Guess who is going to be back in Canada in a mere fourteen days? That's right; me. It is crazy to me that I will be home in such a short time and that I have not been there for what seems like forever. I am definitely looking forward to putting my feet on home soil once more! 

These past few weeks have been full of fun and friends and fellowship. There has also been time to debrief, reflect, process, learn and relearn, understand, and experience things of the past as well as brand new things. Coming back to Germany after Africa has been such a blessing and I truly adore being in this lovely world here in Herrnhut.

The first week back consisted of resting and debriefing our outreach, and just ending the whole thing in prayer and giving it back to God. We also had the opportunity as a school to put together a magazine, to show what we have been doing in the past half year. All of us were incredibly busy writing stories and gathering pictures to get that together. I was on the editing team, so there were many late nights editing countless stories. With much help from a lot of the staff here at the base, we completed it. There are thousands of copies being printed, and I will be sure to bring as many as I can fit into my bags home!

When the first weekend we had back in Germany came, a few of my friends and I decided we wanted to go on a faith walk. In other words, we wanted to walk right out of our comfort zones to wherever God led us and see him provide and come through for us. We left early Saturday morning with what we felt we needed to bring: four people, three Bibles, some art supplies, a camera, and one guitar. No food and no water, and no money. We began to walk, just praying and trusting that God would bring us where we needed to go. So many things happened in the next 30 hours of my life where I was challenged to the core and where God taught me so many things. We got rides to different towns from strangers who we did our best to bless with encouragement of the Good News, and in turn we were blessed with 30 euros from one really kind man and his son. We played music in a tunnel while it was raining and were able to make enough money to buy a hot chocolate for a stranger at Starbucks. We ended up falling asleep in the mall but were kicked out by security. We walked for endless hours in the rain, desperately seeking guidance from God. Those hours were so exhausting; all of us were ready to give up. We were wet and hungry and wanted to sleep in our beds at home in Herrnhut. Yet we were an hours drive from home, and our only choice was to lean more on God to truly provide for us. We ate some of the best tasting bread I have ever had out of a garbage can, and we were able to stay warm and dry overnight by sleeping in a public bathroom. 
It all sounds incredibly crazy, as if I am a crazy person, right? If you told me you did all of this, that is what I would think. But I learned things that I could not have learned in any other situation, and I saw with my own eyes my God personally provide for me and answer my specific prayers. I finally came to understand that everything comes out of true love for God, when you are focused on his goodness and just want to praise and worship him. If you want to know more about this crazy, challenging, crucial adventure, please ask me! 


The second week of being back was filled with a lot of doing art, in preparation for our report back/exhibition evening that we hosted last night. We still had lectures every day, filled with teaching to inspire us to continue to seek God and do more with what he has blessed us with. For my last weekend in Herrnhut, some friends that I have made in Germany came to visit me and we were able to spend a lot of time together. It was a really awesome last weekend :) 


During this last week we are just spending time in lectures talking about going back home and what that will look like and how to best share our experience. Our report back night went really well; we were able to set up a gallery to show our photographs and art work as a school and a few of us were able to share a couple testimonies of the amazing work that God did with us on outreach. Now that night is over, we are all doing our best to take full advantage of our little time left here with each other. Graduation is this Thursday, and then goodbyes will need to be said. I am not looking forward to that part at all; prayers for strength are appreciated. 


After graduation, I will depart for Holland to spend some time with my mom who will be flying out to meet me, then, as I said, I will be home soon! 
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! I look forward to seeing you all very shortly. May God continue to bless each of you in your daily walks with him. :) 


Love always, 
Fina

Hello to all :)

There seems to be so many words to say...

First comes first, outreach is over. My three months spent in Africa is finished. This in and of itself seems so crazy to think about. There is so much on my mind. I am attempting to process all that God has done in these past three months, and also in the past six months of my life. My heart is excited for what the last twenty days in Germany will hold, and I am thinking ahead to how I am supposed to say goodbye to my friends that I have come to deeply love and cherish in YWAM. Then after that I will hopefully be able to spend some solid quality time with my mom as she comes to take a long-deserved vacation in Holland. After that, finally, I will be heading home! Yet time is so short and I have such little time at home before I head off to school in Alberta. It feels like I will only be able to say hello then time for goodbyes will come again. I am getting ahead of myself though. Back to what God has on hand for me now!

