Life as a Dupiche

2009-07-01T04:27:00.000-07:00

As I sit here, I’m stuck on my second hot stuffy plane waiting for take off. I realize the first step has been taken. The goodbyes.

Carley, Me, Delicia, and Helen....Nyumba ya Duma!!!!

Below is our house worker Mama Mawazo

I haven’t been able to write on here in a while. Every time I started, I just didn’t know what to say. So much of my heart is still in Tanzania. The last few weeks with the kids were filled with lots of activities and fun times. I enjoyed each minute I had with them to see their smiles and just spend some more time without the pressure to complete any work.

Their paper airplane contest (learning aerodynamics)

Some kids dancing at the circus.

Our last Grade 5 Assembly!!!

Many goodbye with staff at HOPAC. This is Avril giving Clare her present....I got one to a picture of the whole school!

After saying goodbye to most people at HOPAC, I still had about 10 days left to spend with friends. Michelle, Naomi, and I decided that we needed stuff to do…so we came up with a schedule of events. Something for each day going until Michelle leaves at the end of July. I was so grateful for that schedule. It kept us all busy, got the last minute tourist things out of my system, and kept me from focusing on the hard goodbye’s coming up.

Me, Michelle, Delicia, and Naomi at dinner one night.

Our resort at south beach.

Young Boy selling hard boiled eggs on the beach.

I will miss these gorgeous beaches!!!

One of the greatest blessings this year has been living on the compound. I think I told you before, but it consisted of 10 single girls living in 3 houses, two families, and one couple. We have lovingly called it the “convent” and once it was even called the “harem”. God has just been such a blessing to surround me with these amazing people. I know I took their friendship and support, and dedication to Christ for granted this year. But each girl (especially) has taught me so many things and has been an encouragement to me. I don’t know how many amazing conversations and problems, and concerns were worked through. But it was a lot. I could go to a number of different people to laugh, cry, or just seek godly advice.

My new Indian Outfit from one of my students. What a blessing to be covered in other cultures.

I will miss everyone as I head back. Helen and Clare have returned to London. Kate, Delicia, Carley, and Noami stay to continue serving at HOPAC. And Michelle returns to Texas and Lisa returns to Louisiana for a short time before going back to Tanzania. The best part of their returning is the fact that I KNOW it wasn’t a final goodbye. I might have completely lost it if I didn’t think I would see them again. But I now have standing invites to come stay in LONDON!!!! Yay!!

Many people have taught me and encouraged me. Showed me how to trust the Lord, showed me how to pray through all circumstances, showed me how to struggle through with a smile on your face and a joy to come to the circumstances.

People already mentioned notwithstanding, I will also greatly miss Tanzania and my friends there. The warmth and open hearts that I have encountered there are just inspiring. Friends who truly care and remember you and your needs.

Kids from the village waiting to hear their Bible story on Saturday mornings.

William with his service to his home village. Working at the school, preaching on Sundays, running kids programs. He has more than two full time jobs, but is always will to serve and ALWAYS greeting you with a “Bwana Safiwe” (Praise the Lord). But many others who are just working hard in my church or around Tanzania, but willing to open their hearts to new people. I think a hard adjustment will be losing those immediate and trusting friendships.

This morning (my last morning) in Tanzania, I took my breakfast up to the roof and watched the sun rise over the Indian Ocean. My heart just started rejoicing in the Lord. What a blessing this year had been. How exciting to serve those who are working on the front lines fighting for the gospel to get out on the frontier. What a privilege to know those whom I have met and what a joy to encounter friends from all over the world who care for me and my relationship with the Lord. View from my rooftop.

Despite the tears, despite the power issues, mosquitoes, hot weather, and hard times. I wouldn’t trade this year for anything. Don’t get me wrong, it is difficult to live away from family and friends, yet these experiences have deepened my love of God, have opened my mind to what others are facing, and has changed my view of life. How can you weigh that against the minor difficulties faced there.

I know I can trust my savior. I didn’t know what this past year held when it started, but God did. Thank you Lord for guiding me and using me as I blindly stumbled through the path, one step at a time. Continue to guide me as I step forward in faith again, not sure of what the future holds, but knowing you are there sustaining me, planning for me, and using me.

mbagala blast update

2009-05-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your prayers. I wanted to reflect a bit about the bombing that happened a few weeks ago. As many of you know, the military had a horrible accident. A ammunition storage facility became too old to contain itself and simply exploded in the Mbagala section of Dar. It was a HUGE explosion with pieces of all types of munition traveling in the area.

To add this misfortune, the city had expanded since the site was originally built meaning that the army base was surrounded my homes. Many people lost their entire houses and even some lost their lives. It was a confusing time for everyone until people could figure out what was happening.

Some people at HOPAC came together to give some relief and we collected food, clothes, blankets, etc as a school. On Saturday a group of us took the relief down. It was so amazing to be able to offer assistance. Most of the time you hear about awful things happening, but are too far away to help.

It was awful seeing all the houses bombed. It reminded me of pictures of war zones that I have seen, but this came from their own government negligence. However, so far they were given tents to live in to keep their stuff dry and them a place to sleep that isn't in danger of the roof caving in! No pics...the military that was there keeping the peace was not happy with pics. I didn't get any taken.

Once we got to the church (or what was left of the church) we realized that the information that mzungo's were coming had leaked out! There was just crowds of people hanging around seeing if they could get anything. Most people were awesome to talk to! They were thankful that we had even just come down to visit them! I met a few that spoke good English and was able to have a few conversations. The rest of the time, I tried (not very well) to use my Swahili and make some friendships.

At one point, the kids were just swarming a few of us, so we decided to teach them some songs! It was fun to hear them repeating the words (in English) when they really didn't know what they meant! Hayden was able to translate "My God is so big" into Swahili and we all sang that together. It was a fun time. You never really know what to expect when things like this happen.

There was also a Tanzanian that came to offer entertainment to the crowd. he dressed up like a clown...well in crazy clothes and did dances or tricks. It was so fun, but hard to see from all the people pressing in. At one point he pulled me into the center of the crowd to play a game! I was against a local boy....don't worry they only laughed at me a bit.

please keep this area in prayer! Safety and that the government would be convicted and follow through on their promise to provide new homes for all that got damaged.

Besides that my class is quite busy! We finished our testing and are moving into the last few weeks of class. The crunch is on to cover what they need to know before moving up to (scary) secondary. I have loved working with these kids, they have been working hard to learn this year and I will miss the self motivation that is so prevalent. These students know the value of education and are trying to gain as much knowledge as they can. Its easier for them because they are faced with the discrepancy of those educated and those not. It is huge here!

I'm quite excited to be going home in just a few days for Andrea's wedding! It hit me just recently that she is changing her name and becoming connected to Chet forever!! I will have a new brother in just a one more week. Crazy to think about.

Please pray for my forever plane ride! I hope I can sleep a lot to help pass the 14 hours!!!!

Don't Waste Your Life

2009-05-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished the book by John Piper with this title. It was so encouraging, yet also challenging. What I loved most was the ending. He made a clear Biblical case for those that are called to the mission field and fighting the front lines of this fight against darkness.

But what i loved most, was the call for partnership. Just a reminder of how God has each one of us in a specific place for a specific purpose. I was reminded how I wouldn't have even been able to step foot off of American soil without the support of so many people. Both money and through prayer. money because at the time I decided to go i wouldn't have been able to even afford any flight! But through prayer so much more. He discussed (and i totally agree) how God has placed some to stay and some to go. Some to support and participate and encourage those He chose to Go....into the unknown, but to find the unloved, lost, and broken and bring God's healing touch.

God has been such a sustainer, quiet teacher, and guide to me these past 10 months especially. It might have something to do with having no Television and media/internet being out of my house. But without all the distractions...I have been able to read...a lot... Now I'm onto Ragamuffin gospel....so my next post will be how we all need some more grace in our lives I guess.

Thank you, to all who pray for missionaries (not just me but anyone). But also thank you for those who have stayed and are fighting the fight in their own home soil; who are choosing to give instead of live more comfortably. Thank you to those who are hearing the word of God, but also living it out each day.

Snapshot of Life in Dar

2009-04-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

To give you more of a taste of life here, some friends and I have (discreetly) taken pictures of daily life. Now a lot of people don't like their picture taken, so some shots are not the best. But i want to show what living in Dar is like...and what is see every day! So Enjoy! Feel free to ask questions....

Here is an example of DSW show warehouse!! In the ourdoor markets they can have rows and rows of sneakers. But always just one so you can't steal the pair. All are second hand and the guys that sell them take hours to clean and shape them up!

