My new mission field

To get to my new mission field I only need to drive 1 hour 20 minutes from the place I have called home for almost 8 years. The culture is my own, the language is my own the climate is much colder

and the air is crisper.

Last year I lived in a city of a million people and I lived within an awesome community. Now I’m heading to a small country school, with a total of about 500 people in the whole community and 110 in the whole school. I will be teaching a class of 10, 5 year old's to begin with. This is a striking contrast to my home in Tanzania yet it’s a mission field none the less. I’m no longer “Teacher Rachel at Joshua School Arusha, but instead I get to be “Whaea Rachel”at a country school in small town NZ.

I’m going to a place where I must admit is not exactly my “dream location” or “first choice” but I know that it’s Gods first choice for me in this season, just as Tanzania was his first choice for me last year.
I have struggled with knowing my purpose since being back in New Zealand. I’ve had what can only be described as homesickness for Tanzania and If I’m honest I’ve been living off the “I spent last year in Tanzania” speech since I got back and the “wow” response it gets from people, rather than fully embracing this new season, and its significance. Of which I will probably know more of in hindsight

It’s so easy to put certain life paths, or locations up on a pedestal but whatever we do is significant for Gods kingdom so long as we keep loving the ones in front of us.

Tanzania now seems like a distant memory. It doesn’t take long to settle back into NZ life and for this to become the norm. Yet somethings changed there’s a deeper hunger for the things of God because I’ve experienced more, there’s a greater awareness of Gods miracle working power because I've seen more. There’s a greater responsibility to share because I know more than I once knew. There’s also this unrest in me because I know there is still more, yet it is so easy to become comfortable and just go through the motions of life.

But just before I get too comfortable and too use to my quiet part time schedule, God has opened a new door and I’m back on the edge of my comfort zone, having to meet new people, learn a new system in my very first New Zealand Primary School teaching job. 

The last 3 months have been both awesome and challenging. It’s been awesome sharing about my time away, catching up with family and friends, being a bridesmaid at one of my besties weddings, road tripping around NZ and hiking up mountains. God has been so faithful to provide all my needs. I haven’t had any consistent work for 3 months, yet I haven’t once run out of money and just when my finances started to get low I secured a job.

I don’t fully know what the rest of this year will look like, how long I’ll be teaching at my new school, or what the future holds, but I do know that life with God is always an adventure and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

50 first experiences! #missionarylife

It’s amazing to me how many situations I find myself in daily, that I have never and probably would never experience if I only ever stayed living in New Zealand. In just 4 and a half months, I will be back living in New Zealand, where life will be very different. So I want to remember all these quirky, amusing, and sometimes uncomfortable situations that I have encountered over this past year

1. Often having no idea what is being said around me and sometimes even to me. I literally sat in an hour long meeting the other day, before I realised they were talking about electing someone as a chairperson. In a Tanzanian church service I usually make friends with a child because I have no idea what the pastor is saying.
2. Learning Swahili and attempting to speak it which leads to some hilarious Swahili fails like: 
   Asking for books at a vegetable stand instead of potatoes Vitabu vs Viazi 
   Saying I need to go to the market to buy a buffalo instead of vegetables Mbogo vs Mboga (easy mistake)
   Answering a question like did you understand with good (nzuri) instead of yes (ndiyo). Not the best way to convince someone that I understood! 
   Telling someone I have been here 7 years instead of 7 months Mweze = months Mwaka = years. Then they really wonder why my Swahili is so bad!
   Singing worship songs wrong over and over again.
   

   
   Using you, we, he or she when I want to say I. It changes the meaning completely!
   Going to the toilet in a local food place and coming back out to ask if I am a mwanaume (male) or mwanamke (female).
   Having to write my daladala stop down on my phone in Swahili so that when the daladala conductor ask where I am going I can tell him! I have now proudly mastered that one and can say "Mwisho wa lami" (end of the tarmac) whenever I here "wapi" (where). My most amusing fail happened while in Zanzibar. At the place we were staying I asked the guy for some mugs and used words like maji (water) some hand gestures and charades to describe what I wanted. He went away for about 10 minutes and came back with a squeegee! The second time around he came back with a flask of boiling water and mugs…close enough.
3. Having to introduce myself in Swahili in a Tanzanian church. There’s no chance of going unnoticed in church!
4. Random compliments/ comment that I’ve never received before this year like: 
   “you look like a rasta” I am not sure why I’ve never been told that before? 
   “You look like a rock star” 
   “Mzungu, I love you” 
   “Are you German?” 
   “You look Scandinavian” 
   “Welcome to Tanzania” (just the other day)
   “I want her as my wife” (Old drunk Maasai man) 
   

   
   “Umependeza” you look nice
   “Give me your dog” while walking Lynda’s dog in the village
   My personal favorite “You look like Kim Kardashian” (while trying on a skirt)
   All from strangers and then from children...
   “is that your real hair” “when you get long hair will it be black”
   “are those mosquito bites (referring to my freckles) 
   “did you get bitten by a tetzy fly? (referring to a pimple on my face!)
   “wow nzuri” (while stroking my hair)
   “why does she have white hair?”
5. Class 2 kids answering the question “why is it important that we have a clean living environment with “because otherwise you will get HIV Aids” hahaha that is most definitely not an answer NZ kids would think of! 
   
6. Second hand clothes shopping which involves digging through piles of clothes to find some gold. It’s kind of like op shopping except wayyyy more intense because everyone wants you to buy from their stall. All you here is “rafiki, support me” “looking is free” and everyone is handing you things to try that they think you may like, such as a yellow jumper. I would literally look like a banana! Or skirts about ten sizes too big or too small! If I am looking for shoes there’s no way I have to bend down and try that shoe on myself! There is always someone ready to put shoes on my feet! 
7. Which then leads to my next point bartering for everything! There is no way I am paying more than 30c for that second hand top haha. Sometimes the price bumps up for mzungu but now we take our secret weapon Joseph, Emma’s fiancé, one of the first guys I’ve met who actually doesn’t mind shopping and always makes sure we get a good deal
8. Having people try and sell me stuff on the street constantly. The most random things being a live chicken, a $5 NZ note, and a lamp shade!
9. Being in a daladala (van) that’s so full that they can’t even close the door. I literally was holding on to both the inside and the outside of the van! Or sitting between 3 large
   mama’s on a two seater seat!
10. Sitting on a daladala and having some high school girls quickly touch my hair and start giggling
11. Strangers wanting to shake my hands as they pass me on the street
12. Eating dinner with a street kid at the local chicken place (instead of giving him money) and not once going to town without being asked for money
13. Staying at an orphanage and hanging out with some of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met with some of the most heart-breaking stories
    
14. Using some of the most horrendous squat toilets I’ve ever experienced and hoping that it’s water on the ground and not something else.
15. Running through the village
16. Being served a huge portion of rice and still managing to finish it (what can I say I have a gift). The day we were given two lunches however, really tested how much I can eat!First I ate a plate of ugali (ground maize) and then a large of plate of rice!
17. Sitting next to a man and his live chicken on the daladala and then realising there were about 7 more chickens tied together that were under the seat!
18. Having random children run up and hug me. This happens a lot working with kids in NZ but usually only with children I actually know!
19. Or having children terrified of my whiteness a simple glance and they run away crying!
    
20. Having a flash mob of children surrounding me in a village touching me stroking my arms, hair and even licking me!! As if I’m some celebrity or mystical creature!  It literally started with a few children but they just kept coming out of nowhere!
21. Camping in the Maasai bush and meeting people whose lives could not be more different to mine if they tried
22. Praying for a group of Maasai women and their children with a group of Maasai DTS
    
    students!
23. Watching a Maasai choir competition. Those Maasai men can jump soooo high!
24. Singing and dancing with Maasai children
25. Teaching Maasai children games like “crocodile, crocodile”
26. Being a minority! I experienced this to a small degree at my primary school in Rotorua which was 90 % maori but never to the degree in which people constantly stare
27. 12 hour bus rides with only one toilet stop!! And buying stuff out the window of the bus
28. No knees in 2016! With the exception of our trip to Zanzibar! That’s right modest is hottest haha
29. Teaching a class full of children where English is a second language and getting blank stares when I speak too fast or after 10 minutes of explaining a lesson. Also having an assistant teacher translate my lessons!
30. Being in a place where there is seemingly no road rules! Don't wait for a gap just push your way in! Also helmets are more of a suggestion then a rule when riding any form of bike
31. Greeting every single person at church with a handshake
32. Praying for people in the village and having the privilege of seeing them except Jesus or set free!
33. Having the neighbors child come to our house just to watch our washing machine go round and round! And entertaining children for hours with a front camera
    
