Your Glory Shines Above All

God has richly blessed us. On our first Saturday, we travelled to Angel House at 7 am to work in the Shamba. Some of the kids were already out working but what was so amazing was the rainbow that perched in the sky above. It was a perfect sign of God’s promise to His people.

Saturday mornings are a lot of work and the afternoons are fun. They get up and work in the Shamba from 7-10 or so. However, if they do not have their stuff done by 10 they stay out there. They then have lunch and the afternoon is FREE TIME!!! We can choose between any number of things such as swimming, play with toys, play games, etc. Eric and I worked our first Saturday this past week. My new nickname is “Bebe Shamba” which means Grandma of the Garden. We took our shoes off and took a jamba, a hoe, and went to work! We turned soil and weeded and then I began wondering how many worms were getting in my feet!?!?

Sunday is my favorite day of the entire week! The kids get up and have breakfast and get ready for church. Church is held in the big room, we just move in a pulpit from the back. The kids take turns leading songs and they all get up and dance and sing. We worship for at least two hours in Swahili of course. Tedi, one of the night matrons, leads worship because she can sing very well! The kids take turns praying and they have a time to give a testimony. They basically stand up and tell about how God has blessed them that week. After church, we do things that cannot be done during the week. It is Market Day in Tarime, so some of the kids enjoy going shopping for the weekly needs of Angel House, some get their heads shaved (requirement for the schools), some just want to leave the Orphanage for an hour.

Normal??

Let me first tell you all that there are no “normal days.” Each day brings a new blessing or surprise; however you want to view it. I want to begin by telling you the schedule of events Monday through Friday. Monday through Friday goes like this:

4:45 am - 6 am ~ Take baths, get dressed, polish their shoes, scrub the floors, eat breakfast, and do any undone school work
6 am ~ The secondary students begin walking to school which takes them about an hour and a half to two hours.
6:30 am ~ St. Jude Pre & Primary School bus comes to pick up the other 18 students.
8 am – 2:30pm ~ School; except St. Jude because they have an extra class until 4:40pm
4:00 pm- 5:00 pm ~ Secondary students begin returning to Angel House and have a snack and time for rest.
5:30 pm ~ Primary students return to Angel House
5-6 pm ~ Work in Shamba (garden), fetch water, or any other chores they have not done
6-8 pm ~ Study time; Lucy and Richard return from school around 7:30 because they go to a school in Tarime
8 pm ~ Dinner!!!!
8:30 pm ~ Devotional
9 pm ~ Get ready for bed

Note: We have electricity that is run by a generator every day. They have electricity from 5-6 am and 7-9 pm everyday. However, we have not had this lately because the generator broke…twice. We broke down and bought battery powered lanterns so they could have some light to study and eat by.

So, that is the basic run down of what happens during the week for the kids. Keep in mind that this changes sometimes depending on who is sick, in the hospital, in trouble at school, etc. The schedule for the weekend is a different game and so another blog. The schedules for Holly, Eric, and me are completely different; but that will be another blog as well.
I never thought that I would experience such a strictly followed schedule, but it is definitely amazing to watch them endure everyday. God is good; All the time!

Kidogo Burtha

“Little Burtha”

In the United States one of my best friends has a truck that qualifies for the “Why are you driving that?” category. She has named her truck “Big Burtha.” I have found its African counter part and have thus aptly named the Angel House truck “Kidogo Burtha” (Little Burtha). This truck is tiny and certifiably ghetto. This is the truck that we use to transport ourselves, kids, and any supplies needed for the orphanage which is now fifteen minutes driving time outside of town. I have seen twelve people fit in this truck. For the truck to be used in this way is kind of sad though. So the following is a salute to Kidogo Burtha and Jeff Foxworthy.



You know you’re driving Kidogo Burtha when…



10. Even the Tanzanians laugh at what your driving (most of them walk)

9. The lights work on bright or not at all.

8. Getting stuck is okay because the truck can be picked up in the back and put on solid ground.

7. The only gauge that works on the dash is the gas gauge.

6. Though gas is important because you must have the gas pedal down at all time to keep Burtha going..even in neutral.

5. You can see through the floor board.

4. The same wire that holds the license plate on works to pop the grill out so you can open the hood.

3. You take it to the mechanic to get the tape traded out on the cords connecting the engine to the rest of the car ($40 US dollars).

2. The engine dies going down hill, in netural

1. You get passed by bicycles…going uphill.



This is our beloved orphanage truck and if we didn’t rely on it so much and really use it to transport kids it would be funny to no end. This is the truck that I am using to learn how to drive on the left hand side of the road, in a town with no traffic signals, signs, or apparently laws. If you are interested in donating money to replace Kidogo Burtha with a reliable vehicle of transportation please just use the donation button to the right of the page. We are currently investigating to see how much a new van or something more reliable would be. Thank you for your support.