'Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?' Jame 3:11 (KJB)

Hi,

Life is certainly bitter sweet here!

I have just spent the last couple of days with a friend in Dar es Salam. She has sadly left and returned home to Australia now as her three month excursion is now at an end. However, we tried to make her last couple of days as special as possible.

We could have decided to splash out and spend our couple of days in Muzungu luxury and i must confess i was tempted but instead we bunked with a couple of the girls whose host family had looked after my friend while she was in Iringa. This was an interesting experience. While the girls were lovely, Christian and great hostesses i had a great shock when on the first night not only did we not have a shower i didn't have a hot bucket of water to wash with either! Dar is incredibly hot and humid so we were STICKY!!! After telling myself to 'man up' and bare it I realised i had forgotten shampoo and clean underwear - what a nightmare! The bitter part was starting to sting. It was not what i wanted to face after a 9 hour bus journey to a very busy city. Then just to rub it in; we had no electricity. I tell you what when you literally have to pray about every little prospect in your life it stretches your prayer muscles.

After an incredibly restless sticky night, accompanied from 6am onwards by load noises and the smell of charcoal i felt quite negative about the day ahead but decided to give it to God. To which He told me the Irks and Burdens in life were a means of showing me His plan and purpose. I should look at them as opportunities, se God's hand in all things and give Joy. Instantly i started to sing, i can't remember which song but i felt my mood lighten. At that moment God answered a plea of my heart; that i could join the Harts in going to the CMS conference in Nairobi this week! God had certainly come through for me; yet again!

What followed was a day of fun and adventure. We went to a beach called Pococo. It had white sand which beautifully reflected the bright blue sea and sky! It was perfect. We watched fishermen catch fish and after about an hours walk, a quick drink and walk back we ate freshly caught fish and chips on the beach; it felt oddly English. Yet at the same time we were eating a fish with its head and tail still attached and pealed it from the bone. No batter in sight. Bitter-sweet.

After our amazing time at the beach the girls wanted to show us their highlight; the supermarket which is in a shopping mall. We tried to explain we have these everywhere at home but they were so proud. We took a bajaji and walked along a very hot dual carriageway to this shopping mall. It had some names we recognised and a cinema. Right at the other end was this supermarket. As my friend and I were cooking the girls a western meal that night we bought the ingredients and decided to buy each an ice-cream too; which was very melted but enjoyable. I also decided to check out the toilets which were very western. During which the power cut out twice; bitter-sweet.

After a long hot but fun day Amanda (my friend and I) tried to cook toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches over a coal stove and made homemade coleslaw. The coleslaw was fine; the toasties a nightmare! They either burnt or didn’t cook at all. After an hour and a half we got there- just! And they said they liked them. Pudding was much easier; melted chocolate over banana – yum! Bitter-sweet.

After a worse night than the one previous; if I didn’t think that was possible I was wrong! We got a bajaji and a dalla-dalla and the girls took us to their university. If I thought that would be boring I was wrong! Again it required walking in heat but when we arrived we were the only white people in the building. The girls proudly showed us their lecture theatres and seminar rooms; very like those at home just more plain. They were delighted when we told them that. The queue for admissions was inspiring. Later Amanda and I commented that we would never show anyone where we went to university, perhaps while we were there but not now. Yet here were two girls who loved to show us where they were educated.

We took a walk past the presidents house; i.e. their white house. Then got on a very busy ferry, which coast all of 4p each! 5 mins later we were on the other side and took a taxi to south beach. Here each beach has a resort attached which means you have to pay something but it goes towards any food or drink you order and you can use the toilets, benches and, as we found, showers on a beautiful, clean, white beach with blue sea and sky. To make it the perfect environment it was surrounded by palm trees. Amanda and I wasted no time in getting into the sea and having a swim before eating some lunch and reading in the sun. We were worried the girls wouldn’t cope with a muzungu esk holiday but they loved it. They got a volley ball and played for hours. They would never have experienced anything like that and neither had we. At the end of a beautiful day Amanda and I enjoyed a shower, cold but a shower! And we watched the sun-set, while being eaten alive by mossies – bitter-sweet.

I have to say I was starting to panic at being out at night when we have been told not to but the girls seemed to think it was ok. Sure enough the boat was crammed with people and the dalla-dalla afterwards. I was surprised Dar’s night life was quite so manic but wasn’t fazed at all by it when we were in the midst of the chaos. Back at home we packed and ate before saying goodnight. Amanda and I chilled for a little while before I dozed off, hot and sticky once again. Bitter-sweet.

3.30am the next morning I gave Amanda a tentative hug (we were both sunburnt) as she headed off to the airport. I will miss her. Three hours later I came back to full consciousness after, yet another bad night, and faced an unknown day of travel. I was to get a bus to chulinsie and sit and wait for Andy and Susie. One of my host girls cooked me omelette and I grabbed the opportunity to have banana and peanut butter again for breakfast. As I contemplated that they had no running water and rarely had electricity, only had a bed and a wardrobe in each bedroom and yet had two huge sofas and an arm chair, a t.v. and speakers in the lounge it seems to me that it is not just I who has an entirely bazaar existence here. Bitter-sweet?