34. Being stuck in a 7 lane traffic jam where technically there should only have been 2 lanes for at least an hour.
35. Doing extra jobs like filtering water through a bucket, boiling the
    milk that came straight from a cow, washing the fruit and vegetables we bought from the market, freezing rice, pasta and lentils just encase there’s any bugs in them!
36. Wearing gumboots to school in the rainy season
37. Weekly whole day power cuts
38. Being called “teacher Rachel” I have had many names as a teacher. At Preschool in New Zealand, I was Rachy-pooh. On practicums I was Miss Judd at kids camps I was “Aunty Rachel” but never have I been “teacher Rachel”
    
39. Going to town and back for less than a dollar!
40. Having a video I took of Tanzanian Joshua school children singing a Te Reo Maori song go viral in NZ! It even got mentioned on the news!
    
    
    But even more impacting than what I have experienced is what I have learnt...

Finding my passion

There’s something truly awesome about finding your place in the world and the role that truly satisfies, finding your passion… I realise more and more that for me that place is found in teaching. I cannot think of anything I’d rather do than work with kids.

Whether it be working in a preschool in NZ, leading a cabin at Riversdale, children’s camp, or teaching in Africa, I simply love it. We can learn so much from children. They are genuine; what you see is what you get. They love and trust without fear, they don’t hide away what they are feeling and they show affection freely. Whenever I go down to school the children in the class where I spend most of my time come running over to me, to hug me, greet me, hold my hands, carry my bag etc.
 If I’ve been away in Magugu they get so excited to see me as if  iv'e been gone for about a year! The other day a little girl said to me “Teacher Rachel, I love you.”
Imagine if we as adults greeted each other like that when we arrive in an office, at a law firm, in a shop, or at the hospital, it just wouldn’t happen! And to be fair it would be a bit weird if an adult greeted us that way! 

That does not mean that at times children are not frustrating, disobedient or exhausting. But the beauty of children is that even when you growl them or give consequences they still love you and are quick to forgive. It also doesn’t mean that I am not excited for the upcoming holidays.

A few weekends ago we made a trip out to Falco’s Children’s home in Karatu, about two hours away from here! It was honestly one of my favorite weekends to date. Hanging out with the kids, playing volleyball, soccer, playing on their playground, having cuddles with so many gorgeous kiddies, watching their very amusing talent show that they put on. And talking to Tammy and hearing all her amazing stories about how they ended up where they are, doing what they are doing and how God provided and also some of the heart-breaking stories about how some of the kids ended up there including the story of miracle Moses. It’s amazing that Moses survived as he was placed in a plastic bag and buried in a shallow grave as a new born baby, and then was found about 12 hours later by a shepherd who just happened to be walking in the area. Tammy and Her husband then felt to adopt Moses and now he has a hope and a future!

Nothing breaks my heart more than the thought of children without parents, but it warmed my heart to hang out in a place like Falco’s children’s home, where the kids are loved, they are confident and they are happy. The children’s home is down a long dusty track in a village with one of the highest orphan population in Tanzanian which is largely linked to a high rate of prostitution.

A few years ago I read the story “Kisses from Katie” about a young American girl who went to Uganda on a short term trip and then through a series of events and over several years, ended up adopting 14 orphaned girls. She has since started up a ministry that helps feed, and educate thousands of children (Amazimia ministries). This book was very inspiring but it’s easy to think that I could never do anything like that and to put Katie up on a pedestal. But then to go to a place like Falco’s Children’s home and see first-hand the way that Tammy and Jerry have allowed God to use them to bring hope to many children’s lives, and to see the result of their love and commitment and hear the story of how they were literally given 70 acres of land, by the locals! It just makes my own desire and dream to work with and help orphaned children even greater. It makes it seem possible, achievable and real.  We will definitely be visiting their again!

I love that plans change! If I had stuck to my plan I would already be back in NZ recovering from jet lag, but instead I am sitting in my lounge in Tanzania writing this blog about what I love, following an awesome weekend of hanging out with the friends I have made, feeling totally content and grateful to God for this opportunity. It’s now been 3 months since I arrived and I can honestly say It’s the people you meet and the connections you make that make a place truly feel like home.

I am excited for what this year has instore, right now I am mostly working with the children who are struggling with reading, which I am loving :D 

If you want to know more about Falco’s children’s village check out their website: http://www.falcoschildrenvillage.com/

#TIA This is Africa!

