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

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

Safe Arrival in Zimbabwe...

Johanna called home for a just a couple of minutes in the early morning hours on 10/12/09 to let us know that she had arrived safely, was doing well, and to wish her brother a happy birthday! Thanks for your prayers and support!

The NH Beachys

Zimbabwe!!

Hello all,

So this will be my last post before I go to Zimbabwe which means I don't know when you will hear from me again. Hopefully, I can find a computer to use to let everyone know I'm still alive sometime this week.

We are leaving tonight at 7 and will reach Johannesburg around noon tomorrow. We stay there overnight and then continue on to Zim; we should arrive in Bulawayo sometime on Thursday.

Concerning prayer, just keep it coming! The base prayed for our team this morning to send us off and you can never pray too much. Zimbabwe needs prayer for sure but I believe God has great things in store for turning this country back to Him and I am excited to see a glimpse of it in the coming months. We are praying for safe travels of course and then some things to keep in mind are unity amongst our team, wisdom in our words and actions, and most importantly that God would use us to glorify Him in Zimbabwe. We may be going there as a health care team but really God can use us however He wants.

As for me, I am so excited to be going. I love seeing new countries! Time goes by so fast and I want to make the most of the 2 months I have in Zim. Before I know it I'll be going back home for Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all in December and I will write to you from Zimbabwe. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

Time to go try it out...

Hi all,

I wanted to let you guys know that I am leaving tomorrow to go on the first part of my outreach. Our class is going to Knysna, South Africa to work in a long-term care home for elderly and paraplegic people. It is around four hours from Worcester and we will be there until Sept. 21st. When we return we have one last week of classes and then on the 28th we leave for Zimbabwe.

Speaking of Zim, I was very blessed this morning to get to visit with my friend Rob from Zimbabwe. I met Rob about two years ago in Manchester, NH way before I ever had plans to go to Zimbabwe. He has since moved back to Zim and was here in SA visiting friends so we met in Cape Town to catch up. I think it is just so cool how God knows our lives before we live them. I had no idea but He knew that I would be in Zim someday. I really am so excited to see this country; from what I hear God is turning things around from what they were like even just last year.

I will write you as soon as I can and definitely before I go to Zimbabwe:)

Isimbi Johanna

How far from home am I?

Taken in Cape Town, South Africa

The First Few Days

Ok hello everyone,

Yes so I am here on Worcester alright although I think I will forever dislike the Johannesburg ('Jo-burg') airport. The way it is set up you have to go get your checked bags when you get off your plane and you go to the exit and then check back in again for your connecting flight. I got to the check-in counter finally at almost midnight and they were closing up and told me I couldn't check in until the morning. The guy there was telling me that I would have to stay at a hotel so he showed me where to go because the airport one was full. At first I thought he meant that I would have to find a hotel in Joburg somewhere which is not that safe. But he just pointed to the Intercontinental Hotel that was across the road and told me to go there. So I left the airport in Joburg in the middle of the night and went across the street (don't freak out Mother or Laura obviously I am fine) to the hotel but as I was walking up to it I noticed that it looked really nice which was not good for me. Yeah, they wanted over 3,000 Rand for the night which is over $400. At that point I only needed the room for 4 hours anyway. I just said no thank you and walked back across to the airport. I went back to the check-in counter at sat down on some stairs across from it. I was the only person around other than the cleaning guys. One of them had seen me leaving and he came back over to me and asked if I found what I was looking for and I told him I couldn't afford it. I sat there for a few minutes and then he came back and told me that there was a 24-hour coffee shop downstairs where I could go. He showed me the right lifts to use and what floor to push and as I was getting on he said "Because you looked very nice sitting there you know and the others they would harass you" and then he walked away. I did find the coffee shop which is where the other passengers were waiting. I was just reminded of how much God protects me when I am traveling by sending me people like that young kind cleaning guy to help me. Then when I got to Cape Town the guy who was suppose to come pick me up didn't come; these two other guys came but they were 30 minutes late. I tried to subtly ask them questions before I would go with them and they passed so I went:)

When I got here to Worcester yesterday I was really struggling with being homesick for Rwanda and my family. I haven't spent very much time with my family in the past 2 years and the month I just had with them was not nearly enough. I also really didn't want to leave Rwanda because it feels natural and good when I'm there. I miss my friends in Kigali of course but it is more than that. I don't know if God will use in Rwanda long-term but I am sure that I will continually visit at least.

