The Constant Traveller

Jordan is finally today on his way home!! We chatted for a while last night and, while he did tell me a few things about his last full day in Burundi, I couldn't get too much out of him. All he wanted to talk about was coming home. It was great to see all the houses under construction, and I guess where they are being built is right across the river from Congo, so he said Dave and he took a picture themselves with Congo in the background. If they had actually stepped foot in Congo, they would have literally been in seven countries in two weeks! And actually, I think Dave is stopping in Rwanda, so he would have been in eight countries in two weeks! That's madness!!

He said he took tons of photos of all the houses under construction, but after seeing so many, it became overwhelming and kind of boring. It was great, he said, but eventually tired of it and said he needed a nap. I think by that time, a nap would be very justifiable - especially after everything they have been through these past two weeks. The constant travellers.

But now he is on his way home! Finally!! I will see him tomorrow (as long as he makes all his flights), and I can't wait! So, I guess that's it for now. I'll try to get him to post some more stories of his trip, and for sure some pictures when he gets them edited. Thanks again for the prayers - keep em comin' until he gets home on time and not too exhausted! He does have to go back to work on Thursday...no longer a constant traveller...

Finally in Burundi

Apparently, the boys made it to Burundi Saturday afternoon around 3:30pm. I finally got to talk to Jordan for more than a minute last night and he filled me in on a few details of their time thus far in Burundi. They had a low-key evening Saturday night, and actually that was really good because Dave was starting to feel really sick that night. He threw up while they were at dinner and a few times after that before going to bed.

The next morning, Dave was scheduled to speak at the Church in Burundi and I guess he did it, but certianly was not feeling up to par at all. I think Jordan said he had to leave the service a few times to throw up some more (I know, gross...sorry), but made it through his sermon and did an amazing job considering how he felt, Jordan said. After church, Jordan said they had another low-key day. They went to the site where the first 40 homes had been built with the help of The Hope Project. Jordan said it was really neat to see how they are built and what they are made of. And they actually brought 40 matresses to the people on Sunday. He said it was really amazing because some of them actually rode their bike to the spot where the matresses were and had to haul them on their bikes back to their houses. Can you imagine that? I can't, but Jordan said he got pictures of it!!

Other than that, there isn't much to report. I've barely been able to talk to him since he has been in Burundi. I was actually in Idaho this past weekend and went to Steve and Stephanie's house on Sunday morning (Sunday evening for Jordan). We called Jordan together and I let them do most of the talking. It was really great for them to be able to talk to their son in Africa, and hear some of his amazing stories first-hand!! Then, I got back to LA late last night and chatted with him for a few minutes, but he was getting ready for his Monday, and said they had a big day planned. Their plan was to go to the site where 60 more homes are in the process of being built. He'll get to see them under construction and probably help out with some of the construction himself. I'm sure it was a tiring day, but he's probably heading to bed right now and tomorrow when he wakes up, he will have a few hours to spend in Burundi before he starts the long journey home to LA.

Thank you all for your prayers these past two weeks, and thanks for reading the blog! I will hopefully talk to Jordan tomorrow and post one more update before he heads home, but in case I don't get a hold of him, know that I will post pictures as soon as he has a chance to edit them! Love to you all!!

On the way to Burundi

Jordan and Dave are now officially on their way to Burundi.  They may have arrived there already, but maybe not.  I talked to Jordan last night (Saturday morning at 5:30am his time) and they were at the airport for their 6am flight to Nairobi, and then had an hour layover before heading on to Burundi.  Unfortunately, when I was talking to him, Dave got word that their flight to Nairobi was delayed by an hour which meant they would not make their connection to get to Burundi.  And there wasn't another flight from Nairobi to Bujumbura, Burundi until later that night (this morning for us).  I tried calling again this morning to see if they were in Burundi or at least on their way, but I think because they are in another country now, their phones don't work. 

