Christmas Around the World

I was just talking with a friend about our Christmases. I told her about the three-way Skype I had with my family: my older brother & his girlfriend in Seattle (top left), my parents and younger brother & his girlfriend in Portland (bottom right). I told her how it felt all warm and cozy to "all be in the same room together." Then I laughed because I don't think that's exactly how my mom felt about it; somehow over the years of being away, with loved ones all around the globe, now a Skype does feel like being together. Lovely friends in Australia & the USA emailed me, I WhatsApped with a dear ones in N. Ireland & the USA (bottom left). God's given me love around the world. And I was with one of my favorite families here in Musoma... but I guess we were having too much fun to take photos of anything but the cookies we made (top right)!

Literacy Impact

 Awhile back my friend who works in literacy asked me for ideas for the literacy workshops her team leads. (They teach people to read in their mother tongue, which is uncommon even if they're literate in Swahili. This paves the way for reading scripture.) I shared an idea that I saw and used when I helped at an English learning group years ago, during my teaching program.

The technique is to pick an area of high cultural relevance, like farming, weddings, family, etc. It depends on the culture. Then have groups draw detailed pictures, talking about the topic. Of course I would like techniques with drawing!

I recently learned that the literacy team has really enjoyed the technique, because it stimulates lots of use of the mother tongue. After the drawing, groups label the images. Later in the workshop they use those words to write sentences, then short stories, as their comfort writing in their mother tongue increases.

I Feel

Today we finished the semester. We invited friends and family. The kids read aloud writing projects, showed art, acted out a play about Archimedes, sang Australian Jingle Bells, etc. It was a good time. It's been a good semester.

Before the presentation one of my students said, "Are we going to toss around that ball with the sentences?" It's a beach ball I have. It has sentence starters like, "I feel," "I liked," "I learned," and "I wonder" It's a great way to sum up a time period with students. It's fun, and everyone can put their thoughts/ feelings to words.

I hadn't remembered the ball; it's been in a drawer all semester. I love it when students do the leading!

I said, "I feel happy that it's been a good semester, with the G family back, and I'm a bit sad that the N family will be gone next semester."

Are you going to set the sun?

"Unaenda kuzamisha jua?"
"Ndio."

"Are you going to set the sun?"
"Yes."

This is a common exchange between the guard here and me, as I leave the house to climb a giant boulder next door to watch the sun set. It's a favorite activity at this new location, a time to just be, to watch the birds fly in for the night, to pray, to lay on warm rock...

I love that he says it this way, instead of "Are you going to watch the sun set?"; no one else I've spoken to does.

If you want to see what I look like setting the sun, check out my Facebook timeline.

A Blog in a Blog

Have I shared our LVLC website here before? Not only is it a website about our learning center, but it includes a blog too! So click for stories of teaching.

Also, please share this link with anyone who might be interested in teaching here. The future, as far as staffing, is still rather unclear... Though I'm sure God has a plan.

Snowflake Gang

Thursday was Thanksgiving #1, today is Thanksgiving #2. (Our team has two celebrations, to accommodate numbers and date preferences, and I traditionally attend both!)

Yesterday was Snowflake Day. My friend Jeannette came over with her four lovely kids (and my students). We cut snowflake after snowflake until the house had the right amount.

If you look closely, the middle snowflake in this photo has MERMAIDS! That's thanks to the guy in plaid, who kindly honors my mermaid interests in his art and writing from time to time.

I'm thankful for two Thanksgivings with good friends, for fun things like snowflakes, and for this long weekend of rest.

My Canoe Almost Sank, and All I Have to Show for It Is This Kanga

The other Sunday my friend Karen and I went canoeing on Lake Victoria, as I've done many times. I like to canoe out away from shore and swim, because there is less risk of bilharzia, a parasite in the lake.

It was my first time steering, because my friend Ronit used to steer while I paddled. We had a wobbly ride, but it was OK. After swimming, I got back in the canoe first as Karen held it steady. Then she hoisted herself in the boat... Only as she got in, I flew out! (In retrospect I realize that I have always gotten in the boat first, but sat in the middle where I could balance the boat for the second person. Since I was steering this day, I was in the back and therefore not the right place to keep the balance.)

The canoe filled with water. We flipped it over. It scooped the water right back up as it turned. I wasn't sure what to do and started to think of swimming (a long ways) to shore with a water-logged canoe.

