Tanzania is not for the tall nor the unadventurous.
So on Thursday 12/11 the girls took a trip to the beach. Even though we live 5 miles from the water, it takes 2 hours to get to the beach. The trip probably would take a half hour if the roads were better and if there was a brdge. the Dala-dala is the bus in Tanzania. It is really a mini-bus that look as through it was gutted and a few rows of benches were nailed to the floor, not kidding. So we took 3 different dalas to the beach that day. There are different kids of dalas, some that you can barely fit in because they are so small, some that feel as though they are about to fall apart, some of them barely have a floor, et cetera. The driver is on the right side of the car and we drive on the other side of the road...most of the time. Getting on the dala is a free-for-all, there is much pushing, shoving, and elbowing. Really anything goes. We got on the first dala in Mabibo, where we live and took it to Corner. That trip was uneventful thankfully. The next one was slightly more interesting because this is when we really used our elbowing skills and in turn got elbowed ourselves. When the dala comes, the people inside are pushing to get off just as the people are pushing to get on. This usually happens are the dala is still moving. Finally it stops and the process finishes. Now keep in mind that in these dalas there are about three rows of seats, you can squeeze two maybe three people in the rows and then depending on how tall the dala is, maybe standing 3 people in the aisle. However this is usually not the case. You usually end up sitting on peoples laps, having people stand on your feet faces right next to each other. There is so sense of personal space here. We got off the second dala and walked about 15 minutes to the Ferry, conveniently right next to the fish market. We pushed and shoved our way onto the ferry, naturally. We finally found our last dala. Somewhat crowded, but not like sardines, this trip took 20 minutes. We arrived at our stop and i had absolutely no idea where we were, looked like we were in the middle of no where. We walked about 20 more minutes to the beach, Kipepeo Beach (it means butterfly). The water was soooo warm, the Indian Ocean is absolutely beautiful. Christen pleasantly pointed out that it was December 11th. Our return trip on the dalas was quite eventful. The first one wasnt bad, but the second one, oh goodness. There were so many people waiting. I was watching people get on another dala and I am surprised if someone wasnt punched or knocked out. We did the same, ran to our dala when it arrived and elbowed our way again onto the bus. We were squeezed and picked up more people on the way. I am going to borrow this from Christen, she said "you do not know whether it is your own sweat, the persons in front or behind you, to your right or left, above you or below you....literally." I was standing on this dala, over people and right up against others. Then the traffic came. I was too tall for the dala so I was bent down over some other people. No breeze, not moving, great. Finally we got off and found our last one. My legs were too long to fit behind the seat so i sat with them under my chin for the rest of the ride. The woman next to me was literally leaning on me, her arm was on top of mine we became close friends really quickly. All of this was definitely worth the day at the beach though. I am proud to say that since this first dala experience, I have become a novice on this kind of transportation. I now know how to elbow my way into a dala and how to try to make the best of the given situation. This is definitely an art that needs to be practiced.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Finally In Africa! Mambo!
Karibuni! Vipi!
I decided to write this email at home so I could collect my thoughts instead of trying to remember everything when I get the chance to go to the high school to use the internet. So as I sit here at our kitchen table, looking out at a humungous palm tree with unripe coconuts, I will try my best to relay as much as I can of my experience and thoughts thus far.
