Hapa

Sunday I attended The Vineyard church for about the fourth time. Here is a photo. You can see the building is open to the breeze and has a thatched roof, which is common. The building doubles as a coffee shop and triples as a daycare during the week. It's owned by a Christian couple, and named Dawn's Corner.

The church body is a mix of Tanzanians, Europeans, Americans, and Philipinos. The worship is joyful, led by a Tanzanian man whose family my house had over for lunch after the service Sunday. The pastor is from the States, and I've enjoyed meditating on the scripture and points of his messages.

When I arrived with three of my housemates this Sunday, we were asked to help in an emergency children's church need. I enjoyed helping the 2-5 year-olds obediently follow directions to make a caterpillar... I especially liked the sparkly star antennae! However, the kids were so engaging that I didn't think to take a picture, so I drew one instead. I used a Swahili flashcard that I don't need anymore. It's the word for "here," hapa. And hapa is appropriate because hapa is where I'll stay. I've decided that this is the church I'll be a part of here in Dar!

Bird Weavers!

Some of you may remember that I posted about bird weavers before I arrived in TZ. Well, our bird weavers have arrived! Their homes were always hanging in the tree by our house, but the birds must have a second home elsewhere, because they just flew in a couple weeks ago. Their homes, as you can see, have an entrance from the bottom. The birds are yellow breasted with slate markings, much like Washington State's Goldfinch.

Two Photos to Share

 

So here you have documentation of my first ever piki piki ride (Piki piki=motorcycle). I thought, with the bear dangling in front and me wearing a skirt, it was a notable experience. :)





And here is the class with their art products. A bush outside our room is blooming white fragrant blossoms. We went to observe, then cut paper to create art inspired by the observations.

Spiritual Wanderings... Connected to Life Thus Far in Dar

Hello from me, posting to you
here in my classroom!

This is a reflection from about a month ago:

I was just thinking as I swam in the pool tonight about being God's child. This is all very fun, and overwhelming at the same time...

                                                ...relationships, language, heat, transportation...

But, at breakfast this morning a mother with her 1 year old son mentioned how amazing it is that, with all the transition, her son seems fine because all he knows is that he's still with mom and dad. I thought, hmm, I hope I can just know that God is my Father enough so that I can just keep going amidst the new things to come.

This is an acrostic I wrote this week:

R I come to You and find rest for my soul. As I wait on You, I renew my strength to soar, to run my race and not grow weary.
E You will be with me to the end of the ages; Your love is everlasting. Evil sees Your light and hides.

S You are my salvation and strength—whom shall I fear? Your creation speaks, such as the sun which rejoices in its strong race, circuiting the world with light, as do You.

T Try me and know my heart… You say I can try You too.

I do beleive that God is helping me to rest in Him amidst all the new, which is very enjoyable, though not always easy. He provides rest in His Word, in the beauty of nature here, in new friends. Just this morning I stopped in on a new aquaintance, the mother of a student from Germany. We visited for 2 1/2 hours... the beginning of a new friendship! Also, I was praying about how to help the struggling readers. Then a colleague showed us a curriculum, Words Their Way, which I think will be very helpful to differentiating and scaffolding instruction. (How's that for teacher terminology!)

A tast of my transportation experiences...

I walked to Afrikaana Junction after school yesterday, where I hopped on the back of a bicycle "side-saddle" in my white skirt. The bicycle driver whisked me away to my destination, my friend's house to study some scriptures and pray and walk. I love riding on the back of a bike. It's exciting to trust the driver and my balance. It's refreshing to feel the breeze and watch the trees and people whisk by. I wish I could offer a photo, but so far this has been a solitary experience. I'll consider taking a photo of myself riding after I feel very sure of my balance!

On the way to Afrikaana Junction, a most busy place of car/bus/truck/bajaji mayhem, many vehicles passed that had a title displayed on their windshield. I smiled many times.

One truck was titled, Mercy of God.
A bus was Thank You Jesus.
Some were in Swahili, such as Bwana wa Majeshi = God of Armies.
After all that holiness I giggled at the contrasting Pluto 3 and Mafia Jr.