Africa: Sooooo Incredible

• Thank you all for your prayers. My travel here was pretty uneventful--except for the flight to South Africa. I ended up sitting next to a rather large guy (who took up half my seat, snored loud enough for the whole cabin to hear, and spoke very little English) and a nun. I felt like I should be able to make up some sort of joke about it, but I was too tired to think straight. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much during that 11 hour flight.
• After the Byrnes picked me up at the airport,we went to Victoria Falls. It was beautiful and wet. The mist from the water falling from so high above creates a thick cloud all around the falls. We couldn't see all of it for that reason, but it was still amazing. The path was filled with monkeys, and the trees were mostly torn down because of some elephants that had gotten into the grounds a few weeks earlier.
• Barry and Judy Byrnes have spent the last 2 or 3 years working on their house. They moved in about a month ago, but just got their ceiling in last week. Mr. Byrnes began by using a truck and a piece of the railroad track to make a path going from the main road to their plot of ground. The house is about 1/2 mile off the road through dirt, tall grass (about 3 feet high), more dirt, potholes, and very few green trees. There are burned patches here and there because instead of cutting grass here in Africa, they burn it. It is a lot less time consuming. There is a wall-fence around the property to keep out thieves. The wall-fence is made of bricks and is about about 6 feet high. They also have three guard dogs--who last week nearly killed the plumber and bit the last girl who stayed with them. I got introduced to them last night. A few bowls of food and some bones later, and I think they like me! I'm still pretty nervous around them, but they're warming up to me.
• The inside of the house has concrete floors and they're still working on getting doors. A few rooms have doors, but none of the bathrooms do. It's all one level, and, did I mention, there isn't any electricity? They have paid for it, but the company has three months to turn it on. We run on solar power at night, and heat up water if we want to take a bath. (Cleanliness has dropped on my priorities list). We can go over to another missionary's house if we want hot water or to do some cooking. Last night Evelyn and I wanted to make garlic bread, so we decided to toast some over the fire. It looked great, but tasted like smoke. I felt I should eat it for the sake of the experience. I talked the girls into helping me make peanut butter cookies, even without butter, milk, or baking soda. They weren't all that bad, but Mrs. Byrnes still refuses to taste them. Go figure.
• Yesterday was church, and it was, for lack of a better word, very cool. The teens on Saturday thought I was funny (looking, maybe). They helped me discover the reason I never play sports. On Sunday, I sat in on Children's Church so that I can teach it next week. Well, I sat on a round log, that wasn't exactly sanded down, and was 2 inches in diameter. The children meet in a building, well, a shelter of wood and straw slashed together with pieces of string. It's just a roof with some very small benches underneath. The main worship service is a brick building with a tin roof, no windows, and no doors. There are benches about 4 inches wide, max, and some are smaller. I've never been so thankful for pews. In between services the people just sit there and sing. They create beautiful harmonies to whatever it is they're singing. (Everything is in Tonga and is translated to English). Some random person starts a song and everyone joins in. The message was by a native pastor. There was a baptism after the service so 6 people got up and gave their testimonies. It was awesome.
• The baptismal service took place about 3 miles down the road. I was told it was a 30 minute walk, so Evelyn, Andrea, and I walked while the adults drove. After walking about half the way, we got a chance to climb up on top of the van of one of the other missionaries. He was coming back for a second or third load of people. (I should explain that roads here are far from paved. Most roads are dirt with so many holes and drops that no one stays on any one side of the road. Sometimes one set of wheels is in a ditch on one side of the road to avoid the worst of the bumps. I was pretty freaked on the way back from the airport because Mr. Byrnes tends to hit 60 mph on those roads. He's very good at maneuvering around the holes, but I feel like I'm inside a video game. After body-checking Evelyn a few times, I finally got the hang of it. It's fun once you get over the whole fear of death thing. Back to Sunday . . . SO here are three girls in skirts climbing on top of a mini-van to travel about another mile and half down a dirt road. Mr.Smith (the missionary who was driving) was pretty careful about the branches hanging over the road, and if you kept an eye out everything was fine. On the way back there were 7 of us up on top, 15 inside, and 2 hanging on the back. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention and got smoked by a hefty branch right in the head. Apparently, it looked pretty funny and some remarks were made about me going back to the States bald from that branch. I'm fine however, and that was the most fun thing I've ever done in my life. I'm not even exaggerating. It was AWESOME!!
• The baptism took place in a greenish pond. It was a little off the road . .path, so we went through grass that is about 5-6 feet tall. The men joked about snakes, but I didn't think it was very funny. (There are copperheads on the path up the Byrne's house). We stood around as the pastor baptized them, and someone started singing "Washed by the Blood" in Tonga. It's amazing to see God working in lives all around the world, and I get to be a part of it here!!
• I'd better get off the computer. Please continue to pray for the Byrnes and the other missionaries as they minister here. Our God is in control of all things. This is sooooo incredible.
• Love to all!!
• Darla