I arrived late Friday night after flying 18 hours and stepping foot on 3 continents. My first thought: it is very hot here and it is midnight. My community mates, Caroline, Nicholas, and Kate, picked the four of us up (Christen and I will be staying in Dar and Mary Beth and Talia will be going up to Moshi in Northern Tanzania, near Mt Kilimanjaro). We took two taxis home - for 7 people and luggage for two years for four people. Caroline, Talia and I sat in the back of one of the taxis with two suitcases on our laps, needless to say the views were not too good. We quickly left the paved roads and started our journey on the dirt roads. I think I can say a good 50% of the time literally felt the ground underneath my feet - the roads here are so bad. Imagine the worst potholes and holes in the road and they are even worse here. 20 minutes later we got to our house. We have a gate around our house and a guard at night - Sitoti (he is Maasai!). Our house is very simple, we have a porch (my favorite place to sit), there is a common room, a tiny kitchen with a small two burner stove and a small cupboard and a small sink and a pantry. We each have our own rooms. The bathroom is also inside. The floors are made out of a clay-like material and re always dusty because everything here is dusty. The windows have bars and screens on them. We also have a fan in each room (God bless whoever invented the fan, we had a conversation recently about which invention was better, the wheel or the fan. The fan won). Our community moved into this house a few months ago and the woman who lived here before ran a duka (a store) out of one of the outside rooms (now Nicholas' room, and kept cows in the courtyard, right next to my room. We also have papaya trees in our courtyard and a banana tree grove next to our house. Our house has electricity most of the time. My second night here we came back to the house only to find there was no electricity. So we lit candles and sat around talking for a while. The power came on during the night. I originally thought we had running water, but I was wrong. We have a water tank in our courtyard where we fill up buckets of water and bring it in to wash hands, flush the toilet, wash dishes, et cetera. We are supposed to have running water but the pressure is never high enough to go through the pipes so we just have to stick with bucket showers. Our beds and couches are made with thick pieces of foam, I am slowly getting used to everything here. We have mosquito nets over our beds, somewhat tedious because we have to tuck and untuck it every night. I think thats good for a description of where I am living.
I want to fill you in on some of the things I have been doing. Our first full day we spent walking around Mabibo, where I am living and meeting some people (quite interesting because nobody speaks English and I do not speak Swahili). Getting to see the area was very eye-opening. I had woken up that morning to a rooster crowing and was very confused. That was cleared up when we saw chickens and roosters literally everywhere and realized that it was normal. Today I also heard the cow for the first time, but there are a lot of animals around here. The roads and footpaths are filled with garbage. There is no place to throw things away, so most people either dump it on the street or burn it. It is culturally expected to greet everyone you see. So with the little Swahili I know, I can say hello! We went out to dinner that night and I tried rice and chipate - a pancake-type thing. African food is not that bad!
On Sunday we went to Mass at our parish, St. John the Baptist, in Swahili. I picked up one word - Amina (Amen)! The Mass lasted almost two hours; the music was beautiful - so lively and passionate. After Mass Nicholas and I walked over to see Gonzaga, the school that I am teaching at. The school is really simple, but adequate. It was built one year ago and it educates a lot of orphans and poorer kids from the neighborhood. Later that afternoon we were sitting in the common room and Nicholas calmly walked in and said "So we are going to take some buckets of water over to our neighbors house, it is on fire." So we all jumped up and thats what we did! They were having a party when the fire started and continued the party when it was put out!
Monday was a great day, in the morning we walked about 2 kilometers to a town called Mburahati, where the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's Sisters) have an orphanage and home for the elderly and mentally handicapped. Talk about a quick introduction to the societal issues of Tanzania! We walked down the road it was on and we came to this huge group of people waiting for distribution of clothes and other things. I had a strange feeling as we were walking in. This was the first time that my skin color really became apparent to me. Here I am, coming from the wealthiest country in the world to come of the poorest, I am Caucasian and these people are African. I have so many privileges that they do not, even based on my skin color. It is such a privilege to be able to take two years and move to another country and work there. I do not have to worry about working and making money to help me family, I do not have any dependents. I am so blessed. We arrived in the childrens section where we stayed with the 1-2 year olds for a few hours. One little boy climbed up onto my lap not long after we got there and fell asleep in my arms. I woke him up for lunch but he cried whenever I left him. These children were so precious. I only hope that they will get adopted by a family who will be able to take good care of them. We walked back at noon, and let me tell you, the equatorial sun can be brutal. Later we had our first Swahili lesson. I am slowly starting o recognize little things, but in order to communicate with anybody I will have to become fluent. We have gone to dinner at friends houses last Monday and Tuesday and tried a lot of different African food: cassava, cassava leaves, pilau (spiced rice), chapate, beans, baked bananas, et cetera. Last Monday night we went to Mama Davy’s sisters house to greet her and her baby and we sat outside on a very busy street drinking local beer and trying to communicate with the family. It was actually a very fun night because we met a lot of people and got to experience a lot of local things.
