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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Visiting an Orphanage and Language Learning Adventures

This past weekend was somewhat restful, but maybe not as much as I would have liked it to be. Still, I had a great time! On Saturday morning, I taught a piano lesson to one of my students. I'm amazed at how much he has progressed since March. He is so dedicated to learning how to play the piano and learns so quickly. We've been doing just about everything: scales, chords, sight reading, learning short songs, and longer songs. He's already starting to work into some more intermediate songs. I'm wondering if he's going to exceed my piano skills by the time I leave! Haha! 

Afterwards, we proceeded to his orphanage. He had asked me the week before if I would like to visit where he is living because his grandmother wanted to meet me. Of course, I said yes! I didn't realize at the time that he was living in an orphanage and that the kids call the woman who runs the orphanage "grandmother". But, it was such an uplifting experience for me. Many of my students at Wesley are living in this orphanage, which from what I saw, is clean and well kept. I also made a mental note that the mass majority of those kids are my best students, so they must be doing something right at this orphanage. I was SO happy to see them all and my heart overflowed with joy as each familiar face joined us in the common room. We took our chai (tea) together while we watched a cartoon movie about the life of Jesus. After the movie, I joined the kids outside as they played. They had connect 4 at the orphanage and I played with just about everyone at least once it seemed. It was such a wonderful experience getting to see how some of my students are living and I hope that I will get to return sometime! :D

This week, I have continued with my Swahili studies. Already, I am on unit 21 out of 30 and I've only been going for 2 weeks as of today! I think that I will be able to finish Book 1 sometime next week and I'll get to move on to Book 2! Even if I don't finish Book 2, that's OK with me. My goal is to learn as much as I can while I've got the time to really dedicate myself to language learning. I'm finding that I am a lot more confident when I'm out and about. I can actually carry on a decent conversation in Swahili which is most certainly encouraging! As I've mentioned before, my goal is that before I leave, I will be able to preach at least once in Swahili. After the last couple weeks, I'm feeling pretty confident that it will happen, even if I have to write everything down word for word beforehand! :D In the evenings, I am continuing with my usual activities, however, I'm finding that I was much better prepared this week. After all the chaos of last week, I knew what to expect and I tried to prepare last weekend so that I wouldn't be so overwhelmed. Thus, though it has still been an exhausting week, it has not been overwhelming. Bwana asifiwe! (Praise God!!)

I also would like to update everyone about my financial situation concerning my mission project. Altogether, in order to remain in Tanzania and have a flight back home at the end of my time here, I will need to raise $4,800. So far, I have managed to raise almost half!! The total of donations through the end of July is $2,284 and I still need to raise another $2,516. I pray that you all know just how much I appreciate your support. I hope that you can see through this blog that God is changing lives over here and the work is not finished yet!! The students and I have a long ways to go, and there will still be more that needs to be done when I leave. For now, I know this is where I am called to be. If you would like to donate, please click on the page at the top that is marked "How to Donate". On that page, you will find all of the information that you need to be able to donate directly to my cause.

Well, I believe that these are all the updates that I've got for now. I'm going to leave you with some pictures (yes, that's right! Pictures, even though my camera was stolen!!) With the permission of our visiting mission team, I have downloaded some of the pictures that they took and am posting them here for your enjoyment!! :D

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

A very rickity old bridge that we crossed very carefully on our fateful mountain climb.  This picture was taken before my camera got stolen. And yes, I chased after a motorcycle wearing exactly what I'm wearing in this picture.




At the Agape Children's Village making balloon dogs.


Some ladies from the church, one of the visiting missionaries, and myself!



Sunday, August 19, 2012

All the Craziness and Language Learning Amazingness!!

I've been so busy that's it's been hard to find time to do anything, much less update my blog, but it's Sunday morning before church and it's raining, so I can't do my usual Sunday morning run.

