Sunday, July 18
Sunday was a big day. Colorful khangas hung around the auditorium and smoke wafted from the "kitchen"! 3 choirs sang; the adults, the children, and a group of grandmas that call themselves the "hallelujah choir!" Such fun!! ;-) Then Pastor John preached from Psalm 116 on the depths of God's love.

Bariadi choirs

Afterwards we had a big dinner (rice and goat meat) followed by an afternoon service. At the end of the morning service, Pastor John took up a special offering for us three as a thank you for coming. After the afternoon service Pastor John invited us all up, then the church ladies all marched in with a gift of fabric for each of us. Afterwards we had one last get-together with the ladies to share our thanks, and give a final devotional to tie up our seminar on the armor of God. We had also assigned different ladies a verse each from our passage in Eph 6, what a delight to hear them quote Scripture!!

This being my first trip, I had moments... and days... of anxiety. Can i really do this? Will I be able to handle the food? What will bathroom/shower conditions be like? What will I do if the car breaks down so far away? How often the enemy uses the fear of the unknown to keep us from running the race the Lord has set before us! I'm so grateful that God got the victory over my anxiety this time around. Days before, He surrounded me with His peace. I'm so grateful for His protection and strength each day of our trip to Bariadi and back. Yes, there were struggles, but there were also incredible blessings!!!

New and old friends: (from left to right) Standing: this lady (don't remember her name) just got saved 4 months ago- used to be a witchdoctor; Mariamu (or Mama Nathan, pastor's wife); the deacon of the church and his wife (we stayed at their house); Mariamu; and Joyce (daughter of deacon, also recently saved). Sitting: Justa and ... hmmm, i wonder?

Justa and I began teaching the ladies of Bariadi (from about 11am to 1pm), with Mariamu leading the singing. We taught 3 sessions, who our enemy is, the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness. We had about 12 ladies

That afternoon Pastor John took us to a different village, Mwadobana (Mwah-doh-bah'-nah). The road was the worst I had ever driven on, but we made it by God's grace!! We visited with the young man acting as pastor out there. While the food was being prepared we headed out on a 20 min walk to visit a church member who had just had baby #5. Returning to big piles of rice and goat meat and sodas, we ate quickly to try to get back on the road before the sun went down.

Fri & Sat, July 16-17
Spent both days at the church in Bariadi, teaching women and children. Great memories, lots of laughter, playing "volleyball" with the kids, hearing them sing at the top of their lungs, and keeping them on the edge of their seat with a missionary story (Ringu).

Singing with the kids

Ladies seminar

Justa using flannelgraph to teach the armor of God

Tues, July 13
We left Mwanza around 10am, planning to stop in Lamadi to visit pastor Joas and his wife Rhoda and take them for lunch. Another church member, Mussa's wife, was heading back to her village on the way and asked for a ride 2 days before. So we picked her up as well, then Justa was asked to take some medicine to Zephania's (Bible college student) mother in Bubinza. Can't just drop in for a quick visit when we had never been there. We sat and ate rice and beans and drank tea with her for about an hour. Then lunch (at 3) in Lamadi. We finally made it to Bariadi about 7:30 that night. :-) 5-hr trip turned into 9 1/2 hrs!!

We ate dinner at Pastor John's house then left the car there and we 3 ladies were escorted to the deacon's house where we stayed each night. His daughter, Miss Joyce, (is about my age and still single- because she was working to be a nun) had just gotten saved a few months ago and took extra good care of us!! We had 2 beds for 3 of us and took bucket baths each night. Hospitality may look different in different cultures but it's still hospitality, still out of a heart of generosity!

Wed, July 14
We made it back to Pastor John's house for breakfast at 8am, ready to start our women's seminar and children's meetings. Kumbe, Pastor John had different plans... Instead we drove out to the village of Mwamunhu (mwah-moon'-hoo) for a day to teach the ladies and children out there. On they way we stopped to visit a few of John's relatives in Mwamapala and then again way out in the "bush" following some cattle paths and driving through a dried cassava field where I got to witness to Pastor John's cousin and his wife and children. After I shared the plan of salvation in Swahili, Pastor John switched to Sukuma to explain further. Both husband wife received the Lord!