I apologize for writing so much but there is a lot that I want to share with you all! For those of you who made it to the end, thank you! I hope you can now get a tiny glimpse into my life in Africa so far. I will be going on retreat on Friday the 19th and will return a few days after Christmas. We are also going to Moshi to help our other community set up. I hope things are going well at home, pleas keep me updated on your lives!! Thank you for all of your support and prayers, you are all in mine as well. God is so good!
Kwa Heri,
Emilia
I decided to write this email at home so I could collect my thoughts instead of trying to remember everything when I get the chance to go to the high school to use the internet. So as I sit here at our kitchen table, looking out at a humungous palm tree with unripe coconuts, I will try my best to relay as much as I can of my experience and thoughts thus far.
I arrived late Friday night after flying 18 hours and stepping foot on 3 continents. My first thought: it is very hot here and it is midnight. My community mates, Caroline, Nicholas, and Kate, picked the four of us up (Christen and I will be staying in Dar and Mary Beth and Talia will be going up to Moshi in Northern Tanzania, near Mt Kilimanjaro). We took two taxis home - for 7 people and luggage for two years for four people. Caroline, Talia and I sat in the back of one of the taxis with two suitcases on our laps, needless to say the views were not too good. We quickly left the paved roads and started our journey on the dirt roads. I think I can say a good 50% of the time literally felt the ground underneath my feet - the roads here are so bad. Imagine the worst potholes and holes in the road and they are even worse here. 20 minutes later we got to our house. We have a gate around our house and a guard at night - Sitoti (he is Maasai!). Our house is very simple, we have a porch (my favorite place to sit), there is a common room, a tiny kitchen with a small two burner stove and a small cupboard and a small sink and a pantry. We each have our own rooms. The bathroom is also inside. The floors are made out of a clay-like material and re always dusty because everything here is dusty. The windows have bars and screens on them. We also have a fan in each room (God bless whoever invented the fan, we had a conversation recently about which invention was better, the wheel or the fan. The fan won). Our community moved into this house a few months ago and the woman who lived here before ran a duka (a store) out of one of the outside rooms (now Nicholas' room, and kept cows in the courtyard, right next to my room. We also have papaya trees in our courtyard and a banana tree grove next to our house. Our house has electricity most of the time. My second night here we came back to the house only to find there was no electricity. So we lit candles and sat around talking for a while. The power came on during the night. I originally thought we had running water, but I was wrong. We have a water tank in our courtyard where we fill up buckets of water and bring it in to wash hands, flush the toilet, wash dishes, et cetera. We are supposed to have running water but the pressure is never high enough to go through the pipes so we just have to stick with bucket showers. Our beds and couches are made with thick pieces of foam, I am slowly getting used to everything here. We have mosquito nets over our beds, somewhat tedious because we have to tuck and untuck it every night. I think thats good for a description of where I am living.
I want to fill you in on some of the things I have been doing. Our first full day we spent walking around Mabibo, where I am living and meeting some people (quite interesting because nobody speaks English and I do not speak Swahili). Getting to see the area was very eye-opening. I had woken up that morning to a rooster crowing and was very confused. That was cleared up when we saw chickens and roosters literally everywhere and realized that it was normal. Today I also heard the cow for the first time, but there are a lot of animals around here. The roads and footpaths are filled with garbage. There is no place to throw things away, so most people either dump it on the street or burn it. It is culturally expected to greet everyone you see. So with the little Swahili I know, I can say hello! We went out to dinner that night and I tried rice and chipate - a pancake-type thing. African food is not that bad!
On Sunday we went to Mass at our parish, St. John the Baptist, in Swahili. I picked up one word - Amina (Amen)! The Mass lasted almost two hours; the music was beautiful - so lively and passionate. After Mass Nicholas and I walked over to see Gonzaga, the school that I am teaching at. The school is really simple, but adequate. It was built one year ago and it educates a lot of orphans and poorer kids from the neighborhood. Later that afternoon we were sitting in the common room and Nicholas calmly walked in and said "So we are going to take some buckets of water over to our neighbors house, it is on fire." So we all jumped up and thats what we did! They were having a party when the fire started and continued the party when it was put out!
Monday was a great day, in the morning we walked about 2 kilometers to a town called Mburahati, where the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's Sisters) have an orphanage and home for the elderly and mentally handicapped. Talk about a quick introduction to the societal issues of Tanzania! We walked down the road it was on and we came to this huge group of people waiting for distribution of clothes and other things. I had a strange feeling as we were walking in. This was the first time that my skin color really became apparent to me. Here I am, coming from the wealthiest country in the world to come of the poorest, I am Caucasian and these people are African. I have so many privileges that they do not, even based on my skin color. It is such a privilege to be able to take two years and move to another country and work there. I do not have to worry about working and making money to help me family, I do not have any dependents. I am so blessed. We arrived in the childrens section where we stayed with the 1-2 year olds for a few hours. One little boy climbed up onto my lap not long after we got there and fell asleep in my arms. I woke him up for lunch but he cried whenever I left him. These children were so precious. I only hope that they will get adopted by a family who will be able to take good care of them. We walked back at noon, and let me tell you, the equatorial sun can be brutal. Later we had our first Swahili lesson. I am slowly starting o recognize little things, but in order to communicate with anybody I will have to become fluent. We have gone to dinner at friends houses last Monday and Tuesday and tried a lot of different African food: cassava, cassava leaves, pilau (spiced rice), chapate, beans, baked bananas, et cetera. Last Monday night we went to Mama Davy’s sisters house to greet her and her baby and we sat outside on a very busy street drinking local beer and trying to communicate with the family. It was actually a very fun night because we met a lot of people and got to experience a lot of local things.
I apologize for writing so much but there is a lot that I want to share with you all! For those of you who made it to the end, thank you! I hope you can now get a tiny glimpse into my life in Africa so far. I will be going on retreat on Friday the 19th and will return a few days after Christmas. We are also going to Moshi to help our other community set up. I hope things are going well at home, pleas keep me updated on your lives!! Thank you for all of your support and prayers, you are all in mine as well. God is so good!
Kwa Heri,
Emilia
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Set The World On Fire
"I want to choose what leads to the deepening of Gods life in me." I wrote this down in my journal during JVI Orientation a few weeks ago. Those two weeks in Cleveland were exactly what I needed in order to stay strong during this waiting period. I found out I was going to Africa in April and I still have three more months to go before I actually get there. Graduating from college, saying goodbye to friends and family, and moving back home all brought their own bittersweet extras. I know that I am ready for this next step in my life, it has been waiting to happen for a very long time.
I have so much that I want to say, and I have never blogged before so I don't really know how this is all going to work out. I apologize if I end up writing too much, but there is so much to say about all my experiences! I spent two weeks in Cleveland at the JVI Orientation, met all of the other volunteers in my class and now we are literally all over the world. The volunteers going to Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Belize left for their countries right after Orientation and Tanzania, Nepal, Peru, and Nicaragua are waiting until at least November to go to our countries. I leave December 1st or 2nd for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and I cannot be more excited!
