One Hundred Miles Ahead

(Written in the airport on the way home)

One hundred miles ahead, one hundred miles behind
Head in the clouds, Ntagacha on my mind...

I cannot believe that I am on my way home. Where has this summer gone? How can I be headed home when I feel like I have left home behind? Truly remarkable- this summer. Truly amazing all the changes I have seen in these few short months. I am overwhelmed when I think of the beautiful things unfolding and the projects accomplished at the City of Hope this summer.

One of the most remarkable things I saw this summer, was a family being restored. There is nothing more beautiful. A friend of mine had had trouble with his wife for awhile and finally she left him in pursuit of a more peaceful life. This summer, though, things changed for them. They worked out their differences and she returned him with their two daughters. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of joy I felt my last Sunday when I turned around in church to see him there dancing his heart out and praising God for his blessings. He is a new man and he has not wiped the smile off of his face since his wife returned. He is a new man! God is the restorer of mankind and the mender of relationships!

I have another dear friend who lost his father last summer. He was in high school, but because of the passing of his father, he did not have the school fees to return to school and instead became the man of his household. Because of the City of Hope, though, this fall he will finally be able to finish his education. He has been given hope, where he had no hope.

There is story after story about this summer and the lives that were changed. A grandmother raising a dozen grandchildren who were invited to come and pick out new outfits and shoes, a girl being sent away to a school where she can realize her dream of becoming a seamstress, a young man learning to drive the tractor so he can support himself in the future, cows bought to provide milk and income for the orphaned children.

My favorite day of the summer was when we had a party for the elderly people of the village. We slaughtered a cow (a big deal), cooked kilos and kilos of rice and set up under the beautiful acacia tree. We invited all of the elderly people and had a party. There was singing and sharing with one another. The best part was the all-out Kuria dance party. I danced like I have never danced in my life, and I still got shown up by an 80 year old woman with a cane :) At the end of the party we handed out a blanket to each one. This was the start of a beautiful connection with the community. In Malachi 4:6 it says, "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers." That is a beautiful thing.

I am utterly amazed by the awesomeness that is the City of Hope. I am even more amazed that I have been chosen to be a part of such a groundbreaking work.

I returned to Tanzania and fell in love all over again. A people, a land, a village, my Tanzania. This trip, for me, was far less about work projects, and far more about people. It was my time to reconnect and rejuvenate relationships, and I did just that. Hours spend with grandmothers drinking chai, children harvesting corn and young people learning Kuria.

I felt more alive this summer than I ever have in my life. In Ntagacha, I just feel so right. I cannot stop thinking of the opportunities and adventures that I have had and those that await me. I cannot forget the wonderful people I have met. These past five weeks have been life changing at best and I am oh so excited for the future. It has been chapter two of my book...and I can firmly say that there are many more a chapter to be written. Once again...these have been my dreams from Africa.

For more information about the future of the City of Hope...visit http://www.teamworkcityofhope.com/content/dwtemplatepages/images/9102-FUNDRAISING%20small.pdf