Easter in Africa...

What a beautiful Holy Week here...from Palm Sunday where the street vendors that are usually selling batiks and bracelets were carrying around palm fronds instead, to Maundy Thursday when we went out to dinner as a house last supper style, to a drizzly and dreary Good Friday with cross walks being reenacted downtown and everything closing down at 3 pm, and then waking up on Easter Sunday with the bluest sky and lots of sunshine! I went to a community church in Arusha town on Sunday morning, and from the moment I walked in and heard “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” being played, to the time we processed out singing another familiar hymn, the tears didn't stop flowing! It was the most cleansing and renewing experiences, and I found myself reliving all the ups and downs of the past 12 weeks, knowing that God was with me through all of it, and feeling so blessed to be here, and to be living this dream and experiencing all the things that I have so far...it was awesome!
Some highlights from the past week...Thursday night, I got a glimpse of snow on Mount Meru after a severe thunderstorm rolled through the area, and then on Friday I got to see Mount Kilimanjaro at sunrise (yes, I was up for my daily run!) from our home base it was so clear!! I was able to make 2 trips to Eluai Village this week...one for the general meeting on Tuesday, and the other today! It was so amazing to hand out the indentification cards to each member that I had worked on, and I also got another bracelet as a “zawady” (gift)!! I think they're going to be up to my elbows by the time I come home!! We had a big group of volunteers go to the meeting on Tuesday, so we had a bigger vehicle, which was good, since it rained, and we were able to handle the mud better, not getting stuck—yeah!! I also got a hardcore Maa lesson on Tuesday, as there was nothing else to do because of the rain—I pretty much know all the body parts and pieces of jewelry now!! Today was a little bit more of an adventure, as it took 2 daladala trips, and then hitching a ride on the back of a truck, with 12 people jammed in the bed of the truck with 150 seedlings, 12 cases of soda for the store, and objects I couldn't even identify because there were too many people in the way. Driving 45 minutes from the village center like this was quite a trip!! The reason we had 150 seedlings was due to the fact that today Kitumusote had planned an “environmental day,” so we spent a few hours putting cages around each newly planted tree to protect them from the grazing livestock, and putting all 150 seedlings into the newly constructed nursery in the MWCS garden!! I definitely got a little too much sun today, but hey, we got a break from the rain! Another side note...I have been identified as “Hey Maasai!” on the streets twice now, and at the Maasai market yesterday, several people asked if I had married into the Maasai!! Don't ask me where that one came from, I think it may have to do with all the gifted bracelets that have become part of my wardrobe now!!

As for the blood, it's doing good...checked it this week and I should be good to go for my long flight home!! I had to refill my warfarin this week, as I had run out, which was another adventure...having to hit three different pharmacies just to find it took the whole afternoon!! So cheap here though, paying less than 2 USD for a month's supply of tablets, and I didn't even need a prescription!!

It's been a bit sad around the home base lately as more volunteers depart, however we're getting 14 newbies on Saturday! It's tough to say good-bye to people that have been your family for the past 6 weeks, and I find myself making a list of all the things I'm going to miss about this land that I hope to come back to some day...but on the other hand it's very exciting to think of the family and all those I love that I will be seeing in a week's time!! I'm also making a list of the things I'm mentally preparing myself to come back to when I get home...driving on the other side, cell phones, beef, just to name a few. As I experienced a culture shock when I first arrived here, I'm fully expecting another one when I get back home...I have become so accustomed to the “hakuna matata” way of life here!!