We are sitting in our room at language school right now enjoying a bag of chips/crisps. It is amazing how good they taste! My sister Sarah and her husband sent us a huge bag, and would you believe that most of them survived the trip! We are progressing through language school and are now over half way through. Although we are both struggling with vocabulary memorization, our comprehension and understanding of the language is progressing well. A recent assignment we had was to prepare a 30 minute presentation entirely in Swahili. Rachel did a cooking show, and did all of her research for the project in the kitchen with the Tanzanian staff there. They never quite understood that she was going to “pretend” to cook during the presentation. Several times the chef asked her when he needed to by the chicken for her to cook. Jonathan taught a game called “Countdown”, which is a TV show in the UK. Both presentations went well, however, since Rachel talked so fast her presentation only lasted for 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes! Another exciting progression of our language study is that we have begun looking at Bible passages. We have looked at little Bible stories book, and have also used our new Swahili Bibles to read the book of Ruth in Swahili. Rachel had a little déjà vu as she just did a translation of Ruth from Hebrew to English in her studies before leaving Dallas.
Thank you to all who have sent us encouraging e-mails over the last few weeks. It is easy to get bogged down with studies, and an encouraging word always brightens our day! Although we are still struggling with occasional tummy bugs, overall our health has improved from the first few weeks here. We have also had some good conversations about God with some of the people visiting the campsite and had opportunities to share the gospel with them.
Here are a couple of stories about our adventures so far in Tanzania…
Recently, we had a lecture from two people from the Masaai tribe which is in Tanzania and Kenya. The Massai people are often tall, thin and like jumping as part of their cultural dancing. We saw a demonstration of one of their dances (see video page). Then, one very strange scene happened which proves the extent of globalization worldwide. You should picture this Masaai warrior dressed in all the traditional clothing (which is basically just a blanket wrapped around his body and his weapons which include a stick, a club and a knife). All of a sudden, we hear a cell/mobile phone ringing, and he reaches into his blanket and pulls it out and starts talking on it!! It was so hilarious, if only we had been quicker and got a picture of it! He’s telling us all about their traditions and keeping their traditions and then his phone rings!
Also, if you remember the hippo that we told you about that lives in the river next to our campsite, we almost got to see him a couple of weeks ago. I’ve written a little dialogue at the bottom of this e-mail of what happened (in Swahili and English), thinking it might bring a smile to your face.
Please give thanks for:
- We are progressing well with our language learning and we are able to comprehend some basic conversations now
- That our teachers were not seriously harmed in their recent car accident
- That we have formed a good relationship with the couple we are sharing a banda (cabin) with
Please would you pray for:
- We would be able to remember more vocabulary
- Our witness to non-Christians visiting the campsite
- We would remain strong in mind, body, and spirit as we continue with our studies
- Our relationships would not be strained living in such close proximity with others
- We would keep focused on our goal of bringing the Bible to Bibleless people groups
Thank you for your prayers and encouragements.
