Signs of Christmas

The signs of Christmas are out--but maybe not what you'd expect if you live in places like Minnesota or Montana. Here in Tanzania we know Christmas is coming because we have the end of term swim gala! With sweltering temps. in the 80s, no ads, no malls, no decorations, we sure don't feel the same urgency that I'm sure is gripping so many of you right about now!

Cameron's class had "Why move?" as their guiding question this term. Topics included electricity (currents and circuits), pre-algebra properties, dance, running/physical fitness, Islamic art, and the book Holes. All of them having themes or connections to movement. FOr their final project they studied refugees, which included a boat race. They had 10 minutes to design and 1 hour to build a "raft" and sail to freedom. The results, as you might expect, were hilarious. Cameron's team definitely gained points for effort, but no matter how hard they paddled, the boat didn't seem to go anywhere! He's already looking forward to next year when their project will involve spending the night in the woods Survivor-style, competing for food and water and different challenges to focus on teamwork.

Noah said this week he hated school. Except for art, maths, and swimming. I don't believe him really. His topics this term were Art Attack, in which he studied various artists and did a focus study on da Vinci, Keys to the Kingdom, focusing on the scientific classification of animals, and Archaelogy. What kid wouldn't love art, animals, and ancient stuff (including him)?! He does love to swim, though, and placed first in the crawl and in the relay. He's very competitive and loves contests and games. He's getting ready to swim the breast stroke here for his relay team.

After over a year of watching all the fun as a preschooler, Ava was absolutely thrilled to finally be able to participate on her house team. Her class swam the width of the pool using their favorite stroke. Ava did the breast stroke and was very excited to earn a point for her team. She was a little disappointed that it was more ofan exhibition instead of a proper race, but had a great time! She loves school, by the way. All of it! Ava's class focused on transportation and a unit called A Seed is a Promise, focusing on how plants grow.

Other signs of Christmas are more traditional, but they still bear a unique Tanzanian flavor. Listening to Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby is a bit surreal! We are approaching our 2 year anniversary here in Tanzania. Some days it feels like we've only just arrived; on others, our former Minnesota lives seem very vague and fuzzy. We've faced another year of challenges, some of them monumental (and hopefully once in a lifetime). I don't think we are yet at the point where we "rejoice in our sufferings." We'd rather skip ahead a couple chapters in Romans to "knowing that in all things God works for good." When we focus on God's intent for good, we stop trying to figure out why and start to look at how--as in how we can move forward and use our experiences in a way that glorifies Him. Now, if only those answers could be made painfully obvious!



Life is lived closer to the edge here and there is a greater recognition of the fraility of life and a deep appreciation for the blessings it brings. We swing wildly between the certainty we can't live here another minute and the belief that we are called to be here for a long time...sometimes in the same day, which makes getting things done a little difficult! It is so inspiring to live among people who see so much good amongst so much need. It's a powerful reminder about where we need to keep our focus.

I was never one to want to travel over Christmas, always preferring to spend it at home--and we have spent most of our Christmases away from family so for us this is not so different. But I do miss familiar things. I miss Christmas carols in all the stores, I miss the decorations at the mall (even though I hated the mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas), I miss renting Christmas movies every weekend, I miss the Hollidazzle Parade and the Dayton's/Marshall Field's/Macy's Christmas show. I miss my big evergreen tree and all my decorations. Most of all we miss all of you. We are so thankful for the friends that we have here that we will share Christmas with and for Mark's parents who are able to be here with us for the next 5 weeks. Even so, we feel far away. We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with the richness and blessings of all that God has to offer.