Africa Trip..: from Tanzania:)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

from Tanzania:)

Hey! its me...I just thought it would be cool to say hey before I get on the plane tonight to fly home! Its 7:30 am here on Wednesday. Everyone in the states i sleeping, but I just wanted to thank everyone for all their support and prayers! ...and my favoritest uncle Josh or all his letters he sent me:) and everyone else who sent stuff, it really meant alot and thank you for that! this has been the adventure of a life time and I thank God that He gave me the chance to experience it! I'll see everyone shortly! Thanks and I Love you guys! ...I think this will especially be funny cause I think dad gets an email when this is updated, unless he changed it, I dont know... so if you do, I hope this doesnt wake you up lol and if it does, then Goodmorning, or goodnight, something and I love you lots and lots and Ill see you tomorrow:)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: You little turkey butt... what a surprise! I should have known you'd do something like that & yes it did still go straight to my phone, no big tho...lol. You are so awesome I cant wait to see you, dont know what to ask you first...guess i got a little time to think about it now due to your latest sitch (haha)...love you sweetie, your the greatest.
Dad; July 16, 2008 at 7:04 PM

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UGALI

Ingredients:

Maize (White Corn Flour) about 2 cups
Water
Salt (Optional)

Instructions:

Bring water in a pan to a boil (about 4 Cups). Reduce heat to medium and put flour, gradually stirring until the consistency is stiff. Stir continuously, and cover for about 5 minutes. Stir again and form into a mound. The Ugali will be done when it pulls from the sides of the pan easily and does not stick. The finished product should look like stiff grits. Cover the pot with a plate and invert the pan so that the Ugali "drops" on the plate. Serve with beans and rice or cabbage.

E-mails from Jess

JUNE 1, 08

Hey, we got to Brooks at like 3 this afternoon. and it was about 4 or 5 hours on dirt roads...puts a whole new spin on dirt tracks lol. it was fun though. yesturday when we rode the bus it was 13 hours and im guessing that we were about 70-80 the whole time...except maybe 2 or 3 hours of that cause they make alot of stops picking and dropping off people. we went from Dar Es Salaam to Mbeya...so you can look on a map to see how far it is...its a good distance. lol. Brooks place is so awesome!! I got to make the fire so we had hot water for a shower...it was cool! And you would be proud...I had vegetable soup for supper and it was actually really good! So far all the
food here has been amazing...its soo good! lol. me and Brook went out and looked at the stars...it gets dark here at like 7 by the way lol but they were so much more beautiful here than they are at home!! when we stopped in Brooks village, so she could talk to someone lol but all the kids came running and they were so excited to see us! it was really cool! ...just like on tv. lol. but yeah, we might watch a movie on Brooks projector lol so I guess I'll talk to you later!! I hope everything is goin good back home...i miss my doggies and my turtle and my salamanders!! lol I hope they all are good.

I miss you and I love you:)

June 2, 08

Hey, its me now lol. Thats so freakin awesome that Tony wrecked...i wish I coulda been there to see that. lol um, right now that we are at Brooks we can email pretty often, but during camp it will probably only be on the weekends when we come back home, well to Brooks house:) not home, home. lol She gets so many emails a month and pays for them by mega bytes or one of those computery terms...i don’t know. I'm glad you guys are doin good, and I'm glad all the animals are good:) My turtle must miss me lol ...just kidding:) While we are here at Brooks I have been getting up around 8:00 or 8:30,
cause we have to be decently dressed for when here staff comes around 9...she has a cook, a lady that does laundry and a gardener. Hopefully Lainey is doin better, I will be praying for them and tell them I said hey! I went to bed around 11 last night, and I had homemade granola for breakfast and some chamomile tea:) it was very delicious! Their tea here is so amazingly good! I love it! well I have to go write out the Romans road so that a guy Brook knows, can translate it...I’m gonna teach it to the counselors of camp so that they can teach it to other people and then Brooks gonna have me go into a more detailed version of like why they don’t need works and that kinda stuff. and I'm teaching the girls to cook, Brook has a recipe for me, its like one egg dake or something like that. I'll talk to you later!

I miss you and love you very much!! :)

June 8, 08

I just got your email from friday. We only connect to the internet every once in a while and the emails get sent and received. So far the food actually is really good! here at brooks we eat pretty normal food, I had ugali friday...it was gross! lol and that’s what ill be eating all during camp...that’s when my granola bars come in handy lol I have hand made granola and tea for breakfast every day...I’m gonna get the recipe to bring
it home...its super good! I miss the ducks on quinn. lol thanks for telling me, it made me happy! Brook already has me putting up more lights in her house lol Im glad the salamanders are growing, that’s good to hear. I'm surprised at all the rain, that’s crazy! ...but if I remember correctly, I
think the almanac might have mentioned severe storms?? lol Well I think that’s all, oh, we play games and sing and Brook teaches at staff training. You should hear their singing its so amazing! It’s indescribable. we got a recording of it. I play all the games with them! I'm starting to get used to the altitude difference, I don’t get out of breath as easy lol and I find it
impossible to out run these africans lol they catch me every time! Tell Josh I said hey and I love him! and if he wants, he can come out hear and pop myb back...its killing me lol I’m glad things are going good though! and I wanted to remind you guys, you might have already done it, but the tags for my tuck
are on the table in my room...if mom uses it for 4-h... any way, I'll talk to you later!

