The Jesus Film

You might remember how Wycliffe and Campus Crusade partnered up to bring The Jesus Film to local Mara languages near Musoma, Tanzania. One of the students at our school made his own newspaper article about the event as a writing assignment, and I wanted to share it with you!

Telling Time in Tanzania!

Just like in the Bible, time in Tanzania (in Swahili) is spoken about differently than it is in English. Not only are we in a different TIME ZONE, but we have to remember how to read our clocks differently too!

Here's Kara to tell you how it works:




Since the sun comes up at 6:00am EVERY SINGLE MORNING here, and goes down at 6:00pm, it makes sense that their day begins and ends on the 6's instead of at midnight! This is actually what they did in Bible times, too.

Mark 15:33 tells us about Jesus' crucifixion...

"When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour."

So, according to Kara's explanation, we add 6 to the 6th hour, and figure out it got dark at 12:00 noon. The time they're talking about is from 12:00-3:00pm.


All this Tanzanian Time Translation makes playing What Time is it Mr. Fox? a bit harder, but in the end it's just one more way to see the world through another person's eyes!

(A big thanks to her parents for letting me borrow their brilliant blog! Here's the original here.)

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter from some amazing kids at Lake Victoria Learning Center!!!

Walk like a Chameleon!

Have you ever gone exploring in your back yard? Sometimes here in Tanzania we find some crazy-cool creatures right around us, even on the back fence!

"Look mom, no hands!"

Chameleons are especially COOL because:

• Their eyes can look in different directions at the same time.
• Their skin color and markings change - not to match what's around them, like people think, but according to their mood!
• God gave them really special feet and tails that help them hold onto trees as they climb.
• They shed their skin when they get too big for it.

This is a baby chameleon we found at school last year -
check out his feet and how he sheds his skin!

Check them out in a couple of videos! (commentary courtesy of some of my teammates and students)





Oh, and one last amazing fact: Chameleons have the coolest, funniest walk! Check it out in this video from my friends the Gerths.

Karibu!!!

"Karibu" means "Welcome" in Swahili. That's the language that many people use to talk to each other in East Africa. Do you want to learn about people like you around the world, who happen to speak another language?  Or would you like to hear about how you can get connected?  

Welcome to a place that is all about cool kids (and adults!) like YOU!!! 

Take a minute to look around. Keep checking back for monthly posts, or get updates by email. Click on the PRAY FOR TANZANIA button on the left, or learn more about the Missionary Kids I'm teaching on the right. You can also ask me a question HERE!!!  I can't wait to hear from you! :)

- Miss Crystal :)

A Cool Drink of Water

Have you ever wanted a cool drink of water on a hot day?  This happens to us often here in Musoma, but the process of getting a drink is a little different.  If we put a glass under the faucet in the kitchen, there's a good chance the water will come out looking like this:

Unfortunately, it's not just dirt in there, but lots of little creatures that could make us very sick.  So instead, we need to do a bit of work to get it ready for drinking!

First, we get water in a bucket.  (Many Tanzanians would get it from the lake, but we're lucky enough to have water faucets in our house.) 

Next, pour the water into a "sand filter" outside to get out the big bits of dirt.

Then, take the water back indoors.  Pour the water into a special filter that makes the water ok to drink.  Wait for the water to filter down to the bottom.  It'll take a few hours, so be sure to start early!

Next, use the filtered water to fill up clean, empty water bottles.  It's good to have extras around in case the water goes out for a few days!

Finally, if you want your drink to be cold, put it in the fridge for a few hours to cool down.

 Happy Drinking! :)

Saying Goodbyes

Have you ever... looked forward to your birthday?  My students count down the days for months!  It's probably a bit more exciting when you're 5 years old than when you're 30, but birthdays are a great way for family and friends to help make you feel special and appreciated on your special day!

Students at school helping to celebrate my birthday!

We recently celebrated the birthday of one of my students in class a bit early.  It was a happy and sad day all mixed into one busy day.  "Why sad?" You might ask.  Well, not only did we celebrate Alex, her joy, smiles, brilliance, and all of who God has made her to be... but we were also saying goodbye to her and her sisters on their last day of school.

Don't let the smiles fool you - saying goodbyes to good friends is HARD!

Alex's family is originally from New Zealand, a beautiful country near Australia.  They've lived in Musoma for 5 years now, and for little Alex, this place is home.  But it's time for them to return to family, friends, and a new job in New Zealand. 

A Map of the World

There's a funny thing about living overseas and being a missionary kid.  You get to meet some of the most amazing people from all over the world, and have friends from tons of different countries... but when it's time for someone to go back to their home country, there's a very good chance you'll NEVER see them again.  When a kid moves from your school in Michigan, or New York, or Florida, they might only move across town or a couple of hours away.  Chances are you could still call them on the phone to catch up, or have them over for your birthday.  But when Alex goes back to New Zealand, she'll literally be half a world away.  It will be a long time before we get to see her again!

Would you pray for Alex and her family?  They will be leaving next week, and have a lot of craziness ahead of them!  You could pray for:

• Great new friends
• A fabulous school and teachers
• Safe travels
• A nice place to live when they get there... and...
• for God to give them peace and comfort when they're scared, feeling lost, or even homesick for Tanzania 

Thanks so much!  I'm so excited to see what God has planned for Alex and for her family!