It never ceases to amaze me how the weeks pass! Since my last update, in addition to our normal work of teaching here at Waama, we had the privilege of hosting a couple friends who came to visit us from Arusha! One was our friend who I told you in my last correspondence had taken us on a motorbike safari. He is here in Tanzania for a year working with a ministry called Scripture Mission. He came to visit us together with another mutual friend who we know through the international church we often attend when we are in Arusha. He is a retired cop from Minnesota whose wife is here working for the U.N. Anyway, those two came for a weekend…each on their own motorcycle and it made for a fun weekend of guy-recreation. I have to say, there is also something refreshing about spending time with like-minded, Christian expatriates. I don’t completely understand it, but there is no doubt that constantly interacting in a foreign culture and language gets tiring after a while.
In short, it ended up being a good weekend for them to come because there were some special meetings happening here at the school which had kept us from being able to schedule any weekend ministry. So, among other places, we took them out to go swimming at those waterfalls which are about 45 minutes from our place. I am pretty sure it was the first time most of the natives around here had seen a motorcycle gang. (Pictures will soon be posted at http://benandjesse.blogspot.com)
Another good opportunity we recently had was teaching a couple sessions that were part of a course put on by the Iraqw Language and Culture Trust (ILCT). Several months ago, I told you about the Norwegian lady here who has dedicated the last 50+ years of her life to translating the Bible into the mother-tongue of the people in this region – Iraqw. Well, her current work, to a large degree, is literacy training and, more specifically, training local teachers who will then be equipped to offer much needed literacy courses in their villages. Ben and I were invited as guest speakers on two separate days to teach pretty much anything we wanted with the goal of simply giving these literacy students a change in pace from their otherwise constant linguistic study. Ben taught an introduction to world history from a Biblical perspective and I gave a basic course on Biblical psychology. It put a little more work on our plates but was a very enjoyable experience.
Interestingly, months ago, we offered to reserve the weekend of February 29-March 2 to go with the people from ILCT to the village of their choosing so that they could see an Iraqw film showing for themselves. So, God once again proves that He is a better ministry coordinator than any of us could ever be. Unfortunately, while Ben went out for the weekend with the ILCT teachers and students, I had to stay home due to an embarrassing little incident that took place on Friday only hours before we were scheduled to leave.
Explanation: We have had a bunch of bees residing in our unused chimney for the past several months. For the most part, they don’t bother us but a couple people have been stung and we know people whose relatives have died from swarms of this types of bees attacking them. So, we decided that maybe we should try to fix this problem…by smoking them out…then burning a bunch of cardboard in the fireplace below…then spraying insect killer up the chimney. It wasn’t that bad of an idea…we just should have put the fire out first. So, when it blew up, my right arm took a pretty good portion of the hit. I was hoping to still go on the weekend ministry trip but finally decided that it would be easier to take care of myself and manage the pain here at home than in the village…and I didn’t really feel like being exhibit #1 in some sort of weekend village freak show. In any case, I am especially thankful for God’s protection of my face through the incident. Furthermore, it has been a good reminder that God can use anything – even bad things – to bring about good. For example, I had all kinds of time that I wouldn’t normally have had this weekend to write my second semester finals (to be administered March 10-12) and get ahead on a whole bunch of projects…like typing up this email for instance. Poor Ben…
As I write this (March 1st), we are still not completely sure of our plans for Easter. It is most likely that we will go to Uganda to visit Ben’s brother in Jinja. In any case, we are certainly looking forward to some down time. For those that have not yet heard, I DO have my tentative date set for returning to the States this summer. As it currently stands, I will be landing at SEA-TAC on the 4th of July. If I do end up returning to Tanzania for another year (as it appears I will be) my stay in the States will last through early September. During that time, I will be taking care of some necessary dental and medical check-ups as well as trying to see as many of you as possible!! Again, I will continue to plan as if I will be coming back here for a third year unless God decides to throw something unexpected in my path in the next couple months.
Thank you once again for your continuing part in my life and ministry. God bless you all.
In Him,
Jesse Long
