Zinza Language Committee

HUGE step forward for the Zinza writing system (orthography)!!!

Last week I met with the Zinza language committee, presented the Zinza orthography to them, debated a couple of choices that have been made, and in the end, received their approval for the orthography that we've developed over the past 25 years!

Why is this such a huge step?

Because it is the final piece (of many) needed to submit the application for "Approved Orthography Status". This status gives us a lot more freedom in printing Zinza materials, and an orthography has to have this status for at least two years before the New Testament can be printed. This status also means that this way of writing Zinza is becoming accepted by the community and is being used more.

Praise the Lord for preparing the way to reach this important step.

Pray that the application will be accepted and that we are granted "Approved Orthography Status".

Here is a picture of the language committee that gave us their approval:

Wycliffe Day of Prayer

I'm the "prayer coordinator" for our cluster here in Musoma. This mostly means that I collect prayer requests from here, on a monthly basis, and send them out to the rest of our branch. Pretty simple.

Then comes the Wycliffe Day of Prayer. November 11th. I was quite intimidated at the idea of planning this. Thankfully God knew that I was nervous and graciously brought along my friend Kelly to help me plan it.

In the end, probably at least half of those who participated in the day of prayer helped in one way or another. AND it was a great day of prayer!!! Praise the Lord. I heard good reports, both from Tanzanians and other missionaries. The truth is God directed it and brought it together. I know that it was by Him working through me (and everyone else who participated) that it turned out so well.

We prayed for each other and for the Wycliffe projects going on around the world.

We shared with each other about temptations we face and prayed against them. We broke bread together and shared our needs with one another and prayed for God's provision in it all.

We also prayed individually.

We ended the day in praise and worship to our great God, Jehovah, who is worthy of all praise and glory!

Also, while we were waiting to take a group photo (the first in 3 years?) we broke into song. It was such a unifying and beautiful day of being with the body of Christ.

Seasonal Changes

It is cold...ish.

I live near the equator and in the southern hemisphere. The change in temperature over the year is about 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit. There are no Winters here and there are no Summers, no Autumns and no Springs. There are dry seasons and rainy seasons. Dry = warmer, rain = colder.

So, it isn't really cold, it is just rainy.

Oh how I love the rains when they come! I can pretend that I'm cold and need to drink hot chocolate to keep warm. I'm just cold enough to use my quilt and fleece that I've kept around for just such weather. And yet, I still wear sandals, am not burdened with layers of clothing and don't have the expense of heating the house. I love the changing seasons here.

Living in the wild!

As a child I dreamed of living in a mud-hut in Africa. Nothing else would suit my fancy. Imagine my heart break when upon moving to Tanzania I was faced with living in a nice cement house, with a good roof and even ceiling boards. And that is only the beginning of the niceties surrounding my life here.

I had intended to "suffer for Christ" and yet I live in relative luxury...alas!

You can imagine my comfort upon finding this in my bedroom.

Not sure what inspired this guy to pop up, overnight, but I'm glad that it did. It is not a mud-hut, but at least it shows that there is some amount of dirt in my room!

Robo-Kin

I don't really like Halloween. Don't get me wrong, I love dressing up and pretending to be someone I'm not, but that is done year round...right?

There are a lot of elements that I like:
candy = good (in moderation...)
costumes = good (with or without moderation)
bobbing for apples = funny
hay rides = slightly itchy
bonfires = warmth and keeps the mosquitos at bay
10 minute canoe rides entitled "jungle cruise" = ok, maybe that one is just done here...and only this year so far...

Actually after that list I really don't know why I don't prefer Halloween - oh right, I don't like being scared or creeped out...right. Anyway, here is a robotic jack-o-lantern (aka Robo-kin) from Tanzania for you all:

*If disappointed by the drawn on, rather than carved face, I welcome you to come over and try and carve these things. They have such thick and dense skin!