However, a small ferry full came by. They saw us and went off course to save us. They pulled up alongside and quickly hoisted us into their boat. Many Tanzanians can't swim, so they thought we were in more danger than actuality. The ladies covered us with kangas (traditional wrap-around cloth used over skirts, with a proverb written across the bottom), and some men pulled our canoe onto the ferry.

I thanked them, explained what had happened, and assured them that we'd be fine if they'd put our canoe (now empty of water) back and help us in. The man I was talking to found this reasonable and told the rest of the forty-some people on the ferry. They disagreed. Strongly. The whole ferry was yelling back in forth in debate over our safety. Most were sure we'd drown if we were allowed back in the canoe. It soon became clear that we were going with them... soggy and without money (nor Karen's trousers, which had been lost in the spill!)... to an island an hour and a half out into the lake!!

We weren't too upset at the change of plans. We were curious to see the island. It was such a fun day! The man who I spoke with on the boat showed Karen and me around the island, as he managed his fishing business. He also bought us tea and bread... and a kanga for Karen so she'd have something to wear when she returned the one she was borrowing! Kanga's come in pairs, so I got the other half for sun cover. He wouldn't accept us paying him back (and his family is having us over for lunch Sunday). We got to see life on the island and ride the ferry twice, on top of our lovely swim! Plus, we didn't drown, only lost one pair of trousers, gained a friend, and each have a new purple kanga with an esoteric proverb. I couldn't have dreamed up such a day. Only God has that good of an imagination:).

My only regret is that I didn't get to take pictures of it all.

Wycliffe World Day of Prayer

Today we came together at the office to pray. "We" is all of the Tanzanian staff (translators, operations personnel, cleaners, etc...) and missionaries (translation advisers, linguists, teachers, etc...). Wycliffe organizes this day of prayer every year, and each office around the world observes it in their own way. We prayed for the needs of our office and for specific translation, literacy, and personal needs around Tanzania and the world. I enjoyed praying in a group with some of the Tanzanian staff, because I don't get to see them very often (the learning center where I teach is not at the office.); I got to hear what prayer points enthused them or brought up questions. I also enjoyed sharing tea and lunch, singing and prayer with the whole group.

This photo shows The Lord's Prayer, with one line per each of the languages translated in our office. For more photos of the day, see The Mara Cluster Project (our office) FB post from today.

Drawing Challenges

This semester I'm teaching two art classes on Fridays, one for the older students and one for the younger. The older students are tackling drawing skills related to proportion, angles, shape, etc. It's pretty challenging stuff, so extra satisfying to see the kids applying the new concepts and growing in their drawing. This Friday we went outside and drew the house that is on the same property as the learning center. The kids did well, despite the ants and bees!

Arting Again!

A couple months back I held the first Arting event in Musoma. Yesterday we carried on. It was extra fun because this time everyone had their own ideas that they were making into art: a verse of praise, an experience with God, a family memory, a favorite spot, etc. I loved seeing all the creation, acting as an art consultant, and sensing that my friends were enjoying something new.

Midterm Break

We reached midterm break already... and it's almost over! I was blessed to travel with my co-teacher, Lyndy, to Cape Town, South Africa for a subsidized retreat put on by an organization that ministers to women in missions. It was a good time to meet sisters in Christ, hear from the Word, see new beauties in nature, eat fun food, and just get away for a time.

One of my favorite times was when I happened to wake early. I went down to the waterfront as the sun tinted the sky pink and the moon meandered towards setting. It was refreshing just to watch the waves, hearing them crash. I reflected on some passages in scripture that God has put in my path recently. Particularly, messages about how God gives us a firm footing as we look to Him in the challenges of life (Psalm 84:5-7, Isaiah 54:12-17, & 1 Peter 5:10). I am comforted by this truth because I feel challenged by living alone and not knowing what's next in life... Yet I know He has GOOD in these things.

To finish off the morning, I looked to my right and saw a little pool down in the rocks below me. I went down. The pool was full of different colored sea anemones, seaweed, and even a few sea urchins! I'd been wanting to see sea anemones, and there they were! A gift for the morning.

Paragraph Games

My second grade writers brushed up on their paragraph writing skills at the beginning of this semester. That means: topic sentence, related and interesting detail sentences, and a conclusion statement, question... or exclamation! One of their classmates was traveling recently, so I decided to take a break from normal writing projects to play some team paragraph-writing games. This is one of the outcomes.

Lake Flies

It's ridiculous really; I've lived by Lake Victoria for nearly three years now and I don't believe I've ever blogged about lake flies. Perhaps you thought this is a picture of dust I swept up? No, pure lake flies. And it's a very small batch too.

