Richelle In Africa

A Stay in the Hospital

2009-09-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, I spent 3 days in the hospital. For those how knew and were praying, thank you.

Here is the story for those who dont know. I had got a very serious kidney infection and was admitted last Friday afternoon. They kept saying that I also had infections elsewhere but they were not sure where. At first they also suspected malaria, even with a negative test. They finally determined that the infection was also in my eyes and gastrointestinal system. I was severly dehydrated when they admitted me. My skin was a pale gray color and my lips and eyes were quite yellow. After hydrating me and giving me IV antibiotics, they decided I could return home on Monday afternoon. I have continued resting til today. Today and yesterday I have been up for short times but have to return to bed and rest frequently.

Please continue to pray, my health is very fragile at this time and I am unable to fight much of anything.

Outreach and break

2009-09-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! it has been a while. Outreach was busy. The team I was on spent two weeks in Singida. I thought it was horrible. I was sick nearly the entire time and was struggling to do anything with the broken arm. It has since healed and I don't seem to have any lasting effects.

After two weeks, we moved from Singida to Usa River for a week and then to another small village near by. The last two weeks were fun and I really enjoyed getting to know the people. We did a lot of door to door ministry and some seminars. It was a good but tough experience.

We returned to one week of school left and then graduated. Following graduation, I went on a trip with some friends from my class for a week and a half. We traveled all the way to the south of Tanzania and back. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't take the travel doctors advise about staying out of fresh water. I went swimming and got sick again. Ugh...

I recovered and spent two weeks with the team from CTK when they were here. I really enjoyed the medical and orphan ministries that we did. And it was nice to see people from home. Though, I have to admit it was a bit weird and odd to not feel a part of the team.

The day before CTK left for Nairobi, I left on another trip. I have been staying for the last two weeks with a friends family in southern Tanzania. It has been really relaxing but once again, I ran into problems with my health. I ended up with an abcess on my leg and had to go to the hospital here. I have had to go a few times to have it checked and have the incision cleaned.

I am leaving to return to Arusha on Friday. I will be starting school again on Monday. At this point, I am planning to make a trip back to the states sometime in late Feb or early March. Hope to see many of you then.

I may or may not be able to recover my photos from the first 5 months. I had my computer fixed and the photos may be lost forever. If I do recover them, I will try to upload a couple of them.

Quick addition

2009-06-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

Will try to upload a photo of the beautiful cast job later.

Crazy times

2009-06-11T04:54:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post. We are very busy and getting ready to leave for four weeks of outreach. My team is going to Singida, the other team is going to Tanga. Please pray for our teams we are going into areas with Muslim and witchcraft strongholds. Pray specifically for safe travel and safe food and water. The team going to Tanga is going into the middle of a cholera outbreak. I could use prayer also. The devil has really been trying to discourage me. First, my back was causing problems. The day it started feeling better, I got dizzy and collapsed. That turned out to be double inner ear infections. I got antibiotics at the hospital but as the infection was clearing, I was having serious stomach problems. That was caused by the antibiotic being given to me at two times the appropriate dose. Saturday, I was feeling the best I have in weeks and…Sunday, I fell and broke my arm! At this point, it is becoming comical, even with the pain. I am excited about what God is doing in my life. I am planning to do a second school in September, Principles of Children and Youth Ministry. This is in preparation for a ministry that God has given me vision to start. As things develop, I will share more. For now, the hunt and peck typing is getting tiring, so I will say ‘blessings to you.’

Half way

2009-05-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wow time has flown. We have been incredibly busy. We did two weeks of outreach and now we are back to the lecture phase again. Not too much to say for now. Hopefully will have some more things to say soon. Pray that the connection here is working then.

Weeks 4 & 5

2009-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! Weeks 4 & 5 are gone already. That means that school is 1/4 over. We spent week 4 in Enkikaret. It was amazing. I really enjoyed the prayer times in the middle of 'nowhere' in the desert. God gave me the opportunity to bury a lot of things there and I am so grateful for that. I got to go with some friends one night to buy goats from the family of the one friend. We had so much fun, but had to walk back in the dark with no flashlight. The last night in Enkikaret we butchered and ate the two goats that our class purchased. It was really fun.
Week 5 was fun. We had a great speaker and her topic was Godly relationships, so you can imagine how fun that was in a group of mostly young singles. The weekend has been really fun. One of my friends and I spent Saturday shopping to have a surprise birthday party for another friend. The party was today after church and we had a lot of fun.
Please keep praying. I am understanding what my ministry is going to be but still uncertain if I am to do it here in Tanzania or in the states. Please pray for clarity and discernment as opportunities present themselves. Please also pray for our outreach the next two weeks. We are doing an outreach in the local community. Please pray for my health. Just today, I have gotten sick. My stomach is really having issues.
The photos are the boys butchering the goat we purchased, me holding dinner, and a shepard boy we met. Sorry, I don’t have any pics of the birthday party yet. I forgot my camera and have to get them from a friend next week.

Happy Easter!

Weeks 2 and 3

2009-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Week 2 was very busy. We had classes all week and Saturday I spent the day with some of my classmates at the local Young Life club. It was a lot of fun and actually really relaxing. It is held at someones house and their yard feels like somewhere in Hawaii. I could totally live in a place like that, but don't worry, I haven't made any plans in that direction. I still don't know what I will do following DTS.

This week has been busy also with classes and working. For those who have been here. You should see the New Vision School now. It is amazing. It was so busy with kids there last week when I walked there. It looks completely different.