You see this all the time, carrying water back to houses. It is hard work to live here when there is no electicity and you can't afford to have clean water delivered.

Massai. They keep their clothes and customs and haven't adapted to western influences. But the men love to try their english out on Mzungu girls!

Peanuts are always available and often young children are trying to sell them. They are so cute, i end up with a lot of peanuts!

Pepsi distributer!

We were driving fast when this picture was taken, but this is how you get fish! It is quite fresh since they bring it in from the boats less than 2 miles from this place! Good stuff, although keeping it cold or in CLEAN water, does not seem to be a priority to these guys.

Nice resaurant (outside of downtown).

Furniture stores....all over the road selling everything you could need for a house.

Seems shady to sell out of a van, but saves on rent. here is Tanzania's version of Bed, Bath and beyond.

Cement bricks anyone?? Needed much more often here.

Some of the zanzibar doors and beds. The intricacy is hard to see, but this wood work is amazing!!

Electronics store!

Victoria secret!

Whenever there is a traffic jam, vendors come to sell whatever people need.

Here is a portable store!! he would have anything on that cart...changes from day to day.

Fast Food!

Sugar cane! They make juice from it or just sell to suck on.

Pineapple season....there are just piles of pineapple everywhere.....I can't wait for them to come back...so good.

Drive-by store.....literally.

One of the local buses (dalla dalla) that has Obama. I have seen his picture on so many windows, wrap skirts (kanga), his name imprinted on every brick on houses....people love him here!

Fruit sellers...

Lowe's :-)

Local Bar/fast food restaurant....chips miyai (french fries cooked with eggs....mmmm so good)

here are some more bajai. They always hang out at certain corners, but is a cheap way to get around if you don't have time to walk to the market.

Clare buying fruit off a bike. Watermelon season...

SEW- Can someone think of a better acronym??

2009-04-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

SEW- service emphasis week

The secondary took the week off of classes to spread out throughout Tanzania and donate their muscles, time and energy. The school was in such a buzz of excitement, it was awesome to see the kids pumped up to get involved in their community. Even the younger kids were excited about praying for them and hearing what they were doing.

Since one team was last minute, they needed some teachers to volunteer and I got to go with one of the day trips on Saturday. The team went up to Madala (William's village) that i have talked about before. Usually on Saturday's a few of us go up there and are working on Bible storying as well as building friendships and playing games.

Downpours did not even pause the soccer game.

This little girl started dancing when it poured! But i can understand why, since it filled their water bucket and this was the first time I saw any of them drink water!

The teens did an awesome job though! very into, plus so many of them were fluent in swahili! It was great to see them talking with the children. Usually the kids talk at me and i nod my head trying to pick up a word or two. Sometimes I understand, but other times I am sure I have no clue what they are saying.

I was blessed to spend the day with them and it was so exciting to see the younger ones stepping out of their comfort zone to lead stories or pray aloud. It reminded me of my STEM short term trips.

Some local volunteers!

Update!

2009-04-02T05:24:00.002-07:00

Wow, so its been a little while...excuse the lateness. It is just before the end of TERM 2!! After the Easter show tomorrow....VACATION! I can not wait. Kate and I intend to go up to Kenya...and the best part is ....I"M NO LONGER SICK! Praise God. Every since i came back from the Amani trip (mid February) I battled one illness or infection after another. It is so nice to be healthy and deal with the heat!

But to fill you in on what has been going on....the kids trip to Amani went so well! We hiked, walked, did a night hike, played in a HUGE waterfall, played team building games, capture the flag...so much. But after 4 days, I was EXHAUSTED!

Below are some highlight :

Kyle showing some details about the OLD tree.

Team building games!

The visit to the tea factory was very eye opening to the students. They got to see how hard the work was and how very little all the workers were paid. Most of the agreed that they wouldn't work that hard for so little.

The packed out bus! steve is smiling despite the 8 long hours spent with 25 screaming children.

Our guides explaining more about butterflies.

Everyone playing in the waterfall!

Wandering down the trail.

Kids with Amanda investigating what they can find beneath the grid. The loved digging to find bugs and decaying leaves.

The overflowing exciting before the first hike...if only they kept these smiles after hiking for an hour...

Angela and Libby!

Nathan is our resident "Rocky". Along with several other boys in my class, they decided to see what would happen when they kicked over a bee hive!!!!! I mean doesn' anyone watch, My Girl anymore?

All kids only recieved minor injuries...but learned a great life long lesson!

Although, I was a bit panicky when he got injured he was alright in the end. thankfully his mom is a Doctor and when I called to ask her advice on what to do, she handled it very well!!

Our triumphant hike to the top of our mountain! Gorgeous view of the canopy layer behind us.

This picture (below) reveals the true class that I deal with!!

Book character Day

2009-02-07T00:28:00.000-08:00

This was book week...and it was busy. Every day they would pick a time and ring a bell so the kids would "drop everything and read" for 15 minutes. I was surprised at how much they really liked this. But then again...it did put off math a few times...

On Friday we held a contest with all of Primary to see who could look most like their favorite book character. Most of the girls dressed up...had lots of Babysitters from Babysitter's Club. But three of my brave boys also decided they were "cool" enough to dress up. although...one was Froto and got to carry a sword, another a musketeer...also with sword, and the third was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. so altogether....they had fun.

I was Caddie Woodlawn. Mostly because she has red hair...and all I really did was put on an apron and braid my hair.

There was some good idea though. My winner for grade 5 was Harini who dressed up as the Pied Piper. So cute!

Delicia is the woman from It takes a Village. We had fun wrapping her pretend baby in the Obama kanga...yup all over they have pics of Obama. I neeed to do an Obama blog. You would not believe how much people love him here....

Michelle was Clifford the Big Red Dog. ...

And Carley was "The Woman who ate a fly"

The things you have to go through to teach Primary!! (aka Elementary)

the more you have=the more often you're bored

2009-01-17T05:47:00.000-08:00

I think back to my babysitting days....oh so much fun. But I remember hearing ALL THE TIME...."I'm bored". When they had just walked out of a house full of stuff into a huge backyard filled with stuff. At the time, I didn't think about it. Its just how it was

But today, i was blown away by a disparity I finally saw. The kids at the village have nothing. Barely enough to eat...most of them NOT enough to eat. So as you can imagine toys are few and far between.

Today I saw a little baby playing with a piece of plastic and scooping up the dirt. It was something her sister found to keep her happy. But just that kept her content. Now i was cringing wanting to give her a bath and practice the alphabet..but some some baby genius videos....but not going to happen for this little one.

The kids are so creative, they are always playing and hanging out, but don't always even have any toys.

we brought some with us, and you should see all the creative games they play. Mostly, they don't use the toys for what their intended purpose is, but they always have fun with them. Its cool to see what they come up with.

We brought soft bowling pins and balls...but they ended up playing a throwing and catching game with the pins. lol....took too long to set up the pins each time. Plus its hard to balance pins on dirt!

gotta get the pics from michelle still.....

Atypical Friday= any friday in Africa

2009-01-15T23:29:00.001-08:00

2 Chronicles 29:12 "You hold strength and power in the palm of your HAND to build up and strengthen all."

Now I would just struggle to teach this verse to children in a way that allows kids to remember it forever, but one missionary here did just that. I do not use this lightly, but he is a man anointed by God. Even in his children you can see the love of Christ and the way he treats his is a strong testimony here.

Anyway....the kids had so much fun during assembly, yet he still managed to teach them a great truth for their lives.

He started by reading the verse and then holding an arm wrestling contest. The kids were screaming they were so excited: grade against grade and boys against girls. You should have seen their faces when some girls won!

But the winners were given books (always a great gift) but he followed it by a short talk. He spoke how we need to hold the hand of God to get his strength and power. But for the kids...he made them make a fist and pound their chest screaming STRENGTH AND POWER with their hand up every time he said "hand". Well as you can imagine he said "hand" A LOT! so the kids were pounding their chests and screaming with their hands up in the air about God's strength and power.

But they had a blast doing it. And they now remember that in God's hand he holds strength and power for us to have when we go and hold his hand.

How often do we forget that these concepts are taught in scripture everywhere and are simple enough for a child to understand? I hope God gives me some ideas like this as I teach Bible the rest of year.

Lesson: Never underestimate how much kids can comprehend in the Bible.

He ended the talk with screaming out: God's hand is a hand of: Friendship, partnership, guidance, help and protection. But he (of course) said hand each time..making the kids yell strength and power over and over...but what great reminders!

A great start to the day...so exciting...until a tarantula was found in the girls bathroom! A huge one...but don't worry the gardeners took care of it. I guess Africa is still Africa! lol

now off to pick up some rugs. Normally a simple task, but we are going to the one warehouse where they have a store. And our directions are "turn right past after the big Shamo building down the 2nd dirt road. (one of the worst roads I have been on since coming) Go to the end and turn at the sign. " (not the sign for the store, but a different sign that talks about a school...yup for their store they put out a sign about a school...helpful!)

Wish me luck! :-)

The joy of no electricity

2009-01-15T22:49:00.001-08:00

Some of you have heard that our electricity went out. Not a flicker...or a few hours, but onto our 2nd day with little hope for future electricity. But I think I know what caused it. Carley and I had the same thought simultaneously....we both thought how great our electricity has been. And here was our mistake, we decided to buy meat that we didn't need until next week!!! I know to all you Americans...this seems natural. But here is a use or lose it policy. You buy what you need and NO MORE. :-)

That evening, our transformer started sparking and smoking never a good sign. God irony was not lost on us since after school we held a fire safety lessong learning which fire extinguishers we need for what kinds of fire. Had there been a fire, we would have known what to do!

Thankfully no fire, but also no power. This is not a good sign. since things have a way of getting done when they do...it could take WEEKS for our electricity to come back. Sigh...

One thing I have learned is to still be thankful for something, so I am still very thankful that our water pump is working! We can still shower AND wash dishes....how wonderful is that!

Then today...one fan downstairs started slowly turning! Hurray, we might have power.

I have just noticed how often we overlook what we are given and focus on what has been taken. We were given water, one light in the bathroom, a house, and two cool evenings in a row filled with breezes. God gives and he takes away...our job is to praise and thank him no matter what.

Friday Nights...out to 1 am?!?!

2009-01-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

Tehela is group of people who get together on Friday nights. One of my roommates, Delicia, has an amazing voice so she goes and sings with them every week. But this isn't a normal worship, they are dedicated to worshiping God on friday nights!!

But its amazing to see all the people from churches all over Dar just worshipping and singing, praising, praying for HOURS on EVERY Friday night.

As soon as I walked in, you could just feel the presence of the Lord in the room. There are very few times in my life that I can actually say that I knew God was present, but also felt his close presence like this.

The musicians are so fun to watch. Mom said before (we had gone to one before when she was here) Delicia’s face transforms when she sings. And it is so true. All of the musicians and singers just flow together as one and really just allow God to take over. It is a lot of fun. By the end of the worship time, I was jumping, dancing, singing…it was the most natural thing in the world. I didn’t have a choice but to just throw myself into worship.

A missionary, Shaun, did the preaching that night. One thing he asked really struck me. His question was, “Who did Jesus hang out with? He was always getting himself in trouble with the Pharisees because he was hanging out with drunkards, thieves, prostitutes, etc…. Then Shaun asked, “How many people do you know like that?” And it threw me so much because my gut reaction to that question was, “No one of course! I wouldn’t hang out with people like that!”

Shaun said, “Most of you probably answered, not that many.” But even thousands of years later, we are still rejecting the same people from our society! Amazing that we can have the word with us for so long and still be so blind. Yet these are the very people who need to hear about the love of Christ that breaks the bondage of sin. Talk about conviction…now it’s a matter of what to do about it.

The hard part of the evening is how long it goes on for! Starting your day at 5:30 and ending it after 2 am isn’t really easy. Michelle, Naomi, and I made it to midnight…everyone else starting worshiping again, but our bodies were done! So we headed home. Delicia finally rolled in around 1:30 am. Not really sure how she does it!

It does make me understand how important it is to be doing the thing that God has designed for you to do. You can see it in the way she serves while she sings. She was made for singing for the Lord. I feel the same way when I’m teaching. Only..I don’t sound as good as she does! Not fair.

:-)

Mom's Visit

2009-01-10T03:29:00.000-08:00

These are my fav banana's

They are SOO sweet! As most of you know my Mom came out to visit me!!!!! It was so exciting to see a familiar face..but we sure did keep busy while she was here.

Thankfully (for me) her flight got cancelled AND MOVED SOONER! She came even before school ended and was able to meet all the kids and watch their christmas pagent.

Our first stop was Zanzibar! so much fun. beautiful city with lots of "touristy" things to do. We took a spice tour one day. Here this guy just walked us around and told about spices, but he also made some funny things out of the leaves. Glasses, necklaces, even crowns! It was a lot of fun. One guy even climbed up the coconut tree so we could see how they got to the top!

All of the presents made from leaves! Note the glasses AND purse.

The height of the trees....

They guy climbing them to the top!!!! amazing. He was even hanging on with his hands and putting his legs out! I really thought he would fall.

Mom practicing her "Queen" pose! She really thought she was one when he gave her the crown!

Mom hanging out by a spice tree with our guide.

Another missionary family (the Janders) joined us for our vacation to Zanzibar. this is a picture ofthe girls and I after all our shopping one day....:-)

My FAVORITE coffee shop in Stone town. It was just amazing coffee! I made mom come back with me for a second cup.

Zanzibar is known for its intricate wood working. So lots of the doors and just totally covered in designs.

After Zanzibar we were back in Dar for Christmas. There was a great christmas eve caroling service at sunset. that was a lot of fun. I took a good pic of the crowd because there were so many white people. I told Michelle that i didn't think there were any other white people left in Dar! They had all come to the service. But it did feel strange to be in a sea of white faces. I am more comfortable now being in a sea of black faces.

Christmas here was hard though, to be so far from family that I knew was all getting together. But all the girls made it a nice relaxing day. We cooked a brunch, gave out some presents, and really just relaxed.

Delicia ripping into her gifts.

Our Christmas tree! My FIRST fake one.

Later we travelled south to Mikumi National Park for some safari! SO MANY COOL ANIMALS! it was really exciting.

Like my cool safari hat?!?! I bought it out of the car window for 6,000 Tsh (about 5 bucks)

Hippo's hanging in the cool water! (right)

We saw so many herds of Zebra!!! They were everywhere. But I still think they look like horses.

Of course, my favorite!!!!!! The giraffe got really close sometimes.

Our Safari guide was even a Christian. He actually asked us first because of our testimony whhen the car broke down. we just hung out on the side of the road for 5 hours no big deal. But he was very surprised at our lack of complaining. I know the Lord helped all of our attitudes, but i also think that I have reached a place where I just expect cars to break down and things to go wrong, so when they do...I just take it in stide. :-)

The Water Buffalo. That one with his nose up cracks me up! They were such curious creatures.

(left) The elephants were not as big as I had hoped, but it was amazing to see how they all worked together to take care of one another. One time we got too close and a Mama elephant told us what was up! she took a menacing step towards us and raised her trunk. We didn't get any closer!

We saw tons of antelope. They were everywhere!!! (below)

When we came back we logged some shopping and beach time to finish up our time together. I know Mom had fun, but I think she was ready to head back to the familiar life of America. she really showed me how different life here is. I am just accustomed to crazy driving, walking, downing liters of water every day! But i forget how MUCH I have adjusted to over the past 6 months.

God has been good though, it was so nice to get out and just hang with Mom. We got to go to some fun restaurants here (she helped supply some needed funds that were missing before) and really enjoy the city. I found out that I really want people to love Dar like I do. I know there are lots of problems here, but I really do love living in this city.

weight watchers in Africa

2009-01-10T03:19:00.000-08:00

One of my roommates (Carley) and I are both in weddings in the next few months. So we decided to put ourselves on weight watchers. She had done it before and had a book that we could follow and check out how much all the food we eat costs us in points!

But the funny part is that it has caught on like wild fire and now there are bunch of us doing it together. We are having so much fun with it. Carley and I have our little notebooks to write down what we eat...and then every Wednesday is going to be our weigh in! lol all the girls are coming to us and list off what they ate..then find out if they are over their points. It isn't a huge deal, but its just a fun thing. I think the whole school knows now since we were joking about it at lunch time! lol...school can spread information like nothing I have ever seen before.

We are holding each other accountable. And this morning Naomi and I did a "Sweating to the Spirit" workout video! It was so funny. At least we have fun while torturing ourselves....

Another missionary family has helped us out too. It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to run here. I know some do, but with the heat of the sun, the stares, the inability to use an ipod where someone can see you, and more... there are lots of hinderances.

I first tried to say that this must be God telling me that I shouldn't run this year...but on further thought I just need to find other ways to be active.

With some generous donations...another family put in a mini gym on their balcony. So now Carley and I WALK the 40 minutes to their house and can run on tredmill or lift weights or bike. So it is great fun.

Here is our before picture....

After 4 months...we will see.

Thankfulness

2008-12-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a tough day, but I am actually praising God that I still had to work! It kept me so busy so I was not pinning away missing my family in PA!