I love you!!! :)

June 11, 08

That is sooo awesome that kasey won:) that just made my day lol hes usually like that, once he wins once then he does it more often...must be a
confidence thing. Its Wednesday at 2:50 by the way. but it probably will be
Thursday when you get this cause Brook will send things out in the morning.
We went to town yesterday (Tues) and I saw an albino! it was kinda strange
lol I had almost forgotten what blond hair looks like lol I am not as scared
to walk around by myself cause its easy to spot out the 3 other white people
lol we got a bunch of fresh fruit and brook taught me how to pick out a
pineapple...you have to smell the bottom lol and I picked out oranges and
bananas!! I forgot to tell you guys that we went on a walk here at brooks
the other day, Sunday I think, and I looked down at my shirt...trying to pick
all the burs off me lol...and there was an inch worm on me:) I took a
picture of him lol but the African inch worms look just like the American
ones lol and I dont think he was an inch! ...I know you were probably gonna
ask that dad:) I put a light up in brooks bathroom with a switch and
everything and it works!!! it made me happy lol the old one was one that you
turned the knob, kinda like on the lamps, and it had a short in it and you
had to bend it all around to get it to come on, it was just hanging from
the ceiling, but I put a real one up and screwed it to the rafter and now
you just flip the switch and it comes on!! I was excited. lol On our bus
ride I did see a few elephants and some giraffes and some deer lookin things, I dont know what they were! It was really cool though, I cant believe I
forgot to tell you guys that! theres not much around here though...just
birds...and we found a baby mouse...I took a picture of it too:) but brook
made me 'take it for a walk' because they get into the food and stuff, so I
threw it in the trash pit. on the way to town I saw some termite mounds! that was cool! we watched a couple episodes of MacGyver last night lol! I am kinda excited about camp, a little nervous to though. the last week when we are in the valley we will be next to one of the Masai tribes...the one that Caleb Bislow went to...but Brook said they arent mean or anything but they still wear the crazy clothes and tatoo their faces and all that, so that’ll be
interesting to see! Im glad my turtle likes her treats...she deserves that,
shes been a good turtle lol :) Well I guess I better go now... hope you are
doin good and that everything’s goin good back home! Its goin good here! the cook made chocolate chip cookies yesterday:) they are real good! Anyway, I love you guys sooooooooo much:) talk to you later!!

June 12, 08

Thanks for that! thats cool to hear what people are saying. tell aunt Chris what ugali is, she asked lol its just water and flour mixed to the consistency of play dough and you roll it up and put a dent in it and scoop beans into it...its gross lol any way, I forgot to tell you that there are little lizards every where too! They are really cool! they remind me of the ones in Florida. they climb on the walls and everything its so awesome. lol I
have a picture of one:) Brook is singing and playing her guitar right now:)
its cool! and mom, how do you trim roses? Brook has some and she asked me if I knew how and I said no, but my mom would!! so if you can explain that, thanks! anyway, we are going to a wedding tomorrow, so we have to go back to town...an hour...on BUMPY dirt roads! lol I'll talk to you guys
later. Tell everyone I said hey and everyone at church too! its wierd that I miss them as much as I do my family. lol tell Becky Bashore I have a surprise for her! lol and its a one of a kind thing! I think shes really gonna like it! I have some stuff for you guys to, but you'll just have to wait to see it!! :) Have a great day! I miss you and I love you sooo much:)

June 15, 08

So mom, did you do spell check, cause I think you met precautions but you said porcupines! lol that made me laugh...anyway, everything is goin great on this side of the world. lol I forgot to tell you guys that the toilet does flush the opposite direction here lol and the big dipper is up side down lol but anyway, I am gettin excited about camp. I'll be teaching the gospel to everyone, how to cook a cake to the girls and electricity for the boys. Ooo, I love my mulberries:) have the lightning bugs come out yet? Isnt that funny, that guy said he was looking for a fiancée, it made me laugh, they think us Americans are rich and all that! but yeah, I hope I can get a pic with that tribe! this guy sold us some paintings that he does and I bought a few really cool ones, and theirs one of the masai lol its cool! dont worry, I'll email you before camp! its sat. at 11:30 by the way... that wedding was so awesome!! but I’ll no longer complain about a wedding that lasts a few hours...we didnt stay the whole time and we were there, oh, 10 hours maybe! lol we got home at like 11 pm it was really cool though! and we got special treatment b/c we are white lol its kinda cool! Oh, and we have beds at Brooks, me and Steph sleep on bunk beds! good job mom, with the garden! I cant wait to get home and pick stuff! I miss doin all that:) MacGyver is pretty sweet! Im gettin hooked on that show lol we have watched him or a movie just about every night lol and no mom that mouse couldnt get out, its like 7 feet deep into the ground and it was just a little fella. the guys cuttin the grass in the back field found a snake and Brook came to get us so we could see but it was gone when we got there:( brook said it was a puff adder or something like that... and when we were in town Fri. guess what I got?? ....PRISON BREAK SEASON 4!!! yhaaaa! I was so excited! I dont know how well it'll work, but yeah, it was a good deal, it was only like 5ooo shillings so I got it. I will take all you mom advice lol ...and the dad advice to apparently lol I love you guys so much
and I'll talk to you later:) I LOVE YOU!!

