tashakor!

home safe. readjusted. back in the swing. ...with a lasting impact.

quick shout out to all my peeps who supported me and my team... whether financial, prayer, or verbal encouragement... i could not have experienced all this without you!

"i praise my God every time i remember you" - philippians 1:3

goodbye kabul...khoda hafez.

wonderful trip. beautiful country. incredible people.

i woke up early and watched the sunrise with one of my teammates, while the call to prayer resounded in the background. this photo is a view from the rooftop deck of the guesthouse.

we enjoyed breakfast with the men's team, one big happy family, and gathered together for a time of prayer. it was really neat to join together at the feet of our Father to lift up one another's teams and pray for preparation of the hearts of the afghan men who will be trained by our men's team. i love being a part of God's beautiful, redeemed family.

the guys went off to the kabul school and we loaded up for a tour of the city. king's hill--where the king's shrine is located, darul aman palace ruins, and a stop for naan at a roadside stand. the time has come for us to head back west.

my heart is filled.

reflection and fellowship

my apologies for the delayed posting. our internet was spotty yesterday, hence no posting.

due to some minor security concerns, we stayed at the guest house all day yesterday. we entertained ourselves well...mafia, movie pictionary, and a poetry game. we we disappointed to cancel our plans of taking the kabul school kids on their first ever field trip to babur park, but 100% safety--for our team and for the kiddos--is worth it. we invited the teachers over to our guest house/office and discussed the seed project. they were excited for the kids to learn to garden and also improve the nutrition of the school lunch. we all had tea together and asked each other questions on life and culture. it was a great opportunity to get to know each other better and quite a treat to get time with them undistracted from their students.

after lunch, we rested, read, journaled, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city from the rooftop deck. the helicopter traffic was heavy yesterday and we got to view several (relatively) up close. ahhh the random things that entertain you when you are "stuck" inside for a day. :)

we have the rare treat to have a shared night with another team, thanks to our men's trip being rescheduled. the men's team arrived tonight and we welcomed them with (semi-)restrained energy. we all sat together with our afghan host and long term team members getting to know each other better. with the living room filled, we discussed the importance of building relationships with muslims in order to share one's faith, recent political history, future changes, and other related topics.

after a big family style dinner, adding many chairs to the dining room table, the women's team had an intimate, laughter-filled debrief meeting. i feel truly blessed to be a part of such a strong, intentional, caring, fun team of women. this has been a spectacular time together and another unforgettable trip to this country that has stolen my heart.

barek aub, sunshine, and camels.

another wonderful day in a-stan. the sun was shining as we left for barek aub and began to dry out the rain from yesterday. we went to the boys school first today. as yesterday, i was pleasantly surprised to notice growth in the town. they are truly progressing from a group of internally displaced persons to a community, a village.

the boys school has a new wall and gate, providing the students with added security if needed. we divided up into classrooms and shared with them our "seed project." each classroom received one pallet with potting discs and bags of seeds (green beans, peas, and squash) with photo explanations. the eyes and faces of the boys shown with interest and excitement for their new project. (or at least that was the impression i got!)

we distributed the gift bags to the classrooms before heading back to the girls' school to present them with the seed projects. future teams may bring more "seed projects" to the community to help them build a community garden and, eventually, have them boost their home gardens with the hearty vegetables.

up at the well, our host told us the miraculous story behind its success. they had chosen the spot for the well after much planning and assessment; the UN told them it was useless, there was no water to be had in that location. the team prayed over the location and asked God to provide for His people. The NGO dug and indeed found water. the UN personnel told them the water would not last, that the well would run dry. that was 5 years ago and the well is still providing this community with ample, clean water.

i am reminded of 1 peter 2:3 -

"if you have tasted of the Lord, you know how good he is." 

can i get an amen?

on our drive home, i soaked up the views of the landscape out here in kabul province. the land is so beautiful. the sun parted the lingering clouds from yesterday and allowed us to fully take it in. the rugged brown and green plains... the hills giving way to ever-more-jagged mountains... the awe-inspiring, snow covered hindu kush as the backdrop to it all. incredible.

