Ben and Jesse - Tanzania

2010-06-25T08:51:00.003+03:00

Well, here is our final farewell. Not only were Ben and I parting ways when this picture was taken but it was also a painful parting of man and motorcycle. We may also be saying farewell to many of you...at least as far as this blog is concerned. Thanks for your prayers and support over the past 4 years!

We have also been saying our farewells to various friends here in Arusha including our good friends Glenn and Ivy...oh, and Nash and Ella. :)

This is a rather notable picture. Ben's precious motorcycle and its new owner! Congratulations to James!

2010-06-23T01:01:00.002+03:00

Presenting...the graduating class of 2010 at Waama Bible School!

This picture of all students and teachers was taken 2 weeks before graduation. Included are students from 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year.

Jesse gave the sermon on graduation day. It was a blessed day of celebration.

2010-06-23T00:46:00.002+03:00

This post includes several of our "goodbye" pictures. Our final days at Waama had us busy making final visits to many of our friends. Above, we are pictured with a number of our fellow teachers at a going away party that was held.

We also were invited to meals with many of our neighbors. Rehema, who is pictured in the rear on the right, is the lady who has been helping Ben and I around the house for the past 4 years. Next to her is her brother, Paulo, and between Paulo and Jesse is Rehema's husband, Danieli.

This picture was taken after having a going-away breakfast at the home of the lady who works as the secretary at Waama.

2010-06-23T00:33:00.002+03:00

This picture is testimony to a miracle. Froydis, the woman between Ben and I, is the one responsible for translating the Bible into the local Iraqw language. As some of you may recall from past updates, she suffered a stroke and had to be taken back to her home country of Norway for some time. Well, she has since recovered and returned to Mbulu and this picture was just taken a couple weeks ago. It was good to see her back!!

Pastor Dallei also continues to recover very well following the car accident on the 11th of April. This picture was taken on the 17th of May when we had the chance to visit him. The man behind him had just put some of his broken bones back in place (ie. collar bone, ribs, etc). God is good.

We were even more encouraged when we returned to see Dallei one last time before leaving on the 12th of May. He is almost completely recovered but still needs to regain some stength. His eye will also take some time to completely recover but he is in good spirits. He is the one in the blue sheet. The others pictured are other Waama staff that we went to visit him with. Thanks so much for your prayers!

2010-06-23T00:23:00.002+03:00

This sequence of pictures has to do with Jesus Film equipment. The picture above was taken as our missionary friends, Leif and Marit, were going on their first film showing trip using the equipment they got from us! We pray it gives them many years of good service!

Here is Jesse saying "goodbye" to Leif and Marit...

Pray for Pastor Xufo who acquired the third and final set of solar-powered Jesus film equipment!

Pray for evangelist Julius Thomas who acquired the second set of solar-power Jesus film equipment. So far, all reports from the field are good! The equipment is being used and lots of people are hearing the Gospel in their mother tongue!

2010-05-10T12:42:00.002+03:00

One of the most exciting things I have to report is that the first set of solar-powered Jesus Film equipment has been acquired by a Tanzanian pastor!! Please pray that this equipment would work well for many years as the Jesus film ministry we have been involved with will now continue even after we are gone! :)

2010-05-10T12:33:00.002+03:00

Well, I wasn't going to say anything on here about having just turned 30...since I think the whole world knows anyway. But then I received the gift of a surprise visit from my goood friend and former employer, Eric Paulson while Ben and I were in Arusha May 8-9. It was the most amazing and unexpected surprise I have ever received!! Thanks so much, Eric!!

During his time here, we went on an amazing safari in Ngorongoro Crater and saw some amazing animals...very close!

It was just so fun to have someone from home to come and see where we have been hanging out for these past 4 years!

And even see our house...and downtown Mbulu just 9kms away! :)

2010-05-10T12:14:00.003+03:00

Well, one of the less-than-fun things about being a missionary is having to say "farewell" to people so often. This is a picture of Ben and I with Knut, Inger Line, and their daughter. They are needing to go back to Norway due to some health problems of one of their infant sons. We will miss seeing them when we come to Arusha! They have been working at Scripture Mission.

I also thought I would include some pictures in this post that I failed to put up the last time I posted. This is Jesse with Eivind and Nadia's cat. :) They were reading about available accessories for all the different models of Toyota's Land Cruiser.

This was taken when we were on a short motorcycle safari during Adela's time here. From left to right: Jesse, Syndre (Norwegian friend), Ben and Adela.

Ben and Jesse on a recent trip to Arusha...

2010-04-17T19:14:00.003+03:00

These are a few pictures from the time that Adela was able to spend here with Ben. The staff and students of Waama actually organized a party to celebrate their coming wedding and gave them some traditional, African clothes.

Adela was able to see much of what our life has involved over the past 4 years. Here they are both pictured with the lady we normally buy our fruits and vegetables from.

These last two pictures are from the time Ben and Adela spent in Uganda. Ben's little neice and nephews certainly seemed to have enjoyed the time they had together. :)

...enjoying a beautiful African landscape...together.

2010-04-17T19:05:00.002+03:00

Our trip back down to Tanzania took a turn for the worst when we were hit by a tractor and ended up rolling several times with several in the vehicle sustaining fairly serious injuries. We covet your contined prayers for Pastor Zakaria Dallei, the dean of Waama, who will likely be in the hospital for several weeks with head injuries, a broken shoulder, and several broken ribs.

It was an experience I would prefer to never have again...

This was after we put the car back up on its wheels...
We are grateful for God's protection...it could have easily been much worse.

2010-04-17T18:51:00.002+03:00

The second week of Easter Break, Jesse went on a trip north of the equator to northwest Kenya to attend a workshop for staff of East African Lutheran Bible schools.

These were the attendees of the workshop - 5 representatives from Waama, 1 from another Tanzanian Bible school, and 3 from the host school, Kapenguria Bible Center.

The workshop was organized and led Per Ove Malmin, a missionary from Norway working in Arusha.

It was a very productive and encouraging opportunity to share ideas and get to know each other.

We saw a lot of beautiful landscape. This is a picture of the Rift Valley from the east ridge where we were driving.

2010-04-17T18:43:00.002+03:00

Eivind and Nadia will be getting married in Jerusalem on May 16th. We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing where God calls them in the future.

Here is a picture of Mt. Kilimanjaro taken during a flight that Jesse took with Eivind shortly after Ben and Adela left on their trip to Uganda.

Jesse and Eivind.

2010-04-17T18:18:00.003+03:00

A week before our Easter Break even officially started, we were blessed to have some of our good friends from Arusha come to visit us at Waama. L to R: Jesse, Neli, Eivind, Nadia (Eivind's fiance), and Ben.

We even spent the first week of Easter break in Arusha with Eivind, Nadia, and Neli. Here we were on a trip to the bush together with our Norwegian friend, Sindre, having a BBQ.

I think both Ben and I are going to miss the constant adventure it has been living here in Tanzania.

