Visitors, Goodbyes, and Women's Day

It's amazing how God times meetings with people. This past week, Kjirstin and I had our visitor (another missionary) at our house!! She's a United Methodist pastor and missionary from Korea and has been at the DAR for almost three months now. She was wanting to see the other United Methodist sites in Tanzania, just like what Kjirstin and I did, and we were her first stop. We only have two rooms, so I gave her my room and Kjirstin and I shared during her stay. It worked out surprisingly well in our tiny house; though I did feel bad that I had to go into my room often to get things I needed. It was super fun getting to have someone stay with us. For me, getting to serve people in my own home is such a blessing. I love doing everything that I can to make them feel welcome!

Christina stayed from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon. I think she really enjoyed getting to visit the school and meet the kids. I know that she also got to talk to Pastor Umba and his wife about their story of how they came to be missionaries in Tanzania. I'm also sure that he was able to give her a tour of the rest of our site (the Susanna Wesley Center, Pastor Umba's house, the church, the pre-school, etc.). On Friday afternoon, Kjirstin and I took her to town and since Christina really wanted to go out to eat, we took her to Acropol, which as great western food. We also got to show her Pira's Supermarket (where we do much of our shopping) before we had to head back to Kihonda.

Here's a picture of all of us with her friend who came down from Dodoma on Saturday:

During her stay, I found that I as much as I was doing to try and bless her life and her stay with us in Morogoro, I was blessed by her presence. We had lots of opportunities for conversations during the weekend, and I found that she has such a love and passion for Tanzania. I was really inspired by some of the stories she shared with me about her experiences in Korea and America prior to her arrival here. I've been feeling a bit down spiritually, so I'm thankful that God provided me with some encouragement. It's hard to see what He's doing here and sometimes I wonder if I'm having an impact at all. But, I know that in all things, God works for the good of His people. And, if He's called me here, then there must be a reason, even if I'm not fully aware of it yet (or ever for that matter).

On Saturday, I woke up early in the morning to run. It was a wonderful morning for running due to the rain the night before. When I got back, I got breakfast for Christina and I and then got to work on my laundry. I was rushing a bit because of the good-bye party for some missionary friends who are coming to Morogoro for the last time. They have been coming back and forth between Tanzania and their home country over the past 6 years (6 months on, 6 months off). But, they have decided that this is going to be their last trip here. Thus, the organization they've been working for decided to throw them a good-bye party.

I thought it was going to be a wazungu (white people) affair, but when I arrived, I found that I was mistaken and it was everyone from their organization (PBT). The party was supposed to start at 1pm, and I had rushed through my errands in town to be there on time. But, true to Tanzanian style, it didn't start until 2pm. We all ate a meal together and then they began the celebration. Different people came up to the front to talk, a group of women sang song they wrote, gifts were presented and more. It was a very nice party, but I was glad when it finally came to a close because I was tired of sitting in the heat. One great thing about the party, though, was that other missionary friends were in charge of the sound system and it was actually set at a reasonable level. I could hear everything perfectly well and my poor ears were not blasted to heaven and back.

They did a skit demonstrating the differences between Tanzania and their home country

Cutting the "Good-Bye" Cake

The event really made me think about my own impending departure in just under four months. It's so crazy how fast the time has flown by. I'm feeling a peace about leaving this year which I didn't have last year, but it still doesn't make it easy. I'm going to miss my students a TON when I leave and there are some parts of the African culture that I think are always going to be a part of me. I mean, you can't spend a year and a half completely immersed in another culture and come away un-changed. It's just going to be interesting to see how things play out once I get back.

Today was the Women's Day at church. Last year, I participated in Women's Day at church, but due to our traveling this year, Kjirstin and I did not get to be a part of it. I was fine with that, though. Last year, the rehearsals took up a lot of time and there was a lot of preparation. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy it this year instead. There were songs, lots of dancing, gifts that were awarded to different people (the guest preacher and the other pastors). There was an offering competition between the women, men, and youth. The funniest part of this was when the parents were giving their kids money to place in the baskets. The kids ran up and chose any bucket that suited them ( and a couple little boys chose the Mama's bucket). The women put on a skit centering around fruits which tied in with the sermon on the Fruits of the Spirit. In the skit, a woman was selling "special" fruit to others. The fruits helped those women in areas of their lives where they needed it. It was a great celebration, but it stretched on for over 3 hours. By the time it was done, I was done and ready to come home. But, first, I got to eat some of the delicious food which had been prepared by the women!!
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I didn't get to take any pictures of the event.

Another exciting event from this week (that happened this past Friday) is that I got to skype one of my best friends, Holly. Over the past year, I've been able to skype home plenty of times. Thus, I've always got the latest news from my family. However, keeping in touch with my friends has been a lot more difficult since many of them are still in college (either for undergraduate or graduate studies) and are super busy. It's always a nice treat to hear an update from others and be reminded that I'm not completely forgotten about!!

As for this week at school, the students will be taking their monthly exams for February. The tests this month are short (only 10 questions long); except Class VII will have a 25 question test for each subject (since they have their big national exams at the end of the year). I'm not sure which day we'll be beginning those tests, so I may have to teach tomorrow. I guess I'll prepare for either way and I'll officially find out in the morning!!

On Friday, Kjirstin and I will head out early in the morning for Moshi. We will be going to Arusha to participate in the foot races that will be happening on Saturday. I'll be running in the half marathon and she will be running in the 5K. I'm really excited!! I used to run a lot of races back in the states and I've run one half marathon before. This will be my first race in about a year and a half, so I'm interested to see how I will do! We will head back to Morogoro Sunday morning and then it's back to school on Monday!

I guess that's all the news for now!! Have a great week!
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine