I'll be hooome for Christmas!

Hey people,

This is my last posting from the continent of Africa. I am leaving for the airport very earlier tomorrow morning. Sadly that is the only time I could get a ride I didn't have to pay a lot of money for but my flight doesn't leave Cape Town until after 10 pm so I will be sitting for a long time before I can even check in. I arrive in London on Monday morning and after another long flight I will then be in Boston:)

Amidst prayers for safe travels I would appreciate it if you could mention an early as possible check in and that the time will just fly by (no pun intended). Thank you guys for what a tremendous support you have been in this time of my life. I have definitely been impacted during this school and I am looking forward to getting home and sharing some of that with you. It is a time of very mixed feelings; I want to be with my family for Christmas but I'm sad to leave very good friends. I will be grateful for a chance to rest but I will really miss working with the people here. Anyway, speaking of rest I should go sleep while I still can. I love you all!

Isimbi Johanna

Crossing Oceans

Hey guys,

I hope you are all fully enjoying the holidays. Apparently NH is lacking snow at the moment which makes it harder to get into the spirit of things but I'm hopeful that by the time I get home there will at least be a few inches. (1)

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged sooner. I have been strangely moody this past week and don't really know how to explain myself. Not that surprising considering that I am at the end of outreach about to return home. I am so excited to be back for Christmas and see my family but at the same time am reluctant to go. My heart feels fully alive in places like Zimbabwe while I am helping people and I already miss it. I can't really describe the feeling of returning after you have been away for a while in a different culture; you kind of have to experience it yourself and then you get it. For me it feels like I have one foot still in Africa and the other in America and I am just stretched out between them. The good thing when trying to live in two worlds at once is that I get to experience twice as much of God during the stretching time.

Alright, I will give you guys a more complete update later. I was just online waiting to Skype with my family but they apparently forgot about me (2) so the computer I'm borrowing needs to be returned. I have my final exam tomorrow morning if you think to pray for that and then our school is going to have some rest days before our graduation on Wednesday. One week from right now I will be boarding my flight in Cape Town to return home. See you soon! Love you guys and Merry Christmas!

Isimbi Johanna

(1) NH received about 3 or 4 inches of snow the evening after we spoke with Johanna!
(2) We didn't get home from church in time...

Zimbabwe is a life-altering, God glorifying, fantastic country!

Hello everyone!

I just got back to South Africa on Thursday after a 26-hour train ride and am just letting you all know that I made it OK. As soon as we arrived back at the base the two other American girls and I went out for a Thanksgiving lunch although mostly we were going for the coffee that we missed so much (if my Grandma and my Dad read this I blame my coffee addiction on your side of the family). This morning I left the base and got on a train again to come to Cape Town and hang out with the girls in my school. Starting this Monday we have some more health teachings to do at a school here in SA for a week. I am praying that God will give me the energy for this last bit of outreach...

Thank you to everyone for my birthday wishes. It was wonderful! To celebrate my 23rd year I got to give massages to about 50 old Zimbabwean women who have been working incredibly hard their whole life and now have back and joint pains. I loved it!

I will be graduating on the 10th and will leave to return to NH on the 13th. See you all later!

Isimbi Johanna

Happy Birthday, Johanna!

Since the clock has passed midnight on the African continent we will pause to wish Johanna a wonderful day of reflection and blessing.  Johanna was a Sunday child (5:00 AM on the dot!) so even though the date is one day early, we will recall the blessing of her arrival in triumph and accomplishment (her older brother was born via C-section but Johanna was 'all natural' in her arrival!).  In the end the doctor essentially missed all but the final details since even then Johanna traveled on a schedule that she and her Creator arranged together.

Her mid-wife (a faithful Catholic) expressed that it was such a spiritually transcendent experience that all she felt the need to do was to go to church on her way home.  God was indeed gracious to grant us (and the world) this good gift of life.  Happy birthday, dear daughter child!

Last Zimbabwe Update

Hi,

I am almost out of internet time but I wanted to let you all know quickly that Nqobi is doing better. He came to stay with us for a few days and it was very good for him. He ate like a king and fell asleep in my arms 3 nights in a row. When his father came to get him and walk him back to the people he stays with he cried. Please keep him and his father in your prayers.

