One exciting thing that happened this week was that one of my students, Rhoider, returned from pre-form one (prep for the first year of secondary school). On Tuesday, I went running at the International School, but it started to rain, so I decided to head back home. I was pretty near home when I heard someone call out "Madam Christina" (which is what all the students all call me). I looked around, but didn't see anyone I knew, much less a student that I knew. But then I heard my name again and that's when I saw her. I didn't recognize her because her uniform was not the Wesley uniform. I was SO terribly excited to see her again. (She goes to a church and is one of the members of the English choir in addition to being one of my students) I gave her a huge hug and then walked with her until we reached the school. I found out that she had just gotten back to Morogoro and was walking back home from the bus stand and also it was her birthday. I was so happy that I got to see her first and that I got to wish her a happy birthday!!
On Friday, Kjirstin and I did not go to school because the students were given the day off so that class teachers could make their end of the year reports. Since we are not class teachers, we didn't need to go for that. My piano students came in the morning and I taught them both and then let them hang out for a while. I had swiped some books from school for them to read while they weren't playing. All of the kids especially LOVE the Magic Tree House books. They're at a great reading level for these kids and they also teach about historical events and introduce kids to important people/ideas. After, we all headed into town together. Kjirstin and I decided to get lunch in town for a little variety and then did our shopping. As soon as we got back, we had our big/final rehearsal before the Youth Day Service at church. It was the first time we put Kjirstin's piano accompaniment together with all of the voices for "Our God Is An Awesome God". It took a few tries, but eventually we got it to where it was sounding pretty good. It really is hard to accompany because you have to listen to the voices and stay with them. After rehearsal I did my evening run and then got to skype with my parents!
Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30am to begin preparations for going to town. I was going to be there all day and night, and I had a lot to do before I left, so I wanted to give myself enough time. I washed a lot of clothes that had built up, washed dishes, cleaned my room, packed, and even fit in a yoga routine before leaving around 10am. I met up with the gang for our first frisbee match in 3 weeks. Afterwards, I went to a friend's house so I wouldn't have to go back to Kihonda and then back to town later that afternoon. We got to swim in their pool, chat, and I got to play with their daughters which was really fun. We were playing make-believe games and I think I had forgotten what it's like to play pretend. I mean, it's been a year since I've worked at the day care at our local athletic club back home and now I'm working with older kids and they're rather over the whole pretend phase of life. Soon enough, I had to head over to the "Harvey House" to make my preparations for babysitting.
Saturday night, Kjirstin and I watched all the missionary kids while the adults had a card party. It's a Christmas tradition from one of the missionary's families, and they needed someone to watch the kids. I was really excited to do it! I planned a bunch of activities for us to do with the kids including making paper link chains, a scavenger hunt for various items, singing Christmas songs, coloring/decorating a paper Christmas tree and then playing pin the star on the Christmas tree, and of course we would watch the traditional Christmas movies: A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer, and Frosty the Snowman. Things went very smoothly except for the fact that Kjirstin got delayed and I had to start off on my own. I was a bit thrown off realizing that I was going to be on my own with eleven kids for an undefined amount of time. However, I quickly adjusted gears and got things going. Luckily, some of the kids are a bit older (like ages 10-14 ish), so they were able to help out with the younger kids. I managed to get them all started on dinner and I got the crafts set up without any big problems. From there everything proceeded well without any major set-backs or anything of that sort. By the end of it all, I was more exhausted than the kids, but quite content with how smoothly everything went. (and I think the kids had fun, which of course, is the most important thing!!) Here are some pictures of the fun we had together! :D
On Sunday, we had our big youth service at church. Like I mentioned previously, it was supposed to take place almost a month ago, but got postponed. With the extra time we were able to prepare a number of songs in Swahili and English. Also, a few youth put together a drama about the negative effects of listening to "street talk" and not asking for verification before acting on what they heard. There was also a section of the service dedicated to celebrating the recent college graduates from various universities: Lauren (one of the pastor's daughters), Upendo, and Frank. Kjirstin preached the sermon and Upendo translated. He was a member of our church who recently got transferred to another church to be a pastor. Her message was about the role and importance of youth according to the Bible. After the service a luncheon was served for everyone! I've included the pictures below for you to see! :D
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| Our God is an AWESOME God!! :D I taught the chorus to everyone and the verses just to the English choir. It was a really fun challenge! |
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| Kjirstin accompanied us on "Our God is an Awesome God" |
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| From the drama about "street talk" |
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| Congratulating the graduates!! :D |
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| "For we live in unity!" I got to lead the English section of this song. |
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| Kjirstin preaching and Upendo translating. |
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| Dance party Tanzania style. |
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| The food! |
Well, that's all for now!! Life is moving quickly and soon this week will end and so will the school year. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my sister in Spain starting next week. She's been studying abroad in Barcelona this semester and I thought I would visit her over the Christmas break.
I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday season!
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine
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