Sometimes I'm up on the rock, looking at the lake. I see a large cloud moving towards land. I used to think, "Strange, how could there be a big fire on the lake?" because it looks just like smoke from a raging fire. But no, it's lake flies. They lay eggs in the lake, hatch as nymphs, then rise to the air in a cloud for a quick mating season that sums up their adult lives. 

Once they hit land you need to hold your breathe to avoid breathing them in. If your house sits on the lake, as my new home does, you get a big clean up job. This was what I got off one half of my porch from just a minor cloud of flies.

Ten Things I Like About Now

I'm still in Musoma, teaching at Lake Victoria Learning Center, a place and job I love. However, I recently left my house, and my housemate left for new life adventures. I miss things about the old house (our passion fruit vine, how you could stick plastic bags to dry on the tile walls of the kitchen...). I miss Ronit (laughing together, sharing meals... That list is longer than the first!).

But sometimes missing is a good thing; it's joyful remembering (maybe with tears) and thanks for gifts God has given. It's good as long as I trust that He meant that good to end and another good to begin. And I do. I falter at times, but I do trust.

Here are ten good things I see God putting into now.

1. A stunning 30 minute walk to work passing lake, boats, ladies selling fish, etc.
2. Watching the lake from my back porch and hearing it during the night
3. Sweet commraderie with friends/family here and away via WhatsApp, even if I'm home alone
4. More time for quiet things like praying and reading and just sitting
5. Knowing that God has good plans for the future, and waiting to see what those are
6. Getting to know people here in new ways because I have more open time
7. Going to bed early
8. Being able to manage the responsibilities of house (cooking, expenses, employees, etc...)
9. Cooler temperatures and less mosquitoes
10. Having a cat around to sit on my lap and watch hunt... though I wish she'd find some mice instead of geckos

Another Office Art Installation

One of my colleagues recently shifted her position at the office. She was working with literacy and doing the office finances on the side. Then one of our branch human resource roles opened. She saw the HR role would be a better fit, so shifted.

Her former roles took place in two different offices. Now she has two desks in one office. Some days she's the Mara Finance Officer. Some days she's the Human Resource Manager for Seconded Staff and Recruitment Coordinator. (I may know her title better than she!)

Now, when you have two roles, sometimes people want to talk to you about one when you're officially working on the other. I wanted to help make it very clear which role is open for service on a given day. So, I made these name plaques. Now you can tell when the finance person is in (an HR is out) and when the HR person is in (an finance is out).  Whew!

After the Organized Chaos

I'm teaching two sessions of art this semester. Here is my younger crew. We looked at the art of Eric Carle and mimicked his process. He paints texture on tissue paper, cuts it out to make his images, then adds extra details with a paint brush. My favorite day was the complete organized chaos when they were cutting out their shapes, tissue paper flying everywhere and not one piece lost! But it was too intense to remember to photograph. So this is the final product day.

How Did My Hair Turn Purple?: Musoman Legends & Lore

It's practically not normal to walk around with purely natural-colored hair these days in the Pacific Northwest. So my brother, his girlfriend, and I were just blending in when we added a little purple to our locks. But in Musoma, purple streaks are not the common sight, and my students wanted to know, what had I done?!

So of course I told them...

• Sometimes I told them about the bear that I'd met when I was picking huckleberries in the mountains. He was so rude. He sat above me drooling huckleberry juice on my head.
• Sometimes I said that when I was at the ocean with my family, boogie boarding, an octopus grabbed me by a shock of hair and released his purple ink just at the same time as I slipped away.
• Sometimes I explained that I'd been under stress in the States, which can turn a person's hair white. But it just so happened that blueberries are a comfort food for me; I ate so many the white streak turned purple.
• As legend and lore grew (with art to match), new stories started to circulate. My favorite is the one about how, since I'm a mermaid... and everyone knows mermaids' natural hair color is purple or green or something... obviously, I've just been dying my hair a normal color all this time to stay incognito. I just missed a patch.

Mer-chicks and Aerial Octopi

A little ludicrous conversation with friends Friday night led to this title, and I wanted to use it because it makes me smile. I have no other explanation.

Or maybe it's about transformation, and being light-hearted in the midst of transition... :) Transition is afoot. After being back in my house for a couple months, my housemate of two years is about to leave Musoma and I'll be house-sitting at a new place. I'm sad to see Ronit (soaring on the motorcycle) and our house go, but I'm so thankful for the blessing they've both been. I'm uncertain about living on my own for the first time in ten years but I know God will provide good things in this new stage of my life.

