New Words

There are a few new words and phrases that Esther has learned since being here; we wanted to share some of them.

Asante is the Swahili word for "thank you" and she goes to the ladies in the kitchen after meals to thank them all.

She's learned to say Hodi when she wants to go into some other student's room, it's the Swahili version of "knock, knock".

Shikamo is what you say to someone older than yourself. So as a greeting she says shikamo to everyone. In response to that you say marahaba, but of course she doesn't say that since she doesn't get a shikamo from anyone. Bummer of being the youngest. =)

Uji is what she eats for breakfast every morning and she loves it. It's a corn porridge/gruel.

'Mosquito net' is firmly placed into her vocabulary due to the daily use of them.

Jongoo is the word for millipedes, and we're in "jongoo city" here with all the rain we've had. They are completely harmless and she knows to be very careful to not step on them since they'll mush pretty badly and then leave an awful smell on your shoe.

Jongoo (millipede)

At "tea time" she likes to guess at what we might have for a snack. "Maybeeee peanuts, maybeeee popcorn, maybeeee cookies....".

Tummy hurting is cue for, "get me to the potty, quick".

Then get caaandy is what she says when we explain that she must tell us when she needs to go potty. We aren't even done explaining when she interrupts us with: then get caaandy!

In the mornings Luke teaches Esther some Bible verses and she knows the exact time of this and so she'll run to get the Bible and exclaim: "do verses".

Whenever we put her down for a nap or for the night she always wants us to pray; especially when there's thunder outside: "pray mommy."

And finally, she's learned to say "I constimpated". She's been constipated since arriving in Africa, and when it's not that it's just the opposite, which she knows only as 'being sick'. =)

Rice for lunch and dinner

Meals in the dinning hall.

Today's lunch: cassava stew (not pictured), beef, beans, rice, and fresh pineapple for dessert.

When it's time for lunch or dinner we get ready by washing our hands, and then make our way to the dinning hall at a toddler's pace. I (Gina) sometimes ask Esther to guess what will be the food for that meal. She has quickly learned that if she answers "rice" she is correct 100% of the time!

We have been here over a month now and I thought I'd be tired of eating rice twice daily, but surprisingly that has not been the case. Of course now and then we get chips (fries) or noodles, but there is always rice as well in those cases. It just isn't a meal unless you have rice. And there is always a sauce available to put on the rice, a person here rarely eats plain rice, so the different sauces give it a variety. 

The good thing is that when you're sick (and yes, its "when", not "if"), there will always be an option to eat plain rice if that's all you can stomach at the time.

A little more than a week ago some students asked Mr. Chuma (the school director) if the cooks could please serve us ugali (thick, dough-like mush made of maize and water) that is commonly eaten by the people of Tanzania. He promised that we'd get it the following monday. Monday came and went and there was no sign of ugali. So Mr. Chuma got some guff for not keeping his promise. That same afternoon we saw him talking to the cook and had her hear from us personally that yes, we certainly wanted ugali for lunch. She was shocked and perhaps a little embarrassed by our request. Come to find out, the teachers eat ugali every day for lunch, just like we, the students, eat rice every day. We get served the rice as a privilege.

So that Tuesday, to our pleasure, we had ugali for lunch, of course rice was faithfully there as an alternate option.

ELCT Language School

Uluguru Mts.

The ELCT Language school is run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. It is a school that teaches Swahili, which is the national language spoken here in Tanzania. There is also a Seminary and a Jr. High and High School on the property. The School is about 20 minutes from the town of Morogoro which is located about 3 hours inland (West) from the coast (Dar Es Salaam). The town is situated at the base of the Uluguru Moutains (See picture). Gina is enrolled in the long course (4 months). It runs from beginning of February to the beginning of June. Our Room and Board includes a modest but comfortable place to stay (2 small bedrooms, a small sitting area, and a bathroom (toilet and shower). It also includes 3 meals a day and 2 tea-breaks. So fortunately for Gina and Esther, I (Luke) don't have to do the cooking! We are thankful to God for this school and this time to concentrate on Language studies.

Rainy Season and Malaria

A good, hard rain.

Well, it is rainy season here in Tanzania and with that comes an increase in malaria. I (Luke) already got it once and 4 other students have had it as well (2 are currently recovering). This is also an area known for having a lot of malaria so pray that we don't get it. However Esther likes the rain because she gets to put on her raincoat and use her umbrella and splash in the puddles!

The Language School Routine

Well we've been here at Language School for over a month now and are settling into the routine of things. Breakfast is at 7 AM. Then Gina goes to classes from 8 to 12 in the morning. We get to see her at 10 AM for a "tea-break". After lunch we usually try and take a nap but Esther is pretty good at preventing that. At 2:30 PM Gina goes back for more language drills until 4 PM at which time we have another tea break. 

While Mommy is gone Esther and I stay "home". I read her books and we memorize and review our Bible verses. After that Esther plays on her own while I try and get some reading and studying done. Esther is quite "normal" for a 2 year old so naturally, quite a bit of my day is taken up with disciplining and instructing her and teaching her "common sense". (I have found common sense to be quite uncommon in children). I don't know why she can't just behave like an adult (just kidding). Esther loves going to the farm to see the cows and pigs. Esther is for the most part "potty trained" although occasionally there are some accidents. She usually needs a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon, otherwise she gets really grumpy. It is sometimes difficult for me (Luke) to be the "mom" at home so I would appreciate your prayers for me concerning that. 

When Mommy is done with school for the day we try and go for a walk either before or after supper. By 6:45 PM it is almost completely dark so we go back to our room. We usually check email and then have devotions (singing, reading and praying) before putting Esther to bed. Then Gina reviews her notes and does her homework before going to bed.

March Update

Hello dear praying friends. I hope you are all doing well. Sorry it has been awhile since we last wrote. We have recovered from our illnesses and the miscarriage and we want to sincerely thank all those of you who were praying for us.

Classes have been going well for Gina. They cover a new chapter each day so they are really learning a lot and sometimes it is hard for her to process it all and stay up to date with vocabulary, new verbs and grammar. Gina is doing very well though. After the teaching time they divide up into small groups (2-3 people), each with their own teacher and practice what they have learned. They apply the concepts and build the sentences and do speaking drills etc... They have also had several "Cultural Orientation" sessions where they learn about Tanzanian culture.

Esther and I stay at home and read books and go for walks. She also takes naps and plays by herself some of the time. She is becoming much more comfortable with the other students and loves to visit some of the ladies because they give her candy. She is curious about all the bugs and crawling creatures here. And, being the stubborn 2 year old that she is, she is learning obedience and submission to her parents the hard way, for the most part.

It is rainy season and that means that there are more mosquitos and consequently more malaria. Already 5 of us students have had it so pray that there would not be any more cases. (This is in spite of having mosquito nets and taking malaria preventative medicine).

We are grateful to God for this time we can have to focus on Language Study. Since all our ministry here will be dependent upon our knowledge of the language (Swahili) we feel that this time is important and we would appreciate your continued prayers. We want our knowledge of Swahili to be used for God's glory.

For those of you that are interested, we just started a blog. It is by no means professional looking but we do hope to keep it up to date with messages and pictures for those that like that kind of thing. For the rest of you, don't worry we will still be sending out a monthly email update (hopefully with a picture or two sometimes). 
Bye,
In Christ,

Luke, Gina and Esther