A life less mediocre

In only three weeks our year long stint at Keranse School will be over- actually a year and three months, though I have to say time has absolutely flown. In November our student teachers will all move from their respective training schools to Arusha for a month. They’ll live on base at The Joshua Foundation and study for their end of year exams. Then next year they’re on to new and exciting places and adventures for their final three month block practice, government final exams in May, then life as the newest Tanzanian teacher graduates. Us mentors will continue to be in schools every other week for that teaching practice, but will rotate through the six different schools rather than the one we’ve been in. It feels a little like the end of a long uphill battle to get our students through the challenging theory and practice part of their course, but the view from the top is worth it. This week especially I have been so encouraged by what I’ve seen them achieving in the classroom. I’ve seen dramatisation, science experiments, composing songs, cooperation games, cooking classes, field trips to the local market and countless other excellent teaching strategies, always made doubly impressive by the minimal resources available and less-than-seamless syllabus they have to work within.

Us mentors often find ourselves reminding our student teachers as they work through their course that it is God who gives us wisdom. But when I stop to listen to what I tell my students I have to confess I often forget this very thing myself. Over the last year and a half I have constantly been pushed out of my comfort zone, teaching an unfamiliar syllabus in an unfamiliar country to people with very different upbringings to my own. So many times I have found myself completely at the end of my own abilities and crying out to God to give me wisdom. I think that’s exactly where God wants me to be- at the end of my abilities and crying out for his! I pray and hope that I’ll never fall into the trap of being too satisfied in my own abilities. I think that sitting still in that place is really not so different from moving backwards. What a waste when I serve a God who so willingly pushes us out of our comfort zone and then shocks us by staying right there and walking with us.

I know at least 6 young Tanzanian men who are at the start of that journey and who are going to make a huge difference in the years to come as teachers. They have chosen not to settle for the status quo and I have to say that I’m inspired to do the same. So here’s to a lack of comfort zones and a life less mediocre.

Mama's Kitchen

I thought it was high time that I wrote a little about our little business venture over here...Mama's Kitchen. As the name suggests, the Mama's Kitchen products are home baked goods such as cookies and brownies that are sold in the local supermarkets here and to some safari companies. I think in the West we take for granted that we can rock on up to any supermarket and be surrounded by choice for snacks. Fancy a cookie? Here, have 5 different varieties. Feel like a take away snack? How about 2 aisles worth for choice. Not so here in Tanzania. When it comes to convenience, I-just-feel-like-something-sweet foods, the choice is seriously lacking. This might be an excellent thing for our waistlines, but let's face it...when you have walked up and down the dusty main street for several hours trying to get all the little jobs done that take hours here, who wouldn't feel like something little to snack on? That's where our products come in.

Let me tell you how Mama's Kitchen came about. At the end of last year, Corinne and I started to think about ways that we might be able to bring some support into this work we're in, helping out mentors with living costs and the like. After a few different trials and failures, we hit upon the cookie idea. Initially we thought that the sole market would be in safari companies, aimed at Western visitors who are quite partial to a bit of morning tea while out viewing wild animals. A few taste tests and recipe perfecting sessions later, we had our first client...a friend who runs a safari company and was quite happy to trial our products and see how customers liked them. Fast forward to today and we are now with the same safari company and also in 2 local supermarkets. At last count, our products on the shelf at one supermarket sold out within a week which is better than we had hoped for. Mama's Kitchen is officially a part of East Africa Development which is the business department of The Joshua Foundation.

The latest hit? Dark chocolate brownie. Mmmm. This one is almost worth making a trip over to Tanzania for. Just in case you needed any arm twisting!

Searching for God knows what

Today's blog has nothing to do with Tanzania, except perhaps that life is a constant journey of discovering more about who God is and who we are, no matter where we happen to be- Tanzania included. I'm reading a book by Donald Miller at the moment called Searching for God Knows What. I'm only halfway through, but something about this passage just jumped out at me and I had to read it several times.

...That is the thing about life. You go walking along, thinking people are talking a language and exchanging ideas, but the whole time there is this deeper language people are really talking, and that language has nothing to do with ethics, fashion, or politics, but what it really has to do with is feeling important and valuable, What if the economy we are really dealing with in life, what if the language we are really speaking in life, what if what we really want in life is relational?

Now this changes things quite a bit, because if the gospel of Jesus is some formula I obey in order to get taken off the naughty list and put on a nice list, then it doesn't meet the deep need of the human condition, it doesn't interact with the great desire of my soul, and it has nothing to do with the hidden language we are all speaking. But if it is more, if it is a story about humanity falling away from the community that named it, and an attempt to bring humanity back to that community, and if it is more than a series of ideas, but rather speaks directly into this basic human need we are feeling, then the gospel of Jesus is the most relevant message in the history of mankind.

That's the kind of Christianity I want. God seeking to bring us back to relationship with Himself...now that's a gospel worth hearing.

