It's Hot! But God carries us through!

Hey there friends! We pray you are all well. We are doing well here in TZ and we continue to thank God for His many blessings as He continues to provide all we need for our ministry. I think I speak for Emily and myself when I say that we are so grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers that come our way, as that is an integral component to our work. Over the past few weeks we have been working hard while trying to stay energized and renewed each day in this heat. When it’s 95 degrees in our house it is sometimes hard to get motivated to get out in the heat and leave the comfort of a fan blowing in your face. Thank God for solar powered fans is all I have to say about that. It makes sleeping bearable, as it is so important that we get adequate rest to continue pressing on. Please pray we make it through this next month strong and healthy. Thankfully after March it starts to cool off again. You’re probably trying to remember what it’s like to be hot outside since it’s been quite cold and snowy in many parts of the States this winter. Trust me- enjoy it while you can. Beyond the weather, there’s much to update, so let’s get started!

School: We are excited about school this year and all 4 classes are hitting their stride. We will have our first round of tests to assess the kiddos at the end of March, so in about 3 weeks we will be busy preparing. I am encouraged by how hard our teachers are working. We currently have 2 temporary teachers who will be leaving at the end of March, so it will change a bit once April hits. I am praying that the teachers will step up and adapt to continue pouring into these kiddos with more love and attention than they receive anywhere else. I have been studying chronological Bible storying with one of the teachers for a while now, and I am excited that 2 more teachers want to start studying with us! It will be a good opportunity for language growth as well as equipping the teachers with culturally appropriate tools to be sharing the Word of God with our kids and their families and friends in the village. It has been on my heart to encourage and pour more into the teachers, and the fact that they want to study is a huge encouragement! The teachers have also been meeting once a week on their own to pray together, sing, and study the Word of God. How awesome is that?!? Two of the teachers attending are not believers, so it is amazing to see their interest! On another front, I have started working with some of the students with learning disabilities one-on-one this past week, and I can say it has been the highlight of each day. Though it is a true challenge to try to meet their learning needs and instruct them in another language, I can see how much they enjoy our special time together, and I hope that the teachers will continue this individualized instruction once I have returned to the states. I know it is still 4 months away, but it will be here before we know it! We are still working through the school registration process, and we are hoping to not have to make another trip to Dar es Salaam, but it all depends on the officials in the government office there. Some want to talk in person, and others are ok communicating over the phone. We keep getting tossed around between people. All the paperwork is there; we are just waiting on a letter of approval. To get the ball rolling you often have to show up at the government offices and sit there until they give you what you need. I continue to learn more about the culture, and though it is sometimes frustrating, it is also encouraging to witness some support from individuals in the government who want to see our school registered because they recognize the impact it has on the community here. In all this work, it is easy to lose sight of our overall goal, which is to reach the community for Christ, so please pray that in all these things, we don’t lose sight of God’s vision for our school as an avenue to share the Gospel and empower the community through quality education.

Village Ministry: Oh how we love our friends in the village. We continue to study Kiswahili with our language helpers and grow in our relationships with them. Em just threw her language helper a birthday party at our house. A few family members and friends attended, and we had yummy food and cake and listened to music. We then sang happy birthday and told her some birthday traditions we have in America. Everyone enjoyed the day and Em even got a hug from her language teacher…something she has never done before! It was an awesome day! As for my language helper, she’s simply my best friend. She’s our go-to person if we have questions about the culture, which is a much-needed resource. We continue to get to know her better and better with each day, and she remains open to talking about anything and everything. I know she admires our faith and the freedom we have in that, so I pray she continues to remain open to talking about the Word of God and studying with me. I thank God for her, as she just gets me and knows me so well. We continue to visit friends from church and families from school, and we are always encouraged after we spend a day out and about. Though it is exhausting, especially in this heat, we see how important it is to get out there and maintain the relationships we have developed. Please pray for endurance and perseverance through the hot season to keep visiting and getting out in the community!


Medical Ministry: Wow…what a difference it makes having Emily back in the village! Praise Jesus! There are so many medical needs with the kiddos at school and others in the community that it is nearly impossible to keep up with all the needs. Having Em back definitely increases our ability to help more and more people. She continues to work with the kiddos at the school, and started health assessments last week to check the students’ growth and weight gain. It is encouraging to see that they are growing. Many already look totally different than when we arrived! Still others still have serious medical needs, and Em has been making home visits to talk with their parents about these health issues to educate and encourage them as to how to prevent many of the things that we see. Skin issues are at a high with the hot weather too. Many kids have boils, scabies, or other fungal issues such as ringworm. We are thankful to provide the medicines they need on a regular basis so they can recover from these often irritating and painful conditions. As gross as it is, Em wins the prize for popping the most boils! She has developed quite a gift. Not only does she help with medical needs, she always has a smile and is willing to give out band-aids and hugs to all kiddos. Yesterday we brought 4 sick people in to town with us to take to the clinic/hospital. Before heading to the hospital, we had a nice breakfast at our favorite little spot, and it was good to get to visit more before getting down to business. I got to take a little boy who is about 10 years old to the disabled children’s clinic to get fitted for a new foot brace for his clubfoot. They were very proactive in treating him, and upon doing so realized that he had some cognitive delays and possibly some mental issues and were quick to say he needed to see the doctor. He was prescribed medications that will hopefully help him to function more properly each day! I was very thankful for their help and willingness to fully explain to his mother the reasons for the medications. We will return in the next few weeks to report on his progress and see how the meds are helping him. I think his mother was encouraged, because having a special needs child in the village is very difficult. Em took one of our friends to an eye clinic because she has some sort of infection in her eye. She also took two other families to the hospital. Hiya it is Emily here. Sarah has summed up things well, but a little about my adventure to the government hospital. Heading to the hospital with sick people is not one of my favorite things, but the opportunity to help people and be their much-needed advocate is huge. The smell alone at the hospital can be overwhelming. One family I took has a daughter that has been sick with pain in her abdomen for over a year. We saw a doctor who is very attentive and cares about children (which is a bit of a rarity), and she took a proactive approach, so we will see how this child improves. It is difficult though as there are not many diagnostic tests that can be done to figure out what problems are exactly. But her mother was just pleased to see a doctor who cared, and we will continue to pray for this sweet little three year old. After this, I headed to the HIV/AIDS clinic with a mother and son who are sick with HIV. I wanted a better understanding how the system works for those who are sick with HIV and what resources are available for this little boy who is sick more days than he is not sick. But upon me asking a question, the doctor became very defensive, which has been a trend with some African doctors I have met. It was not a very positive interaction, but I held her accountable as to why she was making decisions she made. I get a bit discouraged when I see the how the “Haves” treat the “Have-nots” in Tanzania. All people, especially those with HIV/Aids, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, not looked down upon for a bad decision at one point in their life. We are all guilty of making bad decisions, some just have life long consequences. Join us in prayer for those in our community sick with HIV/Aids. Back to you Sarah!

