Life always gets busy for us around the end of a semester and this semester is no different! In fact, in addition to all the “normal activities” (i.e. getting students ready for finals, administering finals, tidying up the grounds before everyone goes on break, finishing work in the fields, etc.), we have also had several extra things on our plate.
First of all, two weekends ago we received 18 Norwegian guests here at the school for about 3 ½ days. It was a group of students from a Bible College near Bergen. They are spending a total of about 2 ½ weeks here in Tanzania and visiting a number of different ministries including Waama, a mission hospital, the mission work in the rift valley, etc. Ben and I especially enjoyed interacting with them and introducing them to our lives here. Receiving guests here, however, always means a lot of extra work…especially for the students who prepare the grounds for their arrival, cut extra firewood for the guests’ food and bath water, help cook the extra food, etc, etc.
This past weekend (March 20-22) was another special weekend here at the school as we had our weekend of spiritual meetings for this second semester. Again, this is always a time the students look forward to but it also requires much work in preparation. This is due to the fact that during those days of meetings, the normal periods reserved for “chores” are greatly reduced. None of this extra work would have affected Ben or me so much except for the fact that I was the “teacher on duty” this past week and Ben was the week before. This responsibility always provides good opportunities for extra interaction with the students but it also takes its toll as it requires getting up extra early to direct the morning chores, organizing the work in the afternoons, and dealing with any other issues that might come up – anything from making sure a sick student is cared for to rescheduling class periods. I guess I could just say we are really looking forward to Easter break.
We have been extremely amazed at how quickly this semester has passed. This is despite the fact that it has included the most weeks of teaching of any of the semesters. The most sober thing is that the final semester for this school year (which begins on April 20th) will only have approximately half the number of teaching weeks that this second semester had. This will be largely due to other work that will need to be done like bringing in the year’s corn harvest (which is currently still in the fields) not to mention all the preparations that go into graduation day (June 28th).
In any case, the next couple weeks are scheduled to go something like this for us:
- March 23-25 – preparations for finals
- March 26-28 – administering finals
- March 30-April 4 – week of grounds-keeping and work in the fields
- April 5 – closing the school for Easter break
- April 6-7 – a couple days in Arusha
- April 8-13 – R & R in Zanzibar J
- April 14-17 – buying supplies and making other preparations for 3rd semester
- April 18 – attending the wedding of a friend in Arusha
- April 19 – return to Waama
- April 20 – 3rd semester begins
We are not sure yet what classes we will be teaching in 3rd semester but that should hopefully be determined even later this week. God has really blessed the classes we have already taught this year. We are so thankful for this opportunity to shape our students’ world view and help build in them a strong foundation on the Word of God.
Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and support as we continue to serve here. I was hoping to have a solid plan to share with you all with regards to our plans for the coming school year but that will have to wait until my next update. Please just pray that as we consult not only with AFLC World Mission in the States but with the church leaders here, as well, that God would make His will clearly known. God bless you all. Have a blessed Easter season.
In Christ,
Jesse Long
Mbulu, Tanzania