Since I wrote last, I was heading back to Ethiopia. We flew from Nairobi, Kenya, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It all went well and it was so good to rejoin with the rest of the team that stayed in Ethiopia the entire time. The last few weeks of outreach were spent solely in Ethiopia with the whole team together again. We had started together in Ethiopia and it was a good finish to end together in Ethiopia. The Kenya/Uganda team had the opportunity to join in on the ministries that the Ethiopia team had started. Much of my focus was on the Jaja community, which is a small and unknown section of Addis Ababa where the majority of those who live there are HIV+. I would go down into the village, which was about a ten minute walk from the house we were living in, and would hang out with the kids there, playing football, duck duck goose, singing, and even just sitting with them. A lot of these kids should have been in school but because of no money for fees and no food for nutrition, many of them stayed home. I would also get to know the women there and they would kindly invite me into their home and would offer me coffee. In the past few weeks I have drank more coffee than I ever would have liked to and am quite enjoying not having to drink any coffee. Anyways, those last three weeks went by in a flash. I became really connected with the Jaja people and it was a wonderful experience. Saying goodbye to the women there and also to all the kids was incredibly difficult. That was the part of the outreach I had never considered and there were many tears shed. Yet I know that even though I am gone, Jesus is still taking care of them and my prayer is that my life showed them something that makes them know Jesus’ great love for them.

In the last few days of outreach, my team and I headed a few hours out of Addis Ababa and went to a lake, just to have some time to relax and reflect before we went back to Germany. Those couple days were awesome and very relaxing. The lake we were at is the only swimmable one in Ethiopia, so I took advantage of that and swam. If I closed my eyes and imagined really hard, I almost felt like I was back home swimming in a lake in Canada. But then I would open my eyes and see palm trees and I would remember where I am; oh how I look forward to being back in Canada!

After those days at the lake, we drove back to Addis, and it was the last night to be in Africa. At 11 in the morning the next day, on Saturday, we boarded a plane bound for Frankfurt, Germany, and in the late afternoon we safely arrived there. We then took the train from Frankfurt to where our base is located, and finally got there at 3 in the morning on Sunday. So I have only been in Germany for about two days. That is crazy to think about. Everything here in Germany is already back to normal: I have eaten yogurt again for breakfast, I was able to play the piano, I have a bed to sleep in a hot shower to take, and I am even back to my work duty of cleaning the stairs every day. It is gorgeous here and so green; I love it! I relish the luxury of being able to walk by myself and to enjoy the nature.

You’re probably wondering if I am culture-shocking or what I am feeling now that I am in Germany after 3 months in Africa, and to be honest, I am wondering the same thing. I don’t think that whole fact has quite hit me yet, some parts of my day feel like a dream. I am thankful for my time in Africa and I am so glad to be back. I will spend only 20 days here at my YWAM base in Herrnhut and I pray to God that I will not waste a single moment of these days. I am very much looking forward to going back home, because while Germany is amazing, it is not quite Canada. I pray you are all well, and I will be seeing you soon!

Love always,

Fina

Everything always seems to change. People change, plans change, the world changes. I know that life back in Canada will be different when I come home, because things have changed. Even life in Germany will be different, because it has changed too. It will be summertime, and I will see leaves on the trees that I have only known to be bare. The last time I saw Canada, there was snow on the ground! More than just physical changes will be noticed, for I have found that people change more often and in deeper ways than the seasons. I have changed as well. It is just crazy to think of how much everything around us changes so much. 

Yet there is one thing that always stays constant, and I am so thankful for the consistency and faithfulness that this thing is. Though it is not a thing, but a person as well as a God. He is a best friend and a father, and all that we need. God is unchanging and everlasting. Even in the times that I abandon him, he never abandons me. In these past days, I have allowed myself to drift and to fade and to walk away from my commitment to God, without even realizing it. When I finally understand my faults and turn back to God, he does not shut the door in my face as I deserve, but always welcomes me back into his loving arms. We serve an amazing God, eh? 

There's my Canadian language coming out. :) Everytime I do something that is not regular or just anything really, my friends always say something about me being Canadian. It is funny actually, and it is just normal for Americans (which make up the bulk of my team) to be making fun of Canadians, and vice versa. It is all out of love though, don't worry; I am also not failing to represent my country in a positive way. 

I know I told you in my last post that I would be going on a five day travel to get back to Ethiopia from Uganda, but things have changed. Of course, for things always change, as we know. When my team and I got to Nairobi, Kenya, we planned on staying a day or two to rest and get our visas for Ethiopia from the embassy here. One must have a visa for every foreign country that one enters, so in every new country my team has had to get visas. Anyways, back to the point. We went to go get our visas, but once at the embassy, we learned that you cannot get a visa to Ethiopia from Kenya unless you are a resident of Kenya, which we are not. You cannot get visas at the border in Ethiopia, because for some reason Ethiopia likes to do everything different. This complicated things, for we were now unable to get visas, meaning we could not get into our destination country. Then we learned that we can get visas, if we fly into Addis Ababa. So long story short, my team and I are flying into Ethiopia tomorrow. 

So since we have not been traveling by road to Ethiopia, we have had a bit less than a week here in Nairobi. We have spent much of the last week resting and recuperating, for most of us have been quite sick with either a parasite, e. coli, or giardia, none of which are any fun. The timing of this visa complication and questions of mode of travel were definitely orchestrated by God though, because if we did not have these days to heal, the continued travel would have been excruciating. Thanks be to him who always has the best for us! For a few days, when some were feeling well, we went to an orphanage started by the family that is hosting us, which was a lot of fun. And tomorrow we fly and will meet the rest of our team for the last three weeks of outreach. 

There has been much changing of plans, yet everything is working out. God obviously blocked our way to travel by road, for reasons unknown to us, but we trust in him. He came through and provided a way for us to still get to Ethiopia. The flights were extremely expensive, which is the reason we did not originally plan on flying, because going by road was cheaper. Still, we know that God is our provider and continue to do our best to trust in him. 

Here I leave you, with the newest updates that I know. Things are always changing though, and I am sure more things will change within the last few weeks here in Africa. 
A huge thank you to my family and friends back home who sent me a video of love and support, that served as a reminder that some things will still be the same when I come home. I know that I am missed and and have always been loved, that will never change, and this means so much to me. Another huge thank you to my church family at Rehoboth CRC for your prayers and support, and specifically to the Sunday school class that took the time to pray for me in bless me in a way that touched my heart deeply. 


I continue to keep home in my prayers and I hope you all know I am very much looking forward to being there again, soon! 
God bless :) 


Love always, 
Fina

Hey all!

I was asked by a friend a question about my ministry work here, and I realize that I haven’t really told you all what kind of ministry I have been involved in. I apologize for that, but here is just a small tidbit of some of the work I have been helping with for the past few weeks.

This entire week in Gulu has been full of different ministry including: working with and getting to know girls from ages 8 to 14 who have been affected by the war and sex trafficking and who are now orphans or unable to live at home, helping people move, painting a house, organizing offices and necklaces, these necklaces are made by ten women who I have also gotten to know over the week who are from the Congo and have been affected by war in horrible ways and now make these necklaces to make money to support their families and livelihood. There is an organization here called the ZionProject, that started the Imani Woman, which is the women who make the necklaces (mentioned above) and who are also the ones that started the girl’s home (also mentioned above).

Every new place that I go has been completely different ministry opportunities, which has been really awesome! For example, in Kampala I worked solely with a school there helping the teachers with the kids and the lunch ladies with breakfast and lunches, and in Eldoret, Kenya it was a lot of preaching and teaching and encouragement to the church there. It’s all been really different, but really good because I am able to get a taste of what I really enjoy and what I found challenging and how I can grow in each new area I encounter.

So that’s a quick run through of ministry life here. Always different, yet always the same: always serving God. This is my purpose, and I am honoured to have so many ways to fulfill that.

Tomorrow my team and I head back to Ethiopia, which will probably be about five solid days of travel. We will go to Jinka, a town in the south and stay for about two weeks. I will hopefully be able to update you again once I am back in Ethiopia.

Until then, take care. Thank you again for your prayers, for I would not be able to be sustained while here without the help of God which comes through the support you give me. :)

Love always,

Fina

Hey all :)

I am now in another country: Uganda! We arrived in Gulu just yesterday, and the days before I was in Kampala. The travel from Kampala to Gulu was only five hours, and we were able to rest for the latter half of the day. This morning we went to church and two of us shared a testimony and a preaching. The rest of the week will be full of ministry with women who used to be part of the sex industry here, as well as their children. In Kampala we were doing full-time children ministry at schools, just hanging out with the kids and helping prepare their meals and help out their teachers.

These past few weeks have been so full of God’s blessings and I am so happy to be here! This is quite a short blog entry but I just wanted to update everyone with where I am and what I am doing. I most likely won’t have access to the internet for a few weeks, but be assured that God is always taking good care of my team and I. Thank you so much for your prayers and support, for I would not be able to be here and helping so many people without the help of our Lord Jesus Christ and without you. So thanks be to God and I thank him for all of you.

