Donkeys, Mangers and all things Christmasy

My Christmas day this year was unlike any I’ve had before. Thorn trees for Christmas trees, brilliant red flowers as decorations, real donkeys, stables and mangers, gifts of rice and beans and church congregations singing worship in rough but beautiful harmony. There was not a Santa in sight. I have to say, it was one of the loveliest Christmas Day’s I can imagine. There is something about Africa that brings the Christmas story to life.

Together with my friend Corinne and her parents I had the privilege of joining some Tanzanian friends for Christmas in a village not so far from where I live. Robert and his family are some of the most hospitable people I have ever met. They see having guests as a huge blessing and don’t even stop to think about the huge blessing that they are to us in return. So many of our Tanzanian friends have so little materially but are so rich in love, family and relationship with God. They truly are some of the richest people I know.

We left home at 7.30am Christmas morning to walk first to church just over an hour away. After a (relatively!) short service, we returned to our friend Robert’s family home and helped to prepare Christmas lunch. I am finally getting my head around cooking Tanzanian style but everything takes a whole lot longer when it’s cooked on little charcoal burners. The funny thing when we’d finished was that to our Tanzanian friends, the food was ‘wazungu’ stylem while to us, we were sure it was ‘African’ style. I guess we found a middle ground! Finally at 4pm we ate a feast of chickens, potatoes, vegetables and rice. Of course there was sodas as well, which is an essential part of any Tanzanian celebration.

Christmas evening was spent with my other Tanzanian ‘family’; the Joshua Foundation team. We ate together and gave secret santa presents. Everyone put in a lot of thought to their secret gift and it was a lovely time together.

Please keep me, our team and our students in your prayers as we head into the New Year and a new term for College. If you would like me to send you the latest newsletter from the Joshua Foundation just flick me an email on joellecbrown@gmail.com and I’ll pass it on. There’s some great info on what’s been happening in all our departments here.

So...to all my friends and family in NZ and elsewhere...Merry Christmas! I hope that you had a blessed and happy time wherever you were and whoever you were with. I miss you all lots!

Be blessed!

x Joelle

A Tanzanian church experience

We had a great experience taking part in a church service over here this Sunday just been. Corinne's brother and sister in law were over from Australia visiting and someone happened to mention in front of a good Tanzanian friend that she is training to be a pastor back in Australia. Well...that was all it took to have a preaching appointment booked for her on the coming Sunday, in a church none of us had ever been too. Not only that, but I was booked to help with the worship and to sing a song or two. I love how spontaneously things come about here, especially if you're willing to say yes to most opportunities.

Sunday we kitted up in our Tanzanian Sunday best- really just a good excuse to wear our 'kitenge' which is the tailored outfits the women wear here. We caught daladalas to the other side of town to the Free Pentekostal Church of Sombetini. The Pentecostal churches here are known for their vibrant style and passionate worship, preaching and prayer. This church was no exception! I've said many times how much I love to hear Tanzanians sing and Sunday morning was another great time of worship. I felt really privileged to have the chance to sing a few songs with our friend Roberti, who is a great worship leader. I also had the chance to play and sing a song I had written, in English and Swahili. I love how Tanzania constantly pushes me outside of my comfort zone, and it's always such a rewarding thing when you get past your fears and just do something.

Gemma preached up a storm and God was in the place. She did a great job, especially as she hadn't spoken with a translator before. I was hugely impressed with how willing she was to just step up and take the opportunity when it came up.

Beautiful people, passionate worship and a great God...it made for a very good Sunday morning that I plan to repeat soon!

Mt Meru and the (almost) end of a term

It's crazy how quickly this year is flying past. With one week in Arusha and one week out in schools, it feels like every month goes twice as fast. I guess that's just a really long way to justify my lack of keeping up to date with the blog and keeping in touch with people. Sorry!

It's been a great month and a half since I last wrote, with heaps of adventures, a few dramas and lots of fun. Our student teachers are feeling the 'end-of-year-itis' that often hits at this time of year. To be honest, I'm feeling it a little bit myself! For the students, they have a pile of assignments and looming exams in the next three weeks. We definitely work them hard here at JTTC, but they will be awesome teachers for it. Already we can see so much personality and ability emerging and I have every faith that these guys are called to be great teachers.

On our side of things, we are working pretty hard right now trying to get things prepared for January 3rd when the students start back for next year. There's a long list of units that need finishing off...my current project is a unit on how to teach literacy. Actually, that's been my project for the last 3 months and I am very close to seeing the light at the end of that tunnel. Please pray for energy and wisdom as we write these units. The challenge is to teach good, sound teaching practice and to fit it well into the Tanzanian context in a way that is best for children here. It's teaching me a lot about teaching!

On another note, I'm happy to say I made it to the top of Mt Meru last weekend. What an great climb and incredible view at the top!Mt Meru is situated in the Arusha National Park which is about a 40 minute drive from where I live. You know you've arrived somewhere pretty cool when you drive past families of giraffes and elephants by the side of the road. The first 2 days are about 4/5 hours climbing. Then the 3rd day you leave the hut at 1am and climb 5 hours to the summit (in the dark). After about half hour up there we climbed all the way to the bottom of the mountain, arriving at about 5pm. The summit of Meru is 4568m and you look across to Mt Kilimanjaro from there. Needless to say, I slept very well the night I got back to Arusha.

So three more weeks of school for our students, then a couple of weeks writing and grading exams. After that I'm very much looking forward to a 2 1/2 week holiday. Thanks for the emails...I really love to hear from people and keep in touch with what's going on back home. Keep them coming!

xx Jo

Joelle

It's the little things...

I was talking to one of my local friends over here the other day and he asked me what I would miss if I left Tanzania. Surprisingly it was a very difficult question to answer. The problem was not the lack of things I love about being here- it was more that it's so hard to put it into words. Only 2 months here so far and yet the moments when I stop to think how much I love it are countless. So I've decided it's the little things that make me so happy here.

Here are some of my 'little things' from the last 2 weeks...

* Watching the great sunset every night from my kitchen window

* Understanding and remembering new Swahili words each day

* The hugs and smiles and enthusiastic greetings of the children at Arusha Joshua School (AJS)

* Teaching music at AJS and realising what great rhythm these kids have!

* Watching a football game at a soccer field with real grass

* Teaching some of our local friends how to play touch rugby

* A fresh chapati for morning tea with a cup of hot chai (tea)

* No one ever being too hurried to stop and say hello

* Seeing a snake in the wild for the first time ever

* Our student teacher's having 'light-bulb' moments

* Hearing our student teacher's talk about their struggles in education and how they have overcome

* Seeing our student teacher's realise how much God has called them to this course and to teaching

* Hearing from people back home and how everyone's doing

* Exploring the gorge and river near our house

* Smiles...so many smiles!

God is constantly so good and gracious. He's working in the hearts of our student teachers and we can already see misunderstandings and wrong ways of thinking beginning to change. Please pray for these 18 students that God will continue to give them the perseverance and wisdom to do this course well. We really see that they are going to be amazing, ground-breaking teachers at the end of it who impact far more than jut the students they will teach.

This weekend I'm heading on my first ever safari with 3 other friends. We're going to the Ngorogoro Crater and apparently it's spectacular. I can't wait. Photos to come...

A week in Keranse

Well after a week in Keranse I am absolutely in love with the place, especially the school. Almost all the teachers at this school were trained by our teachers college, and it really shows (not that I'm biased or anything!). The kids there are learning (some of the best scores in national exams in the area), well behaved and incredibly happy. The teachers love their job, love the kids and welcomed us and our student teachers with open arms. I'm really looking forward to spending time in the school and really getting to know the students and staff better over the coming months.

We had several organisational details to 'iron out' during the week, but it was great to see our student teacher embrace what is a pretty full-on training course. They are really getting stuck in to the work and life of the school. It's going to be exciting to see their growth and development over the next couple of years- there's so much potential there.

Miriam and I are living in a guest house about 15 mintues drive from the village in a town/village called Saanya Juu. It's basic but nice and we felt very well looked after. We have electricity in the house, as opposed to the other mentors who have it for only a few hours a day, so we feel pretty lucky. Its amazing how much more you appreciate things like electricity and drinking water when it's not always readily available like it is back home.

On a final note for today, I'm really thinking of and praying for all my Christchurch family and friends after the earthquake yesterday. Looking at the photos online I'm blown away by how this kind of thing can happen in little old NZ...its easy to assume it just never will. It's times like this that its strange being so far removed from everything happening on my home side of the world. Love to you all xx

Breaking new ground...

I have come to the conclusion that when internet is as sporadic as it is here, blogging may not be as regular as I would like. However, it also means that when I do get a chance to write, I have plenty to say...not that that was ever really a problem!

So, tomorrow morning us mentors are finally heading out into the villages that will become our 2nd homes for the time we are here in Tanzania. We have 3 training schools where our students are placed full time, and I will be based at the school in a village called Keranse with another mentor, Miriam. Our student teachers have had 2 weeks holiday, after completing a six-week block course here at college. Apart from that six weeks, their entire two-year course is spent placed at their training school. They will live together and over the course of a week they will complete units of work set by us as a college, study subject content in which they are weak, observe in the classroom, serve in the classroom, study biblical studies and how to apply it in all areas of their teaching...among other things. The real difference here to a distance learning course is that we as mentors will be with them in the schools every second week. We will work through units with them, model in the classroom, run intensive sessions if needs arise, mark their assignments and basically just stand alongside them and support them through their training. It's a unique kind of course and is breaking new ground in education here in Tanzania. I'm excited to be a part of it all. Please pray that God will give us mentors the wisdom we need to do this job well, and that he will give our students the vision and diligence to persevere when it gets difficult. The course pushes them to think in a very different way to how a lot of them were taught in school and it will challenge them, but we have a great group of students and I know they will do extremely well.

The last two weeks since I last wrote have been fantastic. I really am loving to get to know this country. My friend and I had the chance to attend a local wedding and it was a feast for the eyes of singing, dancing and colourful dresses! The next day we went to church with the family of one of the workers here and it was such an awesome experience. It's amazing how the language barrier can mean nothing when people are worshiping God-and the singing here is incredible. A whole room of Tanzanians singing in harmony just about takes the roof off. I love it! We introduced ourselves and I did it in Swahili so I was pretty happy with that, even if it was pretty rehearsed. One of the photos below is the family we went to church with. They are a beautiful family and are inspiring in how they have changed their circumstances around. In the photos they are standing in front of their new house-to-be which they have worked extremely hard for and really relied on God.

My Swahili is coming along and I am understanding a lot more now and getting quicker in my responses, but when I get frustrated with how much there is still to learn I try to remember it's only been 4 weeks. I really do feel like I've been here for months already.

Thanks to those who have sent emails- it means so much to hear from home and hear how people are doing and what you're up to. If you haven't...please do... And if I don't reply quickly, apologies for the internet but I really will try!

Progress!

So I had a little break through today as far as communication here goes. I actually managed to have about 3 different conversations today almost entirely in Swahili...not complicated conversations mind you but it still felt good! Almost everyone here can at least communicate the basics in English, and our students at college have good English so at times it's tempting just to just use it myself. But this afternoon, walking down to buy my mayai (eggs) and nyanya (tomatoes) at the local vege stall I was reminded just how nice it is to be able to talk to someone in their language and how much more you feel a part of a place. You can see how much people here appreciate the effort. People here are more than willing to accept a mistake too and are gracious in their corrections! The process of trying to learn a language almost from scratch is giving me a new appreciation for how hard it must be for people trying to learn English.

On another note, our student teachers are in their last week at college here this week. It's going to be sad to see them all head off and to only be with 6 from now on. It's amazing how quickly you can get attached to a group of people, and these guys have a whole lot of personality and spunk. On the up side, I'm really looking forward to getting out to my school in 3 weeks and getting to see teaching here in action.

Yesterday morning the pastors (there's also a pastor's leadership college here on base) and the teachers all combined their chapel time in the morning for devotions. I have never heard such enthusiastic or heartfelt singing! When the power goes out and your source of music is a keyboard what do you do? You get out the piano accordian and carry on of course! It really did remind me though that worship is about so much more than good music or in tune singing. There was at times a distinct lack of tunefulness, but absolutely no lack of true worship in that place yesterday. I love it.

I’ve been in Arusha 5 days now and it’s crazy but it already feels like home. I am so grateful for how welcoming everyone is and how easy it has been so far to settle into life here. I will have dinner with the different families and team members each night this week which will be great for getting to know people.

En Gedi is the name of the Joshua Foundation base. At En Gedi there is the teacher’s college, dorms for the students, 3 pre-school classrooms (the kids who go there are aged 4 – 6 so it’s more like a NZ new entrants and Year 1 class) and several houses. There are beautiful gardens and a great feel to the place. I am living in a house called Kituo (I think) with 3 other women. Miriam and Corrine are my house mates upstairs and are also here working as mentors like me. Another mentor, arrives in a few weeks time. The photo above is taken from the deck at my house. The sunset is so fast here that you can literally see the sun sinking in the sky. Very cool!

At the moment the trainee teachers are here on a block course of about 6 weeks and they have classes in a range of things, including English, Thinking Skills and Computing. They have 2 more weeks of this course and then they have their mid-term break. While they are on break, we will be doing training together as mentors. From early September onwards the students are then placed in schools in 3 different villages and we (the mentors) will spend every 2^nd week out at our given school working with those students. On the off weeks we will be back here at En Gedi. I’m starting to get to know the trainee’s and they are a lovely group of students. I’m really looking forward to working with them as they get into classrooms. I am able to take lessons in Swahili with one of the gate guards so I will start that from Monday, most afternoons. I’m really looking forward to learning the language and the Tanzania’s I have met are so encouraging when you do try to speak it and appreciate the effort.

It’s been a fun few days so far getting shown around Arusha. On Firday I was able to play in a soccer match between the boys from college and another local team. It’s a whole lot dustier playing on the dirt here but heaps of fun! I went for dinner at a local Indian restaurant which was very good and got to meet a few of Corrine’s friends. Miriam took me to the town centre on Saturday and did some shopping. Almost everything you need is available here; it’s just a matter of knowing where to find the right little shop! Town is a pretty busy place on a Saturday and it was great to get shown around and buy a few bits and pieces. On Sunday I checked out one of the churches in Arusha and went to to the local Movie Theatre. I do like the fact that it costs about $6 to see a movie instead of $15 in NZ! My next job is to learn to ride the daladalas, which are vans that you can catch to and from town for about 40c. I’ll catch one in with Corrine this week to do the market shopping and then hopefully I’ll have it sussed to get around myself!

I know this post is a little on the long side, but I wanted to give some idea of what life is like on base here. Thanks for all your prayers for safe travels. The internet is a bit sporadic at the moment but I’d love to hear from people and hear what’s up on your side of the world and what’s happening in your lives. My email address is joellecbrown@gmail.com or skype joelleb09 (I haven’t managed to get on Skype yet though). I’ve got a Tanzanian cell phone number now too and it’s pretty cheap to text so drop me an email if you want that number and I’ll send it to you.

x Jo

Thanks Browns for my fantastic American experience!

I have free internet at the moment and I really should make the most of it and write one final post before I leave the States. Trouble is I have done just too much in the last 2 1/2 weeks that I don't really know where to start! Maybe bullet-pointed highlights will be the way to go...

So, some of the highlights of my time in the USA:

* Getting to see Michael, Fiona, Nat, Luka and meet wee Asher. What amazing hosts they are and what a beautiful new addition to the Brown family. Smooches to you all and thank you so much for an amazing time. See you in a year.

* 30+ degrees temperatures and not a cloud in the sky every single day since I arrived.

* Cheap clothes shopping. Yeah!

* Food! La Fiesta (mmm...Mexican. Yum), Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, Bagels, Burgers, Tacos, Breakfast Burritos, peanut butter chip brownie, peanut butter m & ms ..just to name a few.

* Sonic get's it's own mention... Awesome ice-cream sundae...and brought out to the car by a girl on roller skates. That just makes it 10 times as cool.

* Seeing the Californian Redwood Forest and the Oregon Coast...beautiful.

* Good coffees daily (or several times daily if needed!)

* Lake of the Woods

* Ashland. Pretty little town with nice shops and a cool Shakespearian theatre.

* Driving on the right (even if it was only round the block!)

* Light switches that switch up not down to turn on

* Swimming in Sue's pool...there is nothing better than this on a 38 degree day!

* Drinking coffee looking out at the ocean at Santa Monica, feeling especially proud of the fact I ventured out into LA and didn't get myself lost ;)

* And did I mention my fabulous hosts and how they spoilt me for 2 1/2 weeks?! I'll miss them a lot.

For those of you who pray...I'd really appreciate your prayers in the next few weeks. Firstly, to make it safely from here, to Amsterdam and down to Tanzania. And after that to be able to settle in quickly to life at the Joshua Foundation and that I'd be able to connect with the staff and student teachers quickly and well. I've said it before but I must say it again, God has been incredibly good to me with all the prep for this trip and I am really looking forward to seeing how he works in me over the next year.

Ok...better go catch this flight!

Medford, Oregon, USA

Well I've made it to the halfway point in my trip- Medford Oregon. I flew into Los Angeles, spent a few hours there and was very happy to find free wireless, good coffee and that my luggage had followed me as I'd hoped. That's always a promising sign of good travels ahead!

I'm loving Medford. It's hot (high 30s every day), pretty (smallish city surrounded by farmland and hills), and I get to hang out with Michael, Fiona and my 3 spunky nephews. The newest addition to the Brown family, Asher, is only 12 days old and is absolutely beautiful. I feel pretty lucky to spend this time with them all. Michael and Fiona have been giving me the all american experience, which includes outings to Walmart, Target, Historic Jacksonville (the main street is straight out of country westerns, and the surrounding streets could very well be Wisteria Lane) and peanut butter M&Ms. I'm happy to report that I thoroughly enjoy all of the above.

On Saturday we headed up to Lake of the Woods which is about 45 mins drive from Medford. People camp up there for the summer and I can see why; it's gorgeous, and nothing is quite as nice as a lake to swim in when its as hot as it has been here.

I'm here in the States until next Sunday so I plan on making the most of the break and spending time with family. It's a bit surreal to be on holiday after being so busy preparing for this trip for the last 6 months. Surreal but nice -courtesy of Notting Hill ;-)

2 Days! And a big thank you

I'm sitting in Christchurch writing this- have enjoyed a lovely last weekend down seeing family. Christchurch even decided to turn on the beautiful frosty clear blue sky days that I love about the South. Love it! I'll head back to Auckland tonight for a last 2 days catching up and last minute packing, then Wednesday night I leave. I can't believe how quickly the last 8 months have flown by, from deciding to go, to actually leaving.

The garage sale was a great success. It's an eye opener the kind of people you encounter early in the morning as they trawl the various garage sales. We got rid of almost everything we wanted to and made some good cash to boot. Thanks to everyone who donated stuff...much appreciated!

I'm extra excited because this week, Thursday, I get to meet the newest member of the Brown whanau- my new nephew, Asher Jacob. He came 2 weeks early. I reckon it was just so that I can spend the whole 2 1/2 weeks with him and my other 2 beautiful nephews.

Both God and my awesome friends and family have been incredibly good to me in the lead up to this trip. So I just want to say a huge thank you to all of the above for everything so far. It's made me realise just how blessed I am to have the people around me that I do. Thanks friends and family for the love and encouragement, finances, great catch ups and prayers. Thanks God for giving me a real passion for this next year and for the smooth process and great random link ups with people. You are awesome.

I can't wait to see how the next year unfolds- and so keen to keep in touch with people by email, so if you feel like writing, please do! Hopefully by the next time I write this blog I'll have lots of fun and new stuff to write about. First stop...USA!

Progress Report...and Garage Sale!

So now just 7 weeks until D-day. These itchy feet are really getting itchy- especially as cold wet Auckland winter rolls in. A few great God things that are working their way out: My visa documents all made it safe and sound to Tanzania and apparently should be nice and easy to process. The actual application won't happen until closer to when I leave, because I am applying for a 1-year volunteer's visa, and I don't want the year to run out before my year over there is up.

I've also had a few 'random' encounters lately with people with various links to Tanzania and the Joshua Foundation, and that's been really encouraging- and helpful! I bumped into one girl on the side of a rugby game who I hadn't seen her since teacher's college 7 years ago. Her and her husband had just been discussing Tanzania and mission work that morning. It was awesome to be able to share a little bit of what I felt God had been saying to me and how he'd provided for me with this trip.

My flatmate and I move out of our flat on June 19th so we've decided to have a bit of a garage sale, partly so I don't overcrowd my Grandparent's garage for the year with too much stuff, and also as a fundraiser. So if you happen to be in the Te Atatu Peninsula area on Sat June 12th- come check it out and buy my 'treasures'! On the same note, if anyone in Auckland has any goods they've been meaning to clean out and want to donate to the Garage Sale, I'd be most appreciative and it will really help in the fundraising side of things.

The countdown begins...to my 12 month summer!

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139 v 9-10

11 weeks until I leave Auckland and head for warmer lands. The thought is both exciting, and a bit daunting, especially as I look at my ever-growing piles of 'stuff' that needs sorting. There's piles for packing, piles to take with me, piles to chuck, piles to give away, and piles to sell...these are the times I wish I was a naturally organised person! But...regardless, it will get sorted, and 11 weeks from now I'll be on a plane heading first to the States, then on to Tanzania 2 1/2 weeks later. I can't wait to see Mike, Fee, Nat and Luka...and of course to meet bubs who should arrive when I'm there- all going well of course!

So...what's the plan for Tanzania? And why there? Well to start with the why- I was doing a bit of soul searching and praying about where to next, so I got in touch with Lynda Stephenson from the Joshua Foundation in September last year. The Joshua Foundation is a Christian mission organisation based in Arusha, Tanzania. She told me about a new role that is opening up in their teacher's college, mentoring trainee teachers. This was exactly the kind of opportunity I'd been looking for- and to be honest, it couldn't have fallen into place much better. Timing was perfect and the job was perfect. I'd be stupid to pass up the chance to go!

And the plan while I'm there? Well myself and about 5 or 6 other mentors (who I don't know yet...but I'm sure I'll know very well by the time I leave) will be based at Joshua Teacher Training College where we'll support students with course work, develop curriculums and mark assignments among other things. Then approximately 2 weeks out of 4, we'll be based in villages, where the trainee teachers are on practicum at schools. There, I get to do all the things I love (as a true teacher geek)...observing, modelling, resourcing etc. It truely is an invaluable opportunity for me as a teacher and an amazing chance to really immerse myself in another part of the world.

The next 2 months is prep time- and I'd love prayers for the small details that still need to be sorted, especially my visa, fundraising, and getting moved out and packed up.

So...my aim is to update on this site- but I'd love to have email addresses for those who want to support me in prayer while I'm in Tanzania. Drop me an email at joellecbrown@gmail.com

Watch this space...