Please Pass the Cottage Cheese?

March 6, 2014

Happy March everybody!

As usual I find it so crazy that last month has flown by, just like the others. I look up at my calendar and see all these crossed off days and think to myself, "Wow! What happened to the time?" It seems like it was just a few days ago that February began. I have been in Tanzania for six months. I continue to be amazed by God's blessings and faithfulness to me throughout each one of the past months and I continue to have faith He will do the same in the next four.

I don't have much to report from the last few weeks but I do have a few stories to share with you:

I am still teaching Form 1 and Form 2 almost every day of the week and in the evenings I cook, clean and spend time with students and teachers. Sometimes the days kind of blend together because not much happens but I try to find ways to mix it up as much as possible.

First of all, I am happy to announce the chickens no longer live in my house! OH, YAY! I was really tired of having to clean up their mess every day. Its amazing how many times and places they had emptied themselves in my house. The students helped us to build an outside hut and the chickens have adapted to it very quickly. Because the chickens are no longer inside I do not to have a student help me clean. The biggest issue had been cleaning the chickens' room.

I am still doing all my own cooking, which I like but it is a very time consuming activity. There are many times I wish I could just throw something in a microwave. I usually eat rice every evening and make enough so that in the morning I can eat the rest of it cold with a cup of tea. It's safe to say that my diet is not the best; strictly due to the fact there is no way around it. Because I now do all my own cooking I rarely eat fish. To buy fish I have to go to the fisherman during the day. I am at school during the day, so it is not often I eat fish (maybe 3 times per month). Go ahead and just remove the protein section of the food pyramid and then I'm okay. The plan is for the headmaster and his wife to move into my house so the houses are a little bit more balanced. Also, once I leave they will have their own house, which is how it is supposed to be for headmasters. I am looking forward to this because Lucy (Kapange's wife) will take care of all the home duties, cooking cleaning, etc., so I can teach and be with the kids. It will be nice to have the help.

A quick story about milk: A couple times per week young girls from Isaba come to Kazovu to sell milk (Isaba has one cow, Kazovu has none). They know the teachers here will always buy some so they make a point to stop here first. Something I didn't know was that Tanzanians really enjoy cold, day old milk. (Now, please remember we don't have refrigerators or any way of keeping milk cold, nor do we have the process of pasteurizing or homogenizing milk.) So when they drink milk it is pretty much cottage cheese and tastes like rotten eggs. I was unaware of this when I ate dinner with my headmaster and his wife the other night. My experience with milk here was that you boil it and make it into tea, which is really, really good! So I thought when Lucy gave me a cup of milk it was boiled and had sugar in it. I took an extremely big gulp of the chunky sour milk and almost threw up. I was not ready for that! The next day I couldn't teach because of stomach pains. So the lesson in this is - don't drink chunky milk!

As I wrote in an earlier post, the girl students have moved into the village. They no longer live at school and it is more difficult to find good opportunities to spend time with them outside of school. It was so easy when they were a stone's throw away from my house. When they left I knew I had to be bold, making the effort to go into the village alone in order to find ministry opportunities. Every time I see God using that first step for His glory. Something good always happens when I put my own desires and selfishness aside and make the move to go into the unknown. Before the girls moved I don't think I ever went to the village alone. Not that being with other people is a bad thing, but I realized I relied on them way too much. Even though I knew how to communicate with the villagers to an extent I always let the people I went with do all the talking. I knew they could speak better than me. But now I go alone as much as I can because it forces me to use Swahili on my own and I think it is also showing the villagers I am comfortable and confident. Sometimes I will go to the village with no destination in mind. I will just walk to the market and try to find some students to hang out with. Many times I will go to students’ homes and just visit with them. Some of my Form 4 girls, Mariam and Jelina, are always excited when I drop in for a visit. They are such wonderful girls! Random trips to the village have also helped me to connect with students that I haven't connected well with yet. Many of my Form 2 students have a very low level understanding of English (we are working on it but they are behind). So they have been afraid to come to my house after school hours. Now I come to them. It's amazing how much more open they are! They tell me to come to their homes all the time and we will talk (mostly in Swahili) and then I'll teach them a little bit of English or review what we learned that day in class. As I walk home after each one of these amazing afternoons with my students I just think, "Wow, God set that whole thing up. I'm so glad I took the step to go to the village."