Part of my preparation has been stocking up on music to put on my ipod. So call me a dork, whatever, but many of my purchases have been Christian CDs. I wanted to bring a lot of this kind of music because music has been my main form of prayer and the best way I can connect with God, music is essential to my life. Anyways, one of the songs on the CD had EMILY written alllllll over it. So here are the lyrics:
I want to set the world on fire
Until it`s burning bright for You
It`s everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?
I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
There`s nothing I can not do
Nothing I cannot do
I wanna feed the hungry children
And reach across the farthest land
And tell the broken there is healing
And mercy in the Father`s hands
My hands my feet
My everything
My life, my love
Lord, use me
I wanna set the world on fire
I wanna set the world on fire, yeah
I`m gonna set the world on fire
Set the world on fire
-Britt Nicole "Set the World on Fire"
This song is my heart. I want to set the world on fire, I want to give my love to everyone I meet, I want to use all of the gifts and talents that God has given me and use them to the best of my ability to pour myself out to the people I will meet. This is what I have wanted to do ever since I went to Jamaica that first time. I know I have said it so many times that it has probably become boring to hear, but that experience really changed my life. Without Jamaica who knows where I would be right now, I would probably not be moving halfway across the world and giving my life for two years to do service. I know that I am incredibly passionate about this, this is exactly where I am supposed to be in my life. I realized that at Orientation. I had an "ah-hah" moment when I became really comfortable and reassured that this is exactly, no doubt about it, 100% where I am supposed to be right now. I cannot imagine myself doing anything differently. Orientation gave more life to that flame in my heart, the passion and desire to do service and work with the poor. Being with people who understand why we are doing this, who want to work for justice and peace, and who are giving up and receiving the same things as I am, was amazing. It is very easy to get wrapped up in the whole material preparations, how much sunscreen do I need, is this skirt long enough, I need to pack for two years, etc. Remembering the real reasons and the most important parts about preparation can be difficult. The whole two weeks of Orientation we talked about social justice, spirituality, community, and simple living and it brought me back down and reminded me what sparked my desire to do this in the first place.
I look at this experience not just as my desire to do service internationally, but it is so much more. This is my vocation, it is my calling. All of last year when I was discerning a year or two of service and applying for different programs (God bless you all who had to deal with me during that time), I kept on saying that I am ready to take the next step. As a Theology and Social Work major I had studying social justice and my faith for the past four years. I knew a lot about these things and knew how they manifested themselves in my life. My faith has always been important to me and I consider myself a strong woman of faith, but I knew that I needed to move on and take the next step. I didn't really have a choice because graduation was coming whether I liked it or not and I had to leave CUA. I looked at service as that next step. It was something that I felt drawn to, it was something I was passionate about and was something that I knew I had to do because if I didn't I knew I would regret it. This was the obvious next step for me. I make it seem like this was all seamless and just fell into place, haha yeah right. But we will leave all those details for another time.
I think this blog is long enough, there will be plenty more to come because I have so much that I want to tell everybody that has supported me and continue to support me. Please keep all of the volunteers and the people they meet in your prayers, without prayers our work would be so much more difficult. It is only through the grace of God that we are able to give ourselves completely for these next two years and live the Gospel.
I want to choose what leads to the deepening of God's life in me. I have already experienced this a little, I have felt God in my life in a different way than ever before. What person in their right mind would chose to leave family and friends behind and go live among the poor without hot water, without stable electricity, without knowing the language, the customs, the people? I cannot do this on my own, this has not been simply a decision that I made on a whim, but something that has been forming in my heart for a very long time. This experience is leading me to surrender myself even more to God's will, to trust Him completely that He will take care of me and give me the graces I need to work through the hard times, to recognize the joyous times, and to find things out for myself. My answering this call feels so right, it is God working in my life, working in me, small and broken that I am, to live as an example for others and to work for justice. I have no choice in this calling but to let God in more, no person can do this on their own. This is why your prayers and support means more to me than anything.