Today, I am grading my student's autobiographies. It is actually a great time! I am learning so much about their past and what is special to them.

One of my students is an excellent writer and her life story (even at the age of 10) is touching and filled with the grace of God. She has such a heart for the Lord, the story literally brought me to tears! I think I might have an author here!

But she ends with this, "My life is still short, but plentiful and i am so blessed by the Lord!"

May we always recognize how SHORT our life is here, yet how PLENTIFUL it is through the HAND of the LORD! What innocence, yet divine wisdom! This is why I LOVE teaching kids.....not so much when they are being michevious!

Africa Outfit

2008-11-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

here is my new African Outfit! haha...so funny. But this is a typical stlye that you see here. Usually the girls wear them a bit tighter, but I asked for it to be lose.

Joelliane

2008-11-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

I just found this...and cracked up. Thought I would share...

On one of my student's Bible notebooks they wrote an acrostic.

B- basic
I- information
B- before
L- leaving the
E- Earth

LOL! what will they come up with next!

5K FUN RUN….oxymoron??

2008-11-17T04:23:00.000-08:00

Stupid me thought I was “in shape” and could handle running 5K….3 miles. Not to mention the 7:30 am start…to help fight the heat. But I forgot how steep the hills here, how hot the sun is, and how humid it is! Another teacher, Michelle, and I stayed together the whole race…we kept overtaking each other and then having to catch up. Man I thought I was going to die right in the middle. But afterward, I was glad I did it. Running seems to be like that. Want to start…hate it during….and feel so good about it after you finish. Lol. Good thing I don’t make decisions about when I will run again during the race.

I did make it…and even got 2nd in my age group. Got a nice cheap metal out of the whole deal! Lol. But everyone had a great time. 3 of my students did the run in just under 20 minutes!!! I couldn’t believe it. The best time was 19:20 I think. One of the gardeners names Meshack.

Lots of volunteers made this work. Here is Kate and Naomi pretending to me harsh time keepers.
One of the better points of this school: the parents, community, and anyone else just joins and in and helps out. There were a few different people who go to my church that had no children or involvement with HOPAC, but they set up shop, handed out waters, and cheered on all the kids. It was so sweet to see familiar faces at the half way mark handing me cold water!

I think mainly all the volunteering is because there isn’t much that goes on around here. Events like these seem even more exciting since they are so rare. But even more, it makes the events fun. I know so many of my parents they are now friends to me. People I could go and see help from, pop over and visit, or just call up to talk. I NEVER thought I would say that about the parents of my students.

Yea, I know how red my face is….but you have to remember even at 8:30 in the morning…IT IS HOT!

william's Village

2008-11-17T04:22:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday I joined with the team that heads out to a village not too far from us. One of the gardeners at school is a Christian on fire for the Lord and on fire to bring change and improvement to his village. So far, they have raised some money for a church…but the first church was poorly built and has fallen down in the last year. Plus it was built in the middle of the soccer pitch….yea don’t ask…no one really knows the reason why. I think someone just said…ok…here.

Now the biggest challenge in the small villages is the Swahili. We tried to bring as many people with us as we can…and manage with the different words we all know. But we just played games in the morning. Then Michelle told a bit of Bible story (with William as translator) as we handed out snacks.

Here is one of the helpers putting on nail polish. Everyone got nail polish..boys, girls, fingers, toes, arms, faces. It was pretty funny.

As always you meet some kids that just break your heart. One little boy had some mental problems and these are not understood properly here. There is no help for those children and others immediately see something is wrong therefore treat the kids very differently. He tends to hit and bully others, but mainly because people try to discipline him with hitting. So it is not a good situation. We try to stay loving, but he is just a bad kid too. Many, many questions..

Anyway, some of the kids came out to the run our school had. It was so cool to see them interacting with HOPAC students….more about that later. The tallest girl in this picture came to the run. :-)

INTERNATIONAL DAY

2008-11-17T04:20:00.000-08:00

This has got to be the best idea ever made. Our school takes one day and celebrates all of its countries. It was so fun! Parents, teachers, and students all put in so much work to make this day happen. Each country comes together and decorates a room with items, decorations, and FOOD from their country.

In the morning all the students come dressed in clothes they would wear in their countries. Then we meet together in the gym sitting in our country group. YEA USA! Once we’ve all assembled, they play the national anthems of each country and the people parade around in the middle. It was so neat to see all the different outfits everyone was wearing and to truly celebrate where everyone comes from. Once this is over, we split off and the kids have “passports” they need to fill in for each country they visit collecting information as they go. And of course they were eating all the food as they went.

The end of the afternoon finishes with dances, songs, skits, and anything you want to show off. The students worked SO hard on all their dances. There was even a group of Koreans who did some Tykwando. Two of my kids broke boards with their hands! I went a bit easy on them the next week…didn’t want anything on me broken too! Lol

Enjoy the pics.

Racism what?

2008-11-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

One of my students is a muslim girl and we were hanging out waiting for our soccer game when she said the most AMAZING thing to me. I will never forget it. Just touched my little heart. I pray for her often, she is so torn between the truth that is taught at school and her Muslim family that puts a lot of pressure to believe what they believe.

ANYWAY, she was talking to some people and was saying how IST (another school we play) is a racist team and only play white people…etc. I was just sitting there and didn’t say much. But she turned me just then with a thoughtful look on her face saying, “But not you Miss Reger. You love all of us just the same.” Then she gave me a huge hug and skipped off to find her friends. Poor me, I was left fighting the tears at how she had touched my heart with her compliment.

But it was so much more than that. I was so joyful to see that SHE WAS RECOGNIZING THE TRUTH in her heart. She saw that ALL people whether, Tanzania, Irish, America, English, or Korean…whoever deserved love and to be loved the same. Sigh, it is so encouraging to see the truth of the Bible coming out from this little girl’s heart.

Joys of Coaching

2008-11-17T03:57:00.000-08:00

I might have mentioned before that someone who was not thinking has made me the u11 soccer coach. Now my knowledge of soccer includes don’t pick up the ball and kick it towards your goal…so this year of my “teaching” has been a bit challenging. Needless today, the girls didn’t improve terribly much. Not really their fault mainly mind for not knowing how to coach..oh well. But we did have a good season.

Some of the boys team.

The BEST part though was hanging out with the girls before and after the game and going through the pains and sorrows of losing or feeling like you aren’t succeeded. Friday I got to talk with one girl (who really is just terrible at the game!) But she didn’t want to play anymore because she felt she wasn’t good enough. Now I had just enough players to play this second game and two of them were fading fast! So I needed her to play bad or not! But her and I had a great conversation about not giving up and concentrating on just the small victories. Recognizing when we accomplish something instead of the many failure.

She is one of my students and this year I have been struggling with spelling. I am constantly spelling words wrong on the board and the students correct me. Whatever, it happens! But I used that as an example of me messing up and keep on going.

In the game (she plays defense) she made 3 amazing saves and clears. I was screaming at her!! It was so exciting to see her perk up because every time she touched the ball I specifically cheered her on. Yet as her confidence grew so did her skill. It was a tough game to lose. Considering the only goal was scored by our player…INTO OUR OWN NET! Yup that’s my team! Haha, but all the girls left with smiles and a desire to try again next year.

Libby who was struggling with feeling like she wasn't good enough! Poor girl.

Sam....yea scary! :-)

Ha Yeong and Angela...aren't they cute??

Mirjam relaxing between games.

Kemi trying not to laugh.

Drilling the teacher

2008-11-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I felt like I was put in the hot seat with the spotlight turned on! For some reason, my kids suddenly all decided to question faith, God, and the Bible...and ask me if I knew the answers. It started with our discussion of the Romans and how they believed in many gods and goddess. So I took that opportunity to clearly define who is God and who I put my faith in. I explained the difference between lower case "g" and God.

Through it all, I was so thrilled to see how many of the kids were truly seeking answers. You could see the tentativness as they first asked. And as the questions continued, I was able to tell them that questions are fine and it is perfectly alright if they answer my question of "do you believe every single word that is in the Bible?" with "I don't know". So we ended up going through questions and answers of some major Biblical doctrine. Me, trying my best to say things in a way they can understand it, but still speak the absolute truth. I was praying so hard the whole time.

The sad part was to see the many different experiences that these students have already seen of demonic influences and pagan rituals. One of my girls (from India) was at a temple with her friend. A man was proclaiming to bea god, so she walked up to him to "test" him. And asked him what her mother's name was. Now this man didn't know her at all. And he knew her mother's name. she was very frightened and had been wondering about this since it happened. I had to explain to her (and my class) that demons have knowledge and power and pretend to be angels of light. But in the end I think she was reassured once i continued stressing who had the most power and who would in the end win the fight. I must have said a hundred time (well maybe not that many) that she can not trust anything that doesn't come from the Bible. That the devil is liar and trying to trick us.