Other than updating me on the status of their flights, Jordan didn't have a whole lot to fill me in on.  Their drive from Southern Tanzania to Northern Tanzania ended up taking them 19 hours!  They were in the car for 19 hours straight and barely made it to Moshi before they had to head to the airport to go to Burundi.  I guess they had planned for the trip to take 16 hours, because they were in a very remote village and they had to get out to a main road and then make the long drive home.  The reason it took three hours longer than expected was because they had some car trouble.  Jordan said the van they drove was somewhat of an off-roading vehicle - not a wimpy van by any means, but after going over so many bumps and potholes, I guess the radiator was knocked loose and then one of the hoses was cut by a moving part of the engine.  Don't ask me deatils, I don't know a whole lot about cars, but Jordan said the engine was under the passenger seat, so they had to take that out to get to the engine to fix the hose.  That wouldn't have taken them three hours, but they didn't realize a hose was cut for quite a while.  They kept stopping and refilling the cooling liquid, but then 15 minutes later they would have to refill it again.  Finally, they realized what the problem was and by the time they got everything fixed they had lost three hours of driving time!

So, after all that, they got into Moshi around 2:30am!!  That left just enough time to gather all their belongings, re-pack for the plane ride, shower, and shave.  Then, it was off to the airport to catch their plane (that was apparently delayed).  What a CRAZY couple days it has been for those boys!  And once they get to Burundi there is no time to rest...Jordan and Dave only planned to have three days there, but now with the delays, it's looking like it will only be two full days there - which means there will be lots to do and see in a very short amount of time.  Well, at least Jordan can sleep once he gets on the plane to Ethiopia and then hopefully get a full night's sleep on the plane from there to Washington D.C.!!  He's going to be one tired guy!

A Little Village

It has been two days since I talked to Jordan - I called last night to find out how their first day with Village Schools International went, but the phones weren't connecting, and when I finally was able to connect to one of their cell phones, it was 11pm here (9am there) and Dave answered. He said they were inside one of the schools, introducing themselves and he had just ran out to answer the phone. I told him not to bother Jordan, but that I would call back around 6pm their time. Then, when I called back, again, I was unable to connect the first few times I tried, but when I did get through, it was Dave again. This time he wasn't even with Jordan. Dave was out walking around a remote village with some of the people from Village Schools, and Jordan was with the woman who, with her husband, started Village Schools International on a walk around the village to visit and convince people to get tested for AIDS. I guess Susan (the woman Jordan spent the afternoon with) is a big advocate in her village for AIDS prevention and intervention.

So, finally at 11pm their time (around 1pm here) I called again trying to get a hold of Jordan. I actually started calling around 10pm their time, but again after a few times of not being connected, I gave up for a while. Then, once I do get connected, it's right at the moment Jordan gets in the shower. Again, I talked to Dave, and again he told me to call back. So I waited 15 minutes and finally got to talk to my wonderful husband!

He said they are in a very small village in Southern Tanzania and are staying at Steve and Susan's house (the founders of Village School International). They have two boys, and Jordan, Dave, and Musa are staying in one of the boys' rooms. He said his shower was from a bucket, but it was actually warm, so that was great! I guess they heat up the water on coals and then (because it's almost boiling at that point) they mix it with cold water in a bucket, and there's your shower!! He said it was different, but he liked it and it felt good to just get to take a shower after the day he had in the village!

Other than that, he told me more about the village where they are and about how different life is there from here and even from life in Moshi (Northern Tanzania). He said Steve and Susan grow all their own food - vegetables, fruits, etc. and they go into town every once and a while to stock up on everything they cannot grow there. But, he said it is an amazing place because it is SUPER lush and green! They can grow almost anything, I guess, and he compared it to Western Washington - just very green and beautiful. People in the village mostly work as farmers and grow everyrhing from corn, to coffee, to fruit, to tea. He said there are miles and miles of tea fields and it was so amazing to be standing in the middle of all that. I asked him about farming and if it's a lot of corporate farms in that village or if it's family-run, African farms. He said the corn is mostly family-run farms, but the tea is pretty much all owned by Europeans who pay the African's nothing and take all the profits for themselves. So sad.