He, Our Father of Lights, gives so many good and perfect gifts (James 1:17): metallic green birds, a new friendship for talk and prayer, a funny student picking up garbage with his feet, a creative useful job that fits me, a house with a view of the lake (that's where I'll be staying!), songs that speak His Word to my heart...

Arting in Musoma!

I tried something new... leading an art activity for adults in Musoma. I shared some of the organic background techniques that I learned during my time in the States. I also shared about my art process... which usually starts with an image that comes to mind, quite often a spiritual metaphor. Then it evolves, through sketches and experimentation, into a painting or collage. Anyone who decides to come back for the next Arting in Musoma will get to layer their own image on top of the background they made this time.

After we were done we had lots of watery paint left over... the logical thing to do? Splash it all over the septic tank with the kids who just came to pick up their mom!

Code of Conduct Guessing Game

 We're back at LVLC!

The first week we went over our code of conduct, to help things start off smoothly. It's seeming to yield good fruit as we near the end of week two.

There are 4 rules in our code of conduct, represented by these 6 photos (2 rules got 2 photos). Can you guess our rules?!

Hongera Mr. Sakwa!

This week Ronit and I had a new experience... Our guard and his fiance have dated for years, but when it came down to negotiations between their families the marriage came in question.

It's traditional for the groom's family to pay the bride's family to allow her to marry. Our guard's fiance is of the Kuria tribe. They still prefer to receive cattle, not cash. His father lives on a pastor's income, so couldn't afford the full number of cattle.

As his bosses and friends we were able (along with the help of our families) to supply the remaining cattle. At first we were excited to go to an auction and actually purchase the beasts. But then we found out her family lives so far away that they agreed to accept cash, avoiding the cost of transportation. So we just gave Mr. Sakwa this envelope with pictures of the cows. It felt a little like handling cattle!

Thankfully, it looks like they will be able to marry!

Art Installation

I don't usually get to make a direct contribution to Bible translation, but THIS week I did. The linguistics department commissioned me for a very important work: visual representation of the many hats worn in their office. There is the linguistics hat, a veiled hat with ivory tower which shows the majestic, peaceful experience of doing theoretical linguistics. The orthography hat, on the other hand, shows the crazy artistic experience of working with people and letters to create a usable writing system. You'll also see the consultant hat, the EC hat (an administrative role of one person in the office, not related to linguistics), the dictionary hat, the coordinator hat, and the cat in the hat... for when they take off all their hats at the end of the day. I enjoyed learning more about the work of my colleagues and contributing to their office. Now it is time to finish planning for beginning the semester with kids... in 5 days!

Rice Paddies in TZ

I've mentioned it before, but it's a favorite walk, so I mention it again! Right behind my house, this path divides the airport field from farming area... a rural feel though we're close to town. Farmers grow corn, cassava, and rice. The rice is what you see all green in the mid-ground.

It surprised me at first to see rice growing here, because I think of rice paddies as something in Asia. But Tanzanian cuisine includes rice, I think introduced by Indian immigrants, and Tanzanians often prefer the flavor and aroma of TZ-grown rice. It's interesting, because the climate isn't exactly what traditional rice farming requires, water scarcity being the biggest challenge. But some farmers in Tanzania have explored and adopted methods that don't require the ongoing flooding of paddies.

Another interesting TZ rice fact. Kind of like rain in Washington State, rice is important enough to hold multiple names. If you're growing a rice plant it's called "mpunga." If you're handling uncooked rice it's "mchele." If you've cooked the rice it's "wali." So you can't go to a restaurant and ask for mpunga or mchele. That would be weird.

The Students Are Rioting

Well, two weeks to go til Lake Victoria Learning Center (LVLC) opens for the new semester. My co-teacher and I are completely comfortable with that amount of time. There are conversations to be had, curriculum to mull over, furniture to move, etc. The students, however... This video clip, filmed one week ago, shows how one family of students is responding to the wait. Their signs and protest call are in Dutch. Translated: We want LVLC!

So Nice To Be Back

It's been a little over a week now, since arriving back in Musoma. I write this from my hammock office in our breezy yard, surrounded by fruit trees.

That part's lovely, but my favorite thing has been to reconnect with people... excited kids, amiable SIL office staff, and friends. I've gotten to share multiple meals and visiting times, all really fun blessings, but this is the only one I remembered to photo...

