Habari Dada! (How are you Sister!)

Hello,

So I'm going to try and not make this one white. But I hope you all enjoyed the contrast last time! It's very hard to concentrate as there's a band playing in the background. I have no idea what for. But it's loud and then there's car horns too. I'm not sure if they're trying to join in or just getting frustrated with the out of tune playing!

So this week has been filled with science teaching! Lots more work on the solar system and I'm learning many facts I should have learned whilst in school but definitely didn't! We've had some hilarious moments whilst studying too. One of the boys was getting annoyed about the others who weren't studying so he began telling them off, which was strange because he's usually one of them. But I thought this was a step towards improvement in his desire to learn so took his side and began to quieten the others down. After about 5 minutes we were still trying to and eventually they settled after everyone has shared their opinion and had their own little rant about it all. So I walked around the table to see what it was the boy was actually studying and he was holding a "Sesame Street, Sing-along-with-me" book upside down. I tried to keep a straight face after he'd given everyone else a row but wasn't actually doing anything himself but I could not help but laugh! It was so funny and I was tempted to make him actually sing along but thought that would only cause further chaos!

I also was able to go on the school run this week which was good to see some of their schools. They have 5 different ones with the majority of children at two. One of the children has learning difficulties so he's at a different school but I'm not sure why the others don't all go to the same one. The driver leaves at 7am to get them all there for 8am and then he does shopping before beginning to collect them all again. Their days are much shorter now as it's only children in extra tuition that attend during the summer.

Then on Thursday I went into town to post some postcards and wander round the craft market. I'd been in a few times by myself and with other so knew the way. However, on the dalladalla (public minibus) on the way in I sat beside two nuns. Nuns are becoming a feature in my life over here! Anyhow, then turned out to be teachers at a school where some of the children go. So this therefore meant I became their responsibility for the day, apparently! So off we set for the market with everyone paying their respects to the sisters as we passed. I felt a little like I'd become a nun as they began to call me 'sister' too! I was actually looking for a couple of things in particular so they began hunting for them. It was so funny. They would enter a shop, glance for five seconds and then move swiftly to the next. The craft market is a maze of stalls that all have pretty much the exact same thing. It's more the quality that differs. And they insisted the further in you went the better the products, so deeper we went! But to be fair, they found me what I needed/wanted, reduced everything to 1/4 of the price and then pointed me in the direction of the post office. So it was a lovely morning with two jolly nuns who kept me company in town.

Then I got to take the four babies to clinic yesterday to get them weighed and immunised. However the first clinic we went to just had a really long queue with no nurse so we set off for another. And the next one had nobody but about 6 nurses! Not sure why they don't send half to the other one. So we began to remove the 2 blankets each child had! And I got to use another set of scales where you hang the baby down! And then we had some very poor immunisation techniques being demonstrated by the nurse giving the injections. It was a shame as everything had gone so well up to this point! But this was probably a more crucial skill to have than being able to weigh babies. But we got finished eventually and then had to wait for paperwork. It was good to see something of the health facilities in Tanzania and they are in definite need of improvement!

So it was a busy week with lots to keep me entertained. And tomorrow I'm hoping to take some of the older children to church again. And then Monday morning I fly out of Arusha. I'm going to Zanzibar for a few days to relax, do some reading and just unwind after a busy 3 months! So prayers for safety travelling and whilst on the island would be appreciated. I'm sure many of you are aware of the incident a few weeks ago so I plan to be careful! Then I have a few days with a family in Dar Es Salaam who are connected to my church in Edinburgh. And then I fly halfway home and have a day in Istanbul. And then I complete the trip back to Dublin where I'm hoping to be collected and taken back home to Northern Ireland. Not long left and lots of opportunity for more spontaneity! Some of you seem to think I've lost my ability to make spontaneous decisions after turning down the chance to be in an african music video!! I will prove you wrong! (Safely, of course.)

Sarah

Banana Bananana (x3)...Potato-0-o

Hello

On saturday I had the opportunity to take the kids out of the orphanage on a trip! We travelled for an hour to a snake park. I soon found out that I'm not actually a huge fan of snakes! A guide took us round and told us different facts and figures about the snakes. The only question the boys wanted answered was, "Can it kill someone?" And everytime there was a look of horror/excitement at the possibility. They also had a display of pictures of people that had been eaten by snakes! Thankfully the park also had birds, a baboon who shook your hand, crocodiles and tortoises aswell! So I was able to concentrate more on these animals! And the dreaded moment came...they had warned me that I would have to hold a snake. I thought it was a possibility but surely not. Apparently yes! And of course I had to do it! So I have officially held a snake. It was a little one only about a metre long. Definitely long enough...  They park also offered camel rides which the children were very excited about although some of the girls screamed most of the ride! I was a lot more comfortable doing this and it was quite enjoyable! Afterwards we travelled back on the bus and had doughnuts and juice! A very enjoyable morning for the children.

So we arrived home safe and sound to find a gospel band recording in the playground. It had obvioulsy been prearranged but noone had told the children or myself so it all seemed very odd! It was hilarious to watch. Dancing here is just not the same as the UK. So it was fun to sit and watch them. But then I was asked to join in. And then I was asked to be recorded by myself or I could have one of the children too if I wanted! I quickly found an excuse and abanonded the playground fun! I'm sorry that none of you will get to see it but at the same time very thankful I made the decision I did! Sometimes Africa is just too spontaneous!
And then, as if the day had not been filled with enough drama, a wedding showed up! So I was asked to quickly gather the children together and to sit down in the chapel. There was also a brass band in the back of a pick up truck! Anyhow,  it turns out the couple wanted to make a donation to the children on their wedding day. So they had a couple of speeches, prayers and songs and then the children were asked to come forward for pictures with the couple. And the girls got to hold her flowers and dress which was very exciting for them. I think the boys wanted too aswell but tried hard to refrain themselves from joining in! We then spent dinner time singing the "Banana...POTATO" song from despicable me.(film)  The kids are loving it and the staff officially think I'm crazy!

On Sunday I took three of the older children to the local English speaking service. They really enjoyed it but thought it was totally inappropriate of white women to be wearing trousers in church! I tried explaining that it's very common back home and they refused to believe me that it was acceptable! But other than that they really enjoyed the service and have asked to return again next week. So I will ask again and hopefully they will be able to! Also had a really good chat with one of the teenage boys on Sunday about Heaven. There has been a lot of teaching here about the necessity of good works to gain your place in heaven. I explained that the only way to heaven is by recognising the wrong things we do in our lives (sin) and understanding that we can never be 'good enough' and only through believing in Jesus Christ who died for our sins can we be certain of a place in heaven. He alone can pay the punishment for our sin as He alone has lived a perfect life and He is God. There is nothing we can do that will add to our salvation. The teenager seemed to struggle to grasp this so please do pray that over the last week I have here that I will be able to answer his questions and point him to relevant Scripture passages but more importantly that the Holy Spirit would convict him and help Him to see and to understand the truth of the Gospel for the first time. I'm also continuing to teach the Gospel in colour to the children at devotions so pray that they will understand and have the attention span to concentrate for ten minutes.

Sarah

Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes...

Hello!

A few things I totally forgot to mention when I squeezed in time to blog the other day! I’ve been on Tanzanian radio! And I got to meet the city Mayor! It was all very random, as it usually is in Africa! So the children and I were playing outside after lunch, when I was supposed to be putting them to bed, and 3 cars drove up and parked outside. A group of Muslims came and introduced themselves to the children and I and went inside with the orphanage director. Visitors do come regularly so we continued to play as more and more people arrived. Then they asked to speak with the staff and children and were recording what was being said. Then one of the men came over and announced himself as mayor of the town. I genuinely had no idea if this was a joke or not but thankfully decided to believe him and introduced myself. We had a lovely little chat and the staff were all giggling and excited about him being there. Then I was asked to take the children out when they recorded speeches for the radio programme. Afterwards the children sang for them and everyone began to leave.One of the guys called the children over to him and began to sing, "Head, head, head" over and over again. The children stared blankly. Then he asked me to join him at which point the radio crew brought out their recording equipment again (and video cameras this time!!) And I began also to sing "Head, head, head!" I had no idea what was going on. Then he proceeded with the well known song, "Head, shoulders, knees and toes!!" Well known yes, but such a surprise at this moment in time. So we did three renditions of the song, actions included whilst the children laughed in hysterics. And then they all clapped when we finished. And then I even got a "Mzungu clap" (white person.) So it was all very funny. But to sum up, I've been on African radio and met the Mayor of Arusha!