Of course, he also had to mention the size of the spiders he's seen in the village where they are now. If you don't know, I am terrified of spiders. Not sure why, I'm not exactly the girly-girl, but for some reason they really freak me out and I hate them. I freak out over ones the size of a nickel and say they're "huge." Well, apparently, Jordan has seen numorous spiders that are in their webs (so not tarantulas) that are three or so inches long!!!!! Seriously. When I heard that I asked if he had seen any spiders like that in Moshi and he said no. So I said, ok, I can live in Moshi, but not in some remote, lush, beautiful village. Sorry.

No, just kidding. I asked him if he would kill all the spiders for me (only if they were in our house or something - not if they were minding their business outside in their webs) and he said yes. So I could do it. And in case you don't know Jordan that well, he absolutely loves it where he is right now! He's in his element - in a lush, rainforest where they grow all their own fruits and vegetables and he even got to go swimming because he said they have a pretty sweet water system going on with a dam that backs up water to form a small pond (about 15 feet deep he said). I think they went swimming yesterday with some of the kids from the high school in the village and I asked him if any of them knew how to swim. He said most of them didn't, but that a few had taught themselves. Pretty crazy, huh?

Well, I guess that's all to report. I didn't want to chat for too long because I could tell he was SUPER tired and it was almost midnight there. But he's doing well. I think he's really learning a lot about himself and what he wants for our family. His eyes are being opened to the way people in other parts of the world live, and I think he likes it. Please keep praying for him (and Dave and Musa) - they have to drive 14+ hours tomorrow from the village back to Moshi, and then on Saturday morning get up and drive about an hour to the airport to fly out to Burundi. It's going to be a crazy couple days for them!!

Love to you all! Thank you for reading and thank you even more for your prayers! I'll keep you posted on their time in Burundi as well...

Jordan is in Southern Tanzania

Yep.  They made it to Southern Tanzania after driving for nearly 12 hours on crazy ridiculous dirt roads through one of Tanzania's most beautiful National Parks!!  I talked to Jordan again last night and they were just beginning their Wednesday.  He said that when they were in Moshi, Tanzania (in Northern Tanzania) they stayed at a more Western-style hostel, but now they are definitely in an African-style hostel.  One of the first things he told me was that he pooped in a hole for the first time!  Real exciting, huh?  Also, he said that somehow the shower is right next to the hole you use to go to the bathroom, so if you're not careful, you might fall in while you're showering!  That doesn't sound so sanitary, now does it?  And he said unlike the first hostel, this one has brown, muddy water, so it's kind of weird to bathe in it.

Apart from telling me about their new living quarters, he didn't have too much to say.  They had been driving all day the day before, and got in just before night-fall.  Basically, they got settled and ate and went to bed.  Not too much news to report, but today, they were planning on going to visit some of the high schools built and run by Village Schools International (www.villageschools.org).  Oh, and I almost forgot: he met a girl who was a year behind me at Whitworth.  He said her name is Ashley and that she lived in Warren her first year and Boppell her second year.  I'm almost sure I know who she is, and I think she knows who I am, but Jordan didn't know her last name, so I can't be positive.  But how crazy is that!?!?  Jordan goes to Tanzania with The Hope Project, ends up driving 12 hours to visit Village Schools International and meets a girl who went to Whitworth at the same time we did!  That's INSANE!!  What are the chances??

So, other than that, like I said, there isn't much news to report.  Jordan's doing well.  Hasn't gotten sick yet - let's pray he doesn't get sick at all...and he seems happy and like he's having a great time.  After all, he is on quite the adventure!

A Tanzanian Adventure

Today, Jordan is having quite the Tanzanian adventure!  He's with Dave and Musa and they have been driving all day from Northern Tanzania to Southern Tanzania.  They're in a van.  And Jordan said they have been stopped four times at checkpoints that the Tanzanian police set up along the roads there (kind of like they do in Mexico).  I talked to him last night, which was around 8:30am Tuesday morning for him, but the service was spotty because they were already on the road.  So I talked to him again this morning, which was around 6pm his time, and they were still on the road!  They literally have been driving ALL day!!

This just popped into my head - it's pretty funny:  I forgot to mention that when Jordan and Musa went to the orphanage on Sunday all the kids were yelling "Muzungu, Muzungu!" at Jordan.  That mean's "white person" and I guess they all were yelling it while they were running toward the car!  Isn't that hilarious!?  I think so...

