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!