Ever since I decided to stay the whole year I keep having these “wow I actually live in Africa!” moments. A lot of the time it feels so normal especially because I live with Emma a kiwi and

Rebecca another kiwi who stays with us often and soon an Australian too (lets be honest aussies and kiwis are not all that different) and my neighbors are kiwis (Jan and Rod, Lynda and Allen, Joanna). But then we leave the gates of our compound and suddenly it becomes very real that I live in a culture completely different to my own!

For starters we can’t go anywhere without people staring and saying “wazungu” (white people). We can never just blend in with the crowds here! It’s also strange to live in a place where my first language is the locals second language and where many people don’t speak my language at all! It’s good motivation to learn Swahili and I am having weekly lessons with Mama Louis.

There are so many things in New Zealand that I take for granted. Like drinking out of the tap! We have to filter all our water in a bucket filter, or buy bottled water.
 Also being able to get in my car and go anywhere at any time (well not quite anytime! Restricted licence curfew! haha). Here I hardly go anywhere by myself! This is partly to do with the communication barrier. The few dala dala trips I have taken have been interesting! I’ve had to write down how to say where I want to stop before I leave. But also for safety reasons. And even if I could afford to have a car, I have no desire to drive here. Road rules are more of a suggestion, round abouts and intersection rules are basically the pushiest car goes first, and passing gaps seem to be incredibly small! If that’s not bad enough sometimes you get fined simply because a police officer wants “soda money” apparently you can get fines for your car being too dirty even!

We can’t go anywhere without being confronted with the reality of poverty whether it be beggars, street kids, village kids, or recently a guy came up to me and begged me for my water. There are so many things here that literally break your heart.

I have to always be aware of what I am wearing. It’s disrespectful to show your knees here and tight pants are a no go. So my wardrobe now consists of long skirts and harem pants. Most of the time I don’t mind but sometimes I just want to where whatever I want to! You definitely cannot afford to be fussy here. I have used squat toilets I would never dream of using in New Zealand and eaten more rice than you could imagine as well as other things I probably wouldn’t eat back home.

And don’t even get me started on shopping here. If you think New Zealand retailers are pushy try shopping in a town where you literally get bombarded with people trying to sell you things, or begging you to look in their shop. It has its upsides though, when shopping in the second hand market we had three guys digging through all the clothes to find me skirts and dresses that I liked. There were MANY that I didn’t like but they didn’t stop looking for me.  When we eventually found a few I liked they brought me a mirror to look in and told me that it made me look like Kim K (I can definitely see the resemblance) hahaha. Fruit and vege shopping is the same deal you constantly hear “sister, tomatoes, sister zucchinis, sister mangoes” I actually love shopping here though it’s always amusing!

You also cannot go anywhere without greeting people and it always more than just a hi. Which is actually really nice but if you’re in a hurry, busting to go toilet or in a bad mood sometimes it’s hard to do the whole greeting back and forward deal haha.

Despite all of these quirky and challenging things I love it here. I love that no one really cares what you wear and about having the latest fashion! I love going to the crazy busy markets with Emma to buy our food. I love the amusing shopping experiences and feel such a sense of accomplishment any time I communicate anything in Swahili. I love being greeted everywhere I go and chatting with and making connections with the locals. I love the slower pace of life and that it’s not all about squeezing more into your day. I love being swarmed by village kids in Magugu and teaching the kids in class one where I teaching and mentoring. I love the landscape and travelling places and all the interesting and quirky things you see out the bus or car windows; like the lady with a whole pile of socks on her head, the lady bathing fully clothed in the river, people sleeping in strange places, kids in the middle of nowhere walking to school, Maassai men with their cattle and even better seeing Zebras and Giraffes on the side of the road!

 But most of all I love living in a community of people who are passionate about God, where God is the priority he’s everything! If anyone ever doubts Gods existence come to Africa and go out on outreach with Rod, Jan, Emma and Simon and see how God heals people. People cannot fake being healed especially when they don’t even believe God can heal them until He does! The spiritual realm is very real here people literally are held captive and God literally sets them free. My faith grows every day that I live here.

Then there is the practical outworking of God’s love here through providing children with quality education. Yesterday I was talking to Wendy and Archbold about the education system. They explained that if people don’t pass form 4 they cannot repeat that year they then are very limited to what career they can choose and people are placed in universities based on their results. So there is a lot of pressure for people to be educated and to pass exams! It could be the difference between living in poverty or not. But the sad thing is there are many places here that offer education but it’s not quality. I am realising more and more the importance of education and my passion for teaching is growing. I love being a part of something bigger than myself!