Shamba life

This whole year has been full of new experiences and adventures. Last week was no exception. I had the chance to head out to a friend's family's shamba (farm) in Kilindi district. It was a 14 hour trip to get there on 4 buses but surprisingly, we arrived feeling quite relaxed. I think it must've been the soothing bumps on the road.

View Larger Map

Kilindi isn't marked on this map...but if you draw a line on this map about an inch left of Korogwe, that's where it is. As you can see...its not really a metropolis. In fact the closest little shop to where we stayed was several kms walk away. The people who live in these parts truly live off the land.

Its humbling to see firsthand just how happy people can be who have so little. Our friend Hussein's family moved out to Kilindi because farm land was far cheaper than in Arusha and they knew it was a way that they could provide a good life for their family. Materially they don't have much, but in reality they live a rich life. They grow all they need to survive on their farm. They work alongside each other every day; Mum, Dad, Brothers, Daughter in laws, neighbours. In everything that I saw, this is a family and community that loves, respects and looks out for one another. They are gracious hosts. I have never eaten that much in my life! They love to laugh and love nothing better than a good story. They truly live a rich life.

Hussein's mum took it on herself to teach us village ways. So for a couple of days we were properly immersed in 'village school'. Harvesting, preparing food, cooking...the days for women here revolves around the next meal of the day. She chatted away to us in Swahili and it was a pleasant surprise to understand plenty.

All in all, Kilindi hasn't made me want to move to the bush permanently. But it has certainly given me a new appreciation for the people who live this life. And just in case it ever does become home...at least I now have Shamba-life 101 under my belt!

One year is not enough

Nine months ago as I left Auckland on this big adventure, one year sounded like an awful long time.

I mean, in one year some friends have babies, some get engaged, some get married, some leave old jobs and start new ones, one leaves a new job and goes back to an old one... a lot can happen in a year.

In one year I learn to eat/cook/speak/shop/travel/live Tanzanian style, I meet a whole new group of amazing people, I learn the ins and outs of a new education system, I learn to teach others this education system... a lot can happen in a year.

But, I have also made the discovery that this time around, one year is just not enough. Its not enough to see our student teachers become teachers, its not enough to get to know people deeply, its not enough to learn Swahili well, its not enough to learn to really appreciate all that is Africa. One year is just not enough.

So, I have made a decision to extend my time in Tanzania. I'll be home in NZ for 6 weeks in July (for the wedding of my beautiful friends Kirstie and Dan) then I'm coming back to see just how long 'enough' turns out to be. At the moment that will be at least another 6 months and then...

...well then Mungu anajua (God knows).

For all those who pray...please continue to pray, for our students, for TJF, for provision so that I can stay here as long as needed, and for God's help and wisdom in this job.

For those who write...please continue to write! To hear from you means the world to me.

x Jo

Crossing the 6 month milestone

It has been so long since I last blogged...and I guess in some ways life has settled into a kind of familiar pattern for me so I don't notice the new and interesting as much as I first did. That's not to say there isn't plenty of new and interesting things happening here in TZ and when I take a moment to stop and take it all in again, this country still blows me away.

Some assorted highlights of the last month or so...

* Bible study. Corinne and I have started a Swahili (we don't do the teaching!) bible study at our neighbour's house on the week's that we're in Arusha. We have a great time together, singing, studying the bible, praying and eating and we are seeing a wide range of friends interested in the Gospel- from nominal Christians to Muslims. Please pray for these friends- they mean a lot to us.

* Mango season! The going price for mangoes over January is equivalent to 5cents each. There is nothing quite like enjoying mangoes every day for breakfast and spending a total of 35cents over the week. Up next...avocado season.

* Beautiful hot and sunny weather every day for the last month or so. I'm determined to make the most of it before the rains arrive. However... rain is also much needed and prayed for and is essential for crops that are being planted soon and for electricity. We've had power cuts almost every day this week (I'm writing this by candlelight!) and they are supposed to get worse until rain arrives.

* A great education team. I love how well our team works together and how everyone in the team has different strengths they offer. I love working with them all.

* The view of Mt Kilimanjaro most mornings on the drive to Keranse. It's stunning and takes my breath away every time.

* Finishing writing another unit of work. This is a part of my job that requires all my knowledge and more...I find myself asking God a lot for the words to write! I've just finished writing a unit on teaching Literacy in the Middle Years. One more unit to write then it's done. Upper Years Literacy, here I come.

At the end of January, I reached 6 months in Tanzania...and I have to stop and thank God for everything He's done over those 6 months. I have been blessed with amazing friends, a great organisation to work for, students who challenge and inspire me and a love for this country. On top of that, I have so many friends and family back home who pray and keep in touch. I truly am blessed. Thanks God.

We are looking for more mentors to do this job...this year or next year (or further into the future). If you know teachers who you think would be interested, I'd love to email them and let them know about what we do. It's well worth at least considering!

To finish today...here's a quote I read in a book I am just reading by Max Lucado. I like it a lot:

'God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called'.

We are ordinary people, but there is so much that we can do to make a difference if we just say yes and let God equip us for the task.

Be blessed

x Jo