There were some good questions raised and some were left unanswered for them to seek the answer themselves.

i was exhausted at the end of the day, but also encouraged. So many kids from christian families just listen to what they are told, but never accept it for themselves. Several of my students are really struggling with working out their faith and trying to understand what they themselves believe.

Two students were totally not concerned. They had already weighed the cost and decided to side with the Lord. It was so neat to see how comfortable they were with all these questions having thought through them and even offered some answers.

As much as I love my students, all these questions really messed up my teaching schedule! lol For good reasons I guess.

More walls falling down!

2008-11-13T05:40:00.000-08:00

Well the last I had written we had our temporary wall up and the compound was looking good. sadly this did not last long! The following week we had another huge rainstorm. This one was a full day of lightening and thunder (louder than I have ever heard). How I wish I was a good author and could describe the sound, but the storm just felt so close as it got nearer. I literally felt like the thunder was right over my head.

The storm began around 4 am, so that the last hour and a half of sleep was not very good, but it was nice to just lay and look out at the ocean and see the awesome hand of God. Quite breathtaking. I almost didn't mind being up so early.....ALMOST.

One crash was particularly loud. This I come to find out was not one, but TWO of our walls falling down. It wasn't thunder at all.

One wall was right one in front of my house and the other at the back of the compound. The bricks (thankfully) crumbled instead of falling in one big block. If it had fallen as the first wall did, it would have hit our house. So when it happened all we felt like saying was, "Isn't God amazing". He even makes our walls fall down in a way that protects us. Plus as an added bonus our landlord decided that he was going to build them properly this time! So they are almost all back up in bricks with plenty of mortar! We even have supports! Its amazing.

The joys of the rains...and they tell me this is just the short rainy season...

Rains!

2008-11-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

This week was a bit interesting!! Monday (maybe Tuesday I forget) it just POURED. It was unbelieveable. I have never seen this much rain come down in one day. But apprentently, I have to get used to this because rainy season (about April-June) there will be just as much rain.

But anyway, around our 6 house compound there was a cement brick wall about 6 feet high. For lots of secruity reasons (not the least of which is we are foreigners who are known for having money) there must be secruity. Hence the huge wall with metal at the top.

Unfortunatly, the rain and wall had a huge fight and the wall lost!! The entire wall just fell over inches away from the closest house. It was next to my house, so no damage there. However, the car that was in front of the wall did not fare so well. Clare had borrowed a school car and the battery died, so it was still at the compound instead of at school. There wasn't major damage because it was parked a bit away from the wall, but ruined the bumper....and added lots of scratches.

So that night, everyone was really nervous. Well, not so much me. but Edwin (the man who takes are of the property) and the owner were both very nervous and made all 4 guards stay that night! We were very protected, and the girls locked every door including the roof door. So that meant that someone wanting to come in, would have had to get past 4 men, scale the wall of a two story house, and sneak in the roof door (that they didn't know was there). I just laughed and went along with it. It is good to take precaution I think.

The next day there was a crew of men there putting up sheet metal as a temporary fence....as in that is what will be there for the next few years I am sure. :-)

Pictures forthcoming...as soon as the computer feels like linking up to my camera. That is apparently not today.

Here is Carley...looking sad at our fallen wall! Or maybe she is laughing..alright. she's laughing!

Egg Drop Experiment

2008-10-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

The Friday before break, my kids were so excited. The past few weeks we have been talking about flight. So their project was to make a device that would protect an egg when it was dropped from the top of a fire truck.

As you can imagine, they were very excited. The reward was starbucks (tokens towards a prize store) if they were able to successfully protect their egg. So when the ESD came down the kids would all huddle up and wait to check the egg. As soon as i would say it was good, they would freak out screaming and yelling. The whole class, even if it wasn't their egg. It was so funny.

One of the best parts of the day though, were the firemen. They brought the truck to the school and hung out waitin for us. Then let each of my kids go up in the bucket to drop their ESD (egg saving device). They even came up to my classroom and were hanging out waiting for the end of the day so i could fill out some paperwork. But seriously, such nice guys. and so happy to spend their day helping us!

It was so cute to see all the kids supporting each other. Some even comforting the people whose egg broke! but it was a great day out in the sun.

Sunita, Tanya, and Caleb showin off their ESD.

Aidan, Sophia, and Stephanie are really pumped. Side note: stephanie is the top swimmer in Tanzania and is going to South Africa later in the year to compete against all swimmers in Africa!!

Recent thoughts!

2008-10-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

So I know I have been saying it like crazy. but I just keep asking for prayer because I don't know where God will have me in the future.

This week I went to our AIM Tanzania conference. The speaker (peter) had so many amazing insights. I also ended up reading this book called, "The Shack" by William P. Young. Highly recommended as a book to help think about WHO God is. However, both of these have really combined to get my mind reeling and thinking. I literally could not sleep last night. My first real experience of insomnia. not too fun by the way!

I came to Africa not even sure I would make a year here, but God is amazing and gave me the grace to follow and do the things he would have you to do. But more than that at conference, I met so many people just overjoyed to be here and serve the Lord. You can just see it written on their face, this is home. this is where they were intended to be. And how I long for that! yet I also see that none of them know how long they will be doing the things they are doing. I think my misconception has long been that if I can just get it all figured out i will be happy.

But that is not it AT ALL. God doesn't tell anyone all the answers. He just gives you enough for you to know where you should be NOW, if you are listening! In the mean time, I need to learn a new word (for me) CONTENTMENT. How blessed am I, he has cleared shown me that i am supposed to be here. yet I spend my time worrying about those I love and left at home. Thinking about what I am "missing". Without seeing the enjoyment and peace he wishes for me here, RIGHT WHERE I AM!

So contentment is my new middle name. Well I hope it will be as I work towards just loving God and living life here. My location doesn't matter, what does matter is how often I am praying, how much I am allowing God into my decisions, how I treat those around me with the Love that God feels for them.

Now, i don't want anyone in America to think that I don't miss them. i do, I long to walk down the street and just be a person (as opposed to a mzungu). But i am not missing out on life. I am living the life that God has given to me. it is hard to leave family and friends, but how much more rewarding is it to do the work of the Lord. I mean think about it (as I have been trying to teach to my 5th graders)...eternity...I can hang out with everyone I love who loves the Lord then. So i can spend a few years here separated from them.

Still working on all of this, but trying to feel more at peace about NOT knowing the future. You can waste your whole life thinking about the future and worrying. I want to live in the here and now.

So on that note, some pics from the weekend of me on a camel....yup a camel on the beach. Very bumpy ride, let me tell you. Who knew!

Dudoma!!!!

2008-10-06T06:59:00.001-07:00

The ride out SHOULD have taken about 3 hours . That is if you are in America and have direct highways and paved roads. But since this is Africa, and parts of the road we went through mud ditch and a VERY old bridge.....and you are constantly passing HUGE trucks, it took us about 7 hrs each way. Of course this did include a break down (Praise God it was in a town and we knew someone who lived there to call to come help us) and lots of traffic on the way home.

But overall, it was quite a scenic ride out. The country side is so unique here. You never know what you will see, kids peeing on the side of the road, herds of cows heading towards water, small villages, MUD HUTS WITH SATTELITE DISHES! I stayed awake and just kept watching to see what was out there. Plus it helped Carley the driver to have four eyes on the road. There are always trucks broken down. Since no one has flares, they just put out bushes. Lots of road hazards. Once we made it to Dudoma, it was so great to be out of the city. I didn't realize how loud Dar was til we left. I felt like I had travelled down to DE to visit my grandparents. That is how Dudoma felt. Slow, relaxed, more like a community. An SIL missionary named Marcia (below on the left) opened up her home to us! We were very thankful....and super excited to see she had a Wii!!! Thats right, a Wii in Africa! Someone had given it to her as a gift last year. And we were happy to play a bit!

Saturday was quite a busy day though! Kate and I went to visit a friend we met at ABO (our summer training), Andrea (on left). don't you love my mismatched clothes. I really am beginning to dress like an African. Stripes and circles!!!!! We got to see her ministry with street children. Basically every morning, her and two other people go around town and visit different places where they know the kids hang out. Then talk to them, hold a Bible study, and see if they have any needs (they usually do). By2, everyone comes back to this little rented room they have. The boys just start showing up. they really mulitplied. At first i wondered if any were coming, but by the end there were about 70 boys there! here they are waiting for others playing with Adam's accordian.

