2012 UPDATE

It's been quite awhile since we blogged, but I think that this Holiday card summarizes what we've been up to since you heard from us last.....

After we left Tanzania, we did a tour of Europe which was such a blast. Upon returning home, the Lord certainly had some plans for us. We soon became pregnant and are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little boy in May of next year.

We have also moved to Centerville and are still waiting to hear about medical school. Both Matt and I are working part-time and Matt is taking a couple more classes at the U. Life is busy, but wonderful.

2012 has been such a blessing to us. The adventures we have had together and the experiences we shared will forever shape our lives. We are grateful for all your love and support this year! Happy Holidays!

YOUR SISTERS UPDATE

  

As I have been working closely with Your Sisters Orphanage, I have felt a strong connection to them and an urge to stay involved. Libby Bailey, the director, has asked me to be a board member of the organization! What a privilege it will be to still have my hands here in Africa even after returning home to Utah. I feel so grateful for the chance to continue to serve these beautiful young orphan girls for many years to come. They are my little sisters!

MATT'S EYE CAMP

THE ALBINO POPULATION IN TANZANIA FACES EXTREME DISCRIMINATION FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORKPLACE. THEY EVEN NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR SAFETY WITH THE RISE OF BOUNTIES PLACED ON THEIR BODY PARTS BY LOCAL WITCH DOCTORS. SPECIFICALLY, ALBINISM BRINGS GREATER SUSCEPTIBILITY TO POOR VISION AND OTHER EYE DISEASE. MATT WAS THE PROJECT LEADER OF OUR EYE CAMP YESTERDAY WHERE WE SOUGHT TO AID THE ALBINO POPULATION AND OTHER IMPOVERISHED INDIVIDUALS TO OBTAIN PROPER VISION CORRECTION.

WE TEAMED UP WITH THE ALBINO PEACEMAKERS TO COORDINATE WITH MEDICAL STAFF FROM KCMC MEDICAL CENTER IN MOSHI, TANZANIA, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE EYE SCREENINGS. WE ALSO HELPED TO BRING DONATED GLASSES FROM DR. BRANSON CALL FROM OUR HOME WARD. WE WORKED LONG AND HARD ALL DAY TO TREAT AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE COULD, 73 TOTAL. TEN OF THESE INDIVIDUALS REQUIRE FURTHER HELP, AND WE ARE COORDINATING THEIR TREATMENT AND SURGERIES FOR NEXT WEEK!

MANY TIMES I HELD BACK TEARS AS I SAW TRUE AND GENUINE SMILES FROM FACES WHOSE EYES COULD FINALLY SEE. THIS EXPERIENCE HAS TRULY TOUCHED BOTH OF US. IT EXCITES ME TO THINK THAT MANY MORE PROJECTS LIKE THESE AWAIT US WITH MATT'S FUTURE MEDICAL CAREER!!!!

 

Last Day at Cradle of Love

 We will sure miss these sweet faces and will pray for each of them daily!

 Matt helped teach first aid to the workers today.

This little one, Cecilia, loves Matt! She cried her eyes out as we said goodbye.

Tonight we watched some Tanzanian acrobats at a local restaurant!

Base of Mt. Kilimanjaro

Matt and I went to the base of Mount Kilimanjaro on Saturday. It is the tallest mountain in Africa, and we live so close! The house we are staying in is right next to Mount Meru....and right behind Meru is Kilimanjaro! 
 

Unfortunately, it was an overcast day and Kili was hidden in the clouds, but it was still fun to put our feet on the base!

Because Kilimanjaro is so large, there are four vegetation zones.

This is where all the courageous climbers start their trek. Someday we want to come back and be one of them!

Holding a chameleon! It really does change colors.

At the base, we also went through some caves of the CHAGA tribe. They would hide here during war with the MASAI people.

This is a traditional Chaga hut. How would you like to live here?!

We also got to see some waterfalls.

 It was a fun day. I still can't believe we are in Africa! It seems unreal.

Cradle of Love

Cradle of Love is an organization that takes care of children 0-3 years old that have lost one or both parents. Usually it is because the mother dies in childbirth and the father cannot take care of the baby while still going to work. Sometimes the babies lose both parents and an uncle or grandparent takes them in, otherwise they are passed along to another orphanage at age 3. 