UK

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe in London. I got 2 hours of sleep last night and I'm not tired yet, but I know it's coming. A few things I've learned so far- If the bathrooms represent the country than England is pretty much the best country ever!! I'm deathly afraid of . . . flying. That's right, for those of you that know me-it's a little like me and rollar coasters. I have to keep repeating Scripture to myself during the flight. It's not all that bad though, I know I'll be fine in my Father's love. The dollar is not doing very well against the pound. Hot Chocolate Miland is pretty good but not very sweet. Goes well with a chocolate muffin. Eating alone is culturally unacceptable, and therefore I-as a product of society-refuse to do it. I think I'm gonna come back thin. I love you guys, please continue to pray! Darla >3333 London

Leaving Soon!!

I wanted to write something to say goodbye to all my friends. I leave in about 4 hours and I think it's important that you all know how much I love you. I don't know what will happen to me on this trip or how much I will change, but I know that my God will never be any different. He is the reason that I will always love you because (no offense) sometimes I don't feel like loving some of you. You get on my nerves, hurt me, or I'm just selfish, but that doesn't matter. Anything you do(or I think you do)to me is completely covered by either the cross of Christ or by an eternity spent in hell.(John Piper) Not what you expected to hear, huh? I love you. I don't say that lightly or in passing because, when I say those 3 words, I mean it. Before I go I feel like I need to straighten a few things out with some of you. Church Peeps: I would do absolutely anything for you guys, but I've let you down. This past year I got fed up with a lot of you, and I ran away. I ran to my school friends and the activities there. That was wrong. I didn't show you Christ's love through my actions and I'm sorry. I'm asking for your forgiveness. It's not the way that any Christian should behave. But know that I love you and that I will never do that again. School Peoples:I don't think I've been a great example to you either. I adore you. Some of my funniest memories are hanging out with you guys, but I'm afraid I passed over the most important thing, my faith. I believe that Jesus Christ is a sinless, holy God and the Son of God. He died a horrible death on the cross, and our sins(mine and yours) were the ones that put Him there. Only He could die because He is the only person that was ever perfect. Our sins mean that every single one of us deserves hell. Hell isn't a party or some cool place-hell is the absence of God(which means no more happiness, love, beauty, or anything good). Jesus went through terrible pain because He wanted us to know the joy of believing in Him. He wants us to spend eternity with Him, worshiping Him. There isn't a better way to spend our life after death. God gives so much peace and comfort when no one else knows what we're going through. He can be your best friend and your rock. You can hide in the Rock, and no evil thing can touch you there. There is so much to gain by just believing that Christ is the only way to salvation from sin and death. This is so important for you to know. Salvation is a one-time thing, you can't lose it, and if you truly believe then you have Christ as your own personal friend for life. You deserve to know the truth. I love you, and that is why it is so important to me that you know the God that is my best friend. I LOVE YOU! Last night, my whole family was over and we sat down to pray for my trip. As each of my parents, brothers and their wives, and Jessica(Mara was too young) prayed for me I realized how blessed I am. My family is incredible! They all love me and they all want me to have an awesome time on this trip. I couldn't be more grateful for the best blessing I have, my family. I don't deserve them at all. Thank you for your prayers as I travel and minister in Zambia. I will take a lot of pictures, I promise! I'm planning to be posting things on here during my trip if I can. I can't wait to go!!