Arriving in Mwamunhu, the church members were so excited to have us. They had decorated a special little hut for us to eat breakfast in (chai and chapatis). Then we drove out to their property (no building yet) and split up, men in one bit of shade and women and few hundred feet away in another patch of shade. Pastor John taught the men about witnessing, Justa and I taught and greatly revised version of the armor of God. Afterwards we had an hour of games and songs and a lesson for the children. Then we headed back to our special hut for a dinner of rice and goat meat.

Teaching the women

Children getting lined up for a game

Dinner at Mwamunhu

Heading back to Bariadi (about a 45 min drive) we were all tired!! Pastor John had already scheduled us to head to another church member's house for dinner that night, so we couldn't back down (they had no doubt already slaughtered the chicken!), so we got there about 8 pm (hoping to able to put more food and a 3rd bottle of soda down!) One thing the Sukuma love to do is feed their guests!!!

I went to bed that night thinking, Lord... this was only day1? Help!! Didn't have much time to get concerned though, sleep came much too quickly for that. :-)

Thank you to each one of you who wrote notes of encouragement and prayed in response to my last prayer letter. It’s always a bit of a risk to be transparent, so thank you for your love! For those who might be concerned, please know that I’m not considering quitting. Tough times might slow me down a bit, but by God’s grace and through your prayers, I will not leave the battlefield where my Captain has assigned me.

Children’s Ministry
Mariamu and I continued our church rotatation up through June, encouraging teachers and modeling good teaching techniques. Last week Mariamu was asked by her pastor to stop traveling with me and stay and help strengthen the children’s ministry in their own church. Thus, I’m heading to the next level of faith and dependence on the Lord. I plan to continue our monthly rotation on my own, working more closely with the teachers from each church. I also continue translating Sunday school lessons. It takes me between 6-8 hrs for each lesson. I’m on lesson 23 out of 50, almost half way there! We have started teaching the series in many of the churches which is motivation to keep translating… to keep ahead of the teachers! Also, in May, I had the opportunity to teach a series of lessons on purity at a private school. A short-term missionary nurse and I taught 5th & 6th grade girls both the physical and spiritual sides of staying pure. We had a lot of fun with the girls and pray God will use our words in their hearts.

Women’s Ministry
The Lord be praised…He is slowly opening a door for me to get involved with the women in our churches. We’re starting small. Several pastor’s wives and I have taught two 1-day women’s retreats on the armor of God in two different village churches. We had about 10 women at each church. We have two more retreats planned in July and August and will be combining them with a VBS-type program for the children.

Sweet Potato Season
A few months ago I went out to visit Mariamu’s family, they took me to their fields and taught me how to plant sweet potatoes. Last week I went back and we harvested my “crop!” Nothing in life happens by accident. Sometimes I feel at a disadvantage being such a city girl, but at least my Tanzanian friends get the pleasure of educating their ignorant mzungu! Afterwards I pulled out a coloring book and box of crayons. Mariamu’s 5 younger siblings spent the next several hours huddled over the book trying their hand at a new experience called coloring.

Praises
*The waves of culture shock still come and go, but things are much better. Thank you again for praying!!! Praise the Lord! I was able to get away for a weekend and spend some time with the Lord. It is much easier to handle daily pressures when the spiritual batteries are recharged!
*I praise the Lord for the privilege of 15 months of working closely with Mariamu. She had mountains of patience with all my questions and blunderings in the language. She also became a close ministry and prayer partner and will remain a dear friend!