There are currently 8 small babies in the nursery and about 35 toddlers in the main building. There are not enough staff to help truly care for them all. The toddlers cry at your feet wanting to be held and aching for attention. It is very sad, and I have to admit it's quite depressing. You hold these little ones in your arms and you can't help but wonder what kind of life is ahead of them. Your heart aches wishing you could do something, but you aren't quite sure where to even begin.

This is JUSTIN.

This is PRINCESS.

And this is her twin sister PRICKET.

This is KAREEM. He reminds me so much of our little Squiggles (Jaxon).

There are so many, and we wish we could take them all home with us.

The Well Project in Magara

This week we went to a small village called Magara where we helped drill and build a well for the community. This well will provide clean water to over 1,000 people! 

When we first arrived in the village, we passed through a small river where many people were collecting their water for the day. I also saw people doing laundry with the water, walking their animals through it, bathing, drinking from it, etc. The well that we built will be public and available to all of these people! What an amazing experience to be involved in something so far-reaching.

This is the small river they came to for their water source.

These beautiful layered waterfalls lead into the river.

This drill was invented by some BYU Engineers. It requires lots of teamwork!

We got good and muddy!

It was a lot of fun!

We left our hand print in Africa!

What an exciting thing to be involved in!

THANK YOU FOR THE BOOKS!!!!

I am so grateful for each of you that donated the wonderful children's books to these adorable little girls. I have the best family and friends in the world! 

The moment we delivered the books was priceless. I have never seen children be so excited to receive a suitcase full of books! It made me really reflect on what is truly important. Thank you so much for helping these young orphans. These books will continue to help empower, educate, encourage, and teach them. God bless all of you for your efforts! 

 

The girls were so excited, as well as their two teachers.

These little girls pulled book after book out, just fascinated with the pages. They have never had anything like this before!

Thanks Marianne for hauling down the suitcase of your donations!

GLADI

SOFIA

ROSIE

MONICA

REBEKAH

VERONICA

QUEEN

Libby Bailey is also very grateful for each of you! She is the founder of Your Sisters Orphanage. She is originally from Oregon and was a real estate agent, hiking mountains on her free time. She came to Tanzania about five years ago to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. She said she fell in love with the people and the country and felt her new life mission calling her. So, she moved to Tanzania and started this orphanage. Right now she has 7 orphans. She plans to build the orphanage into something much greater, having capacity to take care of and educate 25 girls. Her vision and mission for her organization is inspiring. I admire her dedication and her dreams to help these young orphans have the best possibility at life. Down here in Tanzania, a lot of orphanages are not like this one. Many of them just provide shelter and hardly enough food for the children to merely survive. Libby's vision extends much greater. She is an honest, hardworking woman, who wants to empower these young orphans to contribute to society and reach their full potential. It has been a privilege to be involved with Your Sisters. Thanks again for all your help with these books!

SAFARI

Matt and I went on a safari this weekend to some of the prettiest places on earth! It was breathtaking....

Our Safari took us to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the Ngorogoro Crater.

Last summer was so busy that we never got to camp as a married couple, so this was our first time! And what a way to start it off.....in the Serengeti!

Watching the sunrise in the Serengeti. Life doesn't get much better than this!

Camping on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crater. It was freezing!

Looking down on the Ngorogoro Crater.

Our cook made Spaghetti one night. I was so happy!

Meanwhile, in all these places, we saw hundreds and hundreds of animals. We felt like we were right in the middle of The Lion King! You name the animal, we saw it.....

RHINO

LION

BABOON

ZEBRA

GIRAFFE

MONKEY

OSTRICH

You can't really see it, but CROCODILE.

HYENA

ELEPHANT

WILDEBEEST and WARTHOG

There are so many other animals that we saw, but to upload more pictures of them to this blog with our slow internet modem here in Tanzania would take another FOREVER. But we also saw: HIPPO, CHEETAH, WATER BUFFALO, IMPALA, GAZELLE,  CRANE, STORK, JACKEL, VULTURE, PELICAN, LIZARD, FLAMINGO, VARIOUS LARGE AND SMALL BIRDS, etc. It was an amazing weekend trip!    

 

PRIDE ROCK

Everything was so beautiful!

Our Safari Truck

They drive on the right side of the car on the left side of the road. It is so strange.

I can't believe we are finally here in AFRICA! A dream finally come true!