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A happy "gardener" with a completed maize crop in the background
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| Lilac breasted roller on the wire outside my house |
What is it like to live below the equator? Well only a bit
below; but indeed below by 3 degrees. Many things on this side of the equator
are opposite. The seasons are opposite and the water even swirls down the drain
in the opposite direction. We have some of the same star constellations but we
have some different ones also like the Southern Cross. The big dipper is upside
down.
What is “winter” like near the equator? We are currently in
our winter season and today I have on a fleece jacket! What is the
temperature.. well it is 66 but it is damp and cool for those of us who have acclimated
to the 80’s. The really interesting thing is that as soon as the cloud cover
lessens, it can raise the temperature by 15 to 20 degrees nearly instantly. The
nights are nice for sleeping at around 60 or a bit less. Our solar hot water
heater doesn’t function too well this time of year so we are grateful for the
electric over-ride. The children nearly always are found in jackets or sweaters
and many times with a hat!! At first I
chuckled at them but now I sometimes would like a hat too! I think we are in
serious trouble when we will be in North Dakota in OctoberL.
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| Rafiki Village from water tower |
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| Pre school with hats and sweaters and jackets |
Our school at the Village operates year round with 4
quarters. Each quarter is separated by a 2 or 3 week break. We are currently in
quarter 3. Our big school focus is getting the standard four (grade 4) students
ready for their national exams in November. The students did very well last
year with being #3 out of 150 schools in our district but there is always a lot
of preparation required.
We have had a steady stream of mini missionaries during the
past couple of months. I wonder how we would have gotten everything done
without their help. Mini missionaries are trained for a weekend at the home
office in Florida then they come from one week up to one year to help in one of
the Rafiki Villages. It seems like they all have special skills but God seems
to provide just the skills we need the most. Recently some came and worked on school
pictures and updating the child books. Another helped with some of the school
classes and another who is actually a seamstress in Hollywood made some new
uniforms for the girls in standard 1-3. She created a new design and made a
pattern and 16 new uniforms in two weeks!!!
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| Our house from water tower |
I continue to be amazed at new things I find in the markets
here. Today Pat (head mistress at the school) and I were in town and found some
really colorful battery operated clocks for a reasonable price. I also discovered that the stores are now charging
for plastic bags!! PROGRESS…..
We continue to be thankful and amazed that God has blessed
us with good health in this “season” of our lives and with the privilege of
serving here in Tanzania. Life is good here among these wonderful children and
the opportunities for ministry are limitless.
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| Resting Giraffe with water buck looking on |
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| Zebra in Arusha National Park |
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| Silver cheeked hornbill |
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