2010-02-20T00:43:00.002+03:00

One of the highlights from this semester was the week we spent with students from a Norwegian Bible school program. In addition to time in the classroom and time they spent interacting with our Waama students, we enjoyed interacting with them on a more casual basis and simply getting to know them.

We were even able to take them to our favorite waterfall spot on our Saturday afternoon. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to have a picnic, get some sun, and do some swimming.

We also enjoyed sports with the Waama students during their regular recreation periods.

...and it is certainly always more exciting when there is more than just Ben and me at the dinner table! :)

2010-02-20T00:27:00.002+03:00

Thanks to all who have prayed for us during our recent weekends of village ministry. God has blessed with good weather, safe travel, and positive interactions in each place.

We thought it would be fun to show what a "bath" can look like on these weekends in the "bush". Oh...and this was the clean water BEFORE we had used it to bathe. The bucket had hot water, the black jug had cold and you mix up the temperature you want in the blue basin.

We also received some guests on one of our recent weekends - Pastor Leif Thingbo and his wife Marit from Norway. They are fellow missionaries working among the Datooga people about a 3 hour drive from us. They came to the school, however, to teach a weekend seminar to our students. They are like our parents over here...and here Marit was presenting Ben with a heart cake to commemorate his recent engagement.

Pictured here from left to right are Ben, Pastor Leif, Marit, and Jesse.

2009-11-15T08:19:00.002+03:00

First objective when arriving back in Tanzania this year was to make sure our transportation was in good working order. Ben was able to acquire a new motorcycle from a Norwegian friend who was heading back to Norway - a Honda 650!

Many of you have helped with the electricity project at Waama. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! We were so blessed to come back to our house and find a circuit box! We are all hooked up to the national electric grid!! Life is good.

I know...I didn't believe it either, until I saw it. We realy DO have electricity...and here is where it comes into our house...complete with our meter and everything. God is good!

One of the special projects we are especially excited about this year is getting national evangelistic teams set up with their own sound/video projection equipment. Pictured above are 3 Acclaimer sets with their corresponding screens. Each set includes an LED video projector, amplifier, microphone, speaker, all necessary cables, DVD player, battery to run the system for 4+ hours and solar panel for charging the battery. Pray as we seek to get these systems into the hands of capable evangelists.

2009-11-15T08:11:00.002+03:00

Now that we have been in full-swing teaching again, we thought you might like to see some pictures of us in action. Pictured here is Ben teaching a Bible History calss.

In any class, questions from the students and resulting discussions are always a highlight.

Pictured here is Jesse teaching his favorite class - Evangelism.

It always makes teaching enjoyable when the students are so eager to learn!

2009-11-14T19:31:00.003+03:00

I am about to introduce you to the process the Tanzanians use to do a portion of the work that a combine does in the States. Please note that the corn, before getting to this point, was planted by hand, cultivated by hand, and even harvested by hand. The picture above shows the tractor and the machine (run off the tractor's PTO) to remove the grain from the cobb. Even the Tanzanians were wondering what the tractor/machine owner would have done if we had not had those rocks nice and handy. :/

Some students took the corn and simply put it into bags or buckets so it could be carried to the machine.

Others were occupied with hauling those bags and buckets of corn and feeding them into the machine.
Still others were kept busy hauling off the dry cobbs that were spit out of one side of the machine...

...while others hauled the precious grain into our store, added pesticide for storage, and put it into the mini grain silo. Good times. :) In all, we processed around 100 gunny sacks of grain that day...in approximately 4 hours.

2009-11-14T12:43:00.004+03:00

As we all know, the highlight of being home is always spending time with family. Pictured above is Jesse with all his family including siblings' spouses (except Sarah's husband, Anders; but pictured is Anna's husband, Dary as well as Luke's wife, Summer). Also pictured are the resulting children (Sarah and Ander's boys, Adino and Gunnar and Luke and Summer's new little guy, Asher). Unfortunately, Anders was unable to be with us for this picture.

Jesse was blessed during his time in the States, to have the opportunity to make a trip to Brazil for his former employer, LEKTRO, Inc. This provided the opportunity to visit AFLC Missionaries, Paul and Becky Abel, and some of the churches they are involved with in the Curitiba area. A special highlight was presenting the work in Tanzania to Brazilian Christians who have prayed for us and supported us in other ways.

Jesse was blessed by his sister-in-law, Summer, who again coordinated a Benefit Concert for the work in Tanzania. Those who performed included not only Summer's girls choir (pictured) but also other groups and individuals from Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington, WA.

One highlight of Jesse's summer was a trip to Australia with his brother, Joe, made possible by a delightful friend in the airline industry (Thanks, Nadia!!).

Pictured from left to right are all the brothers who got to spend some time together this summer - Luke, Jesse, Joe, Micah, Daniel, and Caleb.

Jesse came home again this year with another 'new look' which [thankfully] didn't last too long. :) Don't worry, mom still loves him.

2009-11-14T12:14:00.003+03:00

Ben returned to Tanzania this year without even telling Jesse that he had begun a relationship with a certain YOUNG lady - Adela Hein. Congratulations to both of you!

Ben with big brother, Tim.

En route to Tanzania Ben had a layover in London which gave him enough time to see some sights.

The time in the States provided good opportunities to re-connect with friends and family. Pictured above from left to right are Ben, cousin Stephanie, and brother Andy.

...here is Ben with his little nephew, Tyler, who he lured onto his lap with some yogurt.

...spending some time with the neice and nephews (kids of brother Tim).

2009-07-02T11:01:00.002+03:00

The above picture shows all except for one of the 61 students who completed this 2008/2009 school year (together with some of the staff and teachers who just didn't want to miss the chance to be in a picture). :)

On Graduation Day, Ben had plenty of responsibilities as "Academic Dean". Here hs is trying to get everyone in order to enter the final ceremony. He succeeded but then they messed it all up when they went to sit down. Oh well...
Here the students are entering and finding their seats for the graduation ceremony. The students in the white robes are the ones who have now finished all three years of study.

After the ceremony was over we tried to get one last group shot. I think most of the people are there.

2009-07-02T10:42:00.003+03:00

As we prepared to close the school for the summer, there was much work that needed to be done. Here are some of the girls washing curtains, table cloths, etc.

...there was also much to be done to prepare the grounds for Graduation Day! These guys did a great job on the flower beds.

Firewood is a big chore around here as it is used to cook all of the school's food and boil all their drinking water. In our final week before graduation, we also made significant strides in this area.

Waama could not survive without corn. It is the staple of the students' diet and any excess is sold to provide additional income. We praise God for an abundant harvest for the school this year at a time when many of the surrounding regions are really struggling with lack of food.

2009-07-02T10:13:00.002+03:00

Well, here is the picture many of you have been waiting for!! Here is the long-awaited transformer for Waama. Electricity is not far away now!! It was finally installed on June 29th, the day after graduation.