I have to tell you all about the other day at the lake. First of all, the last week has been the hottest I think it has ever been in Kazovu. I would bet it was around 95 and humid. We are all begging for rain again! Anyway, because of the heat I went around to the teachers asking if they wanted to go swimming. A couple of them said yes and we went together to the section of the beach near the village. We were having fun when some village kids started to swim out to where I was in the lake. I was pretty far out and they wanted to see if they could make it. We started swimming together and racing each other. When we came back to shallow water I played with the smaller kids, bouncing them around in the water three times and throwing them (like what my dad and brothers used to do to me when I was young). "Moja, Mbili, Tatu... Nenda!" "One, Two, Three…Go!" They loved it! I think there were about 25 kids swarming all around me waiting for their turn. My arms became so tired and sore but it was worth it! After about an hour the sun started going down and I knew I needed to get going, so they all escorted me back to my house. On the way back we sang songs and danced and they kept saying to me, "Mama yetu, Mama yangu." "Our mother, my mother." In which I would respond, "Watoto wangu." "My children." I can't help but feel pure joy and happiness when I see them smile and hear them laugh and sing. I see all of the children of Kazovu village as my own kids, but I also know they are the Lord's children. He created each one of them so special and unique. I pray every day they will grow up in the knowledge of Christ and how much He loves them.

These last couple of months had their fair share of challenges. I would never say it's been easy but all the challenges and hard things that have happened, and are happening now, do not compare to the positives I have just written down. Even through the storm, God has continued to make His Presence known to me and to those around me. Never once has He left me alone in this journey and I know He never will. God never said this life would be easy but He did promise to never leave us.

I read this in my devotional the other day:

"I am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as ascents. In the distance you see snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight. Your longing to reach those peaks is good, but you must not take shortcuts. Your assignment is to follow Me, allowing Me to direct your path. Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay close to Me. Learn to trust Me when things go "wrong." Disruptions to your routine highlight your dependence on Me. Trusting acceptance of trials brings blessings that far outweigh them all. Walk hand in hand with Me through this day. I have lovingly planned every inch of the way. Trust does not falter when the path becomes rocky and steep. Breathe deep breaths of My Presence, and hold tightly to My hand. Together we can make it!" - Jesus Calling

I would like to encourage all of you to trust in God right now no matter what your circumstance. Sometimes putting full trust in God during the hard times is easier said than done but I also know God is honored when we choose to give Him control of our struggles, circumstances, difficulties, problems and shortcomings. I know that in times of need I would rather have the God of the Universe handling my life than me. If you have a burden right now, leave it at the cross. Jesus doesn't want you to carry it anymore. 1 Peter 5:7 "…cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

May God bless you and keep you!

Mungu Ibariki

Emily

Side note: I will be coming back to America on July 6th. I will be leaving Kazovu around June 23^rd (all VST schools close around this time for a two-week break) and I will start my journey to Mbeya where I will meet up with Alexandra, my friend teaching at Ninga Secondary School. Together we will go back to Madisi and do some finishing up of things and head to Iringa. There we will have some fun shopping and touristy things. We both wanted to do something touristy before we left so we are going on safari in Iringa. In Dar we will go to an island in the Indian Ocean (not Zanzibar) to spend a day on the beach. Afterwards we will go to the airport for our flight which leaves at 3:00a.m. July 6th. This is still a long ways away. I still have four amazing months left and I love it!

Beach Day and Missing Anne

While all of you are bundled up with a cup of coffee and shoveling driveways, I spent the day at the beach! All of the teachers and many of our students went to Kirando this weekend in order to take passport sized pictures of the students. I don’t know exactly why but that’s okay. So today has been an amazing day of relaxation and enjoyment.

I started the day by sleeping in until 9:30am! That was amazing! Then I grabbed some bread and tea that I made last night and crawled back under my mosquito net and watched a movie on my iPod. Then I decided I would go to the lake. Not only was it a gorgeous day for swimming, but also hot enough to wash my clothes and lay them in the grasses to dry (they dry within 1 hour). So I put all my dirty clothes into the large washing dish and also packed along my iPod and my Bible. Mixon and I set off for a long afternoon at the lake. He follows me everywhere so I knew he would tag along. While walking I experienced a feeling that could only be described as “vacation”. Walking in the sand on a hot sunny day with the smell of sunscreen just screams vacation. Today really felt like a vacation of sorts. I went to the section of beach that is usually unoccupied so that I could be the weird American going to the beach just to rest and get some rays (and that means I’m still wearing an appropriate t-shirt and a skirt…let’s not get crazy). I spent about an hour washing my clothes and the water was perfect for it, not too many waves. Then I put them out to dry and sat on the beach listening to music and reading the Bible, making sure I was staying appropriate when the fishermen would pass by. Then it became too hot so I jumped in the lake and swam for a while. Mixon ran along the shore trying to figure out how to get to me without getting wet. Sometimes I pull him into the water just to see him swim back. He climbs on my shoulders to avoid touching the water. He’s kind of like a baby. After an hour or so I got out to get warm again and to enjoy just resting on my khanga on the sand. It was fabulous!