I am just outside Bulawayo for the rest of the weekend and then we are driving to Nkayi where we will do ministry and get some teaching on mother-child health from the hospital there. After 2 weeks we will go and stay in the village to provide some healthcare for them. I am excited for that. You can see the stars with awesome clarity when you are in the bush with no electricity. I will be back in South Africa in a month and then heading home for Christmas. See you then!

Isimbi Johanna

I love my life

Hi dear people,

I am borrowing my lovely Lissia's computer but she is from France so her keyboard is a little strange for me; if there are any typos it's because of that. The plus side is that I get to listen to fantastic French music as I write this. Someday I will be fluent in French.

Seriously, anyone who thinks that being a Christian means you are always going to lead a boring life full of rules is missing out on so much. I can barely begin to list the amazing things I get to do just because of where following Christ leads me. I'm going to Zimbabwe in 6 days because of Him. I wanted to remind you all of one of the ways that our God blesses us; by giving us adventures. He's so cool!

I and my classmates had a wonderful time in Knysna as I said. We had some interesting days together learning more about our personalities and differences but it was good. We are spending this week cramming in some last lectures before we leave. Our teaching is on the nervous and endocrine systems which I didn't realize I would like so much. They are such delicate and incredibly important systems that are created so beautifully how could you study them and not glorify our Creator God. Really amazing. On Monday we are on our way. We take a bus from here in Worcester to Johannesburg which will be about 16 hours. We'll stay in Joburg overnight and then take a combi to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Please be praying for safe travels and that we can get across the border as soon as possible. The police can take a rather long time checking everyone's bags and then visas take time as well. Still I've driven across borders in Africa before and it is really fun. It's a great way to see the nitty-gritty of a country. I have been learning whatever I can about Zim before we go and God has blessed me with some great opportunities to talk with people about it. I'm so excited to go!

I will talk to you again before we leave. Thanks for your prayer!

Isimbi Johanna

Introduction to Primary Health Care

Hi everyone,

How are you all? For those of you from MCC who are about to leave for Rwanda I am soooo excited for you and I will be praying that you have a life-changing time there. It is a beautiful country with fantastic people. Imana iguhe umugisha!

So I wanted to explain a little bit more about my school for you. I didn't have a lot of details for you before I left and a lot of you were asking me why I didn't just go to nursing school in the U.S. My school is a second- level school with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) called Introduction to Primary Health Care. As far as medical schools go it is very basic but what makes it unique is the emphasis on health care in developing nations where sometimes you are all people have. There a eight main areas we focus on:

-Food and nutrition
-Water and sanitation
-Disease control
-Mother and child health
-Curative care
-Essential drugs
-Health Education
-Community resources

We have one teacher each week who comes in and focuses on some aspect of those eight issues. Some of the teachers in the school are medical professionals while others are lay health workers with a lot of hands on experience. My school leaders are all from different parts of Africa and they have a great deal of wisdom to impart to us. We have a small class with 3 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Nigerian, 1 Ghanaian, 1 from France, and 1 from New Zealand. We have been in classes now for a month and we have two months left before we go to really start learning by experience. In September we are going to a different part of South Africa where we will be assisting in a long-term care home for two weeks. After that we are off to Zimbabwe. We are going to a village in Zimbabwe called Komayanga. We will be working some of the time with a clinic in the area and some of the time we will set up a temporary clinic under a tree somewhere so people can come to us for help.

I am really enjoying this school but it is most definitely challenging as well. Not only is the school itself quite time consuming but the topics are really heavy. This past week we were learning about HIV/AIDS. Let me tell you, learning about it while you are in South Africa is sobering. 26% of the population in SA is HIV positive. Most of southern Africa is over 20% and in some places over 30%. As a health care worker here you face HIV/AIDS as a daily reality. The other thing is just the simple responsibility that comes with this school. I am scared at the mere thought of a desperate mother bringing her severely malnourished child to me and expecting me to save them. But I will most likely face that and more in Zimbabwe.