After taking the above picture with the new transformer, we continued on our way to Arusha - just the beginning of our trek back to the U.S. of A. This is the type of terrain we cover when we make that trip (Mbulu/Arusha).
As many of you may know, one of our good friends in Arusha is the local MAF pilot, Eivind. Well, we always enjoy hanging out as a trio of bachelors but it seems the trio was recently and very unexpectedly annihilated. Congratulations Eivind and Nadia!!

2009-05-26T11:43:00.003+03:00

This set of pictures from out time in the Rift Valley. This is a "Hazabe-style" house. They live so primitively...and that is how they prefer it.

Many of you probably recognize this type of tree - the Baobao tree - typical of this part of Africa.

We actually got some rain on our Saturday afternoon there but it was very localized...and the rainbow was so beautiful, too!!

We were well taken care of. Pictured here are some of our students, our driver and some of the people who were helping feed us.

2009-05-26T11:36:00.003+03:00

Our weekends of ministry often involve various activities. I thought I would try to give you a taste of some of what we do with this set of pictures. Here we were visiting the mother of a local believer. They don't know exactly how old she is...but she is old...probably close to 100!

We also often teach seminars or "spiritual meetings" during the afternoon when we cannot show the film. This was the group we had for a recent Saturday afternoon seminar.

We are also always happy to travel with our students from each region and give them an opportunity to re-unite with their friends and family in the middle of a long semester.

2009-05-26T11:20:00.001+03:00

One huge, on-going task for the students here at the school is cutting firewood which is used to cook all their food. Well, they had a chainsaw but it has been broken and Ben and I have been trying to help them fix it by getting spare parts, etc. Well, I am happy to report that IT HAS FINALLY BEEN REPAIRED!! What a blessing!

Here is the saw on its trial run...

The tree was cut down successfully...and then cut up, too. :)

2009-05-26T10:49:00.002+03:00

Here is Ben with some of the staff and students of Waama holding a python that was killed by a neighbor down by the school's well!

Regina is one of our more courageous students! She is also an evangelist who works down in the Rift Valley.

The school has several "income generating projects" including these pigs which are sold when full-grown. Until then, they are cared for by the students.
We also have cows which provide some milk for the staff and students and are also occasionally sold. This picture was taken recently only about an hour after this new calf was born!

2009-05-09T08:59:00.003+03:00

Here is a picture we were recently given from the evangelist of one of the churches we visited on a weekend of ministry. For those that don't know, at each place we visit, we leave a number of Bibles intended for those who don't already have one and otherwise wouldn't be able to afford one for themselves. They sent us this picture to show us some of the recipients! Thanks to all who help make this possible!!On a very few but happy occasions, we have been blessed to have foreign guests join us at one of our film showings. On this occasion it was four girls. Here we are all together having dinner after the film showing (from back to front): Jesse, Ben, Emmelin and Martina (from Amsterdam), Jenny and Sarah (from Canada).I always like to post pictures like this of our "normal" life. There was even a herd of giraffes in the background of this one...but you can't see them because we were in the way!!...BUMMER!! And after all our travels, whether to the city or village, it is always nice to be back at our "home sweet home".

2009-05-08T23:27:00.001+03:00

We really depend on our motorcycles as our primary means of transport and could not do nearly the amount of ministry that we do without them...but they also come in handy when we just want to get out, explore the environment, and have some fun with some friends! Pictured here are the two of us with three Norwegian friends of ours (Trond, Henrik, and Helge) who have been volunteering in various ministries. Henrik and Helge have now returned to Norway after a 7-month stay here in Tanzania and Trond's 1-year commitment will come to an end in early July. :(

While exploring, you can find all types of terrain and soil - muddy, rocky, thorny, or in this case, very steep and sandy. :)

For those that have been waiting to see the new bike God blessed me with, here she is! It has truly been a blessing. "A whole new world..."

2009-05-08T19:56:00.002+03:00

Allow me to introduce you to our good friends, Glenn and Ivy. As some of you read in our updates, Jesse had the honor of being one of the groomsmen for their special day.Here is the wedding party with many of their various relatives...

And, just so you know that I really was a part of the wedding...here I am pictured participating in one of the readings.

2009-05-08T19:49:00.002+03:00

Here are Ben and I after the wedding ceremony for Glenn and Ivy...

...and here are Ben and our good friend, Trond (from Norway).

Presenting...the happy couple!

2009-04-14T18:51:00.003+03:00

Ok everybody, welcome to Kendwa Rocks on the northwest tip of the Island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean. I want to take this opportunity to try to help you all enjoy some of our Easter break...When we first went down to the beach on the first day, it looked something like this. Without a doubt you can tell what is missing...US!!

That is what we thought, too. So we quickly made ourselves at home. You know, in an environment like this, even class preparation is enjoyable!! Again, however, there is something wrong with this picture...there is no one playing volleyball!!

So, we quickly fixed that problem as well. Every night, this is the scene at Kendwa. :) To schedule your own visit with a VERY FRIENDLY and experienced tour guide, contact me. :)

2009-04-14T18:34:00.002+03:00

Really, Zanzibar (at least this part of it) is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I just had to put this picture up simply because the colors look like a postcard, don't they!?

I will try to give you a little bit of a tour of Kendwa Rocks (where we stay). They have a variety of different accommodations. These are some of the self-contained beach bungalows. We, of course, stay up in the cheaper housing...but it is pretty.

Here is yours truly (Jesse) coming out of the water after a "cool down dip". It is such a stunning place. For example, as I was swimming around out there, I realized at one point that even though I was in about 12-feet of water, I could still make out the ripples in the sand down on the bottom. The water is that clear!

Here is the "economy housing" that we stayed in. It's still pretty nice, huh? It is not "self-contained" and there was no A/C but not too bad for $15/person per night...including breakfast!

2009-04-05T14:49:00.002+03:00

Well, Easter break has officially begun!! We came here to Arusha on April 2nd after finishing up our responsibilities for the semester. We have had some "work type" things to do but have also been blessed with some opportunities to rest and recreate. In fact, just this weekend (April 4-5), we went on a motorcycle safari/camping trip with our good friend Eivind. This set of pictures is from our adventure. We were in a very unpopulated wilderness area (except for occasional Massai dwellings). Our 'campsite' was under the trees on the left side of the picture above.

This picture was actually taken around the time we were getting up in the morning. We still had coals from the night before to get our fire going again.

Even the night was quite peaceful with lots of stars in the sky and no hyena attacks!

It was such a nice, wide-open area. As we explored on our bikes, we saw gazelles, zebras, ostrich, etc. Of the whole trip, I have to say the most amazing part is riding with a herd of gazelles who are running 60-70 kph on both sides of you!

Again, this picture kind of shows the environment we were in. It was really a great experience...just us and the other animals. :)

2009-02-27T23:59:00.002+03:00

We want to try to show you all what a weekend of village ministry involves...and it always involves lots of tea. Here, as the Jesus Film was rolling, we were able to visit with the area pastor, the local evangelist, and other Christians.