my pictures do not do it justice in the least. i suppose you will have to settle for a photo showing our silly excitement of the day... camel rides! one of our team members spotted camels nearby among the nomadic people (kuchi). our host negotiated a price and up we went! while we waited our turn, we were treated to true kuchi hospitality, sitting on homemade lambswool blankets, and eating (or not) homemade yogurt and naan. now that's authentic!

a rainy day in barek aub

we spent most of the day going out to barek aub, the small community outside between kabul and bagram we have been partnering with for years. it rained most of the night, so we were wide-eyed during the long drive looking at all the flooded areas. i really enjoyed the colors of the cloudy sky:

 and the unfortunate incident of the truck in the water...

out in barek aub, my heart was warmed to see the growth in the town. many more houses and buildings have been constructed since i was here last in july of 2010. there is even a separate school for the girls, built by unicef. originally, the girls and boys attended the same school. population growth dictated the need for separate schools; i have to say, unicef did a great job.

we met with the community health workers, all women of the community, and honored them with our words and gifts. it was great to see familiar faces and give them encouragement. these women are changing the future of their small village, one family at a time. their hope for the future and drive to have a better life for their families inspires me.

we went into the girls school and passed out the bags with donated goods (toys, clothing, food, candy, school supplies) which we had sorted previously. the girls were simply precious and such attentive students.

it's easy to say it was a great day. a great, rainy day in barek aub.

a day of rest

we had a lighter day today as it is friday, the muslim holy/rest day: breakfast and debrief, house church, sorting, fellowship and games, and shopping.

our morning was filled with worship, thanks, and encouragement. we were able to join a house church with some ex-pats at the home of one of the long-term team members. after time of fellowship, we gathered on toshaks (large cushions placed on the floor) and filled the room. there on the floor, believers of all different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds joined together in worship. it was pretty humbling and encouraging. all i could think was the importance of filling oneself with with the spirit on a daily basis. as we sang, i was acutely aware of my usual self-reliance. i recalled various team members sharing how God has stretched them through using them in projects outside their expertise, causing them to rely on God's strength instead of their own. both mentioned how this resulted in less tress and more personal fulfillment. ironic. we've got it backwards in the west. the service continued with scripture reading and discussion of a lesson based around the scripture. as our team leader mentioned, it felt like an "acts 2 church..." people of faith coming together to encourage and sharpen one another. pretty cool!

back at the guest house, we sorted donated materials once again. we are certainly doing lots of bonding together with all our sorting! but seriously, it is fantastic to be a blessing to the NGO by giving them our time and our hands. we separated and packed blankets for families out at the community we will visit tomorrow.

we enjoyed some downtime by playing our new favorite game (and our host's favorite game), mafia, before heading out to do some shopping. the peals of laughter coming from the room while we played mafia were pretty great!

shopping began with the traditional trip to the carpet shop. it's safe to say the whole team thoroughly enjoyed the carpet buying experience. watching the men pull out rug after rug until each person had found the right size and color combination. then the bartering begins...quite a cultural experience! we all left quite satisfied and moved on to a couple more shops. a team of women enjoying the late afternoon shopping? i know. mind blowing. :)

kabob take out and pizzas made for a relaxing dinner. our day of rest ended with more sorting, gift bag stuffing, and seed packet preparation. it has been a full day, but a restoring day. i'm looking forward to what tomorrow will hold!

beauty and progress in the mountains

in contrast to yesterday's post, today i will let the photos do most of the talking. :) we went up to the mountain town of istalif, the "estes park" of kabul province. this is the first area where this NGO started working and the population is gradually working its way back up the level it was before the taliban decimated it.

on our way out of town, we had many views of kabul. mountainside homes, kids playing... a great contrast to just five years ago.

up in istalif, we toured the clinic funded by this NGO and heard from the staff about their success with combating varying diseases, improving family planning, and advances in infant birth weight. super exciting to hear about the improvements since my last visit, particularly in getting the men of the community on board with family planning (i.e. contraceptive use). hooray!

this shot, of yours truly, is at the incredible outlook over the shomali plains from the remains of the hotel which the taliban bombed after using it as a fortress...

it's absolutely breathtaking!

we had lunch at a kebab stand with the NGO staff. lamb kebabs next to the river = a piece of heaven. do you agree?