T.I.A.

Okay, so here's the deal.  Since being in Tanzania for a month and at Tumaini University now for two weeks, I have learned a new mathematical equation.  It is as follows:

5 + 20 + 5 + 0 = 21

I know what you're thinking - that I must have inadvertantly wandered into Dr. Petits Discrete Structures course - okay, maybe you weren't thinking that - but seriously, that course makes about as much sense to me as the mathematical equation I've shown you does!  Allow me to explain.

First of all, you must know and understand the initials, T.I.A.

Upon our arrival in Iringa, one of the very first things Pr. Tom Nielson shared with us as our Bega Kwa Bega host, was this, "Remember, T.I.A.", which means "This Is Africa".  Those initials have since been used and understood many a time throughout our adventures in and around Iringa.

But now, back to my attempt at understanding Discrete Mathematics - or at least my version of it.

As you know, my initial and primary purpose for spending three months in Iringa was to teach as part of the St. Paul Synod Pastor/Teacher Exchange program through the organization, Bega Kwa Bega.

So, I am here and happily teaching one of my two courses, Homiletics (Preaching), to five energetic and excited third year students who are studying to continue on as ordained pastors.  They love my enthusiasm for preaching and passion for the gospel and I enjoy seeing their smiles and eyes light up as I speak to them about the honor and privilege that we have as pastors to tell about Jesus and his love to people week after week in our churches.  They will be outstanding proclaimers of the Word!

However, my second course, and the one of which I spent the most time preparing for - Introduction of the New Testament - has not quite gone as planned.  Again, allow me to explain.

Today marks the completion of the second full week of classes at Tumaini Univeristy and Iringa University College.  I should have had four class sessions already with my New Testament students.  I have had none.

Here's where the math comes in.

I was told prior to classes beginning that I would have 5 students in both of my classes.  I have five in Homiletics, for which I am grateful.  I have not seen any of the 5 in New Testament.

After the first and second sessions of no-show New Testament students, I was told by the Dean of the Theology Department that he had been in contact with one of the students and that they would all be there the next morning at my third scheduled 8:00am course - all 20 of them!

20?!  I only prepared for and made copies for 5!  That's okay, T.I.A., I kept telling myself!  Plus, one of my top five Strengthfinders is Adaptability!  I can do this!  So I begin to plan for 20 students the following morning. 

I arrive bright and early for Tea in my office the next morning, before heading off to greet my 20 students who I assume are excited to begin their study of the New Testament.  I arrive in my classroom twenty minutes early to get the room all set up and write down all the necessary introductory information about myself and the course on the blackboard.  8:00am - no students.  8:15am - no students.  8:30am - no students.  8:45am - back in my office trying to figure out where all my students are.

When I seek answers to such questions, the Former Dean of the Department informs me that I do not have 20 students, but rather only 5, and that they are on campus and should be there for my next scheduled class.  So I'm back to 5 students.  Remember, I had another 15 copies of handouts made for my "20" students and now the department copy machine is on the fritz and I am feeling responsible, but I don't say anything :(  T.I.A.

So, I prepare again for my 5 students - I have never been so prepared for anything!!
I arrive at my fourth scheduled class for New Testament - am much more brief with my introductory comments about myself and the course on the blackboard, thinking that there is a chance that no one will show up this time either.  I was right to be brief - I should have saved the chalk - no students showed.

Now I go back to the Dean and find out the unfortunate news that the five students enrolled for the Bachelor of Divinty Degree that I have been waiting to meet for two weeks, are not on campus, and will not be coming to campus.  For various reasons, mostly financial we believe, these students, though accepted and enrolled, cannot afford to pay the tuition required before studies can begin.  So now, I realize that I am down to 0 students for the course, which means, the Dean informs me, that the course will no longer be offered.

I realize quickly that I didn't come all the way to Africa to teach only one 3 hour course in Homiletics to only 5 students for three months, so I begin asking about other courses that I could teach or co-teach with another faculty member.  The Dean sees nothing that he thinks would work and encourages me to enjoy my light timetable.  I seek out another faculty member in the Theology Dept. who I know is carrying a heavy course load (10 courses!) and offer my help.  He too, is teaching a Homiletics course that I think I could take from him and possibly combine with mine.  He chooses to keep his course but does offer me another - Introduction to Christian Worship.  Which I said "Yes" to immediately because that was one of the courses I initially requested to teach last summer and wasn't granted!  The course only meets once/week for two hours.  So it still leaves me with a relatively light timetable (schedule), but I'll take it.  Plus - now here comes the sum of my mathematical equation - the course (Worship) has 21 students who have already met once, so I can be pretty sure that they will all show up again next week!

So, as you can see, I went from having 5 students, to 20, back to 5, to 0, and eventually to having 21.  Remember, as I do every day - T.I.A!

Seriously, however, I really do appreciate that "This Is Africa"!  I love that their pace of life and living is so relaxed and less stressful.  I love that they put the ketchup in the yellow bottle and the mustard in the red bottle.  I love that if you forget to get your change from the cashier at the local cafe' one day, they will subtract it from your bill the next day.  I love that a traditional Massai man, in full Massai outfit (including sword) makes and serve me my banana milkshake in a small, local internet cafe' every Tuesday.  I love that gas station attendants shake the vehicles back and forth while filling them with gas (for what reason I can't figure out yet).  I love that little African women sweep the gutters and drainage ditches every morning and burn the little piles of leaves and rubbish that they collect, filling the air with haze and smoke that reminds me of Fall in MN.  I love that wherever we walk or drive, people recognize us and holler out to us their greetings (sometimes with hugs and kisses) like we've been lifelong friends.  I love that, as a pastor, and a pastor's family, I, and we, are greeted with and treated with such utmost respect and reverence.  Not that I need that, but it does feel good and I realize the importance of and the significance of the office of pastor in this country, unlike I've realized it or felt it back home.  I love that I've discovered what the Body of Christ truly feels like - broad, wide, far-reaching, diverse, powerful - and that my ministry and leadership style will from now on, reflect this learning.

Yes, T.I.A.  This Is Africa.  And I love it!

Now, let's just hope that my 21 students show up for my Worship class on Tuesday!
I'll keep you posted.

Peace and Grace and Love to you all,
Dale

This is Tobie Territory

“Habari” from Tobie in Tanzania-

I love learning about animals. One of the favorite things we have done is go on Safari.  We saw a lot of animals. We saw lions, tigers, and bears..oh my! Okay, really we did see lions but also

Giraffes                        elephants                      jackals              African buffalos

Monkeys                      impalas             gazelles hippos

Crocodiles                    a lion kill (poor giraffe)              bat-eared fox   

Mongoose                    greater and lesser kuduu,                      zebras             

Baboons                       a six foot-long cobra (thank goodness this was dead)

Ostriches                      warthog                        terrapin (like a tortoise)

Eagles                          baobab trees                storks and lots of other birds

This is one of favorites-the Greater Kuduu! It has horns.

My favorite food to eat in Africa is rice. I love mango and I get to eat a lot of mango in Africa. I go with to market to buy mangos and am a great bag carrier.

On my way home from the market with Sharon and Grace I almost got ran over by bike. It came out of nowhere and was going up the hill fast.

I got an elephant from my Nana and Papa before they left. I named it “T” because my name is Tobie and the word for elephant in Swahili is “Tembo”. Then I bought a smaller one and named it “O” because my middle name is Oliver. I made them a house and went to Neema Crafts and bought them a trough for their water.

The church services are 3 hours long and my advice would be to always bring something to do-like legos. You might end up playing with them with other kids but that is okay.

The one thing I would tell you if you are coming to Africa is to learn to say

“asante” that means thanks                    “asante sana” means thank you very much

“hapana” means no                               “ndyio” means yes

Good by from Africa for now!

