her when I go into town. It is nice and quiet there. She has a washing machine and will take me to shops if I need to go. Just getting around town to pick up supplies can be frustrating when you don’t know the way. Campus had gotten pretty noisy and I had a migraine so I packed everything I would need for a couple of days plus a lot of dirty laundry and prepared to go to the PBT compound.
I called a taxi which is not cheap but right now is the safest option for me. I had a bucket of empty water bottles to take with me so that I could refill them with filtered water. I also had two bags which I left in the room until the taxi arrived. When the taxi arrived I was standing at the road. I put the bucket in the car and turned to the driver and proudly said “Nina mwili mifuko.” He looked very confused so I said it again. I was trying to say “Nina mifuko miwili.” I was trying to say “I have two bags” and ask him to please wait. What I actually said was “I have body bags.” Bless his sweet heart, he asked “how far?” in English and followed me to help carry the bags.
I guess everyone makes a few mistakes in the beginning at least that is what I keep telling myself.
Sugar Cane and the Archangel Michael
So many things here are so different. You must quickly get accustomed to a fine layer of fine, red, gritty dirt on everything. I sweep and mop daily and yet the dirt is still in piles. The dust is brought in by a welcomed breeze. I have joked that my idea of a nice room accommodation no longer centers around what type of bed but if the room comes with a mosquito net and can of bug spray. I have been doing laundry by hand and hanging it on a line to dry.
Doing the laundry by hand brought to mind my grandma Childers who did laundry for 6 children. She was the most faithful, gentle woman I have ever known. I think about all that she taught us, all the while telling us that one day we may need to know these things. She taught us to garden, how to can the vegetables we grew, how to sew and even do laundry. As I hung my clothes out to dry this week I thought of grandma and how handy the pockets on her apron were for holding the clothes pins.
Friday afternoon I was walking “home” from class and many of the young secondary students gathered at the gate. I kept seeing the kids chewing on some sort of stick. It looked as though they had cut a branch from a tree. They would strip a piece chew it and spit it out. Once again grandma came to mind. This time the memory of her telling us stories of her childhood and how she loved sugar cane.
One of the older boys who looked to be maybe 17 was walking toward me with a stick in his hand and greeted me in English. I asked him if the stick was sugar cane. My guess was right, it was. He asked if I liked sugar cane and I told him I had never had it. He quickly broke off a piece and handed it to me. It was so sweet and very juicy. The juice dripped down my chin and I felt as though grandma were there laughing with me.
I found it interesting that his name was Michael. I immediately thought of the Archangel Michael, the protector of the people of God. This young man was very tall and strong looking. He showed such kindness to a total stranger and endured taunts from his classmates with grace and gentility. I felt the presence of God in our conversation and the need to reread the book of Daniel.
I wish my readers memories as sweet as those of the sugar cane that brought my grandma to mind.
That’s when I saw it…
Yesterday I went to church with Linda my hostess then we went to pick up some supplies. There were charming imports grocery stores that to my great surprise and delight carry a variety of dried pastas. I am staying with Linda until language school begins. She has been kind enough to offer her home to me as a place of solitude. It is a place to come when things get so crazy I am not sure which direction to turn. Linda is who I stayed with the last time I was here. During that last stay she had cautioned me about a monitor lizard who lived in the attic. Alas, the monitor lizard is no more. Why, we don’t exactly know.
This year has been a good year crop wise for this region. I am sure you have heard about the people leaving other African countries in droves, with many starving to death along the way or in refugee camps. Where I am is further south and has been abundantly blessed this year with a bumper crop. With that bumper crop comes a bumper crop of pests.
So today we began my field orientation. I walked around the property, locating people and their respective offices and jobs. After my orientation class I tried to finish unpacking so that I can repack in a manner more suitable for school. This evening I went to dinner with a wonderful young couple who has been here about 2 years. They were able to fill me in on quite a few things. All in all shaped up to be a pretty routine day. Then they brought me home from dinner……
When I arrived “home” we found that Linda had gone out. When I got inside I realized why she was out…the electricity was off. No big deal they have been doing rolling black outs and it was just our turn. I was prepared for that to sweet Miranda back home. Before I left she had gotten me a headlight that uses AAA batteries that you can actually find and replace. Then I thought I would go ahead and get ready for bed. I decided that I wanted one of the clean wash clothes that I knew were hanging on the screened in porch. So with my trusty headlight on, I unlock the door to the porch and opened it. That’s when I saw it. It was a tail that was about 6 inches or so long. I quickly slammed that door shut and decided I didn’t need the rag all that badly.
Dena's Journey Blog 