The boys hang out and the man, Adam (below in the middle) leads the worship time. Lots of singing, praying, and talking from the word. They try to have a few people share with the boys too. but as you look out at the dirty faces of the kids, I realized some things. one is that although Physically they really needed a good bath, clean clothes, house, consistent food....what they really needed overall, they were getting right here. They were finding out about the Lord Jesus and how He is there with them through all of their trials.

It was incredible to realize that although this ministry was just starting, they were beginning by meeting the right needs. Daily food (rice and beans) and lots of scripture. I wanted to adopt all of the boys move to Africa, build a huge house and take care of them, but that isn't really possible. Not until I learn more Swahili that is! But I was almost depressed about the need there. So many kids who are getting in trouble for stealing food. But they only are stealing because they are hungry!!!

However, God didn't leave me there. On Sunday we have a AIM Bible study and I was talking with Kathleen who runs the street ministry here in Dar. She was saying how that ministry has grown from occasional food filled with worms to healthy food for the children every day. her first day in Dudoma, they shared food with the kids on the street. There was literally worms floating in the food, but it was all they had. To keep a good relationship with the boys and not waste food, she had to eat the food, worms and All!! So there has been great improvements in that area. The whole time Adam has told the kids that life is hard, but Christ is walking with us and we need to follow him. Then he will supply all our needs.So this man Adam, is really incredible. He gave up his life, to wander the streets and find kids to tell about Jesus. Talk about an insiring man! I was almost thinking how brave I was to come to Africa, but I am NOTHING compared to this man and the sacrifice he makes each day to serve these kids. And then He is NOTHING compared to the sacrifice Christ made for us...so that put me back in my place!! :-)

It was a great trip overall. I love seeing more and more of Tanzania. It is such a diverse country.

Later that night, we also were invited to a Scottish dance in the MAF (missions aviation fellowship) hanger. So here are some pics of Clare (red skirt), Kate (black skirt), Carley (white skirt) and I hanging out.

More around HOPAC

2008-10-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to show a bit more of my day to day life. sometimes I feel like I never leave HOPAC campus! But it is good. I am still learning the new curriculum and things. So here is a pic of one of the biggest trees i have ever seen! It has all of these uses...most of which I forget..but still. very cool. Every time I see it, I want to climb up!.

Here are my kids trying to be cute as they eat their lunch. We have two breaks during our day. each one begins with 10 minutes on the bench where the kids have to sit, talk, eat, and drink lots of water. It was quite a struggle for the muslim students last month as they were fasting for Ramadaan. I didn't hear much complaining, but I know they were hungry and thirsty. Today was the first day of school after fasting. One of my girls came up to me and said, "miss Reger Look!!!" and she took a huge drink of water. It was really cute, but also sad!

This is Caleb, one of the twins in my room. He really wanted his picture taken. But he is so helpful around the classroom. Carley and I even went over to their house one night to babysit. but they have a great house, and wonderful kids. So it was a lot of fun.

Last we have Irene (left) and Avril (right). Irene is a wonderful Tanzanian lady who works at the school. She is so helpful and took us around to all of the places we needed to know where they were! she even showed us her Fundi (man who makes clothes) so we could have some african dresses made!

My class!!!!

2008-09-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

One of the MANY geckos that hang out in the corners and walls to catch all the bugs. This one was cool though. Its the first i saw with a yellow head! They made me a sign!! :-)
My picture on the wall and door. We get to go to the rainforest in January!!!!!

I have all the desks lined up ...here is my corner where I TRY to stay organized. Please notice on the wall....an AIR CONDITIONER. Thats right! Some of my bulletin boards. You have to piece smaller pieces of paper together to get the background, but it was worth it to make a colorful print rich environment....teacher talk.
Look at all my books....and we have a HUGE library. It is amazing how many resources have been brought to this school. Thanks to the many supporters and missionaries that have been sending money and supplies.
The view from my classrom window. Just behind that building is the inground SWIMMING POOL. It is so nice to swim after a long hot day!
The 1-3rd classroom block.

These are my 25 angels. No, I definitely did NOT bribe them to sit so still and look so innocent. Okay so maybe i did a little...
Kemi had her birthday during the summer. So we celebrated on the 2nd day of school. And yup...that is a Kim Possible cake. Who knew you could have a Kim Possible cake made in Africa?!?!
So far teaching has gone well. It is an adjustment to the new curriculum and resources. but most of the material is the same thing that I covered before.

The hardest part is all the new vocabulary. As in a period is called a full stop..an eraser is called a rubber. most days i lose the kids as I start a lesson. they start looking at me like I have 5 heads because i am saying funny things. But its because Britian and America use very different names for things. It is amazing how many motions or small words hold VERY different meaning in the cultures. coming to an Enligsh speaking school is harder than I thought! haha

but above all, it is fun to learn from each other and accept the new vocabulary. we try to stay with the policy that you say the word that is most comfortable to you. So that no one feels like they have to change what they are used to. i like the openness.

My students are very loving and for the most I don't have many problems. They always leave with hugs for the day. most of my girls are sweet and love to come and chat with me during breaks and free time. Its fun to get to know them and see how happy they are with all their friends. I have a very accepting class. So Praise God for good behavior and supportive families! It is amazing to see how many families have TWO parents and a stable house.

Tour of our House

2008-09-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

So here is the stove. The only gas stove in the place. which is good because when the power goes out, we can still cook! So we invite over the other 5 houses of people and take turns cooking our meat before it goes bad! Ahh...the adventures of power outages. This is the other side of our kitchen. in the corner is our water filtration system. basically you have a hose on the counter and pour water into the top bucket. It has a filter in it and the water drains to the second where we get it from. Have to keep an eye on it that it doesn't run out cuz it takes a while to filter.

Don't laugh...its really really bright outside!! That is why i'm making that funny face. our bonda on top of the house. Its kinda falling apart because of all the termite damage. but still good. Hence why all houses are built out of cement here.

This is our great dining room. It faces the gate so everyone comes up to this window and chats with us when they come into the compound. we have had 20 minute conversations through the window. Its quite funny. We always invite them in...but for some reason...its just easier to talk through the window.
This hard to imagine, but its looking from the ground up the center of the staircases to the ceiling. My "artist" ability is coming out! haha
This random corner was kind hard to decorate. the sink is for the bathroom around the corner, but the sink in in the dining room...humm. I have been told is so that you can offer a sink to your guests to wash before you eat, but still...in the living room.

I know you are excited about this....Here is my beautiful bathroom. haha. Now I have to tell you that I got a new roommate, so not all the junk in there is mine!! But its PURPLE YEAH!!
Here is our really open breezy living room. We got to pick the colors and make it look more like home. The two mattress are going to (at some point) be cut to new cushions for the couches...when we get around to it :-)
This is Delicia hanging in her room! We like to call it a princess room with all her fancy things. Its not really fancy, but she did a nice job of pulling it all together.
These are the winding stairs that head up to the roof. Our entire house has the winding staircases. it really is a chore to go from downstairs to the roof. You are sweating before you finish! haha

So here is tour around my room...

First I have my bed...the net around the outside is mosquito net. At first it kinda felt like a jail, but its not bad now. Please note the lamp next to my bed....definitaly giraffe print!!!!

Then are my gorgeous...huge windows. most windows are big here to let in as MUCH breeze as possible. Also tends to let it a lot of dirt..but whatever. when you are really hot...it doesn't matter how much dirt comes into the house. haha

This is my door....I included it so that Grandmom can see her HOPE doll has made it to Africa.

so that is my house! Hope you enjoyed the tour. Everyone is welcome to come see in person!!! haha :-)

Here is my desk. covered in the usual junk, but whatever. It has a great view of some of the Papya trees that surround our house. Unfortunately I HATE papya!! haha

I also have some nice closets...thankfully. most houses here have NO built in closests. so we were very lucky to get the ONE house that has them in a few room. It definitely shows how different it is here. Tanzanians don't think to have closets because they don't buy extra stuff they need to store...just in case....as Americans tend to. Plus...no winter clothes to store. haha

Local Village

2008-08-28T06:23:00.002-07:00

(view from behind our house to the ocean right)

(walking down the washed out path to the market--right)

One teacher (Ursula) at the school was kind enough to offer us Swahili lessons for a week. She is a sweet lady that teaches German at HOPAC. On Saturday a few of the girls went to her house for breakfast and she offered to take us around the little village behind our house. The walk to her house took just a few minutes, but it was so great to get a tour from a local. She took us back through dirt paths and we got to see more of a village lifestyle. There are so many great things back there, schools for children, little stores that sell the essentials, and hidden away behind some twists and turns is a huge market. They sell all kinds of vegetables and food. It was amazing and so close to our house too! We can get almost everything we need for our kitchen right there. For sure, we could live off of just the food that is within walking distance.

