LANGUAGE IS CULTURE

We have moved to a country where English is not the native language. While people do know some, in order for us to live, work, and build relationships here, we must learn Swahili! So, we started a Beginner’s Course studying for 4 hours each morning and then putting it into practice in the afternoon. We have several nationals working on our training center who are very kind and patient with us as we conjugate verbs, remember tenses, and insert the appropriate prepositions... always speaking very, very slowly!

We have learned much about the Tanzanian culture by studying Swahili. On the first day, we learned how extremely important greetings are here. One does not simply pass by another with a friendly smile, casual wave, or brief passerby conversation. Instead, when you greet someone here, you have a conversation, asking about how they slept, how they woke up, how their morning is going, is there any news about their wife or children, how is their work, etc. Not only that, but we learned there are a number of ways one could ask us these questions! Needless to say, we had a lot to learn! But it really is incredible that after only a few days we were able to carry on brief conversations with nationals, some who don’t speak any English at all!

Here are a few cautions about Swahili that we’ve been told while learning. So, if you ever venture across the big pond, make sure your diction is clear otherwise you may say something you really don’t mean to say!

·         KUNYWA = to drink; KUNYA = to poop. Our teacher told us, “don’t poop soda, drink soda!”

·         KUMI = ten; KUMA = private lady parts. Don’t use the wrong one when counting with kids; the classroom might not settle down for a few minutes!

·         VUA = to undress or…. to fish. Yep, we laughed about this one for a few minutes!

·         KOFI = to hit; KAHAWA = coffee. Say both out loud… don’t ask the waiter for ‘kofi’ in a Tanzanian restaurant, you might just get slapped!! :)

·         PIKA vs. PIKIA. The other day I asked our house helper to cook food for me (using pika) and after being corrected and told to use (pikia), I realized that I had asked her to cook me, not for me!

·         CHUPA = bottle vs. CHUPI = underwear. Again I say, be careful with pronunciation!

Language learning is exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. Little by little we will learn to speak here… and then the opportunities are endless!!  

Celebrating God's Design for Marriage and Family!

Last Friday, Megan and I were able to experience a great celebration where our church planter trainees re-dedicated their love for God and for one another.  It was like having 6 weddings in one day :)  We've had the privilege of getting to know these families and have felt so welcomed by all the babas (fathers) and mamas (mothers).

After lunch we met next to the classroom and then the families made their procession into the bonda (roofed sitting area)...all were wearing their best outfits!  We began by singing praises to God, and let me tell you, this is the kind of music that sets your spirit on fire for the Lord....no instruments, no fancy lyrics, just one person leading and others repeating with rich harmonies in a different language that gives you a glimpse of heaven!  Then, couple-by-couple, they stood up to re-declare their love for one another and dedication to having a marriage that glorifies God.

 Hearing about how seriously they take their marriage was a huge testimony.  Literally every person talked about how they had prayed to God for their husband or wife and all praised God for the one they have!  In this culture, where women are usually viewed lower than property, to hear the admiration, affection, and appreciation from the husbands toward their wives was a true testament to Jesus Christ being first and foremost in their lives and family.  The men even brought gifts for their wives!

THEN, we experienced eating cake....and this is quite different than anything we have ever seen!!  One person is appointed to cut the cake, while everyone else sings the cake song!  Then, each piece of cake is put on a toothpick and everyone takes turns feeding each other!  So the couples went first and it was so funny because usually the pieces are very small, bite-size, but there was a lot of cake so the pieces were quite huge....which made for some hilarious cake-feeding!

One of the amazing things to see was how the women here respect their husbands.  When they receive something from their husband, they "curtsey" to show their respect.  One of the husbands was a true reflection of Jesus when he bent down to the same level as his wife to show his love equals her respect!

THEN THEY FED US CAKE!!        

All the while, these children are waiting so patiently!

FINALLY, they got some too!

After the festivities, we all went out and took some family pictures in front of Mt. Meru!

It was an amazing day to thank God as brothers and sisters in Christ!!  We are so thankful for all the things He put in place for us to be here with these people, for such a time as this!!  Together, we serve an amazing God!!

Please join us in praying for these families as they finish their last few weeks of training!  In mid-November, they will be going into some highly-persecuted areas to tell others about the Good News of Christ!  Let us gather around them as the Body to pray that God will do a mighty work for His Kingdom through them all!

You've Got Mail!

Yesterday, Michelle and I spent the afternoon celebrating the completion of our first week of language training, shopping for food, refilling our water jugs, and running a few other errands around town. We were with Joann, of course, because we have not yet begun the task of learning how to drive a stick shift on the left side of the road while dodging people, cars, and animals! We'll save that for another day...

While we were out,

we managed to find a good spot for ice cream in Arusha,

CHOCOLATE,

STRAWBERRY,

and VANILLA!

and, we got our first letters in the mail!!

Overall, I'd say it was a really good day!!

Week One in Tanzania!!

All the praise goes to God - we made it to Tanzania safely and have had an amazing first week on the ground!!  Our last few days in the U.S. were indescribably Spirit-filled.  Thursday (10/3) was Megan's THREE YEAR BIRTHDAY of following Christ!!! AND that night our home church (White River Christian Church) kicked-off its Missions Weekend....so we were able to celebrate how God has been leading us these last three years, hear an invigorating message by Claude Hickman, and get prayed over before going back to our hotel for a few hours of shut eye!

We left for the airport at 3am on Friday morning....huge thanks to Dan Crosley for driving us and our luggage and for putting up with our constant chatter as we were more than excited at that point :)  We arrived in perfect time to weigh our 7 bags - and THANKFULLY they were all 50.5lbs!  After some tearful goodbyes and closing our time in the U.S. with prayer, we headed off to security and our gate!

After a 2hr flight to Washington Dulles, a 13.5hr flight to Ethiopia, and a 2.5hr flight to Tanzania we were greeted at the airport by our teammates Mike & Joann Noel!  Praises to God - all our luggage arrived!!

!!FINALLY IN TANZANIA!!

We enjoyed a meal with Mike & Joann, then excused ourselves to get some sleep....and sleep we did!!! That first night we woke up after 15 HOURS of sleep....and about 15min before we had to leave!

Here's a quick overview of Week 1:

• Sunday - Mike & Joann introduced us to our language tutor who will be teaching us Swahili these next three weeks.
• Monday - Our first taste of shopping in Tanzania....an all day affair!!
• Tuesday & Wednesday - Our entire team met together for our Fall Meeting.  We discussed ministry visions and goals - so encouraging!
• Thursday - The morning we helped in the classroom with the children of our church planter trainees.  SO ADORABLE!!  Spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting settled - we don't do too well living out of suitcases!
• Friday - Shopping downtown to get produce, meat, notebooks & translation dictionaries.
• Saturday & Sunday - Catching up on emails, Facebook, blogging AND spending some awesome time with Jesus!!

Thanks for the continual support and encouragement!  As we venture into this next week of beginning to learn a new language, we would greatly appreciate prayers that God will be glorified in the way we learn Swahili, how we treat one another during this time, how we handle frustrations, and the way we convey love and respect to the Tanzanians even when we may be fumbling through sentences!