Prayer Requests
*Pray for safety and the Lord’s strength each Sunday as I work alongside children’s workers. July and August I will be at our new church in the village of Mayoka.
*Pray for our women’s retreat and children’s program in Bariadi, July 13-18. Then again at Nyamasale, Aug.23-29. Pray for safety on the road and safety staying overnight in these villages. Pray that we would be able to communicate clearly and the Lord would use our words in the hearts of the women and children.
*Bill and Tammy Brouwer are back in the U.S. right now on a medical furlough. Pray for rest and healing.

In His love and care,
Lisa

I helped wherever I could, grading assignment books (students fill in a notebook recording daily Bible reading, church attendance, and also write 12 sermon/lesson outlines during the 4-6 months between sessions), and running errands. Saturday I also gave a "test" on the children's seminar I taught last session. Students taught a 10min children's Bible lesson.

Many of our students are pastors themselves, so Bible college sessions are a great time to encourage each other through fellowship and prayer and preaching. Each night Greg or one of the graduates preached. I got some of my own spiritual batteries recharged!

The Saturday before we cleaned the chapel.

The Saturday between classes the men worked on building a fence around the property.

Nine Tanzanians and I went out to join them for a day of witnessing on Wed. Justa and I left the city at 7:30am, picking up believers from various churches along the way. Midenge and Tasia from Fumagira, Ngamba from Igekamaja, and Joseph from Mayoka. I packed 5 in my car (4 in the back seat of a Rav 4- yikes!) and Pastor Pele took pastor Deli on his motorcycle. We made it to John and Milka's house right before 9am.

After tea and bread and butter and lots of talking we started out at 10:30. We split into 3 groups. In four hours we 4 women went to 2 homes, talked with 8 people and 4 of them made a profession. We finished up around 3, then headed back to John and Milka's home for lunch. More chatting and laughing, then walked to the beach and back, then drove home dropping off people along they way. Home by 7pm.

I don't know the total count of professions, but each group led several to Christ. John has taken the whole month vacation to witness, so he has all their names and will continue visiting and teaching. He has also started a Bible study on Mondays. We're also heading back in a few weeks and are planning to stay 2 nights.

When Pastor Deli went to one house, the wife was moving out. He witnessed to the husband who got saved, then the wife who also received Christ. Then he started marriage counseling. They both were willing to admit wrong and forgive the other. Praise the Lord He still works miracles!!!

I've heard that years ago the Arabs had brought horses to this area, but they couldn't survive the heat. Unknown substances to a Tanzanian: snow and chocolate and horses! :-)

But in all fairness, there are many things here in TZ that are unknown substances in America, like ugali, passion fruit, and mongoose (pl-mongooses? mongeese?)! :-)

It is said that for most cross-cultural workers, the hardest moments of adjusting to a new culture occur around the 1½ year mark. It is also said that most missionaries who leave the field do so during or right after their 1st term, often due to some aspect of not being able to adjust. Culture shock is a very real and very serious issue for all missionaries and especially for us new ones. We first-termers need your prayers!!!

My Culture Shock:
After the 1 year mark, I thought I was doing pretty well adjusting to my new life here, and I secretly hoped I might turn out to be a bit “super-human” and not go through the typical culture shock I had been warned about. Well, rest assured, I’m normal. March and April have been one long battle with my mixed up emotions like impatience, frustration, impatience, discouragement, loneliness, and impatience again . Many little differences over a couple days or weeks is difficult but manageable; however, many little differences over many months has worn down my nerves and shortened my patience “fuse.” What kind of little differences, you ask?

I’m always standing out as the foreigner, being the object of the street beggars and cat calls and stares. Speaker systems at churches and bars alike are played at the highest volume possible day and night. There are unannounced electricity rationing, other drivers and bikers with different views of right-of-way rules, spiders and snakes and geckos and bats in the house, weekly bouts of diarrhea, and driving on 4-wheel drive-type roads every day. In the rainy season, roads wash out quickly and cars are continually getting stuck in the mud. In the dry season, a thick layer of dust settles over everything in the house and car. Many products are poorly made, like matches that won’t light and soap that won’t clean dishes. Many insignificant problems over many months add up to: culture shock.

