An All Nighter

I wrote about these kids in May in "Come as Children". These are the 4 Sprinkel children and their friend Amelia. Their family has been such a blessing to us since we came to Dodoma. There is not a lot to do for kids in Dodoma. They have climbed every mountain and hiked countless trails. They are dedicated in their ministry in the village of Ntuyka where they play sports and participate in a weekly Bible study in a local school.
I had been promising we would have a sleep over and all night movies some night. The Webb's (the people in whose home we live) have an amazing DVD collection so the Sprinkel's were anxious to watch a few. With Ed traveling the past 2 week, we set the date and told their parents to plan a night out.
We made popcorn, then each made our own individual pizzas, baked cookies.............and ate cookie dough while the cookies were baking.
I went to bed around 2:00 a.m. and when I got up at 6:30 they were still going strong. Their mom cooked breakfast for us at their house and they were fast asleep before we finished our 2nd cup of coffee.
It was great having these kids around.

Little Boys and Their Toys

As we have been out in the villages, kids come from all around to see what is going on as we are working at a well site. Some are just out playing with their toys and "drop by". There are no Gameboys, MP3 players, action figures, or even the old fashioned six-shooters.

The toys we have seen are hand-crafted, using items which we would have discarded in the trash.
This little boy's car was made from an old bottle with water bottle lids as wheels.

A ring from the top of a damaged plastic water bucket and stick is great fun. There is fierce competiton when several get together for a race.

This little guy had a sling shot and actually could shoot a pebble with some accuracy. He couldn't have been more than 3 years old.

It's easy to role play as a driver with a stick and lid from a plastic container. We have even seen something round attached to the top of the sticks that resembles a steering wheel.

Imagination is a wonderful thing.

Dagaa

This is dagaa. And this is not just any dagaa. This is from Lake Tanganyika, in Kigoma, where only the best dagaa can be found.
If you can't tell from the picture, it is small, dried fish, which could be compared to sardines.
This particular bag of dagaa was given to us as a gift from our friend, Willie, whose mother sent it by train from Kigoma.
Although this special variety is not available in our area, lesser quality dagaa can be found in the the market, in large baskets, where the aroma is easily detected. It is served with tomatoes and onions.....or chopped in ugali (Play-Doh-like substance made from corn flour).
We buy dagaa and mix it with ugali and it makes a healthy dog food, in the absence of Purina Dog Chow.
Although Ed has tried it and says it's not bad, I have been able to avoid it.
The day will come.......................................

Looking Back--Joe and Amanda

Our for first OMEGA volunteers........we just weren't sure how this would work for 6 weeks.

Close friends, Joe and Amanda, came from Michigan. Joe taught English at a secondary school and junior college and wanted to work in a school. The school in Babati was excited to have him, but we prepared him for the possibility the school probably wouldn't make "preparations" for him. He was somewhat frustrated when he was given a classroom and little instruction on what to teach. After much research, Joe discovered the one piece of American literature which appeared on national examinations was "Death of a Salesman". He jumped right in and the students loved him. Joe created his own experience and spent a lot of time in the town talking to people and making friends.
Over a year later, Joe has found himself immersed in ministry to African refugees in Michigan, helping them with English, working through mounds of governmental paperwork and just loving them in a strange new land.

Amanda worked in Arusha for a few weeks with a class for special needs children. When she arrived, she shared she was going to change her career path from primary school education and planned to enroll in nursing school when she returned to the states. Watching Amanda with children, it was obvious she was passionate about working with little ones. She was able to join us in Babati for the last 2 weeks of her stay and worked with the children at the primary school there. Her love was so apparent as she spent time with boarding students confined to the dormitories because of illness.
Today, Amanda is in Colorado.........not in nursing school...........but teaching and loving children.

After a tearful good-bye at the airport, Ed said, "Well, there will be other volunteers...........but never another Joe and Amanda".

And then there was Tisha.................read on.

Looking Back--Then There Was Tisha

And then there was Tisha........Tisha came to Tanzania wanting to be involved in sports activities at a school and to get a taste for what life as missionary might be like. She was with us for 6 weeks in Babati, working at the primary school. Tisha fit in beautifully at Aldersgate School and went to work immediately with an exercise program for the kids. During the evenings, she would walk down and have worship time with the kids and spent time talking to the girls about hygiene............and treated them to painted toenails.
The culmination of her time at the school was an all day inter-mural competition between schools. The night before the competition, it rained for 12 straight hours. We had not had rain for 6 months............and the games went on...........in the mud.


Prior to Tisha's arrival, I learned that Tisha had a career as an esthetician, with a specialty in make-up application. I had visions of a "girly-girl" who would freak if she broke a nail. Well, I was wrong. Her gifts in this area were a blessing to many women as she demonstrated the art of make-up application. One afternoon was spent at a local "salon" treating the women to make-overs..

So many were enchanted by Tisha's beautiful smile and captured by her sweet spirit. Everyone loved her. Mr. Isaka even tried to negotiate a bride price so that Tisha could marry his grandson.

Yes.......then there was Tisha.

Animal House

Our water work took us all over the Dodoma area the past 2 weeks. Just as soon as one pump was installed or repaired, we went to another, working all day long Monday-Saturday. What a blessing though to see these people so happy to get their water. In return, we have been blessed with to be a part of their celebrations as they offer traditional music and dancing and always a gift of some kind.....a Maasai shuka for Ed, fabric for me, a bag of bell peppers.....and a few........(ahem) animals.
Three goats, 2 roosters, and 1 hen.
The first chicken we gave to our guard and house lady, thinking they would cut it in half and put in their pots. They decided to take it to one their homes and start a little chicken business.......and low and behold, we had a rooster to add to their chicken business the next day. And then another rooster......which Ed processed and put into our freezer.
And the goats?.........
GOAT #1 was pregnant, so we took it to the street children ministry, thinking they would enjoy taking care of it.......sure enough, they are thrilled and it is cohabitating peacefully with their dog.
GOAT #2 is in the freezer with the rooster..........and we are having some for dinner tonight.
GOAT #3 served as a "seed" for some widows in Mpunguzi to start raising goats. We are anticipating future goats will be added to their collection

Ed, his "shuka" and Goat #2

Me and chicken #2

And the rooster that crowed at all hours of the day and night..........and ended up in the freezer.

Bubble Trouble

When working on water projects, sometimes there are so many people around to help, there is nothing for me to do, but take pictures. There are always children there to see what is going on, so I try and interact with them. Having a bunch of bubble gum did a great job to break the ice with this bunch of kids in the village of N'ghon'hona. My bubble blowing abilities generated lots of laughs, especially when one really big bubble popped on my face. That is not broken veins on my check in the picture........it is bubble gum.

My first reaction was to use the bubble gum and dab it around on my face and get it off........but considering all the hands I had shaken earlier, this simply was not an option..........so it stayed.

I just could not communicate to these precious children the art of blowing a bubble. One little girl caught on to the "stretchiness" of the gum and before we knew it everyone had their gum stretching it as far as it would go.
I can still hear Mama scolding me for doing this.

This brought back so many fun memories of blowing bubbles, popping them, getting the gum out of my hair, off my face, and going to sleep with it in my mouth only to find it my hair the next morning.