Obviously I can use prayer for this! We also have no idea what we will have as far as medicine when we get there because the current situation in Zimbabwe does not guarantee much of anything. Fortunately I serve a God who provides. Well, that is a little about my school...Talk to you in a few days. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

Football and Smiles

Hi all,

I have some free time at the moment so I thought I would try to give you more of an update. Actually, I should be doing my teaching plan right now but I need a break from working.

South Africa is fascinating but way too cold for me right now. It is winter here and usually around 55 degrees or warmer when the sun is out. I know it's not that cold but I much prefer weather in the 80s or 90s. It is interesting to be in a country that is in the process of having everything, including mindsets, restructured. Apartheid just ended 15 years ago which is really not very long. Although it is no longer legal, the daily reality for people still reflects a strong division of races. South Africa is separated into white, coloured, and black when it comes to people. During apartheid your quality of life was very much determined by your race with the whites having the best and the others getting the leftovers. The coloured are basically people who have a mixture of white and black blood plus some Indian blood. They were treated better than blacks but not as good as whites. From what I have seen there has been a lot of progress but it will be a ways to go before these attitudes are restored back to the truth.

There is something God has shown me about myself in the few weeks I have been here that is really cool. I was thinking that people here on the base were really friendly because they were always smiling. But then a few different people made comments to me about how I was always smiling and one guy told me that my face was full of laughter.To add to it the first teacher we had was a wonderfully smart woman named Minette. She would say these things in class about Africa that resonated with me and apparently every time she did I would smile because she started stopping and saying "there's that smile again." One time she said "Oh Johanna, you have such a beautifully expressive face." Finally one afternoon it hit me and I realized that all those smiling people were smiling back at me because I was smiling. My face was expressing joy. I don't know if I can explain to you all how profound it was for me to realize this. Not all of you have known me very well for the past ten years but I had depression for a while when I was younger and I never smiled. I mean seriously my face had almost no expression for such a long time because I didn't have any joy. So for me to see this difference in myself I am essentially seeing a part of me that God has restored back to what he originally intended me to be. He's the reason I smile so much now and I love that other people can see it.

I could use some prayer for this weekend. I have my first test tomorrow and it might be up to 3 hours long. It's practical and theory. Another thing you might want to pray for is this Sunday. The girls in my school and I have arranged a football (soccer for the Americans) match Sunday afternoon between our school and the girls in the English Language School here on base. It'll be fun but unfortunately for us most of the girls in ELS are from Brazil. So basically we are setting ourselves up for a football match against Brazilians which I think means we are either really courageous or just plain dumb. Hopefully I survive to write to you all again!

Isimbi Johanna

A Quick Update

Hi all of you,

Sorry I haven't been writing in a while. I had a bunch of stuff due today so I have been busy. They really waste no time in this school. We have another lecture tonight after supper to fit in everything we need to this week.

I have at least settled in more here so I feel a little more at home although I really wish it wasn't so cold here. We started work duties today, which we have to do on top of all our schoolwork :), and the days are going to go by very quickly now. Last week we were talking a lot about mother/child health and nutrition. Our teacher was great and I am so glad that I came to do this school. I know that God will be teaching me a lot this year. This week we are talking about counseling and how to get people to talk to us. Oh, and I have started going to a nearby gym. Really fun and really hard work since I'm not used to it. I enjoy weight-lifting the most. I go with two of the girls from my school and a guy on staff here at the base who used to work in a gym back in Colorado. Us girls are barely able to move at the moment.

Please pray if you think about it for the three students we are still waiting for. One is a guy from Liberia and then two women from Nigeria. They are all having trouble getting visas but we are really praying that they will make it in time.

OK, I have dinner soon and then lectures so I should go. Talk to you later!

Isimbi Johanna

What Can I Say

Hi all,

So I don't really know what to say when a South African doctor tells you that the Christian church has failed when it comes to HIV/AIDS; or when he points out that all the Christian countries in Africa are the ones with the highest infection rates. It prompts some serious thinking.