June 22, 08

Hey,

I’m glad to hear that everything is goin good at home... its Sunday at 10 am. and we leave in like an hour for church. But everything has been good here, Im super tired but I think Ill be good lol tell aunt Lisa that Im sad to report that I have not come across a skull souvenir yet:( but believe me, Ive been looking lol and with the whole spider thing, we sleep in mosquito nets so thats why it didnt bother me. lol i cant wait to see the toad video:) I have a picture of a little toad we found lol and theres these sweet grasshoppers here and when they spread out there wings its like a rainbow!!! its so cool! well they are waiting on me so we can do our devotion stuff, so Ill write you later sometime after church maybe! I love you guys sooooooooooo much and I cant wait to tell you in person all the
awesome stories:) Ill talk to you later, love you!!

Its me again…lol its 5:30 on Sunday. but I really dont know what else to say, but nope I dont have an accent yet...as a matter of fact they laugh at me when I try to say Swahili words cause they say that I have to much of an American accent lol and of coarse, my supposed slightly southern accent that I have, which I dont think I have. lol that petunia sounds cool! lol You so would tell me to do theflour thing dad! but that really would be super funny!! I made lunch today after church. Church starts around 11 and we got home at almost 2! So nothing happens to quickly around here as you can tell:) We had spaghetti and garlic bread. mama Stewadi made the sauce yesterday and we heated that up and cooked the noodles and made the garlic toast...all on the "camp stove" as I call it, lol but anyway, we are headed to town tomorrow around 1 pm. we watched national treasure last night and then we are gonna watch the second one tonight! I cant wait:) Well I guess I dont really have much else to say so I suppose I will write you next Saturday with all my interesting adventures lol I'll talk to you later then, have a super fantastic week and Im glad that everyone is doin good and that my kasey licked you for me:):) I miss you guys and everyone else. I love you lots and lots and lots:)

An email from Stephanie:

Going to Camp Today

Hello everyone-
I wanted to take a few minutes to let you know what I have been up too this week. Over all it has been a busy week, we have spent a lot of time preparing the games and crafts and supplies that we will need for this up coming time at camp.

On Friday I was able to go to my first Tanzanian wedding! It was really wonderful to see. The youth here in the last 20 years or so have stopped having weddings and they just move in together. So, it was really nice to see a couple who did things the right way. Brook gave a short speech at the "reception" and thanked them for setting a good example for other youth here. The wedding itself was really nice. I think the most interesting thing about the whole day was that the bride can not look up or smile or talk at all, all day!!!! Can you even imagine! If she looks up at anyone or smiles or even talks it is like saying that she is very proud, and in this culture that would mean that she will not be a good wife! So she (and the groom also) both have a helper. This person guides them around all day. They wipe the sweat away if she or he becomes to hot. And in the case of the woman she would actually push up the bride's head when she was to look up. For example, when she was saying her vows, no one could hear her because she was barely talking, so the helper lifted her head and told her she needed to speak louder. Interesting isn't it? After the wedding they threw rice on the bride and groom. We were taken to the grooms parents house and because we were the guests of honor we were brought into a special room and served dinner. Lots of presents were given. Then there were a few hours in between that and the reception. Once at the reception we were served 3 sodas!!! That's a big deal here! Another smaller meal and the bride and groom cut the cake and fed it to each other, just like we do in the states.
All in all it was a long day! The wedding started around 11 in the morning and we got home around 11 at night!

Yesterday we spent lots of time getting our boxes packed and ready to go, filled with all the supplies that we will need over the next week. Our bags are packed and I think that we are ready to go. We leave very soon for a 2 or 3 hour drive. So, here are a few things to pray about.
We would love it if you remembered us in prayer.

1. Pray that God would touch lives. That people who are not saved would come to know Jesus, and for those that do know him that they would grow in their relationship with him.

2. Pray for the camp staff, that we would be healthy and stay well rested. We just found out that one of our translators will not be able to come with us, so we quickly had to find another. And another named Justin just buried his one year old son last week, so he is not able to come with us.

3. As always, pray for safe travel.

Thank you so much for remembering Brook, Jessica and I in your prayers! We really appreciate it!

In His Grip,

Stephanie

I'M HOME!!! =)

Pics from Tanzania...

Camp Staff...can you find Jessie?

Map of my travels:

This week were heading over the Mtns. to the Rukwa Valley to the village of Kapenta June 30-July 4:

This week we're off to the village of Kazila. June 23-27:

This weeks camp is in Ilambila June 16-20:

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

from Tanzania:)

1 comment:

Africa Trip..

Dar es Salaam

About Me

Postcard from Jessie

How to make Ugali:

UGALI

E-mails from Jess

An email from Stephanie:

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