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Published: January 20th 2008
Brent sends out a weekly report through email, and I always feel as though we are repeating each other covering everything that has happened over the course of the week... But I always love sending the pictures your way and telling the stories behind the pictures, sharing with you the excitement of the week as well. And this has been a truly great week indeed! I've tried keeping a journal through the years, to record events as they happen in our lives so that one day the children might be able to look back and read over the amazing things that they have been through in our adventures. But I have found that I enjoy looking back, at where we are in relation to where we've come from, and how God has continued to bless our lives in so many amazing ways. So I have been reading up and enjoying the first encounters with Africa, remembering the initial shock value of a foreign land! Being a first time Missionary wife, not knowing what to do, not knowing how to cook from scratch, and mother in a world so much different from which I had grown up in and been accustomed
This is My Tuesday Smile!
Always A highlight of the Week... Little Nasra Melts My heartto, and I smile at the thought of life in Africa today!
Earlier this week we were out and about and I was in my dress skirt and sat down on a concrete curb to talk to someone only to find that right where I had decided to stoop and sit was a mud puddle, to my surprise! Ugh and Aw www.. were my initial reaction seeing the mud stained back of my outfit, and then Garrett smiled with the cutest smile in the world and said, Aw C'mon mom we're back in Africa! As if to say, what do you expect and just sit down and we'll worry about the skirt later! I love our life here, and the way our family responds to the Tanzanian people and the culture around us! Seeing children run up into the arms of Emily as we arrived at the Nursery school on Tuesday, seeing the love that they have for so many children around them, hearing Gracie talk about her best friend here, Agape... and telling me I hope she hasn't forgotten me while we were away, and then to turn and see them arm in arm hugging and going right
Kilo at work...
I loved his Home-made ladder... Kilo is a faithful member of the Lord's Church in Moshi. back to play together in the dirt... despite the language barrier between them, that never seems to stop them from doing anything at all! Little CJ at church this morning runs to Garrett to jump up in his lap and cling to him like another member of the family has come home! Brent's smile as we look at each other and tap one another to look at a belt that an older man is wearing in church that has cute little gold heart brads all over it... and you love each and every memory that you en capture in your mind! AFRICA! aw AFRICA!
Things that you never thought you would see in your lifetime.. are an everyday occurrence and sometimes I think, one day, maybe one day... this will all seem normal.. But in all honesty it's the unusualness of it all that makes it so exciting and fresh each day! You never know what's coming around the corner and you never know what you will encounter from day to day!
This week.... Monday, We started back in school with our children here at home. We are beginning the 2nd semester of the school year and that
alone, is a lot of work to get back into routine with and Brent was able to get out and do some personal evangelism.
Tuesday, we went out to work with the Nursery School in Boma Ngombe. Where we were thrilled to meet the new teacher, Hilda, who has been hired to work with the Kilimanjaro Christian Academy (KCA) as Timothy has decided to call his new Standard School, as it is developing. Over 50 of the children from Hannah's Nursery school passed their end of year exams in December and moved up into the Standard 1 level of their education. We retained 19 of them there at the school and the others dispersed out to surrounding schools to begin their education there. We were very limited as to how many could start in the new Standard 1 class, at the current location, with only one Professional teacher in place. This class is taught entirely in English, so it is slow starting out due to the age level and 2nd language of the children, but they seem to be doing very well. Brent and Timothy had a meeting with the local education advisor as to how to begin getting
Finding a Bolt at the local Hardware Store...
Backing out into Traffic being the greatest challenge in Arusha the school registered with the government, to hopefully begin getting government aid at a future date. Judy the teacher who I had been studying with, prior to leaving, was gone with her child being sick at home and Joyce, Timothy and Mary's other sister (another member of the church at Moshi) came to substitute for the time being. I am hoping to get a study set up with Hilda, since her English good enough not to need a translator and after classes end on Tuesdays we can study there at the building together.