Our school has started of right away because we have a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time. We had our first lectures on Saturday but were able to have this afternoon off. A lot of our schedule will depend on when the doctors are available to come and talk. We also have a lot of schoolwork to do which I need to be working on right now. More of the students have come although we are still waiting on some. A lot of the people here on base are from Ghana so I have enjoyed the chance to talk about Ghana with them. I might get a chance to relearn some Twi that I forgot. Overall this place is very western compared to the Africa I am used to. While I enjoy the hot showers and the faucet water you can wash your toothbrush in without getting sick I will be glad to be back in more traditional Africa. I am very excited to go Zimbabwe!

I should go do schoolwork so I will talk to you all later!

Isimbi Johanna

Lately in Rwanda

Hello all you people,

So I have been cramming in lots in my short time here in Rwanda which explains why I haven't written. OK an update...

On Saturday we had a mini reunion with some of the students from my DTS . It was a lot of fun to hang out with them. About five of us met at Jean Paul's new house which was perfect because then we got to meet his new wife. He just got married on June 6th and they are adorable. It really cracks me up at these type of get togethers because people here really like formality. There were a bunch of people we didn't know who would get up and give speeches in Kinyarwanda and then while we were eating one of the guys there whipped out a huge old camera and started taking snapshots of everyone. It was fantastic!

Monday was not as much fun although just as important. Robert took Laura and I to see the memorial in Nyamata. There is a catholic church in Nyamata where a hundreds of people were killed during the genocide and as a memorial to them the government has left the church almost untouched. When you walk inside all you see are piles of ragged clothing laying on all the pews. The bones have been moved to an area behind the church where they are respectfully displayed. There are so many skulls. The ceiling of the church is still riddled with bullet holes and the white cloth draped across the altar table is covered in 15 year old bloodstains. It is disturbing to see. What struck me the most though is that as we walked out of the burial chambers where we had been surrounded by skulls and femur bones, many of them children, there were these three little girls waving at us and laughing from the other side of the fence. You see, the church in Nyamata is smack dab in the middle of all the other buildings. People walk by it every day going about their business. It was just an intense reminder of what you can't always see in Rwanda as an outsider; the people here carry out their lives with constant reminders of what happened right next to them. You just can't go anywhere that something didn't happen there that has bad memories.

Other than that I have been visiting friends and helping Laura with her classes. I will be leaving this time next week to fly to South Africa and start my school. This weekend, however, Laura and I are going to Butare to visit the National Museum and spend some time by the pool. It will be a good break for her. Hopefully this Sunday I will get to visit Selassie's mom which I am looking forward to. Talk to you all later!

Isimbi Johanna

Return to Africa!

Just a quick note to update Johanna's friends that on Thursday she recieved official acceptance to the YWAM school in Worcester, South Africa. The school runs from July to December 2009. Johanna hopes to spend several weeks in Rwanda prior to flying to South Africa.

You may read more about the Introduction to Primary Health Care course at: http://www.ywamworcester.org.za/iphc.htm

Johanna would appreciate your prayers as she concludes her time in Bozeman, Montana, travels to Texas for her brother's college graduation, returns home to New Hampshire for a month and then leaves for Africa.

Let's see if we can persuade her to share her heart and thoughts with us here!

Johanna's Folks

Returning Home

Johanna will be leaving Kigali, Rwanda on Friday, May the 23rd and connecting through Nairobi, Kenya enroute to London, England. She will be traveling to London together with her classmate, Laura. They will spend two days in London with Johanna's friend, Mary (from her Mercy Ship's team in 2006).

Then on Monday, May 26, Johanna and Laura will say goodbye and Johanna will fly to Boston arriving early in the evening to the eager hugs of her family.

Please remember Johanna and Laura during these coming days as they travel and as they say farewell to many people who have become dear, precious connections in their lives.

Growth

HI peoples!

So I will be back home a week from this Monday. I can't really wrap my
mind around that because it doesn't feel yet like I am actually
leaving and to be blatantly honest I don't really want to. It will be
nice to see you people though...

There has been a recurring theme for me in this school from the very
beginning and it has been stronger the last few days so I thought I
would share it with you. God has been making it clear to me for a
while now that He considers this to be a time for me to grow up. It is
His desire to use this time and experiences to mold me into a woman of
God. I am being challenged to leave behind old patterns of thought and
behavior and mature. Sometimes it is downright hard and I would rather
just not try. The best way I can describe what I am trying to say is
that God is in the process of re-potting me. You know when a plant
grows to the point that it needs to be moved to a bigger pot in order
for it to grow even more. That is me right now. It isn't easy because
God is getting to my roots and digging up things I don't really want
to deal with which I can share more about one-on-one when I get back
if you want.

