Today is the Day!

wow! Today is actually may 12th.
In 10 hours I will get on a plane and start my 24 hour trip to Tanzania.
I leave Jacksonville for NYC, NYC to Istanbul, Istanbul to Dar es Salaam. I will arrive in Dar at 2:45am local time. which, by the way, is 7 hours ahead of Jacksonville time. I will then be transported via the Projects Abroad staff to my host family home.
I have to think this way, in facts.
The plane ride to NYC is 2.5 hours, to Istanbul it is 10.5 hours, and to Dar it is 8.5 hours.
All I know about my family is this: "Agata works at Ministry of Helth. Lives with her husband Basil who is a business man. Their Daughters Careen and Carolyn."
All I know about their home is this: "The house is near the Projects abroad offica and Mlimani city,shopping and cinema centre of Dar Es Salaam.It is about 30 minutes to our office."

There is still so much unknown.
I am ready to start this journey. I am ready to learn a language I have never heard. I am ready to learn how to aid the people through medicine. I am ready.

Standing Between Me and Dar

Only 14 days stand between me and Dar es Salaam. Needless to say they will possibly be the most stressful 14 days of my life as 4 final exams also stand within these days. BUT here's the beauty of God's plan, "Dar es Salaam" literally translates to "The abode of peace." So of course I am stressed and currently surviving off of free food and caffeine. Of course I am worried about 4 exams and their importance in my career. I say of course because I know I am being prepared to see the world differently. I wonder How different I will see the world from the Abode of peace?

The other day I watched a beautiful movie by HBO called "Mary and Martha" about a woman who leaves her husband in America and takes their son to Mozambique for 4 weeks. While there he contracts Malaria and dies within a day of showing symptoms. This of course destroys her life and but she returns to Mozambique to find her peace. While there she runs into a woman who lost her 22 year old son to Malaria. As the story goes on the woman work to help raise funds to buy mosquito nets and malaria medication for thousands of people in Mozambique. There is a line in a the movie that states "Did you know that if you take every single person killed in a terrorist act around the world in the last 20 years and you add to that all the lives lost in the middle east since 1967 and you add to that every American life lost is Vietnam, Korea, and every American engagement since then (Iraq, Afghanistan) and then you multiply that number times two - that is the number of children that die of Malaria Every Single Year."

If this fact doesn't hit you somewhere in your heart, you might be a lost cause.
Wondering what you could do to help? http://www.malarianomore.org/ this is a great cause that the movie was based on. we live in a world where 660,000 children are dying from a treatable virus and I'm worried about an exam? whats wrong with this picture.





A lot of people ask me if I'm scared or nervous to leave this last week. and this made me realize I'm more afraid of not going. That sounds weird and I don't know exactly how to explain it. I think what I am trying to say is that I am afraid of not being fully in the moment while I'm there, that a part of me will want to be back here. I've never traveled or been completely off the grid before and I just want to take full advantage of completely letting go of here. Caring about exams, about rent, about what I will eat next, about boys or lack their of. I want to find peace, I want to fully thrive in the abode of peace. 

I write all of this while studying at a local cafe sitting across from my beautiful friend Melanie Rose who just made me cry thinking about all of my friends that I will miss while I'm gone :(

Vaccines and Grace

Woke up this morning with an allergic reaction to my Yellow Fever vaccine. The site where the shot was injected has raised and literally looks like Africa on my arm. After getting it checked out the doc said it was okay that I just needed to watch it for a few days. Meanwhile the oral typhoid fever vaccine is running its course through my body and causing wreckage.
 But here is the upside: Most people in Tanzania have never been vaccinated for ANY disease while I am able to get vaccinated for diseases that kill thousands of people yearly. We have a vaccine for THE FLU, while 53,689 people died of the flu in Tanzania in 2011 alone. So like my dad always taught me I "suck it up" and remind myself that my discomfort is considered a luxury in most places.

