Last week...what a week it was. Some highs and some serious lows. Serious horrible lows. But definite positive moments, and definitely a learning experience. I'm actually quite glad I've let a few days pass before writing this post, so the good things about the week stand out clear and strong.
Last week was our first in a series of workshops. These workshops are designed to begin to establish writers in the local languages both to produce literature, and hopefully someday be literacy teachers as well. The initial workshop is one week long, with a followup workshop later this fall. Eight languages in all will go through this series, eventually nine hopefully. We had two different language groups come in this last week, 5 people for each group.
This was my first time to teach for long sessions in Swahili, and with people who are not working for our organization. I was nervous, but excited. The first day seemed to go very well. I was pleased with my group and at my ability to generally communicate in Swahili. It felt so good to be teaching again. Though I quickly realized there were many things I hadn't thought through, and many things I could do better, I was still having a blast.
Day two things came to a head with money and communication issues. Money is always a difficult and tricky subject here, and no one I know has come up with a formula for making everyone happy with the decisions they make about money. Without getting into details, I'll simply say that a disagreement about money took place, followed by miscommunication and hurt feelings. And I was stuck in the middle, and it was awful, and I was hurt. I started crying at about 2:30 in the afternoon and then didn't stop until I went to bed at around 9:30. I wanted to leave.
The progressive days improved, and by the end I felt like things were much much better. I loved the people in my group and felt like I built some good relationships there. I look forward to working with them in the future.
At the ending ceremony, one of our administrators told the story of the lion and the mouse, and how we might be small and few, but we are like that mouse, intently nibbling away at the bonds that hold down so many in our region. We are small, but we are bearing the Truth, and the Truth has power beyond measure. And yet last week, I also saw the power of the Enemy. I saw his intent to discourage, harm, break relationships, create distrust, and sow seeds of disunity. I realized fresh that the work we are doing is important, and an act of warfare in the spiritual realm.
All of that to say, I beg you for your prayers. Many around me are fighting physical, relational, and emotional battles, all of which are related to the spiritual. Please pray for us here, missionaries and Tanzanians alike, that we will walk in unity as the body of Christ, and that the schemes of our Enemy will not stand. We have two more workshops coming up the next two weeks. Please pray for these.
And to close, here's a picture I love of me with the group I worked with. We're picking out pictures to go with a story they wrote which I was able to print up for them. That indeed was a joy.