This was another showing that we did at the school. Even those who have seen the Jesus Film before are always ready to see it again.

This is a pretty typical church for the churches that we see out in the villages. The previous night, this whole courtyard was filled with people watching the Jesus Film.

Despite how it may look, these accommodations were very sufficient. In this building we enjoyed tea, had our meals, and slept!

2009-02-27T23:44:00.002+03:00

The churches we visit during our weekends of ministry are almost all in various stages of building or expansion. As you can see, this church was in the VERY early stages of construction. It was Ben's turn to give the Sunday message...both of us had pretty severe sunburns on our faces by the time the 3-hour service was over.

It is always humbling to see all the work the local Christians go to as they host us. This was basically the church 'kitchen' where much of the food was prepared, dishes were washed, etc.

Usually, the car is able to make it all the way to the film-showing location...that was not the case on this particular occasion. Thankfully, there were plenty of willing helpers around to help carry all the equipment and many hands does really make for lighter work!

Here is Jesse with a new friend, Eli-Bariki.

2009-02-27T23:03:00.003+03:00

As we travel on the weekends and do Jesus film showings, the churches we visit...and the accommodations we enjoy can be quite varied. Here, Ben is pictured in one of the places we stayed on a recent weekend. Fortunately, we are normally so tired on these weekends that by the time we are getting in bed it doesn't matter how many people have to sleep in how small a bed, or how hard or uncomfortable it is..."the Lord gives His beloved sleep." :)

This is also a common sleeping arrangement as these village churches host us - beds in the church. People are always so generous and I often can't help but wonder (since these beds are obviously not normally in the altar area of the church) who of the congregation is spending the night without a bed so that we can have theirs.

Here is a pretty average church in a fairly typical setting...

As you may be able to tell from this picture, this is one of the areas that has not been as fortunate as Waamaa with regards to rain this year. The church of this village is located in the right-hand quarter of the picture. As you can tell, it is not exactly a densely populated area so even the 250 people who attended the Jesus film showing in this location came from significant distances.

This is simply another picture to give you an idea of the types of churches we typically visit on our weekends of ministry.

2009-01-30T09:11:00.002+03:00

It has been a while since we put up any teaching pictures but, again, this is definitely part of our regular, daily life. Pray for these students...and their teachers.

Each morning we have morning chapel. The staff and students all take turns leading and preaching.

Here is part of our environment. This picture is especially meaningful as it shows powerlines from the generator (on the right) and new power lines from the national power company (on the left). We are getting closer to electricity every day!!

Every day, we also take part in "teachers' tea" which is a sort of meeting/resting time mid-morning. There are definitely more of us who were not there on this particular day but each day it is simply an opportunity for anyone who is available to gather.

2009-01-30T08:32:00.002+03:00

Again, we've wanted to take some pictures down here for quite some time but it just never seemed right to look so much like a tourist in such a non-touristy area. This is where we go every Monday to buy our fresh fruits and veggies. So, we finally asked this fruit stand owner (who has adopted us as her sons) if we could take a picture with her, and she was super-happy to cooperate. Then, it was my turn to cooperate with her directions - she looks at the camera and I look at the pineapple.

After buying our fruits and veggies, we normally visit other small shops like this one where we get things like napkins, soap, rice, flour, pasta, etc.

Here we are at the gas station in town...

...and here is a random picture from an average day and I didn't have anywhere else to put it. He was a pretty friendly fella'.

2009-01-30T07:21:00.002+03:00

We have wanted to do a couple sets of pictures under the theme "A Day in the Life of Ben and Jesse" for quite some time now. Finally, we are getting around to it. So...welcome to our world!! Coincidentally, this motorcycle picture happened to upload first. I guess I wasn't too disappointed...we do enjoy this part of our lives.

Here's Ben in his "happy place" - preparing lessons for the week ahead. We spend hours every day doing just this. The biggest amount of work, of course, is required at the beginning of each semester when we have to establish lesson plans from scratch in addition to preparing weekly lesson outlines. As I write this (Jan. 30, 2009), we are almost 4 weeks into this second semester, so we are slowly but surely getting in the groove with our respective lessons.

Another part of our daily lives is charing students' cell phones. This particular picture was taken with just a selection of the phones we charged on this day. Once electricity is turned on, this part of our lives will come to an end (and we won't be too disappointed). For the time being, however, we are the only ones on campus with 24-hour electricity (solar), so it's an easy way to help some people out.

Again, in keeping with the theme ("A Day in the Life of Ben and Jesse"), this is another place you can find us several times a day - looking for cell phone signal in our front yard. Here at Waama, the places where there is even enough network to actually receive a text message are pretty scarce...but there are some, and everyone knows where they are. :)

2009-01-12T15:21:00.003+03:00

Ben Jore and Jesse Long, ladies and gentlemen!

Water really picks up some speed when it falls almost 100 meters! It was cold, too, but very fun.

Here is Judah being a good hiker. We had some good times together at Sipi Falls!

2009-01-12T14:58:00.003+03:00

Here are some of us by the cottage at "Sipi Falls" where we brought in 2009!! There were 3 falls total and we hiked to all of them. Good times...

Here is another of the falls...it was really a beautiful place. Not like the 'Africa' we all imagine.

Here was the tallest of the 3 falls. It was over 100 meters!! Very cool.

2009-01-12T14:49:00.003+03:00

To begin our Christmas set of pictures...here is Nate, so happy with the new golf balls we brought for him from Arusha. He had a slightly different look on his face when we were out on the course with him a couple days later, whacking them into the woods, never to be seen again.

It was so fun to spend Christmas in Uganda with Nate, Rhoda, Elijah, Judah, and Hannah Jore!! The kids are getting so big and it was fun to open presents with them!

Rhoda got a blender for Christmas which she graciously made frequent use of in preparing smooties, blizzards, etc. for us! Thanks Rhoda!

Here is Nate with the newest member of the Jore family...Hannah! She was a good hiker as we visited Sipi Falls to celebrate New Years!

2008-12-26T09:14:00.002+03:00

Here are a few pictures from the recent holiday season. Here, Ben is pictured with our Thanksgiving feast. We had some "KFC" chicken with rice, cranberry sauce ("Thanks, mom!") and coffee cake!! Good times...
This was the ceremonious opening of the cranberry sauce. One of these days we will have to get a can opener.

For the most part, we eat quite healthy. (At least, that is what we would have our moms believe.) :)

2008-12-26T09:02:00.002+03:00

Every now and then there are those pictures that strike you in a new way. I really like this one because of how out of place I look. The jeans and backpack contrasted with the mud hut almost gives the feel that I was 'photoshopped' into the scene. Thankfully, we don't always feel like that in our day-to-day interactions.

When the rare opportunity for a day off presents itself, this is one of our favorite spots. That is why we decided to bring Trond here for a little picnic...

...and some swimming.

We thought we would try to get to the top side of this little fall but there was just too much water.

