Learning that Lasts in Mbeya

I just got back from Mbeya and teaching Learning that Lasts (How Adults Learn). As an ice-breaker during the workshop we illustrate our connectedness with each other by throwing a ball of yarn to each other and saying how we know that person. In the end we see that even if it is an indirect connection, we are all in fact connected. I had never visited our translation project in Mbeya and while I was connected to it through others, now I feel more directly connected with it!

Another fun part of being a part of this workshop is the shift that happens in the midst of it. For the first two days the workshop leaders stand in front and bring a lot of content to the classroom, giving the practical and helpful tools of Learning that Lasts (LtL).

But then for the next three days, we sit back and relax (to a degree) and let the students become the teachers. In teams of twos the participants prepare and teach two different lessons. I got to sit and be a student. I learned about caring for chickens, Sandawe clicks, German vowels, the power of music, cultural taboos and various other topics that were presented by the participants.

Each of the teams grew between their two different teachings and I enjoyed getting to see that development.

So, LtL Mbeya was a success! Please be praying for these translators, pastors, linguists and translation advisors as they continue in their work. You can be praying that they continue to grow in their abilities to be impactful teachers!

Mbeya!

Mbeya - what is that? Well, it is one of the larger cities in Tanzania and it is located in southern Tanzania. SIL has a cluster project down here and after nearly 5 years in the country I finally get to visit the cluster! I traveled down here last week to help teach another LtL (Learning that Lasts) workshop. Today is day #1 of the workshop, so I don't have much to say about that yet, but I thought I would share some highlights from my trip so far!

Getting to travel with my colleague Samson on a plane! I had only 40 minutes in the Dar airport to pick up my checked bag and recheck it...and they close check in 30 minutes before the flight. Thanks to Samson running ahead and talking with the counter, checking us in for the flight, I was met at security with a baggage tag and told I didn't even need to go to the counter. Just go straight on through. Yay!!!

STRAWBERRIES!!!

Making home-made marshmallows and getting to show my friend Jane how tasty they are. She said they were the first marshmallows that she has ever eaten!

Mbeya has great coffee. So, what else could I do but go to Utengule (a coffee farm) and spend the day in the beautiful sun having some delicious coffee!

This weeks starts a new highlight of my trip - teaching LtL!!!