I left the lake when I started to feel my skin burn… sunscreen only does so much in this climate. So I picked up my clothes and walked back home. I did get a decent burn on my arms and shoulders but nothing terrible. If anything it just makes my watch tan look even more attractive ☺. I hung up my swimsuit, picked some vegetables from my garden for dinner and cleaned rice. Now I am ready to cook this evening. I have found I really like to eat rice with onions, tomatoes, green peppers and green vegetables on top. Really good!!! But I can only make it when I have the peppers from Kirando (Kazovu doesn’t have them). I have one pepper left so I am going to use it tonight.

Subject change

On a not so happy note, my good friend and housemate Anne left Kazovu. Just like Baraka she too often became sick. She left last Saturday for Kirando to see a doctor and then I heard that she was heading to Sumbawanga for more treatment. She had malaria and some type of tapeworms. I knew that she was sick but I was expecting her to return within a week or two. So I was not expecting to see Kibona’s wife come and take all of her things out of her room yesterday. Now all that is left is her mattress and some scrap papers on the floor. I have to keep telling myself that there is a reason for this. God has some bigger plan in store by removing Anne from Kazovu. But, I’m not going to lie… it hurts. She was a dear friend and the only other female teacher here I could spend time with. There is a trend here: Baraka left, Winfrida left and now Anne. I was happy today for the time to be alone because it gave me a lot of time to think and pray about this situation. What I have heard from God is that the only thing I can trust to be always constant is Him. Having close relationships is not a bad thing, God wants us to be in fellowship with others, but people will let you down, situations will change and if we put all of our reliance on those people we will crash and burn when something happens. Our strongest reliance should be on the One who will never leave or fail us - the One who is constant in our lives even when everything else seems to be turning upside down.

This new situation presents some opportunities. Now I am living in the house alone with the chickens, the cat, and Mixon. I don’t mind living by myself but it is a lot of work to be at school teaching all day, clean the house, cook and still have time to be with my students outside of school - which is what I really enjoy doing. The room where the chickens live is a disaster every morning and takes a good hour to clean every day. That doesn’t include the rest of the house which also needs cleaning. I really don’t mind doing these things but it is too much for me to do alone and still spend time with the kids. So I talked with my headmaster and he told me to find a student to help me every day. I agreed and see it as a way to bond even better with one of my students. I will be talking with Markrina next week to see if she can be my helper. I am also planning on giving her a bit of money to help with school fees, since she will be doing me a huge favor.

I know that everything will work out fine, it always does! God is thankfully in control of every situation. This presents a new challenge and definitely new opportunities for ministry.

Blessings,

Emily

More Photos

Sunset on Lake Tanganyika

Kazovu students

Having a little fun in Kazovu

Half-Way

February 4, 2014

It has been 5 months since I arrived here in Tanzania. Crazy to see how fast time has gone, but then again I remember how little I knew back in September. I’ve grown in knowledge of the culture and language. I have transitioned from seeing this as a trip to seeing this country as my home. God has done some amazing things these first 5 months. I have no doubt that he will continue to do so in the next 5 months.

School is back in full swing! Almost all of our students have returned (except for Form 3, nobody knows why they haven’t returned yet). I was surprised and so happy to see almost all of my students from Pre-Form returning to Kazovu for Form 1. All but two students from Pre-Form are here! From what it looked like in December, I would have been surprised to have 10 students return. God is giving me more time with them and I am so thankful.

When I returned to Kazovu I was cooking behind my house and saw three of my students running from the path to greet me. One of them, Michael, gave me the biggest hug. Oh, I just love these kids! There are even new students in Form 1 that didn’t come to Pre-Form. I now have 24 students in that class and over 30 in Form 2. The bigger classes are a little more difficult to teach but I would rather have more students in school than less, so I’ll take the challenge. I have noticed that it is very easy to start in as the English teacher for Form 1 because they know me and my teaching style, which is very upbeat. They know I require them to speak English a lot during class time. My first few weeks in Form 2 have been quite different. They are not used to my teaching style and more often than not I will be teaching and they will stare at me with looks that say, “What in the world is she doing?” I try to do many different games and exercises that are meant to help them practice speaking what they are learning on paper but they all seem to lack the motivation to really get into it. It is a daily struggle but I know after a while they will start to know my style of teaching. I know the way I teach is drastically different than how they have been taught in the past. I teach Form 1 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Form 2 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I also do evening sessions with Form 2 on Wednesdays and Thursdays. At the end of this year Form 2 will be taking a National Exam. I want to help them out as much as possible to help prepare for the exam.

