A phrase that our host introduced us to upon arrival is tia, this is africa. He said this would be especially helpful to remember throughout our time here, so here are some of the reasons why that might be!
- there’s toilet paper maybe 6 days out of the week!! I’m glad I brought baby wipes.
- there are spiders as big as your HEAD!! I have used a broom on multiple occasions as of it were a hammer to kill these spiders.
- it’s 107 degrees sunday and 62 monday. there’s nothing like feeling as if it’s too hot to breathe one day and then layering up in the only two jackets you brought the next day.
- how about walking 8 miles in that sweet African heat!!
- you might walk into the room to find a tarantula on your pillow.
- sometimes the power runs out before the end of the month, so we live without it until budget allows us to buy more. that means when the sun goes down at 6, everything is done in pitch black. showers, dishes, laundry, you name it! but don’t worry! we still have water! (when the tank isn’t empty at least)
- your feet are brown 100% of the time.
- sugarcane as an afternoon snack!! if you don’t know what that is, just imagine eating sweet, soggy wood & you get the general idea
- feeling goose bumps for the first time in weeks
- the curtains for the toilets and the showers are totally see-through!!
- sometimes you wake up with a scorpion next to your bed…
- my glasses never staying on my face because i’m sweating so much
- the power &/or water randomly goes out, so sometimes you’re left with shampoo in your hair and no water to get it out! (thankful for friends who will steal some drinking water to help rinse it out)
- crickets in your bed!
- napkins & tissues? hand soap or hand towels? never heard of them.
- sometimes your tire falls off while driving down the road and you wait on the side of the road for six hours.
- I wonder how many ants I’ve accidentally eaten??
- an ice block is the best thing in the entire world
- hand washing my clothes & never knowing if all the soap is out
- instead of a car with its lights on driving behind you to pull you over, a man scanning you from way ahead will stand in the middle of the road and hope you don’t hit him.
- sometimes you name a baby boy on a home visit!
- there’s always the occasional mice in the kitchen.
- pb & j’s all day every day! I think i’m somewhere around 72 for the whole time we were there.
- our drivers crank the heat at any temp below 80
- huge fires across fields are completely normal!
- pro tip! wash your underwear & socks in the shower with bar soap! then you have a never ending supply!! then hang them to dry on your bed so the goats don’t have an opportunity to eat them on the fence outside.
- make sure you shut your windows unless you want the monkeys to ransack your house…
- sometimes you wake up with a bird in your room at 4:00 am, chirping and ready to start the day!
- holding babies with bare butts is not a rare occasion! I’m not mad about it unless I get pooped on, which has happened before.
- a personal favorite: driving down the road to church and seeing giraffes
- the gas station being out of gas
- leaky floors, all the time
- using one shower for 15 girls because our other two showers refuse to drain after pulling all the hair out
- waking up with 34 new mosquito bites
Even though this list sounds absolutely crazy, I wouldn’t have had the same experience without them. At some point I’ll look back and miss my red, dirty feet. I’ll laugh about the monkeys messing up our room & the gas station not having any gas. I’ll be extra thankful the next time I have the luxury of using a kleenex or napkin. I’m thankful for the opportunities the Lord gave us to praise & glorify Him throughout all the craziness, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
all my love, Kate
Kate,
Loved your list – made me smile and laugh. You are definitely having an adventure of a lifetime. Your positive outlook is amazing and admired. I may lose some sleep over the spiders tonight.
Keep up the incredible work. Praying for you.
Megan
Thank you Kate for this. Your Grandma Jan and all the Rolffs siblings are having our Christmas luncheon tomorrow. I plan to share this with all of them. We will pray for you tomorrow. Love you, Aunt Dorothy
Love you Kate. Thanks for sharing. Currently we are at 26* in northern Iowa Snow is melting and the kids at recess are slipping on the ice. So from the other side of the world — freezing days are ahead. So glad you are rejoicing in Jesus and growing closer to him everyday. Love and hugs and prayers. Blessings on your new assignment this week. Love, Aunt Deb
Currently, I can’t sleep, it’s 4:30 am and I’m reading this, picturing all those experiences! Wow. I honestly love all those but I don’t know if I could get over the spiders, ants, tarantulas, etc.. haha I get goosebumps. Haha I miss you and pray for you whenever the Lord reminds me! ??
Excellent list! Tarantulas and scorpions and bare butt poop … I can imagine your scream with ALL of these! I miss that scream … and the rest of you! These experiences make it real for us too … but we’re glad not to run out of gas, water, power, kleenex, and napkins. Safe travels! Love you more than you can know! Mom
Hi Kate!!!
Love hearing about your adventure!! You are such a strong girl!!! The tarantula would do me in??
So proud of you Kate!!??
That was awesome Kate!! You should see what the monkeys and giraffes have been writing about you!
Oh, precious Kate… what an amazing young lady you are! And what an experience you are having! As I have said before, God is using you in a big way! I can’t even begin to imagine any or all of this… but through your faith in Jesus, you seem to be taking it all in stride…along with a great sense of humor! Prayers being sent your way… always!??
Kate,
Oh, my goodness! Your list is a wake up call to remind me of all that I take for granted in my cushy world! Thankfully God is giving you what you need to live your life there…………you will never forget these experiences!
Stay safe and know my prayers are with you everyday.
Thanks, Kate, for helping us to understand what you are experiencing! So proud of the woman you are becoming. Continuing to pray for safety and growth in the Lord for you.
how can one properly appreciate the comforts until you’ve properly gone without ’em?
Kate, I am just imagining all of these scenarios! What a list! You will remember this stuff for the rest of your life (and probably tell your children, grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren all about it)!
Kate:
I remember my days serving in the Sonora desert, sounds like fun. At the same time, those were the days when God’s call was so strong that I can bearly miss it. God is so real when everything is gone… Blessings
So great to hear about your time. Sounds like quite an experience. I love to read how you are taking it all in and staying positive. Enjoy the journey to come!!!
I get so excited when I see the notice in my inbox that an update from you is a click away!
LOVE how the Lord is meeting you all in such a special way on this journey. Still smiling at the thought of goats eating the underwear:)
Awesome list. One of my memories from our 3 month trip to Cameron was a bunch of baby goats that choose our front door to sleep at many nights. When they made thier bleeting noise they sounded like a bunch of crying babies.
Other than the people who stole your heart, these are the things you will remember and cherish. Sounds a little of, but I think you get it.
More you, love you
See you soon
This is so accurate. What a beautiful writer you are! I have been home for Africa for almost a year and I can’t tell you how much I miss it. I’d give anything to try their amazing tshema or even to wake up with a lizard on my pillow. You truly will miss those experiences! Continue to embrace every single one and rely on the Lord for each moment you are in! Peace and blessings to you and your team, we’re praying for you guys over in America. (& enjoy the heat I’m freezing)
Kate,
Thank you for sharing some of your reality. Now I can pray for some very specific things for you.
It will be interesting to see how God uses this experience–perhaps as a stepping stone. Keep writing. You do it well.
Prayers for you and this experience.
It