I also had the opportunity to attend an English speaking service on Sunday at a church about 15minutes walk away. It was really great and I am glad the orphanage director took the time to find it for me. The speaker was speaking on faith being a verb. It was a challenging sermon about how it is not enough to say the right things and have the correct answers if we are unwilling to live them out.He told the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and the people putting their trust in the Baal gods. They battled it out on top of Mount Carmel and of course the true God was all powerful by burning up the sacrifice. The speaker focused primarily on the end of the passage about how we kept sending his servant to look for the raincloud despite the drought. He told Ahab to go home before the rain comes. The faith that he had resulted in action. And so in our daily lives it is good to have knowledge but we must strive to be living for God in everything we do and have the faith to take action.

I'm speaking to the children tonight in devotions so I must go and prepare. I'm planning to do the Gospel in colours. The attention span of some of the children is short and so having a translated talk is going to have to be energetic and enthusiastic to keep them listening. So please pray that they would remember and take in what is being said and taught to them. Hopefully it will be a fresh reminder of God's love for us and our need for salvation.

Sarah

 

God made the Stars

Jambo! (Hello)

So everything is going well at Samaritan Village and I've been here for a week already! Unbelievable how fast time is flying by but having great fun along the way. A typical day involves getting my breakfast delivered on a tray from the 'kitchen' by one of the children. They then wait for me to eat and then take the tray back...they appreciate my eating slow enough for them to fit in the length of a cartoon!! It varies between two crepes, or a doughnut, or a banana, or two boiled eggs. Then I have lessons in the morning where I started off teaching English. They have since decided I'm much better at maths. I tried not to take offense that they thought they were better at teaching my own language, but have concluded it's probably true. They pronounce a as 'ah', e as 'eh' i as 'e', o as 'o' and u as 'eugh-(kind of.) So it was just very complicated. But now that I'm on maths and occasionally science it has been working so much better! Some of the children are very behind in school work so 'summer homework' is supposed to be fun. Three hours sitting at a table doing sums is proving difficult to enjoy so I'm trying to get them to work for 25minutes and then we go and do something actually fun for 5 minutes and then come back. So far it's working not too bad. They are very easily distracted though and when they want to tell random funny stories I'm happy to listen...the staff aren't so keen on this method though. 

Anyhow by the time we've studied until we can study no more its lunchtime! This is a repetition of a carbohydrates and very little veg! Rice, spaghetti, posho (like ground white stuff mixed into a  stodge with no taste-I'm not a huge fan) and chapati! Chapati I love. It's a flat bread they cook over the fire and it's great. I've already made a note to google a recipe when I get home. I also eat a lot of beans. I have had every kind of bean I could ever have imagined existed! Anyway, the children sit at one long table and eat relatively quietly. They sing grace in Swahili before they begin. So far I've picked up 'Amin' for Amen. It's not even that fast I will just need to get it written down!



Then we have play time all afternoon. Basketball was the main feature until today when two new volunteers brought a frisbee and footballs. But there is very little else to actually play with. I've seen one toy car and one doll. For the 29 children here. They do seem quite happy to just play with each other and we started hide and seek today too! Although they cry when you find them. So it's hard to find the balance of playing the game and just wandering around in circles calling their names because you're scared to upset them! The younger ones nap in the afternoon and then there's more opportunity to chat with the 8-12year olds. I've really enjoyed getting to know them but there's definitely still some barriers up for some of them. I've seen them coming down slowly over the past week and hopefully they'll continue to during the next fortnight.

Then we have dinner. More carbohydrates. And then the youngest go to bed. And I help the child on dishes wash up! I thought it was pretty tough as a child washing up for six (on the rare occasion I did) but these kids are washing up for about 25. So it's usually about an hour later we finish! and then they have an hour of reading before bed. this has turned into an hour of making slow motion videos on my camera! (they found a new setting I'd never even seen- it's hilarious.) then they are meant to go to bed at 9pm. But again, this has turned into sneaking upstairs to watch cartoons on my television until 10pm. I figured that as it's summer holidays that's okay. And then we wake up and repeat it all again.

Some of my favourite moments so far have been the children saying:

"Sarah, did you know your eyes look really like beans"    Thank you?