We are spending next week in Enkikaret. I am so excited. Please pray for us. There has been a water shortage here and we frequently don't have running water on the base, so the conditions in Enkikaret are expected to be worse.

Week One is already Over

2009-03-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Wow. Week one of classes has ended and I can already tell that Godis going to use this time to challenge and grow me to prepare me for the next chapter. For those of you that are praying, please join me in prayer for my ex husband John. I have friends here praying too. We are believing God to do big things in his life.

I have been making a lot of new friends. There are around 30 people in the DTS class and many more staff and students in other classes.

For those who have been here on a missions trip, it is for sure different as a student but still great. Francis is the school leader this time and a great teacher. Justas is my one on one leader, kind of like a mentor. He reads my journal every week and I will meet with him once a week to discuss what God is doing in my life.

Yesterday was amazing. The Tumaini kids were here. For those who don't know, the base runs a childrens ministry called Tumaini (Hope). There were some familiar kids as well as many new ones. Patrick, Tumaini, and Irene were all here and doing great (for those that know them). What a blessing those kids are. Shannon and I spent the whole day with them and the base kids. I made a new friend during the time, some of you know Justas' son Joshua. He fell asleep in my lap during story time. So precious.

Next Saturday, if plans don't change, I am going to spend the day with Young Life of Arusha in town. One of my classmates and new friends, Paschal, is the leader and has invited me to do ministry with him next weekend. I love being busy and serving like this.

Boy is it busy. We are usually in classses, studying, or working. We do have a small amount of 'free' time but some of that has to be filled with things that we have to make time to do. We have only two things to do here, work on our relationship with God and build relationships with people. Hard to believe but I am loving getting to know lots of new people from all over the world. Last night we had a bit of time and I played Uno with some of the guys in my class. It was a riot.

I went to church today. Shannon and I have attended All Nations the past two weeks with some of the staff. It is a bilingual church. I really like it but man are services long here compared to CTK. We are in service for two and a half hours, so by the time we walk some, take a dula dula (public transit mini bus), walk some more, go to church and then do it all over again it is most of the day and that is if we dont go to lunch after church.

I love and miss you all back home. Know that God brought me here for great reasons. Please keep praying that I will understand His plans for me. Sorry no photos for now, I havent taken any yet.

I finally made it

2009-03-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to Arusha. Please keep praying for safety and direction. Also, I am struggling a bit with being disconnected from family and friends. Classes start tomorrow and I cant wait to see what God is up to. Lots of Love, Richelle

Please Keep Praying

2009-02-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Three weeks to go. For those of you praying for the final details of my trip to fall into place, Thank you and please keep praying. I currently still don't have my visa. Please pray that it will arrive in time for a March 5th departure.

Struggle of Leaving

2009-02-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am having a really difficult day. I want to go, but am really struggling with leaving. Things are drawing close now. The commissioning at church has happened. I saw my brother for the last time before I leave. It was a busy weekend and now it is all sinking in. These next weeks are really going to challenge me. I keep reminding myself to finish well. This last chapter has been tough but good and should end well too. Thanks to those of you who are praying. I really need it.

Five Weeks and Counting

2009-01-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Only five weeks left. Things are falling into place better than I ever expected. It is just a reminder that where God guides, He provides. The good byes will be difficult, but the anticipation of going is so exciting. The contrast of the two is sometimes overwhelming. Please continue to pray for my health.

Preparing to Return

2008-12-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

The anticipation (and some nervousness) is beginning to build. I have received my letter of acceptance to the DTS at the Arusha YWAM and have purchased my ticket. This new journey is beginning to seem real. Please pray for God's direction and provision as I continue to prepare. I am leaving March 5th.

The Face of My Calling

2008-12-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip. For me it symbolizes God's calling in my life. During our final week in Arusha, we visited an orphanage called Samaritan Village. It was filled with small children, many were left by their prostitute mothers. God was moving in me that day. I instantly felt drawn to this baby girl. Though she was about a year old, she was small. I held her most of the time we were there and cried a lot when we left her there. In fact, thoughts and photos of her still bring me to tears most of the time. You see I finally realized that God has been developing a heart for orphans in me for many years. I thought for a long time that God wanted me to adopt and make a difference that way. Though that is not a lost dream, I now see that God has a greater plan for me to make a difference in the lives of more than one orphaned child. Please pray for me as I seek to understand, where God is calling me to minister.

August Trip - Week 1

2008-12-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

During that first week, I discovered that God was calling me to return for a longer term. Though I had no idea what He wanted me to do there, I knew that His plan was for me to return. God had been showing and confirming it all week but I really began to accept it near the end of the week when we visited a school in an area that felt like it was literally the middle of nowhere. We spent the day providing medical care for people from the local area in a clinic that was set up inside the school you see in the picture. We also took some time out to play 'Simba, Simba, Tweega' (or Duck, Duck, Goose) with the kids. I was so moved by all I saw around me. I had been stretched so many ways in a weeks time. This day was full of firsts, including figuring out how to pee in the bush, that was a stretch even for a farm girl.

The Journey Begins

2008-12-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

I had no idea how much God was going to change me when I left for Africa in August. What I knew at that time was God has a plan for my life, that He had called me a year before to make a trip to Africa, and that some day I would like to adopt a child from Africa. When we landed at Kilimanjaro Airport I had a strange feeling like I had arrived home. I had this incredible anticipation. I felt that God wanted to show me something while I was there and others had told me in the weeks before leaving that they had the sense also. If I had to guess at that time, I would have told you that I thought God would show me how he was going to make my adoption dream possible.