Tobie

Sokoni-to market

I have been waiting to share one of my favorite learning experience in Iringa-grocery shopping. As the head chef and meal planner for the seven of us, it has been fun to discover new foods, new recipies (a special thanks to my brother-in-law John who copied me a cookbook from the days that he lived in Tanzania-now I know what Blue Band is!) AND new ways to serve rice and beans.

The most fun and overwhelming place to shop is the open air market. It is really just a very large machine shed with no walls and doors full of so many vendors that you can hardly walk.  On the end is piles of small, dried, fish. That is the gray piles you might see on top of the blue stands. Don't ask me what kind they are! They are smelly and we walk past them very quickly. Inside and row and rows of vendors selling all kind of vegetables, fruit, rice, spices, nuts, ect. There are always so many people around and the aisles are so narrow it is hard to take a picture. I am still figuring out how to buy bananas. There are so many different kinds and shapes. The first day my mom and I bought some green ones-thinking they would ripen up in the next few days. A week and a half later they were still woody.I have my favorite pineapple vendor. Pineapple is amazing here-pretty cheap and a favorite fruit at dinner. So I usually get a big one (5000 shillings) every three or four days. The vendor recognizes me (how many white women with kids can there be around???) and greets me with a enthusiastic "Habari!" Today he threw in a small pineapple for free.

Dale and I honeymooned in Hawaii and my favorite fruit was Papaya. I think I bought a box that I could carry home on the airplane with me. They were very sweet and about the size of your fist. Much to my surprise-African papaya is very different. You have to let it get ripe enough and eat what you cut or it quickly starts to ferment. Here is a picture of me in our kitchen with the Papaya that Grace (Noel and Sharon's housekeeper who took us to the market today) said would be ready "not today-hmmm-maybe tomorrow."

 

 

Now for our other needs (like the boxes of Corn Flakes for 15,000 shillings-about $8-9 a box) There are many little stores along the streets. On a street past the market you can find...well anything you need in a variety of little shops. The shop owners are very good at stocking their goods floor to ceiling-literally. They are very adept at using long sticks at knocking things off of high shelves and catching them as they come down. My favorite little shop is a bit of a walk but is run by a sweet, little lady whose names I discovered is Mama Idda (pronounced Edda). Her prices are very good and she gives me a receipt :) She always has a couple of young helpers around to knock things off of the high shelves for me. For some reason the picture of Mama Idda's shop with 5 of us in it and only able to turn around will not load. So that and other market stories with have to wait for another day.

 

Blessings to all who are following our adventure! Carrie

 

 

 







Caleb Makes an Appearance!

I think the first three weeks of Africa have been the busiest three weeks I have ever been through.

First getting to Africa, and pretty much going straight to Zanzibar. Fumba Lodge in Zanzibar was breathtaking. This is where I first put my feet into an ocean. When we got to Iringa, we got to settle down a little bit before we headed to Illua where my Grandma and Grandpa’s sister church is. We spent the night the partying with the people there. The next day we visited the hospital and Image Secondary School. Then went on our first safari, that was just amazing. How many people can say they have been charged by an elephant and got within ten feet of two males, three females, and six Lion cubs in the same day! After that we hung out at the apartment till the Fish Lake group arrived. Then we started all over again. First we went on our second safari, and we followed a lion to its pride. That was awesome. My first experience playing soccer (football) in Africa was getting creamed by a bunch of five to ten year olds.



Caleb playing soccer with the kids at the orphanage! (note the pink "Joy for Jill" shirt :)

After the Fish Lake group left we have started up school.L

Noel and I setup his Ham Radio antenna, that was an adventure.

I Love going down to the market. Bargaining is really fun. You think if I tried bargaining in Target they would like it?? J

We have a really nice apartment.

What surprised me was that the people here dress so nice even in the middle of nowhere and they are so nice!