Ok, so back to the adventure - Jordan said they overheated their engine once after they got to the top of a very steep and long hill, so they had to stop for about 15 minutes and let it cool down.  He also said that they drove through one of the National Parks in Tanania, and he got to see giraffes, impalas, zebras, elephants, and more!!  How cool is that??  He said the giraffes were right next to the road, so I'm sure he got some amazing pictures of that!  He's hoping (and I am too) that he will see a lion on the way back to Moshi in two days (yep, they have to make the same drive back in two days).

Another funny thing he said is that he LOVES the bananas over there!  Seriously.  He said he has eater three already today, and was planning on having his fourth when we got off the phone!  Isn't that silly?  He wasn't sure what it was, probably just that they are completely organic and tree-ripened.  Whatever it is, he's obsessed with them!

I think that's about it...we didn't chat for too long because he was still on the road.  But he thought they were only about 30 minutes from their destination, so they should be arriving soon.  I didn't get to talk to him about what it was like at the orphanage where we support the kids, but I'm sure it was amazing and I know he'll have amazing photos to share.

More updates to come...love you all and thanks for reading!

Update from Jordan

I talked to Jordan again last night!  He is still in Tanzania and is having a great time there!  He got all dressed up and went to church on Sunday morning.  He said everyone was dancing and there was a really cute little boy who was trying to follow all the other people's dance moves.  I think Jordan was trying to follow him!  What a sight that would be!!  

After church, Dave had to go to the Internet Cafe for a couple meetings with Zachariah (the pastor of the church) and the other people who work at the orphanage and Internet Cafe, so Jordan went with another young guy named Musa and - get this - went shooting with a bunch of people!  That's right!  Jordan went shooting in Africa!  Why not, right?  Only Jordan....yeah, so they went to an open area and shot a shotgun at one of those giant trees with the giant trunks.  He said a bunch of young guys went (guys in their 20's) and one girl, but (just like me) she was bored and kept asking why they were shooting, what was the point of it?  We may live half a world apart, but we're really the same at heart, aren't we?

On their way back from shooting they passed a stand where a guy was selling real sugar cane.  Jordan, of course, didn't know what the man was selling, so he asked, and Musa told him what it was and said he had to try it.  Jordan said he LOVED it!  He said it was SO good and when I was talking to him last night (it was 8am Monday morning for him) he was craving more!  I guess they cut it up into little pieces, and it has lots of fibers and is kind of like a corn husk, so you just suck on it to get the juice out.  Yummy.

After that, Jordan went with Musa to an orphanage (not the one with the kids we support through the Hope Project) because Musa needed to get his computer charger that he had left there the night before when he played The Lion King for the kids on his computer.  Isn't that SO cute?!?!  Imagine this young, single 26-year-old guy going to the orphanage on a Saturday night to show the kids The Lion King on his computer.  I asked Jordan if it was in Swahili or English, but he didn't know.  Either way, that's a pretty great picture to have in your head!

Then, Jordan and Musa met up with Dave and Zachariah at Zachariah's house for dinner.  I can't remember what they had for dinner, or if Jordan said, but he did say that they while they were hanging out, the power went out a few times, but that happens all the time I guess.  And he said that today (Monday) they will be going to the orphanage where we support the kids through the Hope Project.  And after that (on Tuesday morning) they will be heading down to Southern Tanzania to meet up with Village Schools International.  I believe Musa will be driving them in his van, and there may be another person going too.  Not sure, but hopefully I will talk to him again tonight (which is Tuesday morning for him), so we'll see and I'll keep you posted.

Love to you all - please keep praying for Jordan and Dave.  They are doing great so far, no sickness or anything like that, but they need all the prayers they can get!  

I talked to Jordan last night!!

