New Slide Show!

My Picassa slide show, shown to the right, is full of fresh photos, showing what I've been up to with school, family, and friends these months before departure!

My goal is to update the slide show at least monthly when I'm in Tanzania.

Pros & Cons

The principal at my new school, HOPAC, recently sent us new-hires a letter. He was giving us a heads-up on the things we can expect in Dar, both pros and cons, so none of us are taken unawares. I thought I'd share:

Pros:
• Electricity
• Internet
• Swimming pool
• Whitest beaches with bluest sea, nearby
• Supermarkets
• No McDonalds or Burger King (Why did he list that as a con?!)
• Amazing sunsets
• Stunning butterflies and cute geckos
• Long handshakes
• Participation in all of my students’ day, including art and PE time
• Staff meetings are prayer meetings
• God and prayer in the classroom

Cons:
• Electrical outages
• Quality of internet connection at times
• HUMIDITY
• Traffic… roads behind advance of car ownership
• In-stock items fluctuate at supermarkets
• Language barrier
• Malaria
• Filtering water
• Less planning time during school hours, so more hours overall
• Queueing… he said he would tell us what that is later… I think it has something to do with waiting in lines…

Biking & Packing



Me and my whale bike...
replacing the Mermaid Mobile!

I just got back from a lovely biking trip on Orcas Island, WA with my now-ex-roommate, two of her friends, and my brother. We had a lovely time together, going up and down hills, eating some very healthy and tastey meals, and even swimming in a lagoon!

 Now I'm with my family in Vancouver, WA. One month from today I will arrive in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania! A little packing and other planning issues are in order, but mostly I'm looking forward to time with family and rest.

Packing.







Zoo-er-ific!!!

Wild drumming in the African villiage!

Flamingos strutting their stuff.

 I had the pleasure of going to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle this Memorial Weekend, with eleven of my favorite people! My house-mate, my brother, my close Sunnyside friends and their two kids, and my dear Gid Harbor friends and their four kids all met at the zoo. We loved the flamingos, copying each other in every wing flap and head bob. The tropical house had real live orchids growing on logs. My brother and I fed the giraffes. There was time to spend with each person, enjoying the sights and catching up. I'm so blessed with friends and thankful to have this time together before I leave... and look forward to the  the support and communication while I'm in Tanzania!

A Good Day

The lovely park and a duck.

I've had some hard days lately. I got sick, missed work and hung out with myself a lot one week. Also, hearing sad stories of deaths and troubles in the world darkened my days a little more. Then, my insufficiencies impacted me more than usual... unkindness, lack of wisdom, lack of boldness. I'm sure all this was compounded with the stress of packing and leaving all my family, friends, and comfortable known life...

Anyway, I had an opportunity to spend some time in the park by my house, presenting all my worries to my Father... in the way any child having a bad day does--with tears. God met me with a peaceful knowledge of His presence and His goodness, even when the world IS sad and I am NOT perfect. I wrote a poem... not a common activity for me. Here it is.

A Good Day

sorrow anger fear
crying
in the park
everything in me is wrong
as is in the world
yet still
Light shines on my closed eyes
and irises grow yellow
God is here
all is not good
but I offer my cares
one step around the park
at a time

friends' answered prayers
God's Spirit
on and in
an earthen vessel

TCKs/MKs

Photo of a HOPAC classroom.

What's that?!

TCKs/MKs are the kids I will teach and minister to in Tanzania. TCK stands for Third Culture Kid. A TCK is "a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture." (Pollock, David, The TCK Profile) MK stands for Missionary Kid, the child of a missionary.

I don't know the specific backgrounds of my students-to-be, but TCKs/MKs generally (according to Pollock again):

• Transition frequently between cultures
• Are surrounded by others who also come and go
• Live among people who look/act/believe differently... and are often more privileged
• Expect to eventually repatriate
• Have an awareness that they represent their parents and their parents' organization

I'm excited to meet my students and hear about life through their eyes. The mix of cultures and backgrounds will be interesting to have in a classroom.

If you're praying for my students and me, two areas I have heard my students might need help with are dealing with transitions and change and having a healthy connection to their parents' work. Please pray that I would teach them well in all areas, academic and spiritual, and that I would minister to their unique needs that arise from being TCKs/MKs.

Sweet Sorrow

Last Thanksgiving with my immediate family.

Romeo and Juliet seemed overly melodramatic to me, because they had known each other for so short a time. But, as I come closer to leaving people that I've known for a long time, Shakespeare's words ring true...

It is sweet to be with my family, friends, and co-workers. It is sweet to think of our history together, the mutual support in low times and the joys we've shared. It is sweet to know that God has lovingly given me these people, and that we will continue to be joined in some way as I leave the country for the next two years.

It is sorrow to know that the normalcy and closeness will soon be dramatically altered. It is sorrow that some people do not share a relationship with Jesus, and His insurance of salvation. It is sorrow, or at least poignant, to remember all the beautiful memories we share, times never to return.

I was thinking all this during my recent spring break from school. I had a lovely time at the Oregon Coast with my immediate family and two of my favorite friend-families. Now there are a couple months left of school, and I am enjoying my kiddos and colleagues.

My departure date is set: July 18th! I have tickets, flying to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania!