Write to Me!

Here is my mailing address if anyone wants to send me some snail mail! (I won't mind!) PS- if you're bored and have nothing else to do check out:Marcell the shell with shoes on every time i think of a snail i think of marcell.


ATTN: Cathy Bean
Arcadia Center for East African Studies
Nyerere Centre for Peace Research
PO Box 2771
Arusha, Tanzania

Joyfully His,

1 More Day

Howdy! I honestly cannot believe I leave for Africa in one more day. I really do not think I comprehend the idea yet, I feel like I am just going back to College Station for a month or something, no big deal. But I need to snap out of it because it is a big deal! This last month has been crazy with so much to do, so many errands to run, so many people I wanted to see, and a vacation. There has been a lot of babysitting and quality time spent with my niece and nephew over the last month and I have loved every minute of it. I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a much needed relaxing vacation with Cody's family. It was so great: sun, food, reading, lots of reading, laughter, and new friends. It really was wonderful to just be able to relax and not have to worry about a thing.

The beautiful view we woke up to every morning

Me, Cody, The Scotts, Lee-Ann & Ian (first mate & captain)

Cody came back to San Antonio with me and we had some great family time with my family and a few campers soccer game. Then he headed back to Dallas and I went up to College Station to see everyone one last time before next Fall. I continue to thank God for the friends he has provided me with, I am blown away with how much they love me. Good news: we signed our lease for our house next year!! YAY! We could not be more excited. Loriann cooked a fabulous dinner for us. Lolo- i think your chicken pesto is probably my favorite meal you cook. Then we spent the night house hopping and seeing some people. I spent the next day doing pretty much the same thing. I truly am blown away by the encouragement and support I have from my friends. So if you are one of the people I am talking about, thank you!

It has been so great to be home with my family these last few days. My sister and I went on a date with our dad to the Spurs game the other night which was a lot of fun and some great quality time for the three of us.

I found out who my roommate is for Tanzania and am so excited! She is from PA and worked at a summer camp and is on fire for the Lord which is so encouraging to me. There will be a few of us on the same flights which is great for making traveling a little less stressful and letting the fun begin a little sooner. We have had the opportunity to chat with each other as a group over facebook and I am SO excited to meet these great people I will be living with for the next 4 months!

If you would, please be in prayer over:
-my health- I came down with a cold or sinus infection and need it to be completely gone for the flights so I am not in horrible pain due to the change in pressure.
-flights- a big winter storm is supposed to be hitting Detroit, one of our layover cities- pray for no delays and easy connections
- for the Lord to continue to mold my heart to what He wants and ready it for what is to come
- for my family as I know my leaving is tough on them

I will start posting more once I am in country!

Joyfully His,
Cathy

PS: feel free to comment- you don't have to be signed in or have a gmail account!

Happy 2011

Do you have any old books you want to get rid of? We are looking for NON FICTION books for K-8th grade to help kids in Africa learn to read english and while they are practicing their English, they are increasing their knowledge. No dictionaries, textbooks, or encyclopedias please. At the end of last semester, I had the opportunity to spend a day with Steve Vinton, a missionary in Tanzania for the last 20 years. He and his wife started an organization called Village Schools Tanzania which is now also called Village Schools International. http://www.villageschools.org/ After spending the day discussing & listening, I have a much deeper understanding of what an organization can do in East Africa through the African people. I have a great amount of respect for this organization and admire how their administration works. The Vinton's have turned over all leadership to the Tanzanian people which means the entire organization is run and administered by the local people. Steve and his wife are now simple school teachers in the villages. He and his family in the villages with the people, as the people. 100% of the donations and funding given to them goes to the work in Africa, primarily building schools and buying land to build these schools. There are no paid positions in America. They currently have 19 schools they have opened and are praying for at least 10 more in 2011. In Tanzania, only the top 1 or 2 kids in each school have the opportunity to continue to high school. VSI opens schools and allows kids who aren't the top 1 or 2 to still have the opportunity to continue their high school education. There is so much more I could say about this wonderful organization, if you want to learn more check out their video (it's a little long, but very worth it). 

Anywho, if you have books you would like to donate, shoot me an email (cbean09@mac.com) and I will tell you where to send them in Houston, spread the word!

Christmas and New Years was so great as I spent a lot of time with my family. Our entire family: cousins, aunts, uncles, kids, and all spent Christmas day at our house. It was so great to catch up with everyone since I haven't seen most of them in about a year. It has also been so great to spend some quality time with my girlfriends from high school, I am sad everyone is going back to school so soon! I am so thankful I have such great friends that I can still rely on and love having our girls nights.

I have 26 days left in country and it is going to fly by! I leave Thursday for a trip with Cody's family and will be gone 7 days, then I come back and have about 10 days till I am gone! So much to do, so little time! It has been so awesome to see the Lord preparing my heart through specific things each day. We went to a benefit dinner last night for digging wells in Africa and a missionary family who lives in West Africa. And as I am finishing reading Romans, chapter 15 seems to be talking to me directly about my time there and the relationships I am going to be building and working through the differences I will have with the people I will be living with.  I am just so excited to spend 4 and a half months on this beautiful continent that has captured my heart so strongly.