 

It’s hard to imagine all these things until you have been here and experienced them, but I definitely recommend visiting a third world country at some point in your life.

Cultural challenges! A teacher and a learner

If you ever want to learn about yourself; what inspires you, what you believe, what pushes your buttons, what your culture has ingrained in you, what matters most to you and how privileged and blessed you truly are, then immerse yourself in a culture that is completely different to your own.

School started back two weeks ago. My role while I am here is to work a long side the class teacher and her assistant in a mentoring role. So far this has involved observing lessons and offering suggestions, modelling lessons, planning with her, testing children for reading and arranging them in to reading groups, showing and planning reading activities, taking reading and writing groups, helping her to take differentiated lessons (catering to those who struggle and those who don’t). Encouraging her to plan ahead and prepare for her lessons in advance and to transition from lesson to lesson. At first so much time was wasted because things were not prepared in advance.

 I was worried that I wouldn’t know enough or have enough experience for this role, but as soon as I stepped foot in the classroom all my learning from teacher’s college, and practicums came flooding back. To the point that at first I was probably overwhelming the teacher with suggestions of things that could be done differently. Things that to me seemed like second nature because not only was I taught them at teacher’s college but also experienced them in my own schooling.

I have been extremely challenged this week and at times overwhelmed because I want to see things happen quickly. When I test child after child who can’t read at all, or when they do read can’t tell me about the story, it’s discouraging. It’s because I keep making comparisons to a New Zealand context and that’s not fair on anyone. There are so many factors that contribute to these issues. For starters English is their second language and they ae still very young. It’s likely the only place some of them hear English is at school. They don’t have iPad’s and TV’s to teach them English and then at this age they are only at school from 8-12.30. The children also have limited experiences they can’t afford to take holidays or go on day trips or on safari. But what they do know about they are experts in. Some of the kids in my class would be expert farmers and would look after their family cattle. If I asked them questions about this, in their own language, I am sure I’d learn a lot! Another factor is the majority of parents believe that it is the schools sole responsibility to teach their kids, so they don’t help them with their homework or read to them. There is also limited resources. Joshua school is more resourced than most other schools here but still compared to NZ there is a lot less and we can’t just print off all our lessons and planning.

I soon realised that the things I have learnt are partly experience but also cultural. The teachers here grew up in an education system that is completely rote learning and lecture styled, in classes of up to 100 children. This has produced a culture that can follow instructions but lacks initiative and the ability to problem solve and think outside the box. Fortunately, the Joshua school is here to change that. They teach their teachers to think, to problem solve, and to engage their students in learning. To use different methods of teaching and be creative. They challenge the cultural norms and keep the class sizes to a maximum of 30. So there are some great things happening here. Joshua school has now become a model school to other schools with teachers coming in to learn from the teachers here. They are empowering and raising up locals to lead, to train and to empower others. That is why I am here as a mentor and not to take the class because the goal is for the locals to capture the vision and run with it. They have a vision of seeing schools like this in every district of Tanzania. Lynda and Wendy are going out to lots of schools to mentor teachers. I will be able to go out with them some of the time to. However change takes times so there are still a lot of teething problems and cultural challenges. It’s not always easy at times and can be very frustrating but I am learning so much.

It’s easy to think that we know best and that our ways are the right ways but I think it’s important to celebrate the richness and diversity of different cultures. My culture is not all knowing and all sufficient. While I am here I am a teacher but I am probably even more so a learner. Some days I am exhausted from all I am learning, or reflecting on or being challenged about! Something I really appreciate and admire about this culture is their ability to take time to connect with each other. I had a whole Swahili lesson on just greetings because they have so many greetings here. They take the time to greet everyone they meet. On the buses you would think everyone already knows each other because they all chat away to each other. They also are unrushed. I realise how much I am driven by time and results. Here it’s (pole pole) slowly slowly. They get there when they get there and life’s not so busy and rushed.

I’m learning patience and to celebrate the small things. I felt God say to me the other day, when I was feeling like it’s all too much, to not ignore the small picture and the little victories because over time they become the big picture and big victories. I realise in the west we always want things to happen instantly and when it doesn’t we are tempted to quit. Change takes time and perseverance develops character and character produces hope. So despite some challenges I will persevere and celebrate the small victorious of which there have been many!