It's now nearly coming up to the third week of my stay here and it's going quickly as all good things tend to do. Since my last post things have got a lot busier as I get into the swing of Gill and Steve's busy life.
To help give an idea of my week here's a rough a schedule:
Monday - 7am-1pm WWT Day Care Centre
Afternoon - doing odd jobs
Tuesday - 7am-1pm WWT
Afternoon - Swahili lessons with Gill and odd jobs
Wednesday - 7am-1pm WWT
Afternoon - FirstServe coursework
Thursday - 7am-1pm WWT
4pm-6pm - Kids club in the city
Friday - 7am-1pm WWT
4pm-6pm - Kids club at WWT
Saturday - Day off
Sunday - 9:30am-1:30pm Church activities
In the evenings I read with Steve and Gill who are going through the Bible 10 chapters at a time which, when going through the prophets, is challenging! This is only a basic outline and of course changes at different times.
As you can see quite a lot of week is spent helping at WWT Kindergarten where I either help Gill in her office or with the kids in the classroom. This normally requires an early start (too early for me), hard life I know! Because of rush hour traffic, we have to leave the house at 6:30am to make the 20 minute drive to the kindergarten in order to avoid the worst of the traffic and have less chance of being crashed into (no joke).Then the day begins at 7:30am and the children start by singing choruses, listening to a Bible story and singing the Tanzanian national anthem. After, it's a mix of painting, literacy, numeracy, stories, playing, learning english etc. They have a break in between and before they go home they get fruit and a meal of beans and rice, a Tanzanian speciality which is delicious.
The kids are all adorable (obviously)! At first they were a bit wary of me but after a week of smiling some have started smiling back so the achy jaw was worth it! I still get a few dodgy looks and staredowns but I think it's just part of the initiation. The teachers are all lovely and have a good sense of humour, although I have a feeling most of the laughing is caused by me but hey, what am I here for if not to spread the joy. Hopefully by the end of my time here I'll be able to repay the favour. Due to language barrier I feel quite limited in what I can do but the staff try and get me involved when they can.
On a Thursday and Friday, Steve and Gill hold kids clubs; one in the city and another at the kindergarten. At around half three on a Thursday afternoon we head to Dar es Salaam to a police compound where a woman lets Steve and Gill hold the club outside her house. With only a few mats, songs and prizes, they entertain and engage a group of about 50 kids for a couple of hours. The children are from any ages from toddler to about 16 and they love it! When they see the car they run up and surround it before they can even get out. After this Gill and Steve tend to stay in the city until rush hour has passed so we get back around 10pm. It's a long rush hour! On a Friday afternoon its a similar set up at the kindergarten but with about 300 kids and a few more mats! I have to say I'm in awe of Steve and Gill's crowd control skills!
Then on a Saturday I have my guilt free lie in and either do bits back at the house or get a bajiji down to the hotel beach. I haven't attempted this yet apart from with Gill but I'll hopefully get a chance this week. Then, a Sunday consists of going to the small assembly (church) at the kindergarten and then back for a late lunch. There's one girl my age called Sandra who came round last Sunday which was nice as there's not many teens about. And thankfully her English is great so we didn't have to rely on my shocking Swahili.
I'm really enjoying my time here and, although at times I feel overwhelmed and unsure, God always keeps me close and reminds me I am where I am because He wants me here. I am finding the langauge a huge barrier so I would really appreciate prayer for enthusiasm and motivation to get more of a grasp on it and also for understanding of culture. I'm finding that having the right mindset can make a huge difference in how you view every day and the way in which you go about it. When you're pulled right out of your comfort zone, you're left to question a lot about yourself and how you view the people around you. Also, prayer that I can make connections with people and build relatioships with them depsite the langauge barrier.
Someone shared a few verses on Sunday that I found very challenging and thought I would share it with you all:
'Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.' Ephesian 5:1-2
This is a command that has been said again and again and is central to the Christian life and yet I can't say I truly do it or even attempt it daily. Yes I have my more 'loving' and 'kind' moments but they are impulsive moments any person has. What Christians are being told to do here is so much more. I am being asked to give my all, just as Christ did for me, and my selfish human nature struggles to do this again and again. But it is this struggle and effort to love and see the people around me through God's eyes that will truly set me apart and show who I belong to. I have to say when I gather up the courage to really think on it it's humbling. I don't think it's something I'll ever truly achieve but I'm going to give it a good go. After all, what could be more of an amazing goal that this?
Mosquitos and small jumping spiders aside, I'm having a great time and I'll do another update in a few weeks. So that's all for now but I'm hoping you're all well and thank you to everyone who has encouraged me and continues to do so and for taking the time to read this.
TTFN,
Lottie xx