Joy of the Master

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of the Master." - Matthew 25:21

I read this verse earlier this week and wanted to share my thoughts with you all. I have always honed in on the first part of that verse, the necessity of being a good and faithful servant; and often have felt the burden of that responsibility. I love the last sentence- "enter into the joy of your Master". That is the part that stuck out to me this week. Yes, there is diligence that needs to take place in striving to live a life that reflects our love for the Master, but let us never forget to enter into the Joy! To experience true fulfillment and immerse ourselves in this amazing opportunity we have to share in this joy. Wherever we are, let us suck the marrow out of life, truly love and live and be blessed by this amazing God that allows us to partner with Him.

I've heard some complaints for not posting recently - sorry about that! I'll give you the quick rundown on the last couple weeks. I passed my language test (Wednesday), thanks to all of you who prayed. Finished up with training on Saturday and now I have officially sworn in as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer (Monday). I've been having a lot of fun too, so let me just fill you in! Last week I rode around Mwakera Dam (Thursday) in a canoe that was missing the front end, but we didn't sink and this Zambian guy was eager to paddle around, so it was really fun (I'll upload photos later). A little Italy meets Zambia. All the Peace Corps volunteers moved from our home stay families to a conference center (Saturday). I got to watch the sunrise on my last day in the Kitwe area and feel very blessed by my experiences there. It was really sad to say goodbye to my little brothers and sisters there. My nephew, Hunter, sent a bunch of his toys to Victor and Cholwe, so I was able to give those to them the night before I left. It is pretty hilarious to see African children playing with finger puppets and Disney figurines. My nephew rocks! And now I have a niece too - Delaney Grace is beautiful and I can't wait to meet her soon-soon! It continues to be a struggle for me to be away from everyone back home that I love, but definitely makes me dependent more on God, and for that I am thankful.

So now I am in Choma, about 40k from my future home. I am staying until Sunday when I'll be posted to my site. I ordered a bed and mattress and got a ton of shopping done for my house. Purchased groceries and all that today as well. I'll be meeting with Ministry of Health officials and some other potential partners in this week here in the BOMA. I am really excited to go to my village. As I was leaving my home stay family I thought a lot about how scary it seemed to be dropped off, and yet mostly it is that fear of the unknown that brings the apprehension. So it is REALLY scary to think about being in a hut in the middle of Africa with no electricity, cell phone service, or access to America - but once I am there and meet my neighbors and counterparts, I know it will seem like home.

I also got a pet giraffe this week! Ok, it came in the mail today and is the most adorable stuffed giraffe with pink bows and a safari hat. Her name is CeCe and my friends (Britt, Sam, & Michelle) sent her for my birthday. You press her front paw (is that what giraffes have) and their voices come on telling me they love me. Thanks you guys-it really did make me cry. I'm still working to see if I can have a real giraffe, I want to skip over the pet dog and cat phase and just work on big game animals.

Ok, there you have a brief update from me! Send me your thoughts. Live out loud this week and I'll post more before I leave for the middle of nowhere. Love you all.