One of the staff for my school here is a young woman from Ghana and I was talking with her when we found out that she was at the YWAM base in Tema, Ghana at the same time that I visited it with Mercy Ships in 2006. She remembers our team coming. We live in a small world. My room here is very tiny and cold but there is hot running water for showers. So far the other students I know are Bernard from Ghana, Ginny from Texas, and Lissia from France. The last two are my roommates. There are some others coming in the next few days. I saved the best part for last...we are going to Zimbabwe for outreach!!! I have been praying that we would and today Lissia told me she has been praying that as well! Please keep praying that it doesn't fall through because I believe that is where we need to go.

We have registration at 4 so I will talk with you later. Bye!

Isimbi Johanna

Thank God!

I am here in Worcester safe and sound finally. After all the traveling I have done in Africa this past time might be the worst of all. I really need to go lie down and sleep because I haven't since yesterday morning so I will tell you about it later. Thank you for all your prayers!!

Isimbi Johanna

On my way to South Africa

Hi people,

I am leaving for SA in a couple of hours. I would love to ask for your prayers as I travel to a new country. I have to sit in the Johannesburg airport overnight so I need to stay awake and alert...it is not exactly the safest place. Please pray that all my bags arrive, that I don't get bothered by anyone (though Robert, like a typical big brother, has been giving me advice on where to hit a guy if he attacks me) and that someone is there to pick me up when I arrive in Cape Town. I am very excited to be going to SA but very sad to leave Laura and Rwanda. I will let you know that I have arrived as soon as I am able!

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

As I Go

Hello all of you,

Well it is somewhat difficult for me to write that in a few hours I am heading down to Boston where I will begin my flights heading to Rwanda and then three weeks later to South Africa. It is difficult because to be utterly honest I don't want to go yet. I know, that sounds odd coming from the girl who loves to travel but I am leaving with intensely mixed emotions this time. As most of you know I have been living in Montana since last summer which means I have only been back with my family for a month. Not very long. In fact I just had to say bye to my brother who is off to the camp he works at and my sister is leaving in an hour for work. I'll miss them so much. I'm also feeling a scary 'I don't want to leave my comfort-zone and head into the unknown again' sensation. Now you know where I'm at. So why go at all?

Because I will not be lukewarm. I will not be a comfortable Christian. I want my faith in Jesus Christ to consistently lead me to do things that are scary. I'm not talking about being stupid in my faith but maybe a little reckless. The times when I take steps to follow God's commands in the Bible that I don't think I can handle; that's when I know that God is all-sufficient. He has never ever failed me. And He is the best cure for a case of nerves that I have ever found. When I focus on who my God is my surroundings and circumstances don't change but they're sure not very intimidating anymore. He kind of dwarfs everything on earth by comparison.

I am spending three weeks in Rwanda and am tremendously excited for that. The purpose of this visit is simply to visit friends. My dear friend and sister Laura Mutesi, who was in the DTS with me in Rwanda last year, has moved back to Kigali to teach English in a school there. I will be staying with her at the same place we lived last year which means I get to see my teachers and some of my classmates again. On July 1 I fly down to South Africa for Youth With A Mission's (YWAM) Introduction to Primary Healthcare school.

I am not entirely sure what to expect from this school but what I do know excites me. I will spend 3 months of classes in Worcester, SA learning the basics of health care in a developing nation. The second half of the school I will go somewhere and work in a healthcare setting. This part could be in SA or it could be another country. I am something of a loner who tends to avoid responsibility so the thought of someone's health depending on me...yeah, I don't naturally want to go there. This is what makes me get over that tendency:

-Approximately 25,000 people die every day of hunger or its related causes. 9 million people per year. Think about that. The leading cause of death in the world is from a lack of food.
-1.2 billion people in the world do not have access to clean water. As a result 5 million people die every year from water-related illnesses and every 15 seconds a child dies from this. I wonder how long it takes you to read this blog?
-In the U.S. and Europe 2 out of every 1,000 children die before they turn 5. In Africa, 165 out of every 1,000 die before they are 5 years old. The highest percentage of these is from birth complications followed by pneumonia and on and on and on...
-Malaria kills between 1.5 million and 2.7 million people per year and one child every 30 seconds.
-There are 33 million people in the world infected with HIV. 70% of them are in Africa. 3 nations in sub-Saharan Africa have an infection rate over 20%. There are 15 million children orphaned by AIDS.