 I'm not really sure where to start because it's been so long since I wrote last!! The day before the mission team left, I took a couple of them to the Agape Children's Village that I had visited previously. My plan was that we could teach the kids some of our songs from VBS and then we could make balloon dogs with them. We encountered a problem when we realized that it was a public holiday for the NaneNane (8/8 referring to the eighth of August), and we couldn't access the balloons and pumps in the office at school. But, we decided that we would just teach the songs and maybe do a game. When we arrived, we explained what had happened, but amazingly enough, the director of the orphanage told us that a Korean team had come and left them balloons and pumps, but they didn't have the least idea what to do with them. It was such an amazing God moment!! It was great getting to teach the adults and the older kids how to make their own balloon dogs! Though, many of them took the dogs apart and got creative with hats and one kid had a set of headphones. Many of them just wanted to use the balloons as swords. It was GREAT! :D

In the afternoon, I went to the NaneNane celebration. Basically it was like a state fair. There were tons of booths where people were selling vegetables or things to help your vegetables grow better. Sokoine University of Agriculture here in Morogoro had a pretty big setup inside a building with all kinds of information about crops and things you could purchase. There was an area where there were some rides, but I didn't ride on any of them. (I'm not sure that I trust rides in Tanzania...haha) Also, the visitor's center was opened for people to come in and see the animals and bones of animals. They were giving out brochures on different parks in Tanzania. It was mass chaos in that area because everyone wanted a brochure. I'm not really sure why, though. Maybe because it was free? A student that I had run into was with me and made sure that I got copies of every brochure. I felt bad because everyone else only got one, but maybe they figure that a white person is more likely to visit all of the different national parks. There was one brochure with a lot of really beautiful pictures and I gave it to my student. Although it would have been nice to keep it, I thought that he and his family would really enjoy the pictures.

The next day, I started language school at the Lutheran Jr. Seminary. It's been a WONDERFUL experience so far. In some ways it feels as though I've learned more Swahili in the last week and a half than I have in my first six months of being here. Because of my previous exposure to Swahili, I've been able to more rather quickly through the lessons. At first I was getting through about 3 units a day. But, now I've slowed down to about 2 units per day which still is not bad. There are 30 units in the first book and 30 in the second. So far I'm half way through the first book!! So far, I haven't made too many big mistakes. However, I did at one point tell my teacher Kula nymba kubwa "Eat a big house" instead of Kuna nymba kubwa "There is a big house". As you can imagine, she was quite confused. Haha! :D

A normal day of attending language school starts with me waking up at 5:45am. I do my 30 minutes of yoga, get dressed, eat a quick breakfast, make sure my bag is packed properly for the day, and race off to the daladala stop at about 7:15am. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to my daladala stop and then I take the Mjini/Kihonda daladala for about 5 minutes to the big bus stand. Then I have to walk around the big bus stand to the Mikese/Mjini stop. Usually, I have to wait on that daladala bus for a while (up to 15 minutes) before it takes off. From there, it takes about 15 minutes to get to the Lutheran Jr. Seminary. Altogether, a journey that could take about 20 minutes has taken me anywhere between 45 min-1 hour (but it only costs $0.50!!). Language school usually goes from 8am-4pm, but a couple days a week I opt to work through the lunch break and get done at 1:30pm because I have other things I need to get done. We get a 30 minute Chai (tea) break at 10am and then we get a 2 1/2 hour lunch break at 12pm. I'm not sure why lunch break must be so long, but I think it's because some of the language teachers go home (I heard one walks 30 minutes home one way!). It's a SUPER long break to me. On the days when I stay until 4pm, I have discovered via a fellow missionary/language student, that I can get a key to one of the rooms at language school where I can read or take a nap. It's been a wonderful discovery for me!

My evenings have been full to the max. On the days when I stay until 4pm, I don't get back until about 4:45pm and then I have homework to do, emails to check, laundry to wash, work for Class VII to grade, I usually do some kind of workout, etc. Even though the students are out of school for the census break, Class VII is still meeting, so I've been sending work every day with Nathan. He writes it up on the board, the students do it, he brings the work home in the evenings and I check it. Also, in addition to everything stated above, on Mondays I'm teaching my English class at 4pm (so I have to do a short day), and on Wednesdays I'm still going to the prayer service at 5pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays I haven't been getting back until 7pm because I go straight to the International School so I can run and play volleyball. Honestly, last week wasn't working for me (seriously, washing clothes in my bathroom at 10:30pm is not ideal), so I'm going to have to figure out how I can change what I do this week.