I've had a tendency for the past few years to just look back at how
far I have come which is considerable and be content with that. God
transformed me from what I used to be like and the danger for me is to
think that He is done now. The truth is that He wants me in a
continual state of transformation. It excites me the more I think
about it. God will never take His hands away from me and say there is
nothing more to be done. He will stay personally involved in my
growth. No matter how wise or godly I may become He can still do more
to make me a woman who reflects Him. So that is what I have been
reflecting on recently.

Anyway, our class has our graduation ceremony this Friday. Everybody
is graduating which makes me very happy. That means that the only one
we lost is Selassie. Speaking of which, I have tried to reach him and
not succeeded yet. I would appreciate continued prayers for him and
for the chance of seeing him before I leave. I only have 8 days left
in Rwanda. I don't want to dwell on that thought. See you soon. Bye
for now!

Isimbi Johanna

Children who cheat death

Hello people,

I am writing my last note to you all from Uganda. We leave on Friday morning to drive to Athi River, Kenya. I have to tell you about the people I will remember the most from my time here in Soroti.

The YWAM base I stayed at has a ministry for children living with HIV/AIDS like I said. The minstry consists of two houses almost right next to each other. The first house is called Amacet n'ainapakin which means 'shelter of peace' in Ateso, the local dialect. It is a temporary home for young children who would often times die if they were not taken in. Some of them are postive for HIV while others have simpler health problems and some are just taken in as newborns because there mothers died giving birth and they have to be looked after. The goal of this ministry is to get the children healthy enough for them to be able to go back home to their families. This home is where I and some of the others from our team worked to help take care of these kids

Let me start with Esther. She is about a year and a half old although they don't know her exact age because her mother was a mentally unsound woman who lived on the street. When she was taken to the hospital she told everyone that her baby was dead. The policewoman who found Esther gave her her own name since they didn't know what to call her. Nobody knows who Esther's father is and her mother disappeared when she was released from the hospital. Esther's only chance for a home other than Amicet is to be adopted. She is such a joy to be around! She is almost walking know and she talks all the time. Her favorite word is Auntie which she calls everybody nonstop, even guys. Esther loves music and she will sing or dance to herself.

Probably the two sickest kids right now at Amicet are Dennis and David. They are both skin and bones although David at least will eat by himself and Dennis has to have a feeding tube. They are both over two years I think but it is hard to tell. David is wanting to be held all the time and he is a very good cuddler. Dennis, however, I am convinced could make any woman in the world fall in love with him. He has the most enormous brown eyes and you will find yourself just staring at him when all of a sudden this smile will spread across his face and...boom, you are done for. Please pray that both of these little men will be able to gain weight. Dennis also has a urinary tract infection and he has not been responding to any drugs.

I have to tell you about my favorite. The other girls think I am crazy for liking her but Silivia is my girl. We all have the kids that we dream about taking home with us and I would take Silivia home if I could. Silivia is about 16-months but she is close to the size of a 4-month old. She cannot talk, walk, or even sit up by herself until recently. She cries so easily; if the other kids just brush against her foot it startles her and sends her off into one of her screaming fits but they only last for five seconds. Surprisingly, she is not HIV-positive. Actually, the doctors don't know what is wrong with her. Silivia may seem to be rather irritating at first; even I thought so until one day when I was putting her to bed. I discovered that Silivia loves to reach up with her tiny little hand and touch peoples' faces. And if you kiss her hand her entire face is transformed by smiles. When I give her kisses on her cheek she becomes beautiful and she isn't the funny looking kid with a head too big for her body anymore. She also likes to look around the room and if anyone is smiling she immediately joins in. I'm telling you her face radiates joy when she smiles. My dream is to take her to America, find a doctor who knows what is wrong, and help her grow up to be the woman God intended her to be.