I went to Pascaria's house for tea, then we got sleepy so they pulled a mattress outside and we napped a bit. We got up when her kids got home and looked at their school books. She started making food whilst we munched on boiled peanuts and sang songs. :-)

Full Circle

I had the hammock at my brother's. It was good for rest and a place to get away and think, pray, read, or talk on the phone.

Now I'm half way around the world, in a different house, with different people, climate, language, role... But I have a hammock here now too! It's a good place for rest and all the above.

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength..." 

Isaiah 30:15a

Complete!

Into The Light

Resting

Hrossa Art

Hello from England, my stopping point on the way back to TZ. I was really happy to complete my four art projects before departing the States. Each one has a story, some I've shared in previous blogs. They speak of Our Father's goodness and the growth I see Him working in my life. I started them in the art workshops my mom and I took together, one a month since January. It was really fun to learn new techniques and get input from our instructor.






I don't think I've shared "The Stirring Within" previously. Butterflies are an ongoing metaphor for the spiritual transformation I have in Christ. God guided me back to the image, this time focusing on the chrysalis... a shell that I formed around myself, a shell that needs to open to let new life out. I rejoice that it's His Spirit in me that makes it possible to push out of the shell, and it's His life that flows out. This is the only piece that has yet to find a home; if you're interested let me know!

The Stirring Within

New Slideshow!!

As I come to the end of my time in the States it's fun to look through photos I've taken here... Photos of friends, fun, trips, food, art, rest... There have been hard questions, sleepless nights, struggle with fear... but as I look back as the photos in this new slideshow I see how my lot indeed has fallen in pleasant places (Ps 16).

25 Days To Go!

Yes, those are two ice cream cones in my hands... four flavors all together! My brother and his girlfriend took me on a lovely walking/eating tour of some areas around their place when I visited them in Seattle last week.

Now, back to the hammock. Pierre the Cat likes to join me.

25 more days until I return to TZ. I'm thankful for the family/friend and resting times I've had in the States. This transition feels harder and less definite than transitions have felt in the past. That's because I don't yet have a sense for what I'm doing after the one more year in TZ... and due to some changes I don't actually know where or with whom I'm living in the upcoming year. But I know my Good Shepherd has good plans. He's always given very good gifts in the past.

Please pray that I hear and follow His leading.

Levity in the Classroom... Remembering I'm a Teacher

However much I love teaching, I have a decent capacity to forget that I'm a teacher when away from work. Lately I've remembered a bit because I've helped set the budget for the learning center and consulted about ordering supplies. Those aren't my favorite aspects of teaching, so maybe it's a rude awakening.

However, I know why I'm excited to go back to teaching in Musoma! It's the kids. Lovely for many reasons, one of my favorite parts about teaching is the free entertainment they supply. I have a little book that I started at my first job, when I taught first grade in the States. Inside are some of my favorite things that kids have said to me over the years. Here are some samples of the past, as I look forward to the future:

• I shared that my car door hit me that morning. C said he knew why. He leaned in and whispered ominously, "It might be a Transformer, but I think it's a... Decepticon!"

• Z ran up to me breathless during recess. "Ms Deal, can you hold my sticker? I need to chase the boys." Another day she panted, "Ms Deal, I need some water so I can chase boys. I caught three. Four more to go." She also told me that her mother would prefer it if I called her JuJubee.

• An older student, K, coming out of one of my riveting modern world history classes: "Let's play revolution! Who wants to be the government?"

• L showed me the warts on his finger, explaining, "I have bumps on my finger, so I use them as a remote control. Beep, beep, beep [demonstration]." What he is controlling with those bumps, we may never know...

Resting... Also in Progress

 Here's another piece in progress! This one's been a long time in the making, because it has to do with what God's been teaching me during the last year...

The scene is inspired by a glorious hike in Bird Creek Meadows on Mt Adams, WA, many years ago. That day He gifted me with a nap on moss along the path, the beauty of mountain streams and flowers, and the fun of not knowing exactly where or how far I was going.

This year He's spoken to me about the removal of all shame, about the beauty He gives in its place, about His enduring love and presence with me, about acceptance, about rest, about trusting Him with my path. He's spoken in many ways, through friends, through His Word, through situations, through nature, through art, through His Spirit in me.

The ground in the painting is textured by verses from the books of Isaiah, Psalms, Jeremiah, Hebrews, etc... I'm resting in the beautiful garments with which He's covered me. Of course, you can't quite see that yet... because it's in progress! And so are the things He's teaching me.