Well, I'm going to end here for today! I've still got a ton of stuff to do to get a head start for the week. Please pray for me that I'm able to do everything that I need to get done with joy in my heart!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

Friday, August 10, 2012

VBS, Mountain Climb, and the Not so Mysterious Case of the Stolen Camera

On Monday of this week, the mission team began Vacation Bible School for the kids of the church and any other kids who wanted to come. I was in charge of planning the music for the students, and we decided on the songs "Rise and Shine", "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", and "Deep and Wide". We didn't have to much trouble with "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" or "Deep and Wide", but "Rise and Shine" has a lot of verses and I think the kids were having a hard time with that. But, I think we managed well enough. Afterwards I taught Class VII English since they are still meeting even though it is a government break. Then I returned to the house where I taught a piano lesson and did some catching up with my laundry. Right after lunch, two of the missionaries and I made our way to town where we met up one of my local missionary friends and his gard, Costa. Costa guided us along the mountain trails to the Bahati Camp and we made our way back to town. Althogether it was only about a 2 hour hike. It was really nice and clear outside and although it was quite warm. I was able to carry on a decent conversation with Costa and I have to say that I rather impressed myself with my Swahili abilities (of course there is ALWAYS room for improvement). When we returned to Boma road, where we had met with Costa, he turned off to go home and we decided to save some money and walk the rest of the way back to town. We stopped in Emmanuel Church where I had attended a service once before and kept walking.

When we were just on the outskirts of town, a most terrible and alarming thing happened. We were walking on the left side of the road, in the dirt, as in completely off the road. (it is also important to note that people here drive on the left side of the road). Well, I had my camera out because I had just been taking pictures of the Emmanuel Church and I hadn't wanted to put it back in the missionary's backpack in case I wanted to take some pictures in town. (as I've mentioned before I've been trying to take more pictures of the area so you can get a broader mental image of the area). Well, a pikipiki (motorcycle) going in the opposite direction that we were, swerved across the road and passed me in the dirt on my left side. I was carrying my camera in my left hand (the hand furthest from the road) and I was holding it by the hook on the camera case. Well, the passenger of the pikipiki swooped in, grabbed onto the hook and pulled. I was a bit surprised and pulled back, but then I let go. I quickly turned around, shouted "HEY!" and ran with everything in me after the pikipiki. The only problem was, another pikipiki passed me at about the same time and I couldn't figure out which one had my camera and my phone (the phone was in the camera case). I had a 50-50 chance of getting it right so I followed the one that turned off the main road first. I went straight up to the house and demanded my camera back and even managed to pull out some Swahili phrases in the midst of the chaos. They denied having the camera and the pikipiki driver started to leave, but I pretty much yelled at him "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!" We developed a bit of a crowd with my ravings, and I found someone who spoke English and Swahili to help me. However, it was all to no avail. (by this point the missionaries who had been on the hike with me had already caught up with me and had been trying to help). It was pretty tough trying to keep it together after the incident, but I had enough sense to realize I needed to get a new phone right away (which I did in town before we headed back). At home, I told pastor immediately what had happened and we contacted Baba Sesi who is a police officer here in Morogoro. Pastor and I went to the police station to make a report, but I don't have too much hope that we'll find it. Today, I went to the police station and they took the lady I had interrogated on Monday back to the station for further questioning (seeing as it's the only lead we have). Personally, I don't think that was the pikipiki that had it. Someone who had just stolen something probably would've gone down the road further before turning off. But, at that point in time it was my best bet. 

Honestly, in the end, I'm just glad that the other missionaries and I are OK. Since the incident I've heard of many women with hand bags that pikipiki drivers just pull off their shoulders. The same is true for backpacks or another other kind of carrying case. Honestly, I'm not sure that there is a completely fool-proof way of protecting my possessions here, or anywhere in the world for that matter. I'm just thankful that I did let go and that I didn't get dragged around by a pikipiki, as has happened in other instances. And, as much as it completely sucks to have my camera stolen from me, I know that it's just a thing and all things can be replaced. In the end, my faith is my most important possession and I know that that can never be taken away from me. I know that God knew what would happen before it did, and I trust Him to take care of me through it all. Honestly, the worst part  is that my personal space and possessions were invaded. But, one thing that makes me feel a bit better about the situation (though this is terrible) is that my camera requires a very specific charger, so the thieves won't get much use out of it anyways (it's like my own secret revenge). Also, because of my "slightly" intimidating approach to the situation, there were a lot of jokes with the missionaries about "Don't mess with Christine" afterwards.