Our school now has chapel every Friday! Most all other VST schools have chapel and ours had not. When our new headmaster asked for suggestions about starting in the New Year, I fought for having chapel. I am so happy it worked out. I will be going to chapel with the students and sometimes teaching.

The new headmaster Kapange is wonderful and is already doing great things for the school. He is doing a great job making sure we have all the materials we need for teaching (mainly chalk, pens and paper). You would be surprised how often we didn’t have those in the previous months. He is making plans to fix our electricity, which is fabulous. Not that we really need the lights, but the ability to charge our electronics at our houses would be extremely nice.

The second day we were in Kazovu, Kapange and I went down to the lake to wash our clothes. We had a great conversation and he told me he had already started to pay the bride price for a woman in the village of Ninga (where he was before). I said, “Oh WOW! Very good!” He went to Sumbawanga that weekend to get some supplies for the school and when he returned he seemed different. Yeah…he got married! This is one of the cultural things so drastically different than American culture. It still baffles me. He didn’t tell anyone about it…he just came back with a wife after two days. Ohhhhkay! His wife is an adorable young woman. She doesn’t speak any English but she is full of life and laughter. She went swimming with me and Anne and we all had a blast together! She is my dada (sister) now.

I really have been blessed by the relationships here. The other teachers are wonderful and are my best friends. We now have inside jokes and it makes me laugh so much. Here are a couple examples:

Instead of saying, “the salt is finished” or “my bag fell off the chair” Anne & I say, “Oh, the salt has died” or “my bag has died a natural death.” I don’t know why we started doing this but for some reason or another it is one of the funniest things! Every night before we go to sleep she tells me, “Ok Emi, have a nice death. See you in the morning when death is over.” Now that I am writing it, it sounds morbid and awful, but we say it in a very funny and light-hearted way.

Jonathan and I have many inside jokes but one we share daily is our creative handshake and we try to communicate with each other using only motions and sounds, not words. It usually grows to be something really funny. He also likes American ‘slang’ so sometimes he will greet me with, “Yo, Emi man, what’s up chill sis?” In which I reply, “Cool bro!” On a more serious note, Jonathan and I have had some of the most amazing discussions about Christ and the Bible. We can talk for hours with our Bibles in front of us, digging into the Word. I know the Spirit is present every time we talk.

The chickens are still running around the house all the time. We chase them away but they still come in. Recently, Anne changed rooms. She liked the room where the chickens were sleeping at night better than the room she was in so she decided to transfer. This has confused the chickens’ tiny brains. We put boards in front of our rooms every night so they don’t enter our rooms and make themselves at home all over the house. We found one inside our bucket full of drinking water! HA! Every night we catch them and put them into the room they are supposed to sleep in.

It is the rainy, summer season here. Some days we will have a complete downpour and cold temperatures, and then other days it’s really hot! Sometimes it’s a mixture of both. When it’s raining we need a long sleeve shirt. When it’s hot we count down the minutes until we can go jump in the lake to stop the sweating! I’m still keeping up my tan, especially the awesome tan lines from my watch! In regards to food, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I like ugali now. I guess it just takes eating it every day to develop a liking for it. We usually have ugali in the afternoons after school and then rice at nighttime. We like to eat both rice and ugali with greens from our garden mixed with tomatoes. Sometimes we’ll have fish and I always enjoy it when that happens. Not only because they taste phenomenal, but because I really enjoy gutting and preparing them ☺. Anne always lets me do that part.

Every day we have new guests at our house - two adorable little girls from the village. They are both 4 years old and they come to visit us. They are younger sisters of some of our Form 2 students. We jump rope together and help us to cook too. Anne and I have been teaching them fun songs and they love to sing and dance too! Today they were here while we were cooking ugali and saw my deck of cards sitting on the table. I started to play a game with them that I honestly still don’t know how it works. They would just tell me when to play and I would put a random card down. Apparently I did well. HAHA! They would say, “Mzungu cheza sasa” which means, “European, play now.” They haven’t yet learned my name, so I’m still Mzungu. I enjoy them so much and when we escort them back towards their house they hold our hands.