 This brings me to my other point: Grace. On Sunday April 1st, I was baptized again. I was baptized when I was an infant in my Lutheran church in Jacksonville. And in no way do I undermine the importance of this baptism. I thank God my parents had faith and chose to have me baptized and raised in an awesome church. Lutherans believe baptism signifies the water cleansing an infant of the natural sin we are born with and entering them into the church family. I think the most beautiful image God has set for us is when Jesus chose to be baptized by John the baptist. A man perfect, without sin, chose to be cleansed to show the world that the living water is an image of eternal life through him alone. When I was baptized as a baby, I was rescued from what I didn't even know yet:sin. I think baptism is a reminder of what it is like to be an infant, clean and pure of the worldly ways. Recently I have come to understand my faith in an entirely new light. I have called myself a christian my entire life, I devoted my life to Christ in 10th grade at Young Life camp, but it wasn't until God called me into my darkest hour to show me that I wasn't walking a life with him. I was asking God to come into my life, but why would I want someone perfect to come into my messed up life?! why wouldn't I want to walk with him, holding hands down a path only he knows. Why wouldn't I want to show the world that my imperfect ways are cleansed and I am made new life an infant DAILY through Christ. God has showed me IMMENSE amounts of Grace over the last 5 months. He has filled my life with friendships that show me how he intended for us to love one another. He has showed me that I put another human above him and that I needed to put him above the rest. He has showed me that to walk with him is not to be perfect but to stumble and fall but admit that he has rescued me from this and not my own doings.
Over this last semester I have found refuge in God. I came running to the lord with all of my issues, but I never let him take them away. What drives God insane is continually repenting for the same sins over and over, HE HAS THEM SO LET HIM TAKE THEM. I keep returning back to the same sin because I haven't forgiven myself, or let his Grace BE GOOD ENOUGH.
So, I am washed clean. I am an infant with nothing but a future ahead of me. With nothing but eternal life to look forward to.
Thank you Jesus for new life.

also Thank you for my dear friends Alex, Mel, and Forrest for being there to be a testimony to my life. You guys have been god's hands and feet in my life, showing me daily that I am worth loving and what true friendship is: love. 

THREE DAYS: a heart filled with hope

THREE DAYS
72 HOURS
that fact has settled into my heart. I have three days to raise 1800 dollars.
But I think today I will not worry. Because God has today, and tomorrow, and the rest. I will ask of my friends, family, and complete strangers to donate to my cause. I will give my time, my patients, my comfort to change the lives of the people in Tanzania. But in the next 3 days, how can I change the lives surrounding me? I would willing walk away from everything I know and give my life to compete strangers. But here in my little apartment in Tallahassee, Florida, what have I given today? Have I showed someone I love them? Have I acted with grace and kindness to everyone around me? Have I shown humility and lived humbly? I am so eager to run, run away from here and into the arms of the African nation. To live with hopeless abandon. But couldn't I be doing that right now, right here in America. So for the next 3 days, as I ask for everyone else to help me, I challenge myself to act selflessly and humbly. To give back to the world as it gives to me.

If you are reading this and have already donated: thank you for believing in me. For giving whatever you could, and for giving someone in Tanzania the opportunity to have medical attention.

If you are reading this and don't have monetary funds to give: PRAY! please pray for the next 3 days, and the next 3 months as I prepare to run into the arms of beautiful Tanzania. Pray for my host family, Pray for my sanity as I let go of control. Pray for a world that no person goes unseen by a doctor.

Halfway there

ALMOST HALFWAY FUNDED!
It's a little over three months away and I am almost half way funded. The generosity of the people who I have called upon to support me has been immense! People from my home church, relatives, and friends have given what they can. Everyday I run to my mail box after classes and continue to receive more donations. Each time I smile like a little girl on Christmas day.
"God is going to provide" has been my mantra. and he sure has!
Last week was my birthday and  I celebrated by booking my flight. Its starting to feel real, with every step I get closer to leaving I feel this sense of overwhelming joy building inside of me. I imagine it feeling like being pregnant and waiting 9 months to meet the baby you have growing inside of you. I only have to wait 3 more months to meet the family and place I will call home for 2 months. To walk the streets of the place I have been dreaming of going to for years. To help the sick! To begin my work fighting aids!
I've spent the last week running around trying to figure out where I'm going to live next year. I've worried about closet space, kitchen sizes, bedroom layouts, and number of bathrooms. But how fortunate am I to even get the choice in where I live. To be able to have a flushing toilet. To have a roof over my head. If the world has taught me anything so far, its that the stress we have is much greater than the reality surrounding us. Stress is deceiving and poisonous. My god, he takes my stress away and fills me to the brim with joy. God is going to provide.
If you are reading this and you have donated, thank you so much. The people of Tanzania need our help, and you have done just this through your donation.
If you are reading this and wonder how you could help me but maybe don't have money, please pray for me. Please pray for my mission and the people I will be living with and my preparations for going.
If you are interested in donating http://www.myprojectsabroad.org/fundraising/56164. Use password "iALRDW".
Until the next time,
Sarah

Take me back to California

All of the planning is causing me to reminisce on some of the cool stuff I've gotten to do in the past.
But today I'm really thinking about Yosemite.
I first went to Yosemite the summer of 2005 with my two sisters and dad. We drove across America on a month long trip, stopping at every national park along the way. On this trip I would attempt my first Lake Tahoe 100 mile bike ride. and fail. I backpacked the Grand Canyon and did some pretty neat stuff. But what stuck with me was the week we spent in Yosemite Valley. Probably one of the coolest places in the world. Nothing can compare to the views, the vast cliffs, the giant trees, and flowing water. But time was short and we had to move on to our next stop.