Caleb

P.S. Tom I really am on the trip J

Deep Thoughts from Annica

Hi everyone this is Annica. I hear there are a lot of people who want us kids to write more on the blog.

Life in Africa is different but very fun I am getting used to our apartment and sleeping later. I now know where lots of things are like food, plates, cups and silverware. I have moved in to my room and made some changes like moving the two single beds together to make a double and all my stuff is where I want it since we are not leaving everyday like to Wasa or Ruaha.

Like I said before living in Africa is different and so is shopping. We walk to the market with shopping bags.  We first go to the produce market, then we move on to the little grocery stores and that’s it, unless we need something different then normal. We do this routine about two or three times a week.

The food is good I like it best when we make it and choose what we eat.  We always eat at Noel and Sharon Petit’s apartment. They live in the apartment building next door (we eat there because they have the bigger table). We learned how to make pizza and its good. We found a bread store that sells wheat bread and donuts! They are great.

Safari at Ruaha National Park is great! My favorite animals are the lions and the cubs. The cubs were super cute but the males were amazing, they were my favorite. I just love their manes, they are so amazing!
We saw many lions and prides but my favorite lion sighting was when we were like ten feet away from three females, six cubs, and two males. It was amazing. All the other animals were super cool too, but lions were my favorite!

Dogs in Africa are not very friendly and nobody really owns them but they are all over Iringa.  They bark all day and all night and they are barking has I am writing this now. Not the kind of dog I would like to own. I like my little Golden Retriever Casey!

I know some people on Facebook have asked about exchanging money.  It’s simple, the bank is just up the hill and has an ATM.

My dad heard about a little cafe behind the bookstore that had really good milkshakes. So on Tuesday we went to try it and yes they have amazing milkshakes. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and banana, super good!

On Thursday we went to the orphanage with lots of toys and pillow case dresses. We got a tour and played with them for about half an hour. I made a friend named Liss. She is eight years old and speaks no English but she is a really good drawer. She drew a picture of me with a top-hat on and she can write my name with a C not a K.  She teaches me Swahili and I teach her English. I do know how to say (what is your name) in Swahili-Jino Lako. We went back on Monday and I took videos of Liss and her friends dancing and they would watch the videos.  Other kids would watch too and every video I took of them there would be more kids in it.  They loved it! Can’t wait to go back.

My friend, Liss



Here's me with my friend, Liss



We also have a housekeeper named Mariam she has a lot of laundry to do.  She cleans a lot too.

Last of all some highs and lows of living in Africa.

Here are some highs                                       

Doing lots of fun new stuff!                            

Getting to read lots because of no TV                                                                

Safari                                                                     

the orphanage
all the kids and people

here are some lows
No TV

being away from Casey

missing my aunts, uncles, cousins, and Nana and Papa 

missing all my friends.

And then there were seven...

This adventure started on September 17 with nine of us.  The five Stiles, my parents Ginny and Dave, and Noel and Sharon Petit. We had lots of luggage and a few butterflies.

We spent some wonderful days together on Zanzibar playing in the sun and the Indian Ocean.
We arrived at our apartment in Iringa and met the gracious and welcoming people of Ilula Lutheran Church.

We travelled together for 5 long hours down a VERY bumpy road to an amazing experience in Ruaha National Park among the animals of Africa.

We visited Isamila Stone Age site and took time to get acquainted with life in Africa.
Then the group of Fish Lake arrived. It was joyful to reunite with them. We experienced Safari again with them. Had some sad good-bys as my parents left for Dar and then home to Minnesota the next day.

Annica had her 11th birthday on Safari and had dinner in a dry riverbed and was sung "Happy Birthday" in Swahili by all the waiters and porters. Definitely a night to remember.

It has been a busy week with the Fish Lake group highlighted by amazing worship with Wasa-the church with whom we partner.