2008-12-26T08:49:00.003+03:00

I don't have a lot of "ministry" photos this time around but I do have a lot of "life" pictures. The picture above was taken on a recent trip with our friend, Trond, from Norway. This is Ben and me heading home after taking Trond to visit some waterfalls.

If you want to ride motorcycles in this country, it is pretty much required that you learn some basic motorcycle maintenance. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be able to make repairs at home...

...other times you just have to get by with what you have and learn to improvise to reach your destination.

One good thing is that there are generally people around who are willing to help. At times this also has its disadvantages.

Overall, we had a good trip with Trond and ask that as you pray for Ben and I, you also pray for Trond who is spending this year volunteering at Scripture Mission helping provide Christian literature to the various regions of Tanzania.

2008-11-15T09:09:00.002+03:00

After a very long silence, we finally have a couple series of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Since we have arrived back in Tanzania, we have had several opportunities to connect with other expatriates serving in various areas and in various capacities. We especially enjoyed a recent weekend getting to know some of the foreign medical staff at a local mission hospital. We all even had a chance to climb a nearby "mountain" and watch a Tanzanian sunset! Good times...

This picture is a special answer to prayer as it was one of the early opportunities we had upon our return to connect with Eivind. For those that don't know, Eivind is the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) pilot who was injured in a motorcycle accident shortly before we went on summer break. It was good to see him back at work after a 2-month recover back at his home in Norway. Pictured from left to right are: Ben, Trond (new Norwegian volunteer at Scripture Mission), Eivind, and Jesse.

I have been meaning to put this picture up for quite some time but never really had a place for it. This is a little guy we met back when Pastor Craig Johnson was visiting us from Astoria, Oregon. Photo: Craig Johnson :)

Shortly upon our return, we also had the chance to visit with the Ramses who are some relatives of Ben working at a university just outside of Arusha. It was fun to have a nice, homecooked meal.

2008-11-15T07:28:00.002+03:00

This series of pictures is from a couple weeks ago when Ben and I had the oppotunity to spend a weekend on the campus of a mission hospital in a neighboring village. The hospital was started decades ago by a Norwegian mission and, to a large extent, the hospital is still operated by foreign volunteers and missionaries from around the world. One of the wards of the hospital is basically an orphanage both for children who have actually been orphaned and also for those who have simply been abandoned. Attending to this ward was one of the favored assignments for all the nursing students from abroad.

In the orphan ward, there simply is not the staff or space for the children to move around or have any play time on a regular basis. As a result of this, while they are some of the most contented babies I have ever seen, they also have a tendancy to be weak, under-developed, and uncoordinated.

This was quite the afternoon with everyone picking out "their" baby and seeing which one could hold up its head the best, etc., etc.

Here are some of our new friends from that weekend. We had some great, late-night, round-table discussions. There were people from Holland, Norway, England, the U.S., and Canada.

2008-10-02T11:49:00.002+03:00

Hey everyone!! We are back in Tanzania. After a refreshing summer break (Jesse in the U.S. and Ben in Brazil and Uganda) we are excited to be back here in East Africa for a third year. Pictured above is Ben with a new piece of equipment we are excited to have this year called the Vista 444. That small bag contains everything needed for a village Jesus film showing (ie. DVD player, video projector, speakers, battery pack, solar panel, etc.)!!
Here is the Vista 444 all hooked up. Our goal is to get units like this into the hands of village evangelists who will be able to carry on the Jesus film ministry even without us. Obviously, since this unit is compact, light, and requires no operating expense (ie. fuel, etc), it is ideal for the environment in which these national Christians work.
To explain all that is pictured - on the far left is the 26 volt, foldable solar panel for charging the battery pack; in the bag is the DVD player, amplifier, etc.; on top of the bag is the LED projector; beneath the bag is the battery pack; and in front of the bag are the speakers. I (Jesse) am the fine-looking missionary in the backgound.

2008-05-28T08:15:00.002+03:00

With Pastor Craig here, we were able to get some pictures that we can't normally get...with both Ben and I "in action." So, this series will be a basic "Jesus Film" series from some of our recent outreaches.
Before beginning we always go over the order of events for the evening with the local leaders and pray together for the people that will be coming.
After starting with some choir videos (which always draws a crowd), we welcome all who have come, introduce ourselves, and have the local evangelist open the evening with prayer.
Then it is time for the "main event" - the showing of the Jesus film in the local language!
As we make these trips, we often are able to visit the homes of our students. It is always good to get to know them better and meet some of their family as well!

2008-05-28T07:34:00.002+03:00

These are some pictures from Pastor Craig Johnson's time here in Tanzania. Within hours of his arrival, we took him to our favorite place in Arusha to get BBQ chicken. Pictured with Craig and I is our great friend, Reidun, who is from Norway and works at Scripture Mission.
During the weekend, we ministered in several different villages. Here, Craig was teaching a session in our Saturday afternoon seminar with Jesse translating.
Our first host-home for the weekend is pictured above together with Ben, Craig, and some of our local friends.
I think these next two pictures are just some of the greatest!! The kids were especially excited to get their picture taken by Craig...
...and even more excited to see the picture on the back of the camera!! :)

2008-05-21T22:21:00.001+03:00

A day in the life of a student at Waama looks slightly different than that of a typical college student in the States or some other developed country. Every student has responsibilities with regards to the grounds-keeping and farming on campus. Above, a few students were raking grass that had been cut earlier in the week with the slashers (essentially a machete that is bent at the end).
As a portion of the student body worked with the bean harvest, Grace, a daughter of one of the other teachers, was monitoring the progress.
There are also people who work maintenance on campus. Here, the main handyman is modifying an old Land Cruiser muffler for use on the school's generator.
There is also a woodshop on campus that helps keep other maintenance projects "in house."
Please continue to keep the students and staff of Waama in your prayers!

2008-05-21T22:13:00.001+03:00

As I (Jesse) recently took my turn at being the "teacher on duty" for a week, I thought it would be fun to put some pictures up that give you a glimpse into an day in the life of a student here at Waama. Each morning, and 3 afternoons per week, time is spent doing what we would call "chores." This includes firewood duty...
...work with planting, cultivating, or harvesting (in this case, beating the dry bean plants to get them out of the pods and prepare them for storage)...
...working with flowerbeds...
...and tending the pigs.

2008-05-21T16:05:00.002+03:00

This series of pictures is to give you a small look into one of our typical Friday afternoons as we prepare for a weekend of Jesus film minstry. Pictured above is our checklist to make sure we don't forget anything. We made this list after we DID forget a critical piece of equipment last year! Hopefully, never again.
That list includes everthing...and yes, we mean everything, even TP.
We also take a bundle of Bibles for each of the churches we will be visiting.
...and, of course, our power cords, generator, and other equipment.

