Dear Friends and Family
Many of you are now aware that I'll be spending some time in Tanzania, from the 2nd of March until the beginning of June. Preparations have gone well so far; I've received my vaccination boosters, sorted flights and travel insurance, and found wonderful homes for both my horses. At the end of last year, I sold Wazzy to a lovely family where he will continue to get to know the world with 15 year old Paige. I have since been down a couple of times, and Waz seems well and happy! The money from selling Wazzy will fund most of my trip to Tanzania. Those of you who know the history with my other horse, Blaine, will understand that I was wary about selling him. Yet I was well aware that I couldn't leave my mum and sisters with their three ponies AND Blaine, so I started looking for someone to loan Blaine for the period that I will be away. I have been amazed to see God's hand at work with both my horses, and the first loanee I came across turned out to be the right person for Blaine. Tracey is very caring and understanding, and one couldn't ask for a better loaner. I was sad to say good bye to him last weekend, I realize that it is the end of a season in my life, and Blaine was a very obvious part of that season - but letting go is just as important as taking hold.
Many of you are now aware that I'll be spending some time in Tanzania, from the 2nd of March until the beginning of June. Preparations have gone well so far; I've received my vaccination boosters, sorted flights and travel insurance, and found wonderful homes for both my horses. At the end of last year, I sold Wazzy to a lovely family where he will continue to get to know the world with 15 year old Paige. I have since been down a couple of times, and Waz seems well and happy! The money from selling Wazzy will fund most of my trip to Tanzania. Those of you who know the history with my other horse, Blaine, will understand that I was wary about selling him. Yet I was well aware that I couldn't leave my mum and sisters with their three ponies AND Blaine, so I started looking for someone to loan Blaine for the period that I will be away. I have been amazed to see God's hand at work with both my horses, and the first loanee I came across turned out to be the right person for Blaine. Tracey is very caring and understanding, and one couldn't ask for a better loaner. I was sad to say good bye to him last weekend, I realize that it is the end of a season in my life, and Blaine was a very obvious part of that season - but letting go is just as important as taking hold.
Its the end of a beautiful season, and Blaine has been the most obvious part of that season!
Now that most of the adminy side of travelling is out of the way, I can focus on planning my time over there, and it is all looking incredibly exciting! I'll be using the Lottering's (my mum's cousin and co.) home as a base, and will be involved with their family and participating with their way of life when I'm around. The Lottering's own a beautiful yacht, and I'm hoping that we'll get a fair amount of sailing, scuba diving, and other watersports done. For the rest of the time, I will be doing some voluntary work with various orphanages and mission projects, exploring the country (yes, now that I'm 'English' I think I can justify doing the 'tourist thing' and go on safari, get sunburnt, and wear caps =P) and hopefully get involved with the horsey world out there. My aunt has found a riding club in Dar Es Salaam (the city the Lottering's-and I will-live in) so I'm hoping I can get some riding done as well. If I ever find a moment when I'm not busy (ha!) I'm sure I'll just enjoy the sunshine and chillaxing. I will be continuing with my Yachtmaster theory, and I'll have a Maths exam when I get back in June, so I guess I'll also have my head in the books from time to time...
On a deeper level, I am very much aware that it is the end of a season, and the beginning of a new one. Our family has been in the UK for five years now, and although adjusting to the country has been a precious time, and I have gained many different life skills, it has had its challenges. Where in order to survive, I had to chuck a lot of extras, and focus mainly on family, I feel that I can now pick up more of a personal focus. It is now time to spread my wings, to find the individual that my parents have raised me to be. I am beginning to rely on the foundations that I have been raised with, and put various skills and attitudes to use. Its scary because I didn't see this season coming as quickly as it has, but its also a very exciting time of life! Over the past couple of years, I have developed skills in the area of responsibility, management, and self-development. I would like to find a fresh passion and zeal for life, to learn to be carefree, and to find the humour. I'd generally like to continue living life to the maximum! To be the best me that I can be, and to enjoy life in all its scope!
At this stage, I am not thinking beyond Tanzania, but I will need to look at having a bit more of a career focus when I get back. The most obvious is to continue with my Parelli Natural Horsemanship training, but there are other equally exciting opportunities such as University, continuing to travel, focusing on another aspect of the equestrian world (such as racing school) or even a sailing career. I will have time to consider my options over in Tanzania, so prayers in this direction would be appreciated.
Lastly, I'd love to keep in touch with you all, and for those of you that are in the UK, we'll definately have to see each other in the British Summer! There has been talk of cycling across the Lake District with a bunch of people; let me know if you'd be interested in participating. For the rest of you-England is the place to be in the summer, come visit us! I'll probably be keeping a blog in Tanzania, so if you'd like to stay updated with my life, please drop me an email at 'kerrintothemax@googlemail.com' and I'll add you to my mailing list (don't I sound posh?). I'll also have a prayer requests list, if you'd like to be added to that, let me know.
Your support in the form of prayers, positive thoughts, and emails would be greatly appreciated! I will also be giving a material/financial gift to one (not sure which one at this stage, will let you know!) of the orphanages/missions/organizations I'll be volunteering with, if you'd like to contribute to this, let me know. Whilst material possessions would be appreciated, I have limited luggage space, so a financial contribution would be better.
Take care guys, keep living it to the max, you've only got one life :)
Kerrin
No comments:
Post a Comment