I haven't had a blog post in a while, so I feel I should let you all know what has been going on in my life recently.  

It is crazy to think I am already past the halfway point of my time here in Uganda.  My time has been flying by and I have been trying to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to...

Hi everyone,

I’m long overdue for an update! I’m now back in Tegucigalpa after three weeks at Spanish school in a beautiful little touristy town called Santa Lucia, about 20 minutes drive to the west of the north end of the capital. There I had six hours a day of one-on-one language instruction plus some homework for six days of the week, which was amazing and also a bit tiring at times. Hence the lack of updates. But...

The last few weeks have fallen into a routine, although plans are constantly changing. Monday morning, I go to Marafa with my supervisor, Ziro. Generally speaking, we attend two meetings per day until Friday evening, when we drive back to Malindi. The meetings are attended by 70-300 villagers, and each center meets two or three times per week. Some of the meetings are held outside under trees, either because a building is not available, or it is too small....

   Habari za siku nyingi (How are matters after many days). This Swahili greeting was often used by our friends and colleagues as they welcomed us back to Tanzania for a third term. It has been a month since our flight landed in Dar es Salaam. It is with joy that we continue our volunteer positions with World Renew.

   Our first responsibilities were to assist in hosting the Co-directors of World Renew – Carol BremerBennett and her husband Theo from...

Last Monday, I visited the ADS office in Mombasa. It was interesting to see a different city and do a little bit of shopping there, although there wasn't time to see the usual touristy places. Many people make the commute there every morning, which can take 2-4 hours depending on traffic.

On Tuesday I stayed at home and rested. Feeling mostly better, I went to Marafa on Wednesday afternoon, although I didn't go to any meetings until Thursday. The first meeting...

This was my first week in the field!

On Monday morning, Ziro, the main facilitator of ADS Pwani, picked me up from my house in Malindi and brought me to Marafa, the town our guest house is in. The daily routine is as follows: After getting ready and eating breakfast in town, we go to one of the sub-location centers. Pwani works in ten sub-locations in this area, each of which meets twice per week. The locations span a wide area...

Buenas tardes, todos! 

So far I've had a wonderful experience arriving and settling in here in Tegucigalpa. The city has been established between and on a ring of green hills (really mountains, since we're at an elevation of about 1000 ft), so the views are gorgeous from nearly every location, day or night. The home of my host family is on the side of one elevation so it's a truly spectacular vista from the back wall of their property. I have...

Although I haven’t been out “in the field” yet, I am at my host’s house in Malindi now, where I will be staying for most of my internship. Malindi is a touristy town on the beach, so being from Holland, I feel right at home. However, most of the tourists are from Italy or Europe, so people have tried greeting me in Italian, which really throws me off. The flight here from Nairobi was less...

The day that rapidly approached once the date was finalized has now arrived - I'm here in Atlanta airport, awaiting the boarding call for my flight to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Already the lyrical rhythms of the Spanish language surround me and I smile as I catch an older couple across from me discussing who is right or wrong about something - a phenomenon that defies culture!

Though tired from my middle-of-the-night departure from home, I feel both relaxed and excited to be...

Hello friends and family,

If we were to sum up this week-long experience with a single phrase, it could very well be "God is Faithful." We saw that fact proven numerous times this week, and it will be a good way to summarize our trip to Honduras.

God was faithful in getting us the equipment we needed. FTC&H, an engineering firm in Grand Rapids,  readily gave us everything we needed, including a tripod, level, measuring rod, auger, field books, and other assorted...