2008-04-30T22:33:00.005+03:00

This will be a "Jesse" series of pictures. I think it is about time. :) This picture was taken very near this student's house with his home church in the background. After becoming a Christian, he was very instrumental in getting this church started and actually donated the land that it is built on.
This picture does not have Jesse in it but was taken by Jesse the night Ben was sick and Jesse had to go do the film showing without Ben. Got it?
Here is a random picture that some of you might have seen before. It was taken the morning after doing a film showing at this location. Ben all of a sudden decided to take a picture without telling me what was going on. Oh well...
This is the home of another one of our students. Included in the picture are a couple other students from Waama, one other teacher, and our student's relatives and neighbors...oh, and me (Jesse). ;)

2008-04-30T15:35:00.002+03:00

Here is a series of "Ben" photos with various people in various places. This picture was taken when we went to do some outreach in a very needy area of the rift valley. This kid actually gets his food with this bow and arrow!
This is a picture of Ben with one of this year's students. The guy is pretty old but really cool and has like 13 kids. This is his house. They were working with the bean harvest. They lay all the dried plants out and then beat them with sticks to get the beans out of the pods. Then they just sweep up the beans and put them in big bags.
Here, Ben is pictured teaching a seminar on a Saturday afternoon in a village church. This is often how we spend our time out in the villages in between showings on Friday night and Saturday night.
This picture was taken as we were leaving one church to go to our second Jesus Film showing location for the weekend.

2008-04-30T14:58:00.002+03:00

With this post, I wanted to give you some more "a day in the lives of Ben and Jesse" type pictures. The picture above was taken during a recent weekend of ministry when we just about got stuck getting to the host church's location. The driver (pictured) was breathing a sigh of relief at this point.
This is a big rock that we passed with some friends one day. Ben and one of the others decided to climb it. When they got to the top, I took their picture...
...and they took ours.
This picture actually belongs in the series from the waterfalls (below). I just never got around to putting it up and now there is no "good place" for it! This is a chalet that someone built just above the falls for people to rent as a vacation destination. I don't know who is going to find it all the way out here! I also like this picture because it was taken by a watchman who was keeping an eye on the place. I think it was the first picture he has ever taken...hence the crooked, off-centered result.

2008-03-26T09:34:00.004+03:00

Ok...yesterday was Ben's 25th birthday but I couldn't get blogger to work! In any case, this series of photos is going to be titled "Tribute to Ben." I thought it would just be fun to see a variety of pictures from the last year. So...ENJOY! The picture above was taken at a little cafe in Mbulu...actually the same place where we got the fish pictured below!
Here is Ben with the youngest child of one of our students. We always enjoy meeting our students' families when we go out to the village!
As we can see, Ben is good at making friends with people of all shapes, colors, and sizes! Here are Ben and Ove enjoying one of our favorite spots...the waterfalls!
As you can see, we really have some great friends! This is our good friend, Thana, from Norway!

2008-03-24T10:47:00.002+03:00

Ok...I don't have a bunch of new "ministry" photos to post but I thought I would put some up from some of our recent activities. We'll just call this series of photos "life." Here, Ben and I are getting gas at the Mbulu gas station just before taking our two guests up to see the waterfalls!
This is some of the scenery that we live in the middle of. Not exactly what people visualize when they think of Africa but we have plenty of that nearby, too.
So here we are: the "motorcycle gang" that I wrote about in a recent update. We had a good time together. From left to right: Ben, Jesse, Ove, and Dan.
After visiting the waterfalls, we went to a little diner in Mbulu. You can eat a good meal for about $1/person. Well, I guess "good" is subject to a person's opinion. We had fresh fruit and veggies, rice, cooked greens, and fish!

2008-02-12T07:58:00.000+03:00

Here is a prayer request: On February 6th, Waama was hit with the second rain/hail storm of the year. The bean crop was pretty much completely destroyed and the corn in many places didn't fare much better. This sequence of pictures should give you a small idea of what it looked like. This first picture is of our back yard. Our house is just below one of the schools bigger fields. As a result, we had a virtual river flowing through our garden and past our house...
This is our front yard when the storm was just beginning. I have never seen anything like it here in Africa! In a matter of a couple hours the temperature went from 95 to below 60 and the ground was totally white with hail...
...it was some of the biggest hail I have ever personally experienced.
And it was all accompanied by a small twister that actually touched down out in that field for a short amount of time. It was an amazing experience. Remember, if you want to see the pictures a bit bigger, you can click on each one individually.

2008-02-09T18:29:00.000+03:00

Here are some recent ministry photos: Often, when we go out on weekend ministry, we are asked to do a 'seminar' or special 'spiritual meeting' on Saturday afternoon (since we can't show the film in day-light). At this location, there is no church building yet, so we met outside and I used the occasion to share the 'glove illustration.'
...this picture shows some of the people who had gathered that day.
Usually, even if there is a church building available, we do our film showings outside. This is partly because it helps everyone feel welcome...and partly because the crowds that gather would never fit in most of the churches!
Most of our ministry destinations are the home villages of our students. As a result, we often get to visit their home and meet the rest of their family.

2008-01-30T16:12:00.000+03:00

Ok...these pictures are a mixture from several different trips. I just thought they all went good together to give a general idea of the types of things we see as we get out in the villages each weekend. This, for example, is a fairly well established church.
Here is a friend Ben made on a recent trip. We were walking to visit in the home of one of our students. Ben was passing a bush with a lot of thorns and reached out to feel one when the 'branch' moved! He was a pretty cool little fella'!!
Here is our driver checking out some stone formations that God arranged a while back...
This is another wonder that we visited last year!

2008-01-02T17:15:00.000+03:00

This should give you an idea of the quality of the beach in Zanzibar where we spent our Christmas/New Year's break. Aren't those boats sweet!?
...I especially like the one that was further out. :) They are working on remodeling it right now. They say the main deck with have a little bar/restaurant and upstairs will be a room they will rent out. To me, it sounds like sea-sickness waiting to happen.
Ben and I were quite excited to have the opportunity to play several games of beach volleyball...every day! It was just the vacation we needed!

2008-01-02T16:41:00.000+03:00

For Christmas break, Ben and I had the opportunity to spend some time on the island of Zanzibar. God blessed us with a great place to stay which also happened to be quite inexpensive...perfect!! Here is what we saw every morning as we headed for the beach!
This picture is of the place the previous picture was taken from...does that make sense? So, we took the previous picture, walked down toward the beach, and then turned around and took this picture. This bungalow village was even more beautiful at night...at least that is what I thought.
Down by the beach was where we spent most of our time. There was this restaurant, plenty of palm trees, hammocks, cots, nice sand, beautiful water, etc.
Again, we opted to rent motorcycles to get around, so here is Ben getting a fill-up at a local "gas station."

2007-12-19T16:53:00.001+03:00

We hope to have more pictures like this in the future - pictures from our normal, day-to-day life. Here, we had stopped by the side of the road on our way to Arusha (a 3-4 hour ride) just to take a break. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful place!!
This picture was taken while we were out for a weekend of ministry. The diversity of the terrain that you can find here in Tanzania is actually quite amazing.
And, for those that saw our picture from last Thanksgiving, we thought we would show you our progress: last year was just boiled chicken and rice; this year - deep-fried, breaded chicken!!