The girls who were living at school have now moved to the village. I don’t know where their homes are yet but once school starts to flow better my plan is to spend a lot more time in the village with them. I miss seeing them every day after school and playing Go-go with them. I am actually excited for this change because it will put me in the village more often and among the people, hopefully every day. My ministry has just changed locations once the school day ends and I know God will use this for his glory!

Our God continues to move in every minute of every day. In every situation He is here and making himself known. In my quiet time a few days ago I was reading Psalm 116. After reading the first verse I started to sing a song I have been singing ever since:

I love you Lord

and I lift my voice

to worship you.

Oh my soul, rejoice.

Take joy my King,

in what you hear.

Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.

My heart and soul will continue to rejoice and worship the one true King all of my days. May God be glorified in all I say and do.

Emily

Back in Kazovu!

January 19, 2014

I have been back in Kazovu for one week and it has been great to reunite with my friends and students.

I was blessed with the gift of traveling from Madisi to Kirando by car and not by bus. Alex, Lindsey and I were all very thankful because we left Madisi with twice as much of our stuff as we first came with. Most was supplies for our schools and also our Christmas gifts and extra clothes we had left at Janelle’s house in September. After wearing the same few outfits for 4 months, it is wonderful to have more options!

I traveled with Alex and Lindsey to Mbeya where we met up with Steve, Justin, Godfrey, Emanueli and other leaders of VST. We had lunch together and split up into different cars. I went with Steve, Justin, Emanueli and Sara in one car going to Sumbawanga. We didn’t leave until later in the evening, so we arrived in Sumbawanga at 2:00 a.m. We crashed at a guest house and the next day Justin, Ntula, Kapange (new headmaster) and I left for Kirando. We arrived late that night in Kirando and found a guest house. The next morning we went into the main part of the small town, ate some breakfast and went to the lake to find a boat. To my surprise I found my friends Madam Anne and Madam Winfrida standing there! I was so excited to see them I dropped my things and ran! We spent the day in Kirando together while Justin, Chriss and Kapange went back to Kazovu to go over some logistical things about changing headmasters. Anne and I caught a night boat to Kazovu later and that was an amazing “Wow, I’m in Africa” moment. The lake was calm and gorgeous as the water reflected the light of the moon. It was a very clear night and so we could see all of the mountains around us, including in Congo. SO AMAZING! We arrived at home and to my surprise I found our house a complete disaster! The chickens apparently went nuts through the whole house and found their huge bag of food, which had exploded all over the floor. All of the pots and pans in the kitchen were dirty and covered in ants and all of the door cover curtains had been removed (Chriss and Madam took them). Sooooo, needless to say, I had a lot of work to do the next day. My dog Mixon did not recognize me at first because it was dark when we arrived. From what I could see they somewhat tortured him because he was terrified of me. I shined my flashlight on my face so he could see me, and he went happy crazy. He was jumping all around and licking my face. I think he missed me just a little bit.

Now, let me back up a little bit and explain what happened with the headmaster situation. As some of you may know, there were some problems with the old headmaster. I won’t go into too much detail but it was definitely time for a switch and the whole VST leadership could see it. I was told in Madisi we would be getting a new headmaster right away when I returned to Kazovu. This is where Kapange comes in. He is actually Alex’s old headmaster from Ninga Secondary School. They were planning on moving him from Ninga for reasons that are not negative. Sometimes a change in perspective is good for a school. VST leadership sat both Alex and I down in the office building at Madisi and explained the plan. Alex was getting a former Madisi graduate who previously was a headmaster at another VST school and that I would be getting Alex’s headmaster, Kapange. From what Alex told me before I met him, I was impressed. He seemed like a great person and has a love for teaching. Also, it helps that he teaches science. Since Baraka left we haven’t had a science teacher. Long journeys really help you to get to know a person and we definitely had a long journey. I told Kapange all I knew about Kazovu and tried my best to answer his questions. He is a lot quieter than Chriss, but he has a big heart. Upon arriving at Kazovu we ran into a small problem. I live in the headmaster’s house and when a married couple was living here it was okay. Kapange is not married. While in Madisi I spotted the red flag right away. I asked Steve Vinton what to do and he said Anne would come to live with me and Kapange would live in the male teacher house. So, Anne and I now live together in the new and improved Female Teacher House. I am so happy with this new situation! Anne and I have become great friends and it is wonderful to have her as a housemate. She is also a great cook, so I reap the benefits of that as well. She has a radio in her room and listens to it all the time when she is home. We have many impromptu dance parties in the house and it is a blast.

