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