While we were walking, we met some local children. So they of course followed us and tried to talk with us. When we stopped one time, these two beautiful boys came running out of their home and jumped on us giving us huge hugs. It was so sweet. Clare decided to buy them all sweets from the store. They were very happy! But I was so glad to be taken around to the local places. It is great opportunity to practice Swahili and to support our neighbors by buying their produce instead of from a big store. Everyone was kind and friendly. It got some good pictures there. In Kenya, the store owners were not as excited about pictures, but here they were fine. I kept telling them it was for my friends and family to see at home! So they were happy to show others what life was like in Africa.

I keep saying, I wish people could see this. But even pictures don’t give the true feel of Africa. I hope that everyone can one day come here and see this great continent. It is so different. Everything is just different.

There has been some great opportunities opening up to get involved in some ministries here. Some teachers at the school run one, others are working in a village of one of the gardeners, some are teaching English through Bible stories, and many more. So I am praying and thinking about where I want to be involved. Please keep this in your prayers too. I can’t over estimate how much time I will have, but I also want to help and serve where possible.

Enjoy the pics!

DRIVING in Africa

2008-08-28T06:23:00.001-07:00

One of the things I swore I would not do is drive here. I mean Philly has some crazy drivers…but it pales compared to here. In Africa, there are some road laws, but not as many as America. One of the best parts about cars here, is that since gas is so expensive, you NEVER see just one person in a car. It is really unheard of. If you are going somewhere, someone else will need a ride. The buses are always packed and frequently you will see trucks with people all squished into the back.

A few of us wanted to go to this one market and had no ride there, so I borrowed a car from school to attempt my first drive. I had to elicit help since I always forget to pull out and go onto the LEFT side of the road. It is very difficult to gauge if you are centered, or going off the road since the car is mostly on your left, not the right. I know that sounds confusing…but imagine keeping that all in mind as you are driving, passing buses that pull out in front of you with no warning, pedestrians, and bikes. Needeless to say it’s a bit nerve racking. But once you get the hang of it, it really quite freeing.

I took a short drive to a local store and back with no problems on Friday night. Then Sunday we tried to take the car to church and then the market, but it won’t drive FORWARD. It is the weirdest thing. It will drive backward, but when you put it in drive, the rear right wheel locks! So I didn’t even make it out of the parking lot. So much for my first trip out on the road…maybe the Lord was giving me a little hint!

Thoughts on the bugs...

2008-08-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

Gecko

Now bugs and I have never gotten along that well. As long as I can remember, I always scream and kill or scream and run when I find a bug in my house. However, there are just too many here to kill! I have decided that only mosquitoes are my enemy….they LOVE to bite. So I have turned over a new leaf. Spiders may now live in my house. Yes I said it, they are welcome. But only because they eat mosquitoes. Geckos also eat bugs…so they are more than welcome. We have a few that live in our kitchen. You can find them on the walls at any point if you know where to look.

Now one girl here, Michelle, hates Geckos. But that is because one fell from the ceiling and almost landed on her head. That would not make me happy either. But anything that kills mosquitoes is alright in my book…did I mention that I HATE mosquitoes. I mean really…do they have a purpose besides causing pain and spreading malaria. This is ridiculous!

Beach day...and the never ending walk

2008-08-28T05:45:00.001-07:00

For a Saturday retreat, the missionaries from SIL (known as Wycliff in the US) invited the AIM missionaries to join them for a day on this little island. It was so beautiful and really relaxing. We climbed into this small motor boats that took us from the beach hotel called White Sands to a small island. No one lives there, but they have little Danda (Africa canopy) set up to hang out under.

When you get there, there are two guys hanging out in the restaurant. Really just an open area with a bar that sells some soda and anything you can get from the sea. You place your order in the morning…and just hang out on the beach. There is a great reef there to snorkel. Then the men go fishing and catch lunch to fry it up and serve it with chips.

That was the freshest fish I have ever had! After lunch we chilled for a bit and decided to walk around.

(this is the boat we took to the island..filled to the brim with people...and some water)

nd the island. It should have taken just under an hour to walk all the way around and Carley assured me that she had done it before. So 5 of us set off for our little walk. After about 40 minutes, we have to wade through this area, but don’t really think anything of it..since we did it once before. All we can see is a shallow pool and the island curves around so we can’t see very far down the beach. We all off through the water, but as we round the curve, it just more water and another curve. Firguring it can’t be much farther, we press on. The water isn’t that deep…just ankle height. Unfortunatley, the corners kept coming and the water kept getting deeper. But we keep giving it one more corner to get around. Finally it gets shallower, and we are sure that the next corner will be the beach where we started. Once round the last corner, instead of beach..there is HUGE flooded inlet. The next curve is quite a ways away. Now I should mention that one of the girls walking with us is only about 11 years old and another did not bring any shoes. The sea floor is just covered in small spiky sea urchins which feel like needles piercing your skin if you step on one. Of course I slipped and stepped on one. Sigh…that was a painful few days. So we trudge through the water coaxing the shoeless girl that she won’t hurt herself and the sobbing younger girl that everything will be alright.

I haven’t prayed that hard for a while, but with the tide coming in and us not sure how far we would have to walk through the water, I was feeling a bit nervous. There were also a lot of holes there which I am pretty sure were homes to crabs. We thankfully crossed the great abyss and found shore not too far away. The boat to take us home was just about loading up and as we came up on the dune, the SIL leader came over. He was sent out to find where we had gone. It was quite a funny story, once we got back and were stranded in the water. But we learned a great lesson from this….ALWAYS check to see when the tide comes in BEFORE you walk around an island!

The view from the roof of my house

2008-08-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places of the whole house is the roof. It is so gorgeous up there. You have this amazing view of the trees and in the distance is the ocean. You can also see the little village is that down the hill from our compound, but I will talk about that adventure later. I have been going up there to watch the sun rise a bit and read my devotions. One of the first sermons I heard here (yes in English) was an encouragement to not only read, but also to study, meditate, and memorize scripture. I took her advice and have been attempting to memorize Romans 12:9-21. I believe this will be my new life verse. I found it the other day while reading through Romans and it really struck me as such good advice in so many areas of life. So far I have memorized (don’t worry I’m not cheating) …Love must be sincere, hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. “ So not very far yet. But pole pole (slowly) I will learn. Anyway, I love the roof. It is a great place to go when you are just sick of being yelled at or stared at.

Mirror...should buying a mirror really be this hard?

2008-08-28T05:41:00.000-07:00

Another day, Kate, Lisa and I decided we wanted to go to the local “mall”. It is a collection of stores, but only about 10. They are all high end clothing stores, but also a grocery store and a store called Game. This is the closest thing to a Walmart as it comes. They have oddest assortment of things, but never quite where you would think it would be placed. It took a lot of wandering to find what we needed. One thing I got was an alarm clock. I purchased the cheapest one (still over $20) but when I got it home, I realized the foolishness of the purchase. For one thing, it can never by my only alarm because of power failure. We don’t often lose electricity for long periods of time (only once so far), but it does go out and come back on rather frequenly. That means that my clock is constantly being reset. So after resetting it a few mornings in a row, I began to get frustrated. When the power does stay on…I began to notice something else. The clock doesn’t keep time. Every day it moves ahead of real time by about 1 hour. So the time is never quite right between the two problems. I had to laugh at myself. But I guess you learn. I had wondered why there were no alarm clocks in the houses….

Also that day, I purchased a mirror. BUT there was some confusion at the register, one person didn’t have enough money and we couldn’t get that through to the cashier. I think it is hard to believe that Mzungos (white people) could run out of money. So in the midst of all this, I put down the mirror and forgot to pick it up. Once I got home, I realized my error, but had no way to return the store without spending about $50. So the next day I found a friend who helped me translate a line in Swahili saying I had left the mirror and needed it back. I wasn’t able to remember the line though (it was very long) so I ended up reading it off. The man at the information desk thought this was hilarious. So in my limited Swahili I told him that I was a teacher here and was learning Swahili. As many places there were a few more people standing around who all thought this was hilarious and began teaching me. The one man began asking me questions about who I was married to, and if I was dating. He decided to teach me the phrase, “I love you” and “My lover”. I told him that I didn’t need those phrases, but he seemed to think that I did. The other guy wanted to marry me and the third guy took my Swahili notebook to write some phrases…and also give me his number. It was a hysterical conversation…I ended up getting my mirror back, a marriage proposal, and a phone number. Not bad for one shopping trip!