Yep...I actually got to talk to him for about 45 minutes last night around 10pm!  He was just waking up for his Sunday morning (it's 10 hours ahead there, so it was 8am there).  I got to hear lots of stories - they did so much their first day in Tanzania.  Zachariah, the pastor of the church The Hope Project works with in Moshi, Tanzania and another guy picked them up from the airport, and from there it sounds like they went all over.  They went to a school, and one of the funniest stories Jordan told me was that while they were at the school they were outside most of the time, and he was taking pictures of all the kids, but he realized that his bald head was in direct African sunlight, and that probably wasn't good.  So, he went back out to the car to get the sunscreen out of his bag.  There was a group of tribes-men outside the school and when he started putting the sunscreen on his head they all just busted up laughing at him!!  They knew exactly what it was, and Jordan said that even though none of them spoke english, they were able to communicate enough for one of the guys to ask for some sunscreen, obviously as a joke.  He put it all over his arms and face and they all had another laugh!

Let's see, other than going to the school to take pictures of the kids in class, they went to Zachariah's house and met his wife and three kids.  Jordan said they had some very interesting food there; a cornstarch mixture (kind of like cream of wheat) with greens (think southern collard greens) and something else (sorry, I can't remember)...but he said it was actually not bad.  He also said he had a glass of mango juice yesterday and it was SO good!  We both LOVE mango's, so I was super jealous!!

Jordan and Dave are staying in a hostel in Moshi, Tanzania.  And today, they were planning on going to church - Dave was going to speak, so I bet that will be quite the experience for Jordan!  He had to bring nice clothes - dress pants, a button up and a tie - because they all get very fancy for church there.  I know Jordan was super excited about wearing all that stuff - he just loves it - ha!  Other than that, I don't think they had much planned for their Sunday.  Jordan still hasn't been to the orphanage where we sponsor kids through The Hope Project, but I think they might do that on Monday, and then on Monday night or Tuesday they will head to Southern Tanzania to meet up with an organization called Village Schools International.  I believe Dave is looking to possibly partner with them for the next big Hope Project Initiative.  And Jordan and I may possibly look at working with them if we move over there someday.  They have opportunities to teach english and possibly even teach high school for a year or two!  How cool would that be??

Ok, so that's the best I can do for now.  I'm going to try to call again tonight, which will be Monday morning for Jordan, so if I get to talk to him, I'll post another update tomorrow.  Love to you all, and thanks for all the prayers - please keep it up!!

Jordan is in Africa!!

Just wanted to update everyone on Jordan's trip to Africa.  He is on his way from Ethiopia to Tanzania right now, after he and Dave missed their flight yesterday.  Of course, there's only one flight from Ethiopia to Tanzania each day, so they had to catch the flight out today.  I've emailed back and forth with him quite a bit in the past day and a half.  Their hotel in Ethiopia had free internet access in their rooms, so we even gmail chatted today before he left for the airport.  He's doing well, and has already taken video and photos of life in Ethiopia.  I'll try to keep everyone updated on his status over the next two weeks, but prayers are always appreciated.

On another note, Jordan and I are going through some major changes right now.  We are finally focusing on living life by faith.  We've switched churches and are so much happier where we are at now - Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA.  The pastor is so transparent and real, and we have learned SO much from him already.  It's kind of funny, because for the last couple months we haven't known what to do in regards to churches.  We knew we didn't want to continue going to the church we had been going to, but we didn't know where to go from there.  We have seriously tried SO many churches in LA, and after settling on one and attending for about four months straight, we just decided it really wasn't challenging us and wasn't helping us grow in our faith.  So, we actually started watching podcasts of church services from Cornerstone.  We did that for about two months and finally last week attended our first service since we visited over a year ago with Jordan's sister and her husband.

If you are curious about what we are learning and how we are growing in our faith, please check out some of the podcasts:

www.cornerstonesimi.com

Also, Francis Chan (head pastor at Cornerstone) recently wrote a book that I'm reading while Jordan's gone.  It's called Crazy Love and so far it's amazing.  If you're looking for a new book to challenge you in your faith, you should check it out. Francis, more than anyone I know, truly lives his life by faith and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.  He knows he will have to suffer for the gospel and he's one of the most compelling people I've ever met.  Even if you're not a Christian, I would encourage you to check out some of what this man has to say.  He'll make you want to be a better person, I guarantee it.

Ok, love to you all...pics from the past few months soon to come.  And when Jordan gets home I'll convince him to convert some of the best photos from his trip to Africa to jpegs so I can post them here.  :)