Tuesday, I did the music for the VBS again and, much to their dismay, I went to Class VII to give them English work to do. I'm trying to get them the rest of the way through the curriculum book before their tests in September. There's no way we're going to make it unless they continue to do work during this census break. In the afternoon, I had quite a bit of free time, so I finished the laundry and I got to hang out around the room. In the evening, I went to run and played volleyball. For dinner, Baba and Mama Sesi invited the missionaries and the rest of us over to their house for a feast. It was a great time of fellowship as believers. 

I think that I shall end here for now, but soon to come: taking the missionaries to the Agape Childrens' Village, my trip to NaneNane, and also the start of language school. As you have probably noticed, I've been quite the busy bee over here! But, for me, this is good. I'd rather be busy than be sitting around with nothing to do!! I'll leave you with the rest of my pictures of town that I got to upload to my computer before my camera got stolen. I lost all of my pictures of the hike and I wasn't able to get any of the VBS, or anything else, unfortunately. I'm not sure when I'll get a new camera, but I hope I can manage to get one soon!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine

This road leads to the police station. Little did I know when I took this picture that I'd be walking it many times in the next few days.


Old Morogoro Road heading towards town center.

Town Center is just straight ahead.

The daladala stand where I am known to be found coming and going from town. Just to the right is the town center.

Piras: my lifesaver here in Tanzania. It's a tiny "supermarket", but it's packed full of western-type goods.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Mission Team, Mikumi, and Masai

Well....I was hoping to get this entry finished much earlier than I have. But, it's been SOOOO crazy and I have hardly had any free time to think or even hardly breathe!!

Even though it gets a bit crazy, it's been really fun having this mission team from Texas here. I'm not going to lie, it gets really lonely here sometimes, being the only white person at my site and not having anyone to talk to who really understands and can relate to what I'm experiencing on a daily basis. It's been really fun showing them around our area and the town. It's the first time I get to truly share my experience with others through more than words and pictures.

On Friday, the students pretty much had a free day for the whole day, which was fine since it was the last day before our next break. The mission team and I went around to each class and made balloon dogs for them. It was SOOO much fun. We taught the other teachers how to make the balloon dogs, so they got to help too! One teacher, Sir Gustave was a master with the balloon pumps and just kept pumping and tying while we made them into dogs. We even got to break up classes 6 and 7 into groups and taught them how to make balloon dogs. It was SUPER fun!! The only problem was afterwards when the kids would take their dogs apart or pop them and ask for a new one. It was a bit overwhelming. But, I still think we all had a great time! :D

Class 1 with their dogs!!

Making the Balloon Dogs

Handing out the balloon dogs

A student and the balloon dog she made!
On Saturday, the team and I left in the wee hours of the morning to go to Mikumi National Park. We had a pleasant drive there and got to talk a lot. One of the missionaries has been on longer term missions like me, and he told me about his experiences in Germany and Zambia. It was really cool getting to hear about similarities and differences in mission experiences. Once at the park, we got to see some animals, but not nearly as many as the first time I had gone. Right now, it's "winter" here, and the grasses are all dried out. They're doing a lot of burnings at the park right now too, so things were scenic in a different way than last time. The park also connects with Selous (sp?) Park and a lot of the animals were there, apparently. It was fun, none the less.







Afterwards, we visited a Masai village where Pastor Umba has also set up a church. When we pulled up, the women and children were standing outside of the church/school building, singing. It was quite an amazing welcome. We were brought inside the building where we were warmly greeted by many of the women and the children sang more songs for us. After the welcome ceremony, the mission team went outside where they painted two of the outside walls with white paint. There were only 3 rollers, and I hung back so that they could do their work. I got to talk to some of the children using my limited Swahili. I'm finding that I'm surprising myself more and more with my ability to communicate with others. And, it's been really nice to have these kinds of opportunities to practice and become more comfortable with it. I'm really looking forward to language school because I think that it will help bring me the next step beyond what I already know and understand.

Before we left, we were told that the men were preparing some meat for us. (in the Masai culture, the men do the cooking. How awesome is that??!!) We were amazed that the village was so excited that we were there that they had provided food for us. After our meal of rice and meat, the women presented us with all kinds of beaded gifts: bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. It was a bit overwhelming, the out pouring of love. It truly is amazing how excited people here get and how appreciative they are, even if it is an act so small as painting a couple of walls white.

A Masai village elder

Painting the walls of the church/school building

Masai children.


Well, that's all I've got time for for this entry. However, keep tuned for another entry (hopefully soon) with more about the exciting (some not so good) events that have been happening here in Morogoro!!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine