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