Thankful Tuesday

In looking back over my blog posts, I realize that too often I have been only been sharing struggles and concerns and very rarely sharing the praises.  I think that's probably true of other people, also - when things are going well we tend to act like blessings are to be expected rather than, well...blessings!  And it's only when things go awry that we cry out for help.  So I resolve to do at least one blog post a month to highlight some items of thanksgiving - both large and small!

1.  Today is Maulid Day, the prophet Mohammed's birthday, and a national holiday for this heavily Muslim country.  Yesterday was also an unexpected national holiday (Zanzibar Independence Day, declared as a holiday only the day before by Tanzania's president!) and so we've had a four day weekend.  It's been really nice to sleep in, slow down, and relax.

2.  I am really enjoying the new Swahili class that I'm taking three mornings a week with three other HOPAC women, who were gracious enough to allow me to join their group mid-stream.  The program uses the GPA approach (Growing Participator Approach) which emphasizes that we are not learning a language but we are entering into a culture.  Therefore, memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules are discouraged; the focus is on listening comprehension and relationship.  In fact, the first stage of GPA is listening only...the way we all learned our first language.  We have a Tanzanian language facilitator, Lucy, who is one of the most upbeat, positive and encouraging people I've ever met.  She has such a warm smile and constantly says, "Kazi nzuri!"(Good job!) when we get frustrated with ourselves   I still don't have any idea why I've been placed in Tanzania, but I'm going to do my absolute best to embrace the culture and language and see where it goes.

3.  I am thrilled that we've had two successful experiences in making flour tortillas.  In a country with cheap and readily available fresh avocados and tomatoes, it seemed a cruel irony that tortillas and tortilla chips are nearly non-existent.   Special shout-out to Tim for his efforts:  I have no patience with rolling dough but I am good at the frying.  We make a good team!

4.  I am so thankful for good health for everyone.  We had a rough stretch over Christmas (I took Charlotte to the clinic on Christmas Day itself with a high fever) and then after coming back from Lushoto we dealt with the after-effects of something we ate there for quite a while.  Good health is truly a blessing and something I too often take for granted.

5.  Our power has been really reliable the past month or so.  November was a very discouraging time as the power was off every other day for 12+ hours at a stretch for almost two weeks straight.  But since then, it's really only been off a couple of times.  During this hot season, it's been so great to have fans, A/C when we absolutely need it, and ice cubes!

6.  I've been frustrated with Kindle recently...but what a blessing to have a Kindle and to read in a country without a public library system.

7.  Skype, Facebook and email are absolutely amazing for keeping in touch with everyone back home.  Please know that every time you contact me, it is a huge blessing and a real encouragement!

8.  I wasn't expecting to enjoy our dog Moshi as much as I have.  Sometimes he can be a little much in his extreme desire for love and his German shepherd need to follow me everywhere I go, but he is a loyal, faithful companion and a really good dog.  He is just so happy to be allowed inside with the family, so he's become more of an indoor than an outdoor pet these days.