Term 1 Closing Performances

Before going on the two-week school break, we had a small closing for parents to come see what the students have learned.  Four classes were chosen to perform for this term.  Each of them did a superb job.  Two of the classes sang pieces that they have been learning in their music class.  I was very impressed by how much the music teacher has been able to accomplish in just one quarter of the school year.  The other two classes shared things they they have learned in science and language arts.  Here are some raw, unedited videos for you to get a taste of what the performances were like.

S6 He Lives

S6 Shalom Chaverim

S6 Hallelujah Song

S3 What is Matter? Song

Can you list all the prepositions in the English language?  These S3 students can! :)

S3 Preposition Song

S3 Swahili Song

The next performance was written collaboratively between the S5 teacher and his students.  There is a mother of 6 children.  Her children are named Carbohydrate, Protein, Fat, Vitamin, Mineral, and Water.  Watch to find out what all of her children can provide to keep your body healthy.

S5 Nutrients Recitation Part 1

S5 Nutrients Recitation Part 2

The grand finale was the icing on the cake.  Parents loved it!  I think you will enjoy it too.

S4 Traditional Songs and Dances

Parent-teacher conferences followed, which are always a great opportunity to connect with the families and make sure students are getting the support they need from both school and home.  Everyone enjoyed roasted peanuts and lemongrass tea.  Then the term was a wrap!

Maua Church Retreat

I'm thankful to be feeling more and more connected to my church as I get to know people better and get more involved.  Every year, they go on a weekend retreat to the Maua Retreat Center run by Franciscan nuns.  I was able to go this year since one of the other couples on my team was willing to stay and watch over the village. 

Maua means flowers in Swahili.  I quickly noticed that the center is very appropriately named.  The sisters have done an amazing job of keeping the place beautiful with many different types of blooming flowers, fruits, and vegetables.  They also raise cows, chickens, pigs, and rabbits.  The whole place is almost completely sustainable, which I really enjoy getting to see setups like that.  It's higher up on the mountain, so it was cooler and quite peaceful.  And there were amazing views of Mawenzi, one of the smaller peaks on Kili.

Entering the Center

Entering the reception, gathering, and accommodations area

A block of guest rooms

Mawenzi in the background

Maua

More Maua

There were hundreds of rabbits!

 There were huge pigs and little pigs, but apparently I only wanted a picture of the cute little piglets :)

Each cow had been named

 We were free to explore the animal area and the gardens.  My little exploring buddy had a favorite cow that she gave her own name: Spot

 I would like to have gardens as beautiful, neat, and productive as theirs.  But I do recognize that it takes all of them working hard every day to keep it so nice.

Yes, that's asparagus!

And broccoli!

The sisters provided breakfast, morning tea with snack, lunch, afternoon tea with snack, and dinner.  I guess they didn't want us to go hungry.  Everything was from the right there on the farm, homemade, absolutely delicious!  It was quite a treat to get a lot of foods that we don't normally have available.
On Saturday afternoon, we were free to go explore the river that ran below.  The kids had a blast! 

In the mornings and evenings we had sessions to sing hymns and study the Psalms together.  During other free times, some people played games, some read books, some took a nap, and some went on walks, and some enjoyed chatting and taking in the views.  The kids found macadamia trees and quickly figured out how to use rocks to crack open the shells and enjoy the nuts.  They also discovered guava trees that were great for snacking and also having rotten guava wars.  Oh my!

It was a great time of fellowship, getting to know one another better, and enjoying a little retreat from every day life.  I hope I can go again next year!

1st Camping Trip

This past weekend I was able to go on my first camping trip since moving here.  There is a mountain club in town that organizes trips once per month.  This one peaked my interest, plus my friend from church wanted to go, so we decided to join in the fun.  It was only a 2 hour drive away and only a 1 night stay, so it was very doable.  We ended up having 11 adults and 7 kids, which made for a very nice size group.  My fellow campers were from Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Tanzania.  Part of my entertainment was just listening to the different languages being spoken.  It was great!

We pulled up to the location and were instantly blown away by the views.  It sat right above the lake with our 2nd highest mountain in the background and at least 1,000 flamingos scattered across the lake.

See the pink flamingos?

The mountain capped with clouds

Standing just in front of my tent

My friend and I had reserved a fixed tent to share.  I guess that makes it a bit more of a glamping trip ;)

Ours was named Kiboko, which means Hippopotamus 

The view from our tent porch.  We didn't mean to, but we
definitely got the tent with the best view

My bed had American football team sheets.  Perfect!

After lunch and a little rest, we decided to take a guided walk.  We thought it would just be a little stroll down to the lake to see the flamingos.  People didn't really worry much with bringing water and other things you might want on a longer hike.  Then the guide said it would be a one and a half hour walk.  That still sounded okay.  In actuality, we returned to camp after hiking for two and half hours.  Needless to say we were pretty tired and thirsty, but it was still worth it.  We took in a lot of great sights along the way.

Down at lake level.  Can you see the flamingos in the distance?

Below our campsite

The clouds lifted to show the full mountain.  It's actually
a 15,000 foot volcano!

The kids were such troopers!

Candelabra Cactus Trees 

Donkeys were about as close as we got to spotting wildlife

The neatly hand-planted fields are impressive

A primary school that we passed through

Suddenly we were being guided by local children :)

Finally!  We see the lake and our campsite!  And just in time
for sunset over the mountain.

We hydrated and then set about cooking dinner, but we were in need of some quick fuel after the hike.  We needed something to tide us over until the dinner cooked, so I decided it would be a dessert first night.  S'mores for everyone!

The Kitchen

Dinner's cooking in the foil, but marshmallows first!

It was everyone's first experience of a
homemade marshmallow.  They're now hooked!

My German friend's first s'more ever!

The evening was spent hanging out, sharing food, and playing games.  It even got a little chilly, which was an amazing relief from the super hot days we've been experiencing.

The next morning brought the most spectacular part of the whole trip.  Sunrise!  Because of the cloudiness the day before, we didn't realize that we were on a ridge that allowed us to also see the tallest mountain in the distance on the other side of camp.  The brilliant colors kept changing from moment to moment.  Then someone would yell that there was a great sight to see on the other side over the other mountain.  I was running back and forth trying to see it all!

Absolutely breathtaking!  Yet another display of God's handiwork in all of creation!