I could go on but I think you get the idea. I know that I can't save every person who makes up these statistics but those numbers drive me crazy. It pushes me past myself and screams at me so loudly that I can't ignore them. I don't even want to imagine how loudly it screams out to God who sees everything. Well, there you go. That is what I am doing and why I am going.

Some of you have expressed a desire to support me financially, which is greatly appreciated, and I will need a bombardment of prayers. You can contact my father ( a.k.a. my banker) if you would like to send funds along. I also am encouraged to hear from any of you while I am away. Talk to you 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

Leaving Rwanda

Hey people,

I have a brief chance today to send my last blog post from Rwanda. It
is my last day here. I leave for the airport tomorrow morning. I have
been trying to pack in as many things at once as I can.

I just came to the internet after trying to walk to my friend Didier's
house. I'm afraid I got lost before I could make it. Now it is not
just my poor sense of direction to blame; usually Didier and I walk
there together and it is the back way that has a lot of little twists
and turns that all look alike. Today Didier said he wanted me to try
to find it myself and when I said I might get lost and end up
wandering through the valley he said he hoped I would so that I would
miss my plane and not be able to leave. His plan almost succeeded:)

This week has been very sad with all the good-byes and knowing that I
will be leaving this country for who knows how long. I have also not
been able to get in touch with Selassie which in a way breaks my heart
because I don't think I will likely ever see him again. I told God
that if for whatever reason I did not see Sel again I would still
commit to praying for him the rest of my life and I will stick to
that. Oh dear, I am going to need cheering up when I get to NH.

Well, please pray for safe travels for myself and my bags. I will be
in London for the weekend and then home Monday night. See you all
soon!

Isimbi Johanna

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.

Back home in Rwanda

Hello peoples!

I am now back in Rwanda! I missed it so much and it is such a relief to be back here. I love this country so much.

The bus ride getting here was a bus ride from...never mind; 26 hours driving over what must be some of the worst roads on East Africa. We also drove right through the Rift Valley which is other-worldly beautiful but also a little scary since that is where most of the violence in Kenya has been concentrated. At one point we drove past a row of burned down buildings where people had been driven from their homes. God is good and He got us back to Kigali safely.

I will right a longer post in the next couple of days to let you know more but for now I am still exhausted:) I am not looking forward to leaving by the way. If it were not for wanting to see all of you again I would never leave Rwanda I think. Talk to you later!

Isimbi Johanna

P.S. Please pray that I will get to see Selassie before I leave. I miss that kid more than I can describe and everything in Rwanda makes me think of him. Strange the people God chooses for us to be connected to.

Nairobi says hi!

Hello people!

I can't write much but I wanted to send a greeting from my one day in Nairobi. I really like this city. I could easily live here although I would miss the beauty of the bush-bush.

I will see you all (from NH) in about a month and I am looking forward to it. I have to go the others are waiting.

Love you all and I'll write more soon!

Isimbi Johanna

Stop the Milking!

We tried calling Johanna on Saturday this time (because Sundays are so full and because her two younger siblings are not usually with us when we have to call before 2:00 PM Eastern time). We got through right away but Laura told us (we thought) that Johanna was down looking at the cows and that we should call back in 10 minutes.

We did just that and Johanna answered but it turns out that she had been milking the cow not just looking. I'm sure that her great aunts and uncles on the side of her Amish heritage (not to mention her great-grandmother, Annie) would have identified immediately with her chores!

Since we were calling the day before her sister's 16th birthday, the two of them were able to 'catch up' on news and relish the prospect of less than 40 days until Johanna is back home again -- however briefly that might be.

Johanna said that the location of the YWAM facility was absolutely spectacular. I forgot to ask her if in fact she could see Mt. Kilimanjaro from where she was. It is about 115 miles away just over the Tanzanian border and rises to a height of over 19,000 feet -- so I'm guessing if you have the right vantage and the right weather, it should be possible.

The YWAM property adjoins national park land so the wildlife and scenery is a great treat indeed. The team has been working hard all week doing manual labor on the property (when not milking) but will begin to work at an HIV/AIDS ministry near Nairobi on Tuesday.

Travel to Kenya

I spoke briefly with Johanna the evening before her departure from Uganda. The team will take a bus about noontime to the main terminal (I suspect in Kampala). There they will take an overnight bus traveling to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and arrive at about 5:00 AM on the morning of Saturday 4/12. Staff from the Athi River YWAM facility will be coming to Nairobi to pick them up. Thanks for your prayers!!