I found a book of African prayers, so I want to finish this post with one (it says Various African Blessing):
"May God do with you! Go Nicely: may your path be swept of danger. God go with you, and may you escape from the mishaps ahead! May you go with God! Let God bear you in peace like a young shoot! May you meet with the Kindly Disposed One! May God take care of you! May God walk you well! May you pass the night with God! May God be with you who remain behind! May you stay with God!"
I have so much that I want to say, and I have never blogged before so I don't really know how this is all going to work out. I apologize if I end up writing too much, but there is so much to say about all my experiences! I spent two weeks in Cleveland at the JVI Orientation, met all of the other volunteers in my class and now we are literally all over the world. The volunteers going to Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Belize left for their countries right after Orientation and Tanzania, Nepal, Peru, and Nicaragua are waiting until at least November to go to our countries. I leave December 1st or 2nd for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and I cannot be more excited!
Part of my preparation has been stocking up on music to put on my ipod. So call me a dork, whatever, but many of my purchases have been Christian CDs. I wanted to bring a lot of this kind of music because music has been my main form of prayer and the best way I can connect with God, music is essential to my life. Anyways, one of the songs on the CD had EMILY written alllllll over it. So here are the lyrics:
I want to set the world on fire
Until it`s burning bright for You
It`s everything that I desire
Can I be the one You use?
I, I am small but
You, You are big enough
I, I am weak but
You, You are strong enough to
Take my dreams
Come and give them wings
Lord with You
There`s nothing I can not do
Nothing I cannot do
I wanna feed the hungry children
And reach across the farthest land
And tell the broken there is healing
And mercy in the Father`s hands
My hands my feet
My everything
My life, my love
Lord, use me
I wanna set the world on fire
I wanna set the world on fire, yeah
I`m gonna set the world on fire
Set the world on fire
-Britt Nicole "Set the World on Fire"
This song is my heart. I want to set the world on fire, I want to give my love to everyone I meet, I want to use all of the gifts and talents that God has given me and use them to the best of my ability to pour myself out to the people I will meet. This is what I have wanted to do ever since I went to Jamaica that first time. I know I have said it so many times that it has probably become boring to hear, but that experience really changed my life. Without Jamaica who knows where I would be right now, I would probably not be moving halfway across the world and giving my life for two years to do service. I know that I am incredibly passionate about this, this is exactly where I am supposed to be in my life. I realized that at Orientation. I had an "ah-hah" moment when I became really comfortable and reassured that this is exactly, no doubt about it, 100% where I am supposed to be right now. I cannot imagine myself doing anything differently. Orientation gave more life to that flame in my heart, the passion and desire to do service and work with the poor. Being with people who understand why we are doing this, who want to work for justice and peace, and who are giving up and receiving the same things as I am, was amazing. It is very easy to get wrapped up in the whole material preparations, how much sunscreen do I need, is this skirt long enough, I need to pack for two years, etc. Remembering the real reasons and the most important parts about preparation can be difficult. The whole two weeks of Orientation we talked about social justice, spirituality, community, and simple living and it brought me back down and reminded me what sparked my desire to do this in the first place.
I look at this experience not just as my desire to do service internationally, but it is so much more. This is my vocation, it is my calling. All of last year when I was discerning a year or two of service and applying for different programs (God bless you all who had to deal with me during that time), I kept on saying that I am ready to take the next step. As a Theology and Social Work major I had studying social justice and my faith for the past four years. I knew a lot about these things and knew how they manifested themselves in my life. My faith has always been important to me and I consider myself a strong woman of faith, but I knew that I needed to move on and take the next step. I didn't really have a choice because graduation was coming whether I liked it or not and I had to leave CUA. I looked at service as that next step. It was something that I felt drawn to, it was something I was passionate about and was something that I knew I had to do because if I didn't I knew I would regret it. This was the obvious next step for me. I make it seem like this was all seamless and just fell into place, haha yeah right. But we will leave all those details for another time.
