Two weeks ago we welcomed our 27th resident child, Neema. Neema means grace in Swahili and is a perfect name for our new treasured daughter; she's gentle and affectionate. On her first night I joined the children for an evening walk. It was easy to fall in love with her as she held my hand. God shows his love through these children in powerful ways. Due to roadblocks with social welfare she had been waiting over a year to come. We are all rejoicing that she's here. She will be Mary's (in green) classmate starting Monday, June 6th.
When I announced last week that our class would be taking a field trip to a local farm the classroom was filled with rejoicing. We have been studying animals in science so this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about God's creation. The farm we went to also is a vet and animal rehab place. There were many neat animals that have been rescued from the wild including a 3 legged servile cat and owls who are blind. For children who rarely ride in a car, the ride alone is enough fuel for squeals of excitement. Each of my 17 students happily loaded into a vehicle bound up the mountain to the farm.
We saw many animals in addition to those who have been rescued including mongoose, pelican, ducks, geese, lambs, goats, horses, cows, bush pigs, warthogs, servile cubs, etc. The two animals that caused the most excitement were the monkey and horses. The monkey met us and decided to join the tour. His first interest was my quiet, charming student Neema. Her eyes grew wide in disbelief when he jumped on her head but, she stood very still. When the monkey decided it was ready to move on to the next person, she grabbed it's tail and would not let go. This surprised us all; Neema is a gentle spirit. After Neema, the monkey jumped on most of the students and tolerated their screams and nervous gestures. In the end they decided they liked him after all.
The second cause of excitement was the opportunity to sit on one of the HUGE horses. Victoria initiated this by asking our guide, Mr. Raffa, if she could "climb." Though the students aren't used to being around animals, they had a good time and were disappointed to return to our village "before lunch" since their teacher(me) told them they would be back "in time for lunch." However, they were quick to forgive me when I pulled out the pretzel goldfish Luanne sent me in a package. We've been studying blends in spelling and they did not know what a pretzel was. 5 goldfish crackers each was all it took. They were thrilled with the day once again. Enjoy the pictures on the slideshow at the top of my blog. :) And, sometimes seeing it in action is all the more meaningful so enjoy this short video.
Today I found out that Tanesco (the Tanzanian electricity company) has announced the entire country will be without power from May 16-25 between 7 am and 11 pm. Please keep the safety of the people in your prayers.
Once a month the children receive their routine head shave. This involves plugging the clippers up to an outlet in the banda (gazebo). Once their hair is shaved, they simply collect it in a ball and go throw it away. Many of you have asked me why we don't let the children's hair grow out longer, especially the girls. There are a few reasons. First, since we live along the equator, fungus is a growing (literally) problem. It spreads quickly on the children's heads. Short hair helps to keep this to a minimum. Also, short hair is easier to keep clean and maintain. I've been trying to capture this each month and finally was successful. Enjoy!
For those of you who feel dreary on a rainy day...let the cheer of our day students rub off on you. Their joy was not interrupted at all by the rain or long walk to school. I couldn't help but try to capture their happy faces as they arrived this morning in their new ponchos (thanks to everyone who sent these) and with umbrellas.
God began stirring my heart for the mission field in 2002. Since then, I was willing to go wherever he desired, but also struggled with serving alone. In February 2010 when I attended the training session, I met Jenna. We sat together for a few hours. The next day I learned that we would be roommates in Tanzania for a year. I was in awe of God's plan. He knew it would be hard to come alone. I never thought to pray for a roommate and could not have picked a more perfect one. She uses each one of the gifts (photography, sewing, painting, drawing, etc.) God has given her for his glory. Now she is working on a project to represent this year. Check it out by clicking here: Even Me . You may also like her blog: http://morethorp.wordpress.com/.
Here are a few picture highlights of our year together:
