I know it is hard to believe, but it really is me again…already. We had to make a quick run into town today to pick up some food and other supplies so I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity to give you all a quick run-down of this past week. I will also be trying to get more pictures uploaded to the blog (www.benandjesse.blogspot.com).Praise God, classes went very well this week. It was a little scary (ok, scary beyond all reason) getting up in front of all these students on the first day of Philippians class (the toughest one, by far), but God got us through. The first day was mainly introduction of us to the students and vice versa. It is a blessing to get to know these men and women (ages ranging from 18-45) and see their humility and eagerness to learn. English and computer classes went well, also. I wish I had a video of me trying to teach one of the guys how to use a mouse. I almost had to break his finger off just to keep him from constantly pushing the button. The whole concept of moving the mouse on a horizontal plane and seeing your pointer move in the corresponding vertical plane was not something a lot of them were used to either. So far, we have taught them how to turn the computers on/off, how to open a program (Microsoft Word), and begun to teach them proper hand position for typing. They really like this class and it is easy for us to see progress, which is always a plus.
During one of the afternoons, Ben and I took a break from studying and took a football, soccer ball, and Frisbee out by the dorms and had some good, informal interaction with many of the students. They all really seemed to enjoy the recreation and I think we will be having more of it.
On Saturday night, we had some unexpected guests, Dr. and Mrs. Yri from Norway who were passing through. They have been missionaries here in Tanzania for a long time and became acquainted with Ben during a one-year teaching opportunity Dr. Yri had at AFLBS (our church-body Bible School in Minneapolis). It was good to visit with them. Dr. Yri also said he may have a truck he can sell to us. This would be a real answer to prayer.Yesterday (Sunday), we were in the nearby village of Gehandu. The day went very well. Ben shared a brief greeting and I shared the main message. Three other guests also showed up at the service: older ladies who have been here for decades translating the Bible from Swahili into the local dialect of Kiiraqw. It was a lot of fun to get to know them.
So, there you have it. That is a week in the life of Ben and Jesse these days. We may be going to spend this coming weekend at a youth camp but those plans are not yet certain. We are also considering whether or not we should use the weekend to go to Arusha and take care of some banking issues, supply needs, etc. We will see.
Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers. Keep praying! We depend on them.
God bless you!
In Him,
Jesse