Overall despite the challenges and obstacles we often have to overcome in communicating, we are confident that God is working through our ministries here, and there is nothing more encouraging than helping to meet the needs of people by being an advocate for those who don’t yet know how to speak for themselves. We hope that by going to the hospitals and clinics with them, it will give them the confidence they need to make regular updates on their own.

Again thank you all for keeping up with our ministry and for praying faithfully for God to work to transform the community and to forever change the lives of the D people. We love you all!!!

Peace out,
Sarah & Emily

Here are some pics of our time in the village and other adventures...In no particular order!!!

emily with one of our little friends



More birthday fun!










my birthday card from Joyce...it's awesome!






















spice tour in Zanzibar...sporting some bling.






































when National friends take pictures





























































































































Friends preparing for Christmas!!!






























































































































































































Cleaning rice for Christmas Dinner at Church































































































































































































































































Emily's birthday party in the village






























































































































































































































































































































































































teachers and Em at the beach celebrating the end of the school year






























































































































































































































































all dressed up for a wedding.

Is it really February???

Hey friends! Em has been a champ at blogging, but I confess I have not updated the blog in quite some time now. So much has happened in the last few months with a surprise trip to Dar via Zanzibar, school closing for 2009, Christmas in the village, hosting 2 visitors, climbing Kili, and returning to start a new school year. And all since December. I started off 2010 by traveling to Moshi to trek Kilimanjaro with 2 of our teammates. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and I might have developed a hiking addiction as Emily mentioned…though not every mountain I climb has to be 19,340 feet-that last part to Uhuru Peak was a little tough. Emily had a safari of her own traveling to Kenya then Uganda to visit friends and raft the Nile. She has since been working on Lake Victoria with other friends of ours who are doctors and nurses specializing in mobile clinics and midwifery medical care. They also provide testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS. This has been an intense and challenging experience for Em as there are huge needs there, and it is a very dark place spiritually. In some places the HIV/AIDS rate is 80%. She has been stretched physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, but I know she has learned to rely on the Lord more than ever, and she has been able to use her nursing skills in a new and different way which is exciting. She has learned a lot and is coming back home on the 8th to share her newfound knowledge and put it into practice in the village. We are psyched about that. I have enjoyed some alone time in the village over the past 3 weeks, but I am definitely ready for her to return. It was good for us to work individually for a period of time, but we both have reflected on what an encouragement it is to experience this with a friend and fellow newbie. It makes a huge difference, and I don’t think either of us will take one another for granted over these next 5 months. It is crazy to believe that we have been living her for over 7 months now. While Em was away the rest of our team met with our unit leaders over a 3 day retreat to discuss and reflect on our work over the last 6 months. It was refreshing and renewing to get to talk with them and get some advice and direction about our various ministries and relationships with local people and our Tanzanian teammates. It was also the perfect time to refocus our vision for what God has for us here. After the hustle and bustle of getting the new year started at school, I was reenergized and even more passionate about reaching the teachers, kiddos, and their families. It is difficult to think about leaving and how to continue this ministry when we are gone, but it is important to establish sustainable programs and ministries that will continue and flourish long after we leave. This is my task and challenge for the next 5 months. Please join me in prayer as we seek to establish a clear vision and long term program/curriculum for teaching the children the Word of God and the Good News of the Gospel. I also want to encourage and meet with the teachers regularly to study and talk about the Bible and how it applies to our lives. My desire is to pour into them and thus overflow into the lives of the students at our school. We will hopefully complete the government school registration process by March, and we are eager to implement even more programs upon completion. Beyond school, we will continue to build relationships with our friends and neighbors. One of my main goals is to focus on a few key relationships that have grown in my time here, especially my relationship with my language helper. She is my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t get to see her and visit every day I am in the village. She is a source of knowledge, joy, encouragement, and laughter. I have started sharing stories from the Bible with her through our language lessons. She wants to continue despite my lack of storytelling ability, so that is awesome. God can work even through limited language and vocabulary. I have definitely learned that His power is made perfect in my weakness. I can’t wait to update you all again…sooner rather than later, but until then, thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support. Keep ‘em coming!

Peace out,
Sarah