The second home is called Amacet n'amun which means 'shelter of hope'. It is a long-term home for kids living with HIV/AIDS. They are older; between the ages of ten and fourteen. It is more like a family than the first home. Our team was blessed to be able to spend most afternoons hanging out with these kids after school. The guys played football with the boys and the girls all played games together. These kids are awesome. They are the image of perseverance and hope in a situation that seems hopeless. They do not have easy lives and most are orphans but they smile and love and laugh. I know that God views these kids as His own priceless jewels on earth. They shine for Him.

I'm sorry for how long this post is and I know that I haven't shared much about myself but I had to tell you about the unforgettable people I met in Uganda. Chances are I will never see them again after I leave and the hard reality is that within a few years many of these children from both homes may be dead. I have nevertheless been blessed beyond description to have been given the chance to see them live. I am amazed that God continues to allow us to see His treasured things particularly when we seem to often mistreat what He so deeply cares about. Yet He stills shares more and more with us. I know it's an understatement but God is really brave to do that. I am so thankful that we have the God that we have.

OK, I will force myself to stop here since my time is running out:) I will see you all in the end of May. Bye! Ndagakunda cyane!

Isimbi Johanna

What's in a name?

  
  

Hello,

I just had a long post I was going to send but the internet cafe was switching from off the generator since the power came back on so I lost it all. I have less time now to say hi to you all but I'll be back on Wednesday I hope. We have just 11 days left in Uganda and then we are on to Kenya for a month. I am definitely excited to see another country.

I was thinking that maybe I should explain my name to you all. If you noticed I have been signing my blog posts as Isimbi Johanna. Obviously you all know that my name is Johanna:) Isimbi is my Kinyarwanda name (pronounced ee-SEE-mbee). It is very special to me because Selassie gave it to me. He said that it was perfect for me and since he rarely reached out to people like that it meant a lot. Simply translated Isimbi means "shining". A more accurate translation is shining like a snow-covered mountain or a pebble in the water. Rwanda has no natural resources like gold or diamonds so when people wanted to describe something that was treasured they used the way the sun glistens on the top of a snowy mountain as an example. But that is not what means the most to me about my name. When Sel gave it to me he said that in Rwanda girls that were named Isimbi were special. They were in his words " quiet, beautiful, and wise". As soon as he had said that he started talking about 1994. He said that during the genocide sometimes the killers would ask people what their names were and when they came to a girl named Isimbi they still killed her anyway. He had this look on his face that I can't describe and he shook his head and said "that was very bad" as if killing them showed how little regard there was for anyone at all. So, anyway that is the story of my name.

I will talk to you all soon! Bye for now!

Isimbi Johanna

Chickens and attack helicopters!

Hi people!

I have to say that I had the most unique and probably most fun Easter sunday that I have ever had yesterday. I woke up early so that I could slaughter chickens! I told some of my African team members back in Rwanda that I wanted to learn how to kill a chicken and they let me kill five of them and then I defeathered them and learned how to cut them up. I won't go in to more details for those of you who are grossed out but any of you that want to know the specifics for killing a chicken just ask me when I get back:) I have pics of it up on facebook for those of you that can access that but I couldn't post them here.

Then I went to church and after it was over the guy who was giving us a ride back to base gave us a tour of his flight academy. We went up into the control tower and since the military also uses that place we got to get a tour of a military attack helicopter. It was really cool. It was loaded with rocket bombs and had a 30-mm gun in front. I am hoping that tomorrow I might get to go back and sit in the planes that the school uses. I also got to learn how to make chipotis that afternoon which is a bread type thing that is absolutely delicious. All in all it was a good day.

Time goes so fast. We have less than three weeks remaining in Uganda and less than two months until we graduate. I will be happy to go home and see people and to be totally honest I am looking forward to a Dunkin' Donuts medium french vanilla coffee almost as much. At the same time though I will be heartbroken to leave. I keep leaving bits of myself all over Africa. I guess every time I do God replaces what I lost with Himself so that I am never depleted or running dry. It's better that way. I'd rather lose myself even though sometimes it hurts if it means that I get to feel more of what God feels. And I will need His strength because coming here is not always easy. I really enjoy it sometimes and I joke about how fun it is to kill chickens but the truth is that in the long run I will only be able to last in Africa if God keeps pouring Himself out into me. I find it amazing that He even does but I am so grateful. The Johanna Beachy that I am on my own cannot deal with little children, even babies, who are slowly dying. They seem just like ordinary kids sometimes until they suddenly throw up or I see a kid that I think is maybe a few months old until I find out that she is over a year old.

I also am incapable of dealing with the amount of inside pain that I have seen people living with. It will sometimes just rise up and smack me in the face when I am not expecting. Someone will be talking and the next thing you know someone else makes a remark about how during the genocide they fell down a hole while running for their life and broke their back and that they had to lay there covered with a bag of beans to try to hide since they couldn't move. It's a whole different world and I don't know how I'm going to go home. Sorry I didn't mean to get all depressing but that is what it is like to live with Rwandese. I would love them so much if only for how much they have survived and God has protected them through. I love this God who keeps people alive when it is humanly impossible to do so. And He is the same God who then sustains me when I am facing the pain that comes as a result of their experiences. How amazing is that! Every time I see how big and powerful He is I am so honored that He cares for every little thing about me.

Yeah, if you want to see some more about the God who cares for you come to Africa, especially Rwanda, and you will be blown away. I think a lot of people in America have this view of God as our Father and best Friend which is totally true but sometimes we can forget about this whole other side of Him. He is the Defender of the weak and oppressed, a Warrior King, and all-powerful in everything He does. I've gotten some awesome glimpses of my Lord in that role here and it gives me goosebumps. Actually, it drives me to my knees. You don't stand in the presence of a King like that. And if you really want to be in awe of Him take a look in the Bible about what he says regarding the widows and orphans. I have learned a lot about His heart towards them in the past few months. He loves them alright but I was amazed and scared to see the way He will act against those who abuse them. He has such a tender spot for orphans and widows that anyone who dares to hurt them or even to just not help them out should be really scared.

OK, I love talking about HIm but I am running out if time now. I will see and talk to you people in June. Bye!

Ndagakunda cyane! Imana ibahe umugisha!

Isimbi Johanna

Leaving for Uganda!

Hi friends and family!

I have no idea where I will next be writing you from as I am leaving
this Tuesday morning to go to Soroti. It is a long bus ride but the
exciting thing is that we will drive across the Equator and right by
the source of the Nile! We expect to be in Uganda for about a month
and then we will hopefully be heading on to Kenya depending on how the
situation is by then. I am looking forward to seeing another African
country. Mostly I am excited for what I know the Lord can do through
our team. My prayer is that we will put aside who we are in order to
better reflect our Creator.

It looks like I will probably not be going straight to South Africa
after DTS is over. The base has not responded to me yet and I have a
very limited time in which to prepare the details if I were to go. I
am sad to miss the adventure it could have been but I know that I will
have others. So that means I will most likely be coming home in the
end of May. I expect I will be around for at least a couple months
before heading out somewhere. I am also still going to pursue going to
the Primary Healthcare School in South Africa next year. That will
give me time to work before I go. I will be spending time praying
about this next stage in my life as I come home.

First, though, I am looking to be used in ministry in Uganda and
Kenya. There is more than one AIDS ministry that I hope to be able to
work with. I will write to all you dear people as soon as I can!

Isimbi Johanna

P.S. I have not seen or heard from Selassie. Even if I never see him
again I will pray for him the rest of my life. He is my twin brother.

Muraho!

So first off -- no I did not get to see the President when he came this past week. We live right by the airport though and we could hear his planes and helicopters arriving while we were sitting in class. And I went to town that day to pick up a package and there were policemen and soldiers all over the place.

Alrighty, about Kenya...What our school is planning to do is go to Soroti, Uganda for the first month of our outreach and then if God is still calling us to Kenya we'll go there for the last month. It's kind of cool actually because our DTS staff heard from God to do that and the base leadership also felt God was telling them to wait and then they found out that God was telling them the same thing. Even right down to going to Uganda first. We will, therefore, be leaving to go to Soroti on March 11th which is coming up so fast. This week will be our last week of classes. Time flies! I don't know what getting to the internet will be like there but I'll keep in touch as much as possible. That's something to keep praying about and as always my dear twin Selassie. I have still not heard from him.