Many of the students are just now returning to Kazovu, even though school opened on Monday. We had about half of our total students here last week. This past week has been one of those typical weeks when I have no idea what is going on. This happens a lot. The students have been cleaning the grounds of the schools every morning until about 10am. They chop at the long grasses with blades and dig out weeds from the dirt pathways to the classrooms. After they finish they are sent to the classroom to study. The teachers are not teaching because we have been getting the schedule prepared and our new Mkuu (headmaster) is learning about our school environment and, honestly, trying to fix many of the problems that were left. Since I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing I found myself studying my Swahili Lesson Book I received from Janelle during the Christmas break. It is a really great book and easy to understand. It is for people who wish to teach themselves Swahili. It comes with exercises and everything! I am now on Lesson 12 and over half a notebook full of notes. I am really enjoying it and I am learning so much! I have done this most days and in the afternoons I spend time with my students when “school” is over. This week things will start to flow a little bit better and start to look more normal. I will be teaching Form 1 and 2 English. I will be teaching every day but only a couple hours per day instead of 7 hours a day as with Pre-Form.

I would like to introduce you to three of my lovely young girls from Pre-Form. They are now Form 1 students and for the past week they have been living at my house. They have a room at the school but because not all of the students have returned, they are the only girls here and are afraid to be at the school alone at night (I don’t blame them). I invited them to come and stay with me. They cook here and sleep out in the main room of the house on extra mattresses we have had in a spare room. Their names are Imelda, Godeliva and Victoria. They are all “sisters”, but in this culture everyone is a sister or brother, so I really don’t know the relation between them. All I know for sure is they are from the same village, Utinta, about 3 hours by boat north of Kazovu.

First is Imelda. Imelda is a tall and gorgeous young lady. She is a very good student and is not shy to try the English she has been learning. She also has an amazing sense of humor and makes me laugh so much! Today she was putting water into a pot to make rice and as she was walking outside she started to dance and water began to pour out of the pot. She said, “Ahla! (common expression) uh-oh, that is very bad.” And then we both started to burst out laughing. Imelda is a twin. Her twin brother is Michael and he was also in my Pre-Form class. Now, in Tanzania if you are a twin there are very specific names you receive. The first is given a name and the second is named Doto. Technically Imelda’s name is Doto, but in the classroom her name is Imelda.

Second is Godeliva. Godeliva, or ‘Gode’, is an absolutely beautiful and amazingly shy young lady. She is small but has the biggest smile you’ll ever see. She is not afraid to use it! Her whole being shouts genuine, honest, trustworthy and pure. She is also a very good student and studies very hard. She is a complete blessing to me and to all those who surround her. Not to mention, she loves my dog and is not afraid of him like most others. I know that she will do wonderful things in her life.

Finally, Victoria. Vicki, Vicki how beautiful and wonderful you are. Like Gode she is also shy but has a smile and a laugh that will light up the room. She is tall like Imelda and has unbelievably gorgeous eyes. Like her “sisters” she is a very good student and will often try out her English with me. She does something really adorable when she knows she made a mistake - her eyes get really big, her jaw drops to the floor and she quickly covers her mouth with her hand. Then she bursts out in cheerful laughter! I can’t help but smile.

All three of these girls have been such a blessing to me in the past week. I never expected to have the opportunity to have them live here with me for a week but I am so thankful. Madam Anne has been in Sumbawanga since Tuesday and so having them here gives me constant company and entertainment. We cook together and in the evenings I help them study by flashlight around our table/desk. Then we read a Bible verse together. As I am going to sleep every night I hear them in the other room praying in unison and breaking off into their own separate prayers. I can’t express the joy in the house during these times. I can feel the presence of God and all I can do is thank Him for capturing their hearts. I pray for them that they will always draw near to God and would go and change the world…because I know they can.

In His service,

Emily

Photos from Tanzania!

Kazovu Secondary School

Lake Tanganyika

Kazovu Village

Emily's students after exams

Kazovu Form 1 girls with Emily

Lindsey, Alex & Emily in their 'Fresh Dresses' on Holiday

Exams & Holidays

December 31, 2013

Wishing you all happy holidays from Madisi Secondary School, Tanzania! I arrived here with the other American teachers on the 20th. Let me tell you a little about what has been happening!

Pre-Form finished up really well! I designed and administered an exam for my students on the morning of the 16th (Monday). As the students finished, I quick graded their exams and gave them a little Christmas note I had written for all of them. I was so proud of them! They all passed and did very well on the exam. The smiles on their faces as I returned their exams melted my heart. They proceeded to run around with their papers lifted up in the air in celebration. It was such an amazing moment for them and it also showed me that everything that has happened in the past three months was completely worth it. The dead rat on the desk, my students’ crazy short attention spans, teaching every period of every day and feeling like the results are almost non-existent, it was all worth it because of what I saw in my students that Monday morning. God has done an incredible work in these students. It may look a little different than what you may imagine but I have seen with my own eyes that God has been glorified.