My dad has a heart for adventure and a love of the outdoors that I am so thankful he gave to me. So 6 years later when Dad said he wanted to go to Yosemite again, I was all in. This time we would do it a bit different. Amy(my sister), Vicki(my stepmom), Dad, and myself flew to California and drove to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. This time I would successfully finish my first century(100 mile) bike ride. Even greater, I would do it with my Dad, Lyndsey(other sister), and my Granda. My granda was honored as the number one fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society's Team in Training who sponsor the ride; riding with him was the greatest honor. Here is a picture of my Lyndsey, Granda, dad and I at the finish line:

The opportunity was one of a lifetime.

We then set off to Yosemite, a half days drive from Tahoe. We spent the first day getting settled into camp and preparing our legs for the next day. Now I am certain that there is a gene in the Schaet blood that makes you want to climb very tall things and feel accomplished. SO naturally in Yosemite, Dad and I wanted to make sure we climbed it all. The most important, half dome. Half dome is about 4700 feet above the valley floor(where you begin the hike) and an 18 mile round trip day hike. EIGHTEEN MILES IN ONE DAY! I won't go into the nitty gritties because I really only want to remember the feeling of standing on top.

That feeling is the greatest feeling. I've felt it a few times but nothing compared to Half Dome. You look around and see the world how God intended it to be, pure. and you are all a part of the image.
Wow what a great euphoria, and I can't wait to experience it at a whole new level on top of Mt.Kilimanjaro.

First Decision

I have decided to do my internship in Dar es Salaam.
I am naturally a pretty decisive person, but in light of recent events I have become somewhat insecure I guess about my decision making. This decision has been the first I've made in a long time that I feel 100% confident about. Dar is a large city, but it is the safest in all of east Africa. In Dar I will be able to experience the true culture of Tanzania. But imagine you came to America and visited only New York City, you would never see the beaches in south Florida or the Mountains in Colorado. So I decided the best way to get a taste of both worlds of Africa, the nature and the culture, is to travel to Arusha after my internship is complete. The intention of this being to climb Mt.Kilimanjaro.

Speaking of Mt.K, here's my Granda's story of his trek:
 "I had made my way to Nairobi, Kenya.  Locally, I booked a 10-day, camping safari to see the wild animals.  When we got close to the Tanzania border, I left the group and hitchhiked across the border to a town near the foot of Kilimanjaro and booked a guided climb up the mountain through a local agency that provided some warm clothing, a couple guides and a place to sleep for two nights before the climb.  I stayed at the agency lodgings for two nights.  In our group there was a Japanese journalist, a British biology teacher and a family of four--parents and two teenage boys.  The guides carried all our stuff.  I carried a water bottle, a hilking stick and a small day pack.  The climb took three days.  We slept in small A-frame huts that had 4 bunks each night  The guide prepared all the meals in open-air pavilions near the huts.  There was nothing technical about the climb, and there was no arduous claming until the last bit.  We arrived at our overnight stop at about 1630 on the third day.  We turned in right after supper as reveille was at midnight.  I was to fired up to sleep.  We began the last of the ascent at 0015.  The guide carried a lantern and led the way.  The footing was in loose scree (lava gravel).  It was steep, and there was a tendency to slide backwards with each step--stout hiking stick is a must.  Because of the surface, the steepness and the lack of oxygen the pace of the guide went like this: take three steps, stop, lean on stick for a 30-second rest, repeat.  The goal was to get to the top before dawn (about 0600) to see the sunrise.  By 0900, it clouds over every say and you see nothing.  When we got to the top, I was exhausted.  I sat do a big boulder and took a 30-minute power nap.  The view was awsome.  The Brit and I bounded down sliding through the scree and stepped lively to the overnight place.  We spent only one night on the way down. 

I managed to get to a town where I could get a bus back to Kenya.  I took one to Mombassa on the east coast of Kenya.  I made my way from there up the coast to an island called Lamu, which was a very pleasant place to visit for a week.  I bummed a ride in a two-seat piper cub back to Mombassa, then flew back to Nairobi in a real plane.  From there I hitched a ride to the foot of Mt. Kenya to climb it.  Save for the fact that I celebrated my 53d birthday on top of Mt. Kenya with two Brit soldiers, two Canadian school teachers and a U.S. ex-pat, splitting a Cadbury chocolate bar in lieu of a cake as they sang "Happy Birthday" to me. "