There is actually something else. Something I was hesitant to tell everyone because I am not sure it will happen at all but I think it would be good for you all to know. That way if you happen to think about me during prayers you could mention this little thing. Some of you know that a major reason I did this DTS was to get into YWAM's Primary Healthcare school after graduating. [Note: see previous post from December for more details...] I was looking into possible places to do this school before I left. I really like it a lot. I feel like it was designed perfectly to match what God has put in my heart for developing nations. There were two places I have been considering. One is in Perth, Australia where they have an excellent IPHC school (Introduction to Primary Healthcare). But I really wanted to do this school in Africa somewhere because I knew I would likely get more practical experience. So there is another one in Worcester, South Africa. The problem was that the South Africa school starts every July and that wouldn't give me enough time after DTS ends in May.

Well, I was sitting in a meeting a few weeks ago and all of a sudden I just started thinking about where to go for the school and this thought dropped into my head. A scary thought that I had never even considered before; " Who said you have to go home first?" And I was like, whoa God! No way! But my mind kept considering it anyway. Think Johanna, your DTS ends in May. There is a school that you know you want to do that starts in July. The school is in South Africa. You are already in East Africa. Just go straight down to Worcester from Rwanda! To tell you the truth I made a big commitment while I was sitting there. I told God that if He wanted me to do that school and do it this year then I will. It excites me and scares me. I love adventures but I like to plan them myself so part of me wants to tell God to just wait and let me go home first. I'll go back and see family and friends. I'll make some money since I don't have any for the school yet anyway.

Fortunately, I realize that I don't want to be comfortable with my own decisions like that. What I want more than anything is just to follow Christ. I don't need to take breaks in between or refresh myself for my next trip to Africa because following Him, no matter how radical it looks, is the most restful place I can be. If Jesus is leading me to South Africa that soon then I want to follow. Anyway, dear people, for all I know God just wants me to be ready to obey Him all the time and I won't actually be going yet or maybe I will. Either way is OK with me. There is such freedom in following Christ! When I am focused on Him it doesn't matter if I'm in Africa or America because He is the first thing I see anyway! I sent an e-mail to the South Africa base to find out the details and I'll let you know more as soon as I get them.

Sorry for how long this is but you try to fit the story of your life into a once in a while blog post and keep it short:) I will see you all when I see you! God bless you (or as Selassie would say Jah Bless)!

Isimbi Johanna

A Treat by Phone

It had been over a week since anyone of us had spoken with Johanna (and even longer since her father had had any quality phone time), so I took a chance to see if I could catch her on a mid-week evening. I was successful in connecting and was able to chat for about 10 minutes before she had to walk down to the dining area for supper. We were able to set up a time for a longer conversation from the Beachy household on Sunday.

Johanna wanted to go over the logistics of purchasing her return ticket. She hopes to travel from Rwanda along with her classmate, Laura, and then stay a couple of days in London (where she hopes to visit with her friend, Mary, from the Mercy Ship's Segue program that she attended in 2006). That will give her a little more 'decompression time' to begin the process of returning to a developed economy -- as well as holding off saying goodbye to each other for as long as possible!

The class is still planning to travel to Kenya for their period of ministry. The leaders of the school felt strongly led even before the class began that Kenya would be the destination for their outreach time. They are still praying for the direction as to the detailed location and logistics. Please join them in remembering the country of Kenya during this difficult time of national turmoil. I have included some links for helpful information to inform your prayers:

Operation World
SIM: Serving in Mission
Christianity Today
Mission Network News
The Christian Post
Newsweek "There Will Be Blood"

Johanna said (since her mother was interested in knowing) that the meals are good and that the mid-day and evening meals especially are plentiful. She is enjoying the food in Rwanda much better than what she occasionally experienced in Ghana in 2006.

Johanna and her classmates continue to participate in outreaches in the area of Kigali (it is not just all class time for them) as well as having assigned job duties as part of the community responsibilities for the YWAM school.

She greatly appreciates your prayers and encouragement!!