Putting on the “Shock Absorbers.”
PRAY for your first term missionaries for God-given shock absorbers! …for patience- with ourselves. Adjusting takes time and I struggle with discouragement and guilt and questions like- Why can’t I just get over it? Also patience with others, here in TZ losing ones patience is highly offensive and childish. The longer I’m here the shorter my patience fuse gets. Oh dear! For wisdom- There are so many layers to a culture. It’s not easy to know what questions to ask to understand a people, nor to know how to interpret what is found in light of Scripture. For example: Why is it offensive to appear in a hurry? Why are all problems blamed on witchcraft? Flexibility- I’m told (and am trying to apply) that the key to adjusting is to stop asking “why” and just accept. For example: Why do people refuse to follow basic common sense laws of safety while walking along a highway? Clearly there’s more than one way to come up with what is common sense and what isn’t. Everyone seems to be following a different idea of common sense. Do I get angry and fight for what makes clear sense to me? Or do I let go and try to learn another way of thinking? (Letting go get’s really hard after awhile!) Finally, endurance- the dig-your-heels kind of grit and determination to stick it out when the novelty and excitement of the first term have worn off.

They say the struggles associated with culture shock come in waves. I’ve just come through one which is why this prayer letter is late. Forgive me, I just couldn’t bring myself to write until now. Culture shock is real and very difficult. Please keep praying!

When we arrived, they left me at a hotel...right on the beach!... for 4 nights!! Oh wondrous REST!! :-)

April is the height of the rainy season, so there were plenty of wildflowers, and green landscapes, and the sunflowers were in bloom!

I also finally got to see a Baobab tree, actually we passed tons of them!!!

Our Shepherd knows just when we need to lie down in green pastures and be lead beside the still waters!

Mayoka is doing so well. Such fun to see their energy and excitement. Pastor Pelegrino is doing a wonderful job!

Mariamu, Justa, and I, all first-timers on the ferry! :-)

We went on a Wednesday. The whole journey took almost 2 hrs one way. We met up with some of the new believers around 10:30, saw the new church building, then started soul winning. The first house we all stayed together and Pastor Deli shared the gospel with 6 men. Then we split up, we ladies witnessed to a lady and some teen girls for over an hour. When the men came back, we headed to one of the church members' house for a lunch of ugali, fish, and hot (sweet!) tea. We sat and visited for quite some time, did some more visiting and then started the journey homeward.

Some of the Sengerema villagers begged to have their picture taken! ;-)

One Sunday, after the service, while I was chatting with different church members, the kids decorated my car! :-)

What fun to find yellow flowers stuck in the all the cracks! :-) They were so excited to surprise me and they sure did!!

When life gets hard, it's hard for me to write on the blog- my pride probably- don't want to admit that I'm struggling, and don't want to turn the blog into a chance to complain either!

I'm back, which means life is getting better. I think it was another wave of culture shock. My "patience fuse" was non-existent there for awhile. I got to the point where I wanted to find a gun and shoot the neighbor goat who wouldn't stop bleating as well as all the noisy birds outside my window! I had also discovered new depths of my flesh while driving, I used to never call another driver names if he made a stupid move! ...and these are some of the less shameful examples I'm afraid. Ugh! I've been so disgusted with myself. There were several weeks where I battled it every day and often lost. This all led also into some brief bouts with depression as well.

One friend encouraged me last week with the reminder that these are all normal struggles for someone attempting to live cross-culturally and that I needed to be patient with myself.

Gratefully, I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel for this wave! I was able to get away for a week and now my schedule is slower and can get back to exercising, eating right, and spending time in the Word. I also want to get back to purposely (when possible) planning a day off every week. In a few weeks life will be picking up again as the next session of Bible college rounds the corner, but until then, I'm breathing easy.