An Update at the New Year

As December, 2009 came to a close, so did our time in language study—at least the formal coursework part… for now. Although we still have much to learn in order to become fluent at speaking Swahili, the next step is to immerse ourselves in the Tanzanian culture by speaking with native Swahili speakers as much as possible.

We, for the time being, are going to accompany some of the other missionaries based in Morogoro as they go about their work in the region. This will enable us to practice our Swahili and get a better picture of what is going on in the Morogoro Diocese. The eventual plan is that I will work as an educator/mentor for indigenous parish evangelists, teaching theology and Bible (among other things). A much more fluent tongue will first be necessary for this.

Learning a second language is a humbling experience. Some days we can see how far we’ve progressed. Other days it still feels like we do not understand anything of the conversations around us. It is a challenging process for sure; one that unfortunately can’t be rushed.

After language classes, we celebrated Christmas here in Morogoro, attending worship at a prison-congregation on Christmas Day, and attending a wedding the day after Christmas. For New Years we went to a beach south of Dar es Salaam for a little R&R—a necessary rest.

We hope to have more time for updates now that classes are finished, although internet access has been a continual problem. We will do our best! Thanks for checking in with us here at our blog. Keep checking in as we hope to soon post highlights from our last month.

We also hope that the promise of God’s presence (Emmanuel) touched you this Christmas Season, and that you will experience many new blessings in 2010. Heri ya Mwaka Mpya (New Year’s Blessings).