Thankfully my host got me on the right bus and by the Grace of God I was only waiting 20 mins when Andy and Susie found me. They were as relieved as I. Further down the road we met our co-car and I had a changeover of cars; definitely the better option. I got to know the other missionaries a bit better and it turned out the other car had problems, they were delayed by about an hour. All the while we trundled on through picture perfect African landscape and arrived in time to chill a bit before everyone else descended. I was surprised to find I was sharing a room with Rosie and Grace but it has turned out ok. I slept much better and we have a shower. Yes it was supposed to be hot and I had a cold one but it was a shower and I have been able to properly wash my hair for the first time in 5 days. Bitter-sweet?

We have been stuck here all day while the car has been fixed. However, I have seen Mount Kilimanjaro from the ground now as well as the air, been swimming in an outdoor pool, eaten ice-cream and Chinese. Perhaps a bitter-sweet day?

So what is God teaching me through all this? He is good. We all face things we find difficult but with every bitter edge there is a sweet side even if it doesn’t look like it. Ever bitten a lemon? It is immediately sour and as soon as you pull your mouth away you shiver but it tastes sweet in your mouth. This is like life. It is more extreme here I am sure but it is good for all of us to see how far we can be pushed before we crumble and sometimes we need to crumble to totally rely on God; this is a hard lesson to learn.

Please keep praying for me as I try to discern what God is telling me and learn as much as possible from my daily adventures here.

Please let me know if I can pray for you in anyway; please know you are all on my heart and mind anyway and I daily lift you in prayer to Him. Please share your side of the adventure with me.

Love and blessings, Deborah ><>

‘I tell you the truth anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it.’ (Mark 10:15)

I wonder how many of you like to play on swings? Run and jump into a big pool of water? Paint with your hands? Sing and dance freely?...secretly?

I sat on a tyre swing in glorious Tanzanian sunshine ‘working’ on Saturday afternoon. There are very few parks or play areas in Tanzania so the little girl I work with loves them whenever she can. Now I have to say it was really taxing to have to play with her on the slide, swings, help her jump from one tree stump to another in a circle, hold her as she swung across monkey bars and climbed carved thin tree stumps – I am being sarcastic! As I had been ordered to swing on the tyre swing next to her (these were no normal tyre swings they were AMAZING normally I can’t stay in one but these had been hollowed out) I realised I love being child like. I enjoy playing and being silly. I love being on swings and sliding down slides. It made me think; is it just me?

Jesus says to bring all the little children to Him (Matt 19:13) and then calls us to be like children. I wonder how many of us actually allow ourselves to do this? Are we secure enough in ourselves to not care what others think and jump in and enjoy life? Honestly, I am not. I care a lot what others think. The thing is you gain no respect from children if you are not willing to join in with them. This requires you to get dirty, look stupid sometimes and not care what the adults around you think. A few months ago I walked into the nursery I was working in and the children decided to cover me in stickers. These were Christmas stickers, despite it being June. I let them. 38 (yes I counted them) stickers later I looked impressive. Like a massive Christmas card. I spent the whole day like that. Why? Because those kids laughed and laughed and what did it really matter? At other times I have danced to children’s music and the little girl I work with now loves pulling silly faces so if that’s what it takes that is what I will do to cheer her up. Do I care? Yes! Of course I care but the question is should I?

God has been encouraging me for a while to be child-like. He has called us to enjoy life and live it to the full. Are we? That doesn’t always mean being serious, sometimes it means sitting on a swing and enjoying the freedom. Sometimes it means dancing and looking silly. God wants us to come to him as children. Now I may have a great excuse at times but what I really want is to be able to continue even when the children I work with are not around. Fancy joining me? Perhaps this is more of a warning for any of you when you are around me in future... ;-)

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement, you are in my thoughts and prayers. How I love being part of the body of Christ!

Please let me know of any prayer requests you have.

Love and blessings,

Debbie ><>

‘...think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.’ (Romans 12: 3)

If I thought this would be an easy adventure I was wrong. However, I am reminded as I write this that there are daily challenges and uncomfortable aspects of living everywhere. Some challenge us more than others. Today I participated in a must activity; all of you should try it. I washed my clothes by hand. Can I just admit that I was never expecting it to be as hard work or gruelling as I found it. For a person who already suffers with a bad back I found it agony, having said that I also found it truly humbling, as I am finding every experience here. I am already looking forward to the pleasures of using a washing machine when I return to the UK at Christmas.

I have limited clothing and therefore can not change outfits as often as I would if I were living and working at home. I am already looking forward to the pleasure of new work clothes when I return to the UK though. I also am facing the humility of washing from a bucket and not having an upright shower, something I am praying will change soon.

I am experiencing food I would not naturally choose to eat on a daily basis. Some which I like and will definitely try to incorporate into life when I return, others I struggled to consume enough off as to not cause offence.