Here at Waama, we recently had a weekend of special meetings for all the staff and students, as well as any of the neighbors who wanted to attend. One of the speakers was this man who was over 80 years old and still traveling around and preaching at various crusades. He was originally saved at a 1960 Billy Graham crusade here in Tanzania. In his own word, "God got a hold of me that night and I've never looked back." He glows with passion for Jesus and, while he has always been a "businessman", he simply could not deny the call of God on his life so has simply decided to use his resourses to cover the expenses of his ministry.

2007-12-19T16:32:00.000+03:00

During a recent weekend of ministry, the villagers we were visiting introduced us to a local, natural attraction...at least it was an attraction to us. Most of the people around here are afraid of water so we returned on this day and had the place to ourselves...except for a couple on-lookers.
Not all the pools are deep enough to jump into. We were hoping to be able to jump off of this natural bridge but this pool is only about 3' deep during this time of the year. Oh well...
There is a series of about 5 waterfalls right in a row. This is the first.

This picture is taken from the bottom of the 5th waterfall. It is an amazingly beautiful area...and only about 50 minutes from our house by motorcycle!! We are so thankful for God showing us this place! There are some days a person just has to get away...now we have a place.

2007-11-26T12:58:00.000+03:00

We have posted a picture like this in the past...but this one is DIFFERENT. First of all, the Bibles that we showed pictures of in the past have all been GIVEN AWAY. Second, there were not nearly this many. Yes, thanks to the generosity of several of you, MANY new Bibles have been purchased and have begun to be given away. God bless you all and God bless HIS WORD as it gets into the hands of his people.
I guess these are all kind of random pictures. This is one of the most regular visitors to our home. On this particular day, Ben and Iwere both busy working on preparing for our classes when he arrived. SO, as he waited for us to be available to give him some attention...he fell asleep...right in our living room chair OOPS! We did think it was kind of funny, though. :)
And here we are...yours truly...standing in front of a famous umbrella tree. It really is a lot bigger than it looks. This tree is quite near Waama's campus and our house.

2007-11-26T12:35:00.000+03:00

This is a picture of villagers who attended a series of "spiritual meetings" that we were a part of recently. It was a wonderful weekend. I wish you all could have an experience like this! Other than showing the Jesus Film, we also shared the "glove illustration" and presented the "wordless book."
Here is Ben (on the left :)) presenting the wordless book and one of last year's students helping to distribute them...
These are the people who actually received their own wordless book. It was only those who actually committed to using it with their unsaved friends and relatives.

2007-10-30T15:54:00.000+03:00

Things are moving ahead slowly but surely with the different projects at Waama. This is the recently placed foundation stone of the new library on campus. It reads, ""Come and learn from Jesus - Matt. 11:28-30" This foundation stone was placed in the name of Jesus on Sept. 4, 2007 at the time of the 38th annual meeting of the Mbublu Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania."
This is the bigger picture of the progress that is being made.
While we are on the subject of building progress, this picture was taken last year when Ben and I traveled to a local village to show the Jesus Film. The Christians in this village had baked the bricks themselves to put these walls up for their new facility (the church they were meeting in at the time was mud and grass)...
...well, we had the opportunity to visit them again a couple weeks ago and see their progress. It was a good time of reunion and fun to see the church expanding.

2007-10-06T22:05:00.000+03:00

Here are some pictures from Ben's time at 'home.' Sarah and Caleb (daughter and son to Ben's oldest brother, Tim, and his wife, Angie) would be happy to let Uncle Benny read all day long...
Pictured here with Ben are Angie and Tim (Sarah and Caleb) as well as Ben's parents and his younger brother, Andy.
Andy, Ben, and Dad (Dan Jore).

Cheryl (Mom) Jore and her favorite 24 year-old son.

2007-10-05T22:24:00.000+03:00

Here is the happy family just days before returning from the best two weeks of their lives...
...we can all assure you, there is some beautiful snorkeling to be done off the tropical island of Zanzibar.
I don't know what this is. I just got the inspiration to soak up some rays while having just enough water to stay cool...I had no idea the paparazzi had followed me all the way over here!!
We miss you, Schierkolks!!

2007-10-05T22:10:00.001+03:00

Our final destination during the Schierkolk's time here was the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. Here is Pastor Todd who, after being fitted with his mask and snorkel, couldn't wait to get in the Indian Ocean.
God blessed us with beautiful weather and the water was perfect...temperature as well as color. This is Rachel and Barb.
When we weren't enjoying the beach, the place we stayed had plenty of places to relax. Here is Megan enjoying a pleasant afternoon.
Ben got to know the Schierkolks when he led his youth group on a mission trip to where they work in Mexico just before we first came to Tanzania. He and Kirstie are great friends and enjoyed being able to catch up.

2007-10-05T21:50:00.000+03:00

With the Schierkolk family here, we were also able to visit Tarengire National Park for the first time. It was an amazing experience. It is now nearing the end of the dry season here in Tanzania and the Tarengire river is one of the few places animals can find water. As a result, we saw lots of animals...and they were very close.
Giraffes wandered...
...Impalas were everywhere...
...monkeys were abundant and especially bold at the picnic site...
...and Zebras were a dime-a-dozen. God sure has an imagination!

2007-10-05T21:27:00.000+03:00

During the first weekend that the Schierkolks were with us, Ben and I had the opportunity to play on the Mbulu team in a regional volleyball tournament. We love volleyball, plus there was some decent competition, AND the Schierkolks were there to cheer us on. Best of all, we sent all the other teams home and went away in FIRST PLACE.
It was a great opportunity to mingle with some of our fellow members of the Mbulu community.

Here is Ben...sending another one home.
As you can see, the equipment was probably not of the highest quality but it served its purpose.

2007-10-05T09:36:00.001+03:00

The volleyball competition was actually held in the town of Haydom where we were also able to visit the Lutheran Mission Hospital, participate in the Sunday morning service, and do a Jesus Film showing...
It just so happened that Rachel came down with Strep Throat during the 2 days we were there. As a result, they not only got to tour the hospital but experience its care first-hand!
Doing film showings without the Schierkolks' help is never going to be the same for Ben and I. Here, the whole family was getting "certified" in setting up our film screen.
The whole family with a large Umbrella tree near Waama.

2007-10-05T09:10:00.001+03:00

Now, for the picture (and news) you all have been waiting for - WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO PICK UP SOME MOTORBIKES! We are so grateful for God's direction and provision in this area. We also praise God for the increased efficiency we are able to achieve in our work as a result.
As some of you may already know, we received some guests only 1 week after our return to Tanzania. Pastor Todd and Barb Schierkolk came for a 2-week visit with their children Rachel, Megan, and Kirstie. It was such a blessing and encouragement to have them here with us!!
They were able to spend a couple days with us around Waama and Mbulu. This was taken after we all had lunch at one of our local friend's home.
We also enjoyed introducing them to much of the staff at Waama and showing them around the campus.