As I finished up grading their papers I sent two of my students (Issa and Mussa) to the village to see if the boat was getting close to Kazovu. About 10 minutes later they ran back saying, “Teacher, Teacher the boat is coming!” OH NO! So, I finished my hugs and goodbyes with my students and fellow teachers, grabbed my stuff and walked to the boat. I was escorted by a few Form 3 students and they so nicely carried my bags for me. Escorting is a huge part of the culture here. If someone comes to visit you it is expected that when they leave you walk with them as least half way back to their home. I have visited some mamas in the village and they have walked me all the way back to my home on the other side of the village. This is just one of the reasons why I love the Tanzanian culture and proves just how kind and welcoming the people are here.

I traveled with my teacher friend Anne. By the time we were climbing on the boat it was about 11am, exactly when it starts to get really hot. The boat trip was about an hour and a half and it was the hottest day I have ever experienced! The boat doesn’t create that much wind because it moves very slowly so there wasn’t any escape from the heat. I was really close to jumping out into the water! But, we made it just fine and I was only sunburned on my back because I thought having my back burn was better than my face. It was not a big problem though. We spent the rest of that day and the next day in Kirando. We walked around buying some new shoes, eating amazing fresh fruits and resting under the coconut trees next to the boat dock. It was such a relaxing time and I was very blessed to share it with Anne. Most people were really confused that I knew how to have a conversation with them in Swahili. Not the typical Mzungu that comes to their village. We spent some time with Anne’s friends that were Army soldiers there (that was interesting…), visited their camp and everything! Lots of new experiences! We played cards with them until it got dark outside and I remember thinking to myself in this moment, “This is my life. I see my life here. These are some of my friends now. This is where I live.” Sounds like a simple thought, but it really took me for a loop. This is not just a trip to me. I live here for the time being and those I surround myself with everyday have become my closest companions. Not to say that I don’t think about the US and my amazing family and friends there, don’t worry you are all still very close and important to me. God has just given me the best gift of all, and that is His peace and He has never ceased to put people in my life here that make Tanzania feel like home, even if it is only temporary.

We took a bus to Sumbawanga on the morning of the 18th. The bus was very old looking and when it started to rain during the journey it rained inside the bus. That was pretty hilarious! Arriving in Sumbawanga we were greeted by Noeli. He is the Rukwa region representative for VST. Both Anne and I stayed at his house that night. His amazing wife made us dinner and it was so incredible! The first time I had eaten meat in a long time (besides fish of course). We went our separate ways the next morning. Anne headed back to Kazovu and I hopped on a bus to Mbeya. About one hour into the trip Alex and Lindsey got on the bus. The first time we had seen or spoken to each other since September. We were so excited to share stories with each other! We talked for the entire 7-hour bus ride and into the night at our guest house in Mbeya. We stayed at the same place as last time so we knew how to get there and where to go to eat dinner as well. It was quite the shock to all of us to experience a town like Mbeya. After spending the last few months in really remote villages, it was strange to see so many people, cars and shops. We all agreed that the best Christmas gift we received was the running hot shower at the guest house! Absolutely phenomenal! (Actually that gift was beaten out by the conversations that we were all able to have on the phone with our families on Christmas morning, but at the time the shower was amazing).

After the bus trip from Mbeya to Mafinga we were picked up and taken to a little restaurant where Godfrey (VST Director) was waiting for us. He bought us lunch and we talked about our schools and villages. He then put us in the care of a taxi driver that drove us to Madisi Secondary School (about a 1 and a half hour drive). When we arrived we were welcomed by our good friends Jovinus, Mr. and Mrs. Vinton, Janelle and Sara. So wonderful to see them again!