One of my highlights has been watching my children interact with the Tanzanian children. Whether it is at Huruma Orphanage (the universal language of soccer and coloring crayons) or at Wasa or other churches we have visited. You don't need to speak the same language to play together.

Today the Fish Lake group left. It is very quiet-but yet feels like the timing is right. Time to start school (watch for the Stiles children's first day of school pic).  Time to organize cooking and shopping at the market. (I already have had a lot of fun doing this and I will describe more at a later date.) Time for Dale and Noel to start teaching (as soon as a student or two starts showing up). Time to learn to communicate better with Mariam, our housekeeper. Time to develop a routine that includes good family time-the true meaning of sabbatical.

We miss you all,
Carrie

It's All Good!

So much to share.  It seems that a blog just isn't enough to convey all that is happening.
Allow me to randomly share some thoughts...

• All are well.  The Tanzanians are taking great care of us in all ways.  For that we are thankful.
• A visit to our partner congregation, Wasa Lutheran, the last two days, was wonderful.  We are filled with joy and rejoicing.  I served communion between two local pastors and it was wonderful as I looked into the eyes of these beloved african people and shared with them the body and blood of Jesus.  Amen.
• Smiles everywhere.  Tanzanians love to smile and wave and hug and kiss and hold hands and laugh out loud.  It is so contagious.  the power of touch and friendship takes on a whole new meaning in africa.  It is good.
• I start teaching tomorrow.  After months of planning and creating my curriculums for my two courses, the students arrive for class tomorrow.  It will be good to be in the classroom and begin to share with the students my love for and my passion for the gospel as I teach them the importance of preaching and studying the New Testament.
• A dear young member of Fish Lake Lutheran, Emma Gustafson, whose mother, Jill, is seriously ill with cancer, is among the 13 from Fish Lake who are here with us now in Iringa.  Today, Emma sang a solo (in Swahili) during worship at Wasa which brought tears to many eyes.  Surely today her mother and father would have been extremely proud of her.  We captured it on video so to share with her parents and friends.  Way to go, Emma!
• Many of us shared in a wonderful meal with Rev. Dr. Falres Illomo, who visited and preached at Fish Lake Lutheran in May of this year, at his home in Iringa this evening.  He and his wife, Flora, wonderfully hosted 15 of us for dinner.  It was good reunite with him and to meet his wife and oldest child, Eric.  He told me to reassure all of our friends and family back home that he and his family will take good care of us and that you are not to worry.  Thanks be to God for new and good friends like Illomo!
• I am loving so much to see the joy and learning that is happening in the hearts and minds of our Fish Lake friends who are here with us until Tuesday.  They are tired from the busy schedule, but they are good and they are happy and they are renewed.  Pastor Nixon shared at the conclusion of our worship with Wasa this morning, that it is like Peter on the top of the mount of transfiguration - he did not want to leave because it was so good to be there, but Jesus ordered them back down the mountain.  It is good to be here - we too, are transfigured, but we must go back down the mountain - we must go home.  We will send our friends off tomorrow night with a special service of worship and holy communion in Noel and Sharon's apartment.  They will return with amazing stories to share and with hearts of love and mercy restored and renewed.
• I am glad I am here in Iringa for three months.  I am already seeing how we are beginning to form relationships - not just me, but my family members as well.  Each are opening up and getting to know local community members and pastors and even our drivers.  And again, all are very friendly and welcoming.
• I am continually thankful for the work and ministry of Pastor Connie Warner, who continues to keep the good ministry of Fish Lake Lutheran going strong and forward while we are away.  I can already see how my time on sabbatical is shaping me, my family and Fish Lake Lutheran in powerful ways.  God is good!

That is all for now.  I better get busy looking over my lessons for tomorrow.  Oh, and I better go check the score of the Vikings game!

Don't forget to check out pictures on my facebook page (see link on the right), or on the Fish Lake Lutheran facebook page.

Peace and Love to all,
Dale