Through all this God is showing me the person He has created me to be. One element of my personality is I am determined. This is something we can see as a negative thing in English society, I believe. However, I have found this to be an asset. It means I will push myself to achieve things I believe to be worth it but also I will preserver to prove a point. When you work with SEN (Special Educational Needs) children you have to be pretty determined because they are and if you believe what you are doing is going to be an asset to them and are not determined you are letting them, their parents, other family members and work colleagues down. I am also a fine detail person. Something the teacher I am working alongside was laughing at yesterday as I was finishing a poster off for her, by hand as we had electricity. She admitted it wasn’t a bad thing it just made her laugh. It is true I am a fine detail person in so many areas of life. It means that I am always taking on way more information than other people but at the same time I am retaining information which is important to people which others would forget. This can be a negative because I can get so caught up in the small things that I forget to look at God’s bigger picture but I trust He will keep re-aligning my thought process.

These are just some of the trails this adventure is bringing to light. Let’s see what else God has in store.

Thanks for your prayers and love, knowing I am receiving these is what keeps me going and God reminds me off it daily.

Please let me know any prayer requests, believe me you are even more so on my heart and mind now than ever,

Love Debbie ><>

‘Go into all the world’ Mark 16:15.

I am here!! In fact I have been here for a week and a half. I can’t believe it.

I have been at school with the little girl I am supporting for the last week. Things seem to be going well and I feel we are making good progress already. I have gone in in my true hard handed style and decided she will not come in for break when she wants to but when everyone else does, i.e. when the bell goes. So on Monday I employed a ‘if you don’t come in when Debbie says, i.e. when the bell goes’ tactic then a) I’ll ignore you and b) you will get a time out. Two time outs two days running and the following two days we have had no time outs. The problem is that it takes the other children in her class longer than us now to come back to class. Still, it is good practice for when she returns to England in January.

We are in a class of 5 children. Sounds ideal right? Wrong! You should meet our kids. They have such an attention seeking attitude, which probably isn’t helped by the fact they can gain one-on-one attention from the teacher, and me. They will have to learn, never-the-less I wonder whether they would learn faster if there were more children in the class. I never thought small class sizes could be a problem. I have been proven wrong! Although, the nosie in the class is considerably smaller than that of those I teach in the UK that is for sure. Also, I recon being in separate buildings and not needing corridors between classrooms probably helps too as it means the noise of other classes is more confined. The downside probably is that you feel more separated from the other classes, having said that you can find that in English schools too.

The school doesn’t have a hall. Assembly takes place near the staffroom, which is more like a small corridor with a couple of small tables holding a computer and the microwave/hot drinks selection. At one end is a small sink area. There is hardly any sitting space because everyone has breaks at different points and mostly sit in the outside area, which is covered but staff like to sit on the wall. It is this raised area which is used as a stage on a Monday morning for weekly assembly. Assembly is led by one of the classes and takes a rotation every 6 weeks or so. Parents are welcome to join if they wish.

There are similarities to how the school is run in comparison to English schools, at the same time there is that un-written chilled out African attitude which says ‘we will understand if you are slightly late’. Still there is an understanding of Western principals because it is an international school. There are certain protocols which you would have to adhere to in English schools which are also followed here, such as obtaining permission for each child to have their photo taken when in school. Also staff are expected to arrive in time to greet pupils and parents, if necessary.

The children do not line up to come into class, however as they move between classrooms or at the end of the day they do. Also, there are guards and, as in the UK, children can only leave school premises accompanied by an adult known to the school.

Other than school my life here in Tanzania has been somewhat limited so far. So much time is required focusing on the child I am supporting both in school and out, until her parents are available. Throw in a couple of unexpected afternoons at party’s for school friends and after school play-dates and you have lost more time than you realise just being around other muzungu’s. However, m understanding of different cultures and countries is definitely improving as I get to know a real mix of people from the school. Dutch, finish, Itallian, south African, Austrailian, American, etc. The list is endless, then there are the Tanzanian, arabs etc too.

Although based on the Cambridge IBS, the school holds mostly American teachers, and therefore I am accumulating a lot of Americanisms such as; principal, Eraser, etc.

I would like to say that they are lovely teachers and have been so welcoming and inclusive of me. We all went ‘hiking’ last Saturday which was more like rock climbing than actual hiking. We were out for 4 hours in African heat and none of us thought to sun cream our necks; we are all pealing now :-s It was hard work but well worth the attempt, although I am not convinced how great it was in a skirt but as that was what I was told to bring I followed instructions; I am not sure I would recommend doing that again!

Another fable I can dismiss is that you don’t get colds in Africa – I can prove this wrong as I sit harbouring a cold and sniffling!! This has added to my finding it hard to adapt to life here. I have cried many a tear already and am missing people I love at home. You are all very much on my heart and in my mind. I pray for you all daily and know although I do not know the exact details of what your life entails God does and even if I was with you I could not improve things from what they are. I know God is in control and is protecting me as well as you- sniffles (in any variety or not).

I am so blessed to have a wonderful adopted family over here. Susie is taking particular care of me and I know God has brought us together for a greater purpose.

So let’s see what the next part of the adventure holds.