The next few days leading up to Christmas Day were filled with activities. Janelle had many projects for us to do, mostly involving crafts for Christmas. But, we also helped to organize the books in the school library and put them into the computer (following in my Mom’s footsteps). I was sick for the first couple of days. Had a pretty decent fever and headache so my crafts didn’t turn out the best, but I recovered fully by the 23rd! I was very thankful. On the 22nd about 20 people from VST travelled into Mafinga to go Christmas shopping. Alex, Lindsey, Jonathan (Vinton’s son) and I walked around together and bought gifts for our friends for Christmas. We bought Khangas for each other, fruit baskets for the leaders of VST and other little nifty gifties for our other friends here at Madisi. We had so much fun running around the market finding things, and we were even able to buy an ice cream cone! I had been craving ice cream for a long time and so it was definitely a treat. We also bought dresses, but not for the sake of looking good. Janelle had the idea that on Christmas Eve the girls would dress up in “Fresh Dress.” Basically that meant, go find a dress in town that is absolutely ridiculous and then wear it to the party. And boy did we find “Fresh Dresses.” My dress was bright orange, cheetah print sleeves and neckline with beads around it and a gold belt. Fabulous! It was hilarious to show up at the Vinton’s house Christmas Eve night and see their reactions as we strut our dresses around the house. Definitely one of my favorite nights here so far!

Alex, Lindsey and I have all decided that being here at Madisi feels almost like America. Madisi is more developed than our schools and is located in a place with more resources for food. It definitely didn’t start out that way but it has grown into what it is today. So, because of this we have been given the privilege of eating really amazing “American” type foods. Fajitas, soups, cake, spaghetti, we even made pizza the other night! I feel very blessed! We made Christmas cookies with some of the kids here and brought many students in to help decorate them when they were finished. They loved it!

Christmas Day was wonderful! It started out with an amazing gift from Mr. Vinton. He gave us time on the phone to talk with our families back home. It was Christmas Eve for them, but Christmas morning for us and I could not have asked for a better present. I could just imagine my family standing around the counter in our house and it felt like for a moment that I was there with them. Hearing their voices started the day off with so much joy and it only continued as the day went on. We had all the Tanzanian leadership over for a present opening time, just like in America. Presents wrapped underneath the decorated Christmas tree, and people sitting all around it waiting to see what the next gift would be. I was blown away with the generosity of everyone. After the gifts, all of us girls went into the kitchen to start preparing the huge feast that would take place later on. That night we shared Christmas dinner with over 40 Tanzanians from Madisi and the village of Igoda. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! It was so cool to serve them and share in that amazing celebration of Jesus’ birth.

After the crazy and fun activities of Christmas had come to an end we have been spending the last few days in much needed rest and relaxation. Watching movies on our laptops, reading, drinking hot chocolate as we share stories, listening to sermons, cooking together, playing games, dancing and taking naps! We are all really enjoying the time we have to just relax. It is a huge gift! We will be here until the 6th of January and that is when we will all begin our journey back to our villages. As much as I am really enjoying being here, I think often about Kazovu. I wonder how my friends there are doing? How are my students? Did they have a good holiday? And as much as I know it’s crazy to say this but, I miss the heat too! When I think about these things I realize that I have been so blessed. God placed me in the exact right place, with the right people and I love them! The bonds I have created there are real and deep and through that I can see God’s faithfulness. A verse in Jeremiah says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love and so I have continued my faithfulness to you.” God has been faithful, he has never ceased and it is all because he loves me. I don’t know about you, but I am brought to my knees with that truth. Even in the times that God feels so distant and you don’t feel His presence anymore. Know that He is closer than your breath, watching over you and continuing His faithfulness to you because He loves you more than you will ever know. Just look around you, God’s faithfulness and Holy Presence can be found even in the smallest aspects of your life. God has been showing and teaching me this. I sometimes think, wow I needed to go half way around the world to understand this truth of my Savior but I am so thankful.

God has given me an extreme sense of purpose here in Tanzania. I can’t say that I know exactly what that purpose is, but I can feel it. On Christmas my Mom asked me, “Do you feel good about where you are and being there for another 6 months?” The quick answer is YES! I feel great! I love my village, I love my students, I love my friends and to be honest I think I live in the most beautiful place on earth. But, a deeper reason is that I know that this purpose God has for me, whatever it may be, is not yet complete. I continuously pray that God will lead me in every step and direction so that every opportunity for reaching and loving the people is grasped. I don’t want any of it to slip away. Please join me in this prayer as the next part of my journey begins. Pray for continued courage to step out of my comfort zone, pray for my attitude and heart to resemble that of Christ, pray for the hearts and minds of my students that not only would they grow intellectually but spiritually as well, and pray that in everything God’s love would be shown and that God is glorified.

I don’t know what these next 6 months have in store, but I can rest in the assurance that God is in complete control and I know that amazing things will happen because of Him. I am excited to go back to Kazovu and see my friends, students and village that have become so very special to me!

1 Thessalonians 2:8

“Affectionately longing for you we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

Merry Christmas (late) and a Happy New Year!

Krismass njema na mweka mpya!

Love,

Emily