Setting up the house

2008-08-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

My room (to the right)-the day I got my bed

Down the hall to the bathroom (right). See our washing maching!!! hurray :-)

Alright…now don’t be angry that I haven’t written!! I am not used to bloggin…I forget that this needs to be done!! Ha. But now I have a bunch of stories to tell you about. So in no particular order..i’ll fill you in on my last month of settling into life in Dar.

Delicia, Kate, and I flew together to Dar on the 31st of August. Now I had had just about enough of these girls…being with them 24/7 for the last month! So I was really excited to see my new house and set up my own room. But since this is Africa…neither of those things happened very quickly!

Cath and Tony (our AIM unit leaders) took us to the houses to see them, but they were not done being worked on. Apparently, the workers were under the impression we were not coming until the 8th and thought they had a whole week to finish what needed to be done. Now I am living with Delicia and a girl named Carly, who had not come yet. Kate’s house still was a mess, guys painting the outside, cement team putting another layer on the roof..water running down the sides of her house and INTO her house in huge puddles all over from the roof…stuff everywhere. It was quite disheartening. The good news was that my house was inhabitable….well according the millions of bugs that had taken up residence in the past month. Among the piles of stuff laying about I found assorted furniture in random places in the house. We all took inventory and began our shopping lists. The next few days was spent running all over the city trying to get the things that we needed to make the house into our home. But nothing here is as simple as it is in the states.
Picture of the bed leaving to go to the guest room.

After two long weeks of cleaning, arranging, going all over the city…our house is “finished”. We are still looking for some odds and ends…especially pictures since we haven’t bought any yet…but here is our home. We hope to have many people over to visit and enjoy it with us.

2008-07-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

We took a hike one day through the mountain. It was so gorgeous! The view from the top and almost all the way up was literally breathtaking. The picture above captures some of the sunbeams, but I tell you it was much better in person.

Yet all the way up we see children just roaming free, covered in dirt, old tattered clothes on them. It was literally heart breaking. The American-ness in me really just wanted to start a clothes drive right away. But the more we learn the more I begin to wonder if maybe they don't need clothes, maybe I just need perspective.

Don't they have a care free wonderful childhood? No one is worried (except the Mzungo) that they look like that. No one judges them. Its not cold there so they won't freeze. Why do we think that tears in clothes are so bad? How much do we need to "help" them? More and more I have learned of people trying to help and just end up ruining a culture and way of life that was wonderful and unique all by itself.

It is so confusing to think about what God is calling me to do and what is totally beyond my control and possibility of helping. I mean they have one of the prettiest backyards in the entire world. What is blessing? Isn't that a blessing? Fields that grow crops. Amazing fruits that are delicious, cheap, and grow year round. What if they have love and beauty in their lives? Is that enough? Is that better than new clothes?

Sign...dealing with poverty is not easy. The more you learn the harder it gets.

The first night

2008-07-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

okay, so I have to tell you about my first night at Scott. We get to campus and settle, and basically crash the first night. (still recovering from jet lag). My friend, Erica, and I are the only two who are in our side of the dorm. So we go brave the communal bathroom together, not really knowing what to expect.

What we do notice are all these "flies".

But we don't know any different...we figure that is normal. Maybe the hall light attracts them from outside. Erica and I just decide to ignore them and brush our teeth and head to bed. So as we go into the bathroom, we see this random guy walk past us. Both of us are like, that is so weird. Guys are not allowed in this area. But still we don't ask any questions since we are scared. Of what I am not sure. So we decide to just hurry. The guy is doing something, but we don't really know what.

We start brushing our teeth and one "fly" lands on me. That is when i notice its a BEE and scream! I brush it off and turn around to tell erica. But insead of going away, the bee gets confused and flies UP MY SKIRT!! As I am dancing around trying to get it out...it stings me on my butt! I was so annoyed. It even left the whole stinger in my leg!

That is when we realize that the hall, bathroom, and the room next to mine are COVERED in bees from a hive outside. The guy is walking between the three areas and spraying raid at the bees! It is quite hilarious actually. He would open the door to the room, spray in for a few seconds then slam the door shut. haha. It reaked of raid for 3 days after this!!

For the next week, i walked around with a sore and then ITCY butt! So it was hard to not scratch it..especially since no one really knew what happened, so they all thought i just scratch myself a lot! Oh goodness, that was quite an interesting start to our 3 weeks at Scott. the picture above is the room where the bees came in....if you look closely you can see them covering the floor.

African cars vs. American cars

2008-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

This picture is one of the cars going to Scott in Machakos. Now, the interesting thing is that besides all the people you see...there are 4 others in the car that you can't see. That does not even mention the bags and suitcases that are strapped to the top of the car.

One thing I that was pointed out to me about Africa is that depite the large number of cars i have seen. Keep in mind I have really just been around cities...I do not think I have seen a car with just one person in it. Now in America...you would be hard pressed to find a car with more than one person in it.

We are always packing so many people into as few vehicles as possible. But it seems so many people are cramming in to save space, time, or just for the fun of it.

I do think this is a great idea though. saves gas...spend time with people...saves gas....need I say more?

Just a thought...why do Americans need to travel by themselves all the time? Are we too independent? Could we share cars with neighbors?

Feeling a bit settled

2008-07-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been so long since I have written. I almost feel like a new person! I am right now living in a medium sized village in Kenya. so REALLY bumpy dirt roads and random roads side stands with lots of people walking has become my life. It is so hard to describe what life is like here...but I hope everyone comes to Africa at some point to check it all out.

We are staying on a theological campus, so we have made some good friends here already. The single girls were religated to the dorms!! So I have many interesting stories of random naked people showering in the middle of the bathroom and slamming doors at all hours of the night. It has been an adventure. But I am blessed to wake up each morning to about 10 girls singing songs as they shower and do their laundry for the day. Quite different than American dorms, since everyone here (it seems) has an amazing voice!

There has been a long days of learning and taking tons of notes. We have been learning about African worldview, and why culture is the the way it is. Also, they told us a lot of "dos" and "don'ts". So hopefully we won't make too many mistakes. With all the information i have been given in the past two weeks, I feel more overloaded than prepared, but it will work out.

God has really blessed us with the opportunity to get to know so many other missionaries that will be working all over Africa. That is the best part. Each evening is spent hanging out, talking, playing card games, or maybe watching a movie. (since there is no TV, limited internet, and no place to go we are forced to interact).

Two nights ago we lost electricity for a while. so we all started singing praise songs. It was so dark, but awesome to sit and sing together. Two girls and I sat and looked at the stars. What an amazing sky. It looks so different from the sky at home. The stars are all in different places and most of the constellations that I am used to, you can't even see.

There is so much to tell, but only a bit of time. I will try to write more here, there are some good transportation stories. to get to town you either take a bouda bouda (bike with a seat on the back) or a tuk tuk (a three wheeled motorcycle thing). There always seems to be too many people or not enough space so we squeeze everyone in. One time we took a tuk tuk back in from town and put 4 people on this little seat that really should have 2!! It was a tight fit, especially since the tuk tuk was on empty and kept almost dying when we were idling. But we made it (Praise God).

I am settling into life here, but really excited to head towards Dar es Salaam! I can't wait to get there (especially to some warm weather). Surprisingly, it is very cold here. Long trousers (we can't say pants cuz that means underwear) and sweater weather. Unfortunately, I only brought skirts and tshirts.....so i have been cold. But its fine to wear the same jacket everyday here and thats what I do.

Ask me any questions if you have them, so I can tell you a bit more about what life is like.

10 days to go!!!!

2008-06-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

There is just so little time....I can't really even believe it. There is so much to do and so many people to see, but I feel so privledged that I have such a supportive family and church family.

It has been so hard to say goodbye to some amazing people. And I know I have cried several times...with more tears to come. But I was reading in 1 Peter this morning and was reminded that suffering (for Christ) is part of serving Him. I am happy to serve my amazing Lord so I know that any small sacrifice is worth it...plus He is sending me to an amazing place.

For those of you who don't know. I will be leaving for Africa on the 27th. This will be my summer schedule.

NY- June 25th-27th
Fly to London 27th
Fly to Dar in Tanzania 28th then a quick jump to Kenya.
Machakos, Kenya July 2nd-22nd
Nairobi, Kenya - July 23rd-beginning of August

DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania- August on :)

For most of July, I will not have the internet available. So my contact will be limited. I will be doing Africa based training and lots of learning.

After this will be language school for a bit then starting up school and settling in Dar.

Feel free to email me at julireger@gmail.com!!! I will be checking that one on a daily basis. Also you can try me at jreger@aimint.net.