Global Outreach Website

Jambo!  God has not only brought us safely to Tanzania but has also allowed us to spend the past three days at the wonderful school in the village of Karansel!  My internet time is brief, so I will just give you the general idea of what we have been doing.  Monday, we observed the classes and spent time interacting with the teachers and students.  I was told, before arrival, that the students would love to touch me with my pasty white skin.  But I was not prepared for the outpouring of affection the children bestowed upon all of us.  They literally fought to hold my hands!  And as I was observing a class, I asked a little girl if I could share her bench and sit with her.  In the States, we slide over because we have this staunch personal space mandate that must be adhered to at all times.  This young girl slid over initially, until I sat down, and then slid back over, so that she could rest against me.  It melts your heart just a little bit every time this happens, so before long, I won't have much of a heart left!  

On Tuesday, we continued to observe throughout the school day.  At the end of the day, the students are reluctant to leave.  They love school that much!  But once they had gone, we gathered the teachers and modeled for them the lesson plans we had prepared.  We are mostly here to teach the teachers, so we held a seminar of sorts where we showed them different techniques for teaching each subject.  On this day, Eileen and I (Beth) presented our material.  Eileen spoke eloquently on narration, Lisa presented some fun music, and I spoke on some creative ways to teach grammar.  Stop laughing!  Grammar can be fun-- I promise!  The teachers were quiet at first, but they soon got into it and started to ask good questions.

On Wednesday (today), we tried to spend time with the teachers who taught in our specific subjects.  Many of us got to teach a bit ourselves!  I helped with English and then somehow found myself with Jana in a math class (of all places!).  They were learning about fractions (horrors!).  Thankfully, those lessons began to flood back to me, and before long, Jana and I were both walking around with red pens, helping and correcting student work.  Dave Boy would have been so proud of us!  These children are incredibly smart!  I checked over one student's paper and saw that he had all of the answers correct.  So I put a smiley face at the top of his page.  You know, the kind with the two lines for eyes and then the smile underneath.  This little boy looked up at me curiously and asked, "Eleven?"  I laughed and said, "No, no, smile.  Like this!"  And I showed him with my face.  He studied my expression, looked back at his paper, and cracked up.  Before long, every student in the class was yelling, "Teacher!  Teacher!" (pronounced by them with their accents as "Teacha!") and wanting me to do the same to their papers.  After school, Lisa and Eileen presented again, Leslie taught a science lesson using the new microsope she brought for them, and Melissa showed them how to use some of the supplies we'd brought.  It was a wonderful day!

Bobby and David have been working with headmasters from other schools, encouraging and teaching them, not only about leading a school but about the truths of Scripture.  It has been a blessing to these young men!

For all of the sweet moments and answered prayers we've seen so far (lost passport-- found!), we have had some challenges as well.  Lisa's suitcase never made it to Tanzania, so she has been wearing our clothes and taking my malaria pills.  I can't imagine how frustrating this must be, but she has been the perfect model of patience and hope as we wait and pray that it arrives.  Please pray that it comes tomorrow!  

In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy our time here with old friends, like Miriam Johnson, and new ones, like Gladness, Happiness, John, and Moses.  We will continue to enjoy the breathtaking Mt. Kilimanjaro, positioned so highly in the clouds that seeing the top is like an unexpected glimpse into heaven.  We will bask in the protection of the new mosquito nets that were hung over our beds today.  We will continue to pracitice our Swahili.  And we will continue to trust God to provide, protect, and sustain our minds, bodies, and souls as we get ready for tomorrow.  We humbly ask that you continue your prayers for us.  We pray for our families and friends back home and miss you all!

Much Tanzanian love to all,

Beth (for the team)