Take care.

Love always,

Fina

Hello again!

I am back so soon; I know it is rare for me to post on my blog and now I have posted twice in two days! I figured that since I have access to the internet now, I might as well take advantage of that blessing and bless you all with great news! During this past week, I mentioned that my team and I along with a few members of the church we are working with, have been visiting homes here in the city we are living in. On Friday, as we were visiting the last houses, we had the opportunity to pray over a woman who knew who Jesus was but did not yet believe. After our prayers, she confessed with her mouth that Jesus is Lord and accepted him into her heart as her Saviour! Praise God for another child being added to his kingdom! It is truly so astounding and honouring to be God’s vessels that carry his message of salvation and hope! We also had the chance to pray for this woman’s mother, who is elderly and quite sick, and who was also deaf. I say was, because she was, as in the past she used to be deaf. But by God’s incredible healing power, she was healed and is now able to hear again! Another huge praise to God! I am just in awe of how wonderful and powerful the God that I serve is and that he wants to use me and I am an open vessel to showing his great mercy and endless love. His goodness is poured into my life every single day.

I wanted to share these two praises with you so that you may also be encouraged and be assured that good things are happening. I again want to thank you for your prayers and if there is anything I can pray for any of you reading this, please let me know!

Tomorrow I head to Uganda with the three others of my Kenyan team and we will reach Kampala tomorrow night sometime. I am sad to leave Kenya, for in this place and with these people here, I have never received such hospitality and kindness in my entire life. The host family that we stayed with and the church we worked with were so awesome and accommodating and lovely and just everything great! We have made solid friendships here, even after only one week, and it will be tough to say goodbye to the people here. Yet God has called us to different things, and I pray that I will be able to return to Kenya and visit my new friends again.

I do not know when the next time that I will have internet, but know that God is working here and that he is doing awesome things with me and my team, and it is such an adventure! :)

Love always,

Fina

 Pwana asifiwe! In Swahili that means “Praise the Lord!” This is a usual greeting for Christians in Kenya; they say "Praise the Lord!" and you answer with "Amen." I have really been enjoying the fellowship that I am able to have with the local Christians here. I have also been learning some Swahili which has been quite entertaining. 

This entire week has been full of fellowship and learning Swahili and God’s hand has most definitely been blessing my team and I here. I have been doing a lot of preaching and teaching this past week as well, which has been a great learning experience for me as I have realized that I do not know the Word of God as well as I should. This insight has spurred me on to want to read more of the Word. It has encouraged me also to not only read it, but learn to apply it in more ways in my life so that my preaching will not fall down useless because it has no power, but rather so that I am able to preach with power of testimony. I want to be able to preach about things in my faith that I am practicing in my life. As the saying goes: First do, then teach. 

The other day, while spending time with local missionaries here, one of them told me that I was meant to be a Kenyan, and that made me laugh. I am proud of being Canadian, and wouldn't trade my country for any other; I find it funny that others want me to be part of their own country. That statement is quite an honour and I am so privileged to be here and hear those kinds of things. 

Tomorrow is our last full day here and we are definitely going out with a bang. In the morning before church we were invited to speak at a college fellowship group. Then we will have church where all four of us will share, and then after lunch we have the opportunity to speak with the youth of the area for a couple hours. Finally, we will lead the revival service tomorrow evening. It will be a day full of preaching and teaching as well as learning and growing, and I look forward to it! I know that by the end of tomorrow I will be exhausted, but it is for good purposes and always for the glory of God. 

It is crazy to think that I am six weeks into outreach and still have six weeks. I feel as if I have been in Africa for much longer, and I miss home a lot. Yet I know that God still has so much in store for me! I have so much to look forward to in the future: the rest of outreach and what God will teach me and being able to bless more of His children, my time in Germany at the Castle in Herrnhut, which feels like my home away from home, and then heading home to reunite with my awesome family and friends and spending time in the beautiful country of Canada, and then on to new adventures in another area of that lovely country where I will be going to school and learning even more! It is so much! I am incredibly blessed and am so thankful. 

Thank you for sharing in my joys and for being a part of the process, for I pray that even as you read this you are open to being blessed and to learning something new about the great and glorious and good God that we serve! 

I will be in touch when I can. Prayers for continued safety and health, and for constant focus on Jesus Christ and his grace and love are so appreciated! 

May the Lord our Father bless you and keep you. :) 

Love always,

Fina