"Sarah, I think there might be a bee in this tree, let's shake it!"     Code for, RUN, I know full well there is a swarm.


"Sarah, do you fall over every time you run?"    No...I don't. Not every time.






A serious one...
"Sarah, did you know that God made humans and trees and even the stars?" Yes, I did. But what an awesome thought from a 12 year old boy who causes trouble most of the day.

So time here is going well and I am enjoying myself. Prayer points would be for energy and enthusiasm. It's exhausting trying to give full attention to different children constantly the whole day and to be excited about what they are showing me and telling me. Also for health. Had this weird bite on my arm that began to pus, it has completely cleared up now but as I don't know how I got it I'm not sure how to not get another one! Praise for the fun we're having and incredible kids that live here.

Thank you,

Sarah

The Marvellous Maasi

A brief update of my week in Kenya is unfortunately all I have time for right now! I had a brilliant week with the Maasai people and they are such a colourful people! I was able to share fellowship with them in Bible study and also in the worship leaders course. I enjoyed singing in their choir too, although I found it difficult to sing in Maasai as you’re trying so hard to fit all the syllables into the music it’s definitely less enjoyable, but very satisfying when you finish the verse at the same time as everybody else! A few awkward moments when I didn’t! I was also asked to read for them which I felt a little daunted by as I didn’t want to read God’s Word and have them laughing due to the accent/inability on my part. But I read the first few verses and paused to see if they understood, which they did! So I continued to the end of the passage and was even complimented on my reading! Phonetically the majority of letters sound the same but it’s just trying to say all the letters they have put into one word and a few silent ones here and there! I also just enjoyed being around the people and observing how they live. I got to visit a few houses when delivering water to them. Some of the children are all smiles and very happy to see you…others cry. That’s a little awkward. I presume it’s down to the fact that they don’t see white people very often, at least that’s what I’m hoping!

It was brilliant just to spend time with the family I was staying with. They definitely rate top in the cool pets award. They have a wilderbeest, two gazelles, two monkeys, 1 sheep and roughly 11 goats. And a hedgehog!  So I got to participate in the feeding of the bottle fed ones. It was a very surreal moment when we first arrived around midnight and they headed out to feed what I thought was presumably a dog…but no, Willie the wilderbeest is just chilling waiting to be fed! One of the ways the missionaries are teaching the Gospel to the Maasai is through God’s love for creation and how we as humans have been given authority over animals and to care for them. But how much more God loves and cares for each one of them! So it was really interesting to see and be a small part of.

Time with the family was also really good fun. Completed a couple of jigsaws, played some games and heard lots of stories about life in Kenya! I could have sat all night listening to the ways God has worked through them in so many varied ways! Such an encouragement. Got to attend church with them on Sunday too which was fascinating! I was able to pass on greetings from my church. I have some pictures but due to the slow internet here it would take too long to upload them. So will hopefully get them to you at a later date!

Anyhow, I’ve since spent a night in Nairobi. Taken a bus across into Tanzania and arrived at the orphanage! It’s called Samaritan Village and they do have a facebook page if you want to look them up! The kids have been great fun so far and we’ve had a lot of laughs together. I’ve had to teach them science for summer homeworks. Officially found out I am not meant to be a teacher, it was so hilarious though. They found out I was from the UK and so proceeded to name every previous white volunteer they have had. One was asking me if I knew ‘Endo’ and I said no. Then if I knew a hindu, I said no. But he kept asking…Finally I established he was saying Andrew. And sadly, I didn’t know him either! I’ve also had to find some basketball skills as we play it quite a lot! And a very confusing version of dodgeball which basically results in me being out irrespective of what I do! The rules seem to change all the time but I think they prefer it when I’m out because I take pictures! Anyhow, staff are lovely and are trying to teach me Swahili but they don’t tell me what anything means…just to repeat! So I’m still lost! The children range from 2months-17years so there are so many things to do and help out with! So I’d better go and get working!

Please pray for energy and enthusiasm. For being an encouragement and help to the staff. And to be a witness to the two non Christian volunteers beginning next week. Massive amounts of praise for this incredible opportunity. For God's protection this far and for safety when I've been travelling. For small amounts of internet to let you all know I'm still living!

Sarah