Wednesday, the ladies from Moshi went out visiting prior to class, we met around 1:30 and headed to the home of one of our young Christian's homes to hold a Bible study there and visit the family. This week we went to the home of Jeniphar Andrew (Jennifer) and there I was happily greeted at the gate by her sweet little girl, Janet, who as I swung her up in my arms and went to kiss her sweet little cheeks.. and then she smiled and had a mouth full of freshly chewed up fish parts... (whhhhheeewwww!) well Oh! Love you so much sweetie.. Hug and quickly
Mama Timothy, Lucy visits today
Timothy & Jehosephat with their Mother, Lucy, who visited with us this morning for worship in Moshi. All of her children and grandchildren were so excited to have her there. down she goes, as I gasp for my breath of fresh air and Lindsey Jensen giggles with me as the face I must have been making let her in on the shocking odor of fresh fish in the face! Well we We had a great time of fellowship and singing together awaiting everyone's arrival and then a great study together in her humble one room home. Then we all went back to the building together and after evening Bible Class we loaded up the family and headed to the airport to pick up George Jensen who was arriving back home to his family along with the Hochdorfs who were arriving to join us and the work here in Tanzania as a new missionary family. Sean and Anita along with their two children Race and Maddie. Maddie is close in age to Emily, so she was really excited to have a new friend arriving in country.
Thursday, The kids and I did more school work and Brent did the running around, chasing Rabbits as he would say.. trying to get a few things accomplished... is always an all day event here.
Friday, we all headed into Arusha Brent has
Faith...
A sweet little girl from the Moshi Congregation... Her father Wilfred, is also a preacher, and is the brother of Timothy & Jehosephat Massawe. orientation at the ACSOP school, and the kids and I met up with Shasta and headed down town to chase a few rabbits of our own. Finding the local hardware store to check on paint for Shasta and to see about finding a specific U bolt Brent was needing.... and even though they didn't have one there, they knew of a guy.. ( always love when it starts out that way) that might have one down the street... But to our surprise, he actually did.. So we did accomplish that one feat! Checked the mail box, and then ran into Stephanie, Joy, and Anita downtown trying to find Anita some household goods to begin filling her new home with! Shopping in Arusha is something I can't even begin to describe, but chaos comes to mind as a great one word summary! So we ended the afternoon by taking the kids to the little ice cream shop down near Shoprite which is always a special treat when we drive into Arusha.
Saturday, we had the Monthly Train the Teacher's Workshop for the ladies at Moshi and we all gathered together at Joy Jensen's house for a great Bible Study and
started working on our quilts once again for the orphanage children in Boma Ngombe. We covered tacking and binding and divided out the finished quilt tops to be taken home and sewn together to complete our quilting project! We're aiming at having 30 quilts to deliver to the children there at The Joy Foundation. There the ladies also lined out the teacher for the next month's Train the Teacher's class and set up who would be making and preparing the communion bread for the month of February, and started working on setting up the new teacher's for the children's classes as well.
And on to Sunday... Which we are closing up in the wee hours here trying to get all the computer work done and sent out. This morning Josephat Massawe taught Bible Class, and John Hall preached. Both delivered great lessons and we had the rains begin to start falling all around us... John took a group from the church up to Machame to visit one of our sisters, Eli Overrose, who is in the hospital there. With a short 3 hour window before returning for evening services. After we returned home for the evening, Brent crawled up
No more Padded Pews...
But in Africa.. its a blessing to at least have the backs on the benches, some do some don't. in the attic to try installing a ceiling fan to cut some of the heat level in the house down a bit... but then the power went out, and on and out and on... and we just had to give up and wait for another day. The kids and I went down the road to the local international school to play a little mud football with Lindsey, Luke and John until we started loosing what little daylight was left in the day, but we all got some good fun exercise in and returned home a little muddier than we left, to clean up, make dinner, and settle down for the close of yet another day in Africa!
I know I've missed so many things, and I could write for hours on all the little details that brighten my smile as I sit here writing to you about all that has been going on this week. Hopefully you can at least catch a little glimpse of what life can be like here on a daily basis... through the stories and pictures sent your way.
Or plan to join us here one day to work side by side and sit in
Train the Teacher's Class
Quilting once again... working on baby blankets for the Orphanage. a few mud puddles of your own so we can laugh about it together!
Hope you have an amazing week in all that you do, For His glory!
Love in Christ,
Julie Richardson
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James W. Roden
non-member comment
Wonderful e-mail
I am thrilled to get this e-mail from you. I realy am glad to hear from you. Kelly is liveing with my grandson.here at Grandview. He has a very good personnality,and has a very good talent for teaching. kept sending.God bless you all . PawPaw Roden