I think this blog is long enough, there will be plenty more to come because I have so much that I want to tell everybody that has supported me and continue to support me. Please keep all of the volunteers and the people they meet in your prayers, without prayers our work would be so much more difficult. It is only through the grace of God that we are able to give ourselves completely for these next two years and live the Gospel.
I want to choose what leads to the deepening of God's life in me. I have already experienced this a little, I have felt God in my life in a different way than ever before. What person in their right mind would chose to leave family and friends behind and go live among the poor without hot water, without stable electricity, without knowing the language, the customs, the people? I cannot do this on my own, this has not been simply a decision that I made on a whim, but something that has been forming in my heart for a very long time. This experience is leading me to surrender myself even more to God's will, to trust Him completely that He will take care of me and give me the graces I need to work through the hard times, to recognize the joyous times, and to find things out for myself. My answering this call feels so right, it is God working in my life, working in me, small and broken that I am, to live as an example for others and to work for justice. I have no choice in this calling but to let God in more, no person can do this on their own. This is why your prayers and support means more to me than anything.
I found a book of African prayers, so I want to finish this post with one (it says Various African Blessing):
"May God do with you! Go Nicely: may your path be swept of danger. God go with you, and may you escape from the mishaps ahead! May you go with God! Let God bear you in peace like a young shoot! May you meet with the Kindly Disposed One! May God take care of you! May God walk you well! May you pass the night with God! May God be with you who remain behind! May you stay with God!"
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
" Paschaltide" - Alla Renee Bozarth
Pack nothing. Bring only your determination to serve and your willingness to be free. Don't wait for the bread to ride. Take nourishment for the journey, but eat standing, be ready to move at a moment's notice.
Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind - fear, silence, submission. Only surrender to the need of te time - to love justice and walk humbly with your God.
Begin quickly, before you have time to sink back into old slavery. Set out in the dark. I will send fire to warm and encourage you. I will be with you in the fire and I will be with you in the cloud.
I will give you dreams in the desert to guide you safely home to that place you have not yet seen...I am sending you into the wilderness to make a new way and to learn my ways more deeply.
Some of you will be so changed by weathers and wanderings that even your closest friends will have to learn your features as though for the first time. Some of you will not change at all.
Some will be abandoned by your dearest loves and misunderstood by those who have known you since birth and feel abandoned by you. Some will find new friendship in unlikely faces, and old friends as faithful, and true as the pillar of God's flame. Sing songs as you go, and hold close together. You may at times grow confused and lose your way...touch each other and keep telling stories...make maps as you go, remembering the way back from before you were born...
So you will be only the first of many waves of deliverance on these desert seas.
It is the first of many beginnings - your Paschaltide.
Remain true to this mystery.
Pass on the whole story...do not go back. I am with you now and I am waiting for you.
- Alla Renee Bozarth
Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind - fear, silence, submission. Only surrender to the need of te time - to love justice and walk humbly with your God.
Begin quickly, before you have time to sink back into old slavery. Set out in the dark. I will send fire to warm and encourage you. I will be with you in the fire and I will be with you in the cloud.
I will give you dreams in the desert to guide you safely home to that place you have not yet seen...I am sending you into the wilderness to make a new way and to learn my ways more deeply.
Some of you will be so changed by weathers and wanderings that even your closest friends will have to learn your features as though for the first time. Some of you will not change at all.
Some will be abandoned by your dearest loves and misunderstood by those who have known you since birth and feel abandoned by you. Some will find new friendship in unlikely faces, and old friends as faithful, and true as the pillar of God's flame. Sing songs as you go, and hold close together. You may at times grow confused and lose your way...touch each other and keep telling stories...make maps as you go, remembering the way back from before you were born...
So you will be only the first of many waves of deliverance on these desert seas.
It is the first of many beginnings - your Paschaltide.
Remain true to this mystery.
Pass on the whole story...do not go back. I am with you now and I am waiting for you.
- Alla Renee Bozarth
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