2007-10-05T08:57:00.000+03:00

Ok, well I had to put this picture because it had EVERYONE in it. We were all together for one day while I was back there so I thought this picture was pretty special.
Now, I hope this does not come as too much of a surprise to too many of you but I actually went home with a new look which was simply for the shock factor. It didn't last long...since it was obviously hideous. As far as the pictures of myself that had ended up on this blog immediately preceding that time...it is amazing what you can do with PaintBrush.
This is Sarah' son, Adino. I loved spending time with him. He obviously felt the same way since I'm his favorite uncle. :)
Now, to make the apology complete, I have to show you THE REAL version of this photo which was previously posted showing me with no facial hair. I hope I haven't damaged the trust of any of you...I really am in Africa. ;)

2007-08-18T18:05:00.000+03:00

Following a very long silence, we finally have some pictures to post from our time in the U.S. so far. Ben and his brother Andy had the opportunity to come visit Washington/Oregon at the beginning of August. Their family came as far west as Spokane which is where I met them allowing me the chance to meet his mom and dad. Good times...
During Ben and Andy's time here, we had the opportunity to go to SeaFair in Seattle and see the Blue Angels fly!! Also pictured here (l to r): Micah Long, (me), Caleb Long, Luke Long, Caleb Brown, Daniel Long, (Ben), Andy Jore, Liz Lackie
On August 11, Jesse was thrilled to be able to participate in the West Coast Reception for his sister, Anna, who was married to Dary Finck on April 7th at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The picture above includes all the Long siblings as well as Dary, Luke's wife, Summer, and Sarah's little guy, Adino.

2007-07-08T22:09:00.000+03:00

Here is one view of our screen during a rear-projected showing and people gathered around...
...here is another from up by the screen...
...and here is another. We estimate over 1500 came out and heard the Gospel on this particular night.

2007-07-08T21:53:00.000+03:00

Finally! Pictures from here in Uganda. Above is the wonderful group of people we are...all the whities rotate through showing the film, preceding the film team to a village, or being sick at home. All the Ugandans are the local pastors we are working with.
Everyone has learned very well how everything goes...
...most of us can even get around town when we want!

2007-06-16T18:28:00.000+03:00

I always think it is nice to show pictures of the people we are working with over here. This is one of our music students (far left) with his wife at his side, his mother (back right) and his children. We love this guy! His heart for the lost was very evident as he arranged 3 film showings during the weekend we visited his area. His family also gave us one of the warmest welcomes we have ever received.
The weekend was not without challenges, though. Other than our brakes going out, our driver hit a cow while taking care of some errands. Thankfully, it was not a serious incident...for those that care, the cow lived...
This is what a village looks like when it is market/auction day. As if we don't have enough people staring at us on a normal day of travel!!

2007-06-11T17:04:00.000+03:00

Here are two evangelists who work in a very difficult and poor part of Tanzania. Pray for them! We were able to bring Bibles, four big bags of corn (pictured behind us), shoes (in the bag pictured in the lower left) as well as some clothes, toothbrushes, etc. Thank you for your part!
Here is Ben with a sack of 200 pairs of childrens' shoes purchased with money from Good Shepherd Sunday School. These are the shoes of choice for this area as they are made from old tires and are durable enough to handle the heat, thorns, and rocks. Thanks for your love, Good Shepherd kids!
We met this boy during this past weekend (the one on the right :). He relies on his bow and arrows for food. We also met some of his friends. In addition to watching them shoot, we were able to try it ourselves. If it was a competition, they won. One boy still had blood on his arrows from the two birds he got earlier that day...he was about 12 years old.

2007-06-11T16:44:00.000+03:00

A few generous people have been led to provide Bibles for those that we meet who can not afford one on their own. Here I am standing next to our most recent shipment. Isn't that cool?!
First, we decided how many we will take to each village. We take some of the national language (Swahili) and some of the local tribal dialect (Iraqw). It is a huge honor to be the ones putting these into the hands of people. Thank you for your generosity!
Here is Ben with our village bundles. Even the villages we visited before getting the Bibles will receive their bundle as the students return home following the June 24th graduation!!

2007-05-28T17:07:00.000+03:00

Well, now that the school year is almost over, we finally took the time to get some classroom pictures! We just wanted you all to know that we are really teaching over here...just like we have been saying!
This is what we see when it is time for English class. They want more periods per week.
This is Jesse teaching 1 Timothy. Thanks for all your prayers as we teach our classes. God has been good and blessed us all a lot this year...teachers and students.

2007-05-28T16:31:00.000+03:00

This is one of the students who took us to visit his home/church/village this past weekend (5/26-5/27). His kids were so glad to see him. They would hardly leave his side. Pray for each of our students...that they would finish out the year strong and that all the needs of their families will be met as they finish up this time away.
We actually walked between our two village showing locations this weekend. It was a good way to experience how life is here. This was the type of terrain we went over. It was very dry. The walk was about 2 1/2 hours. They say that during the dry season they have to make that trek every day just to get water!
The young man to the front and right of Ben is one of our music students. His family hosted us for tea, breakfast, and dinner at our first film showing location for the weekend. They sent their greetings to our friends and family in the States.
During our walk between villages, we came across this church. They said it was just being established for those who were too old or have young children and can't walk the distance to one of the established churches we were visiting.

2007-05-07T15:31:00.000+03:00

Well, I thought I would put some pictures on here from this past weekend. It is a nice taste of the life we are living. We had quite a bit going on - showed the Jesus film in three different villages, judged a choir competition in a fourth, and participated in a Sunday morning service. This little girl was standing by our judging table at the choir competition. You should have seen her when she smiled!! These were the musicians for one of the choirs. Ben was like, "Hey, I think that is the same keyboard I had when I was 2..." It had 2 1/2 whole octaves!
This picture shows about a quarter of the crowd we had at one of the showings this past weekend. I guess maybe we have already posted pictures like this but it never gets old...at least not to us!

2007-05-01T13:05:00.000+03:00

I know these are kind of random, but we thought we would show everyone the progress of some of the new buildings around here. The right side of the picture is the larger side which will include a couple offices and a library. To the left are some new bathroom facilities.
This view gives you a little better idea of what is going on. They are planning on having somewhat of a ceremony for this building at the June 24th graduation. It is fun to see progress.

2007-04-16T16:04:00.000+03:00

Does this look dangerous? It was...I think that's why it was so fun! Sorry, mom!
Yeah...the best part was that we could go wherever we wanted - road, beach, trail, etc.
So I'm not the best photographer...it looked better in real life...and boy was it fun!

2007-04-16T15:55:00.000+03:00

I really don't want to make anyone jealous or unnecessarily upset, but I knew most of you would want to know how we spend our precious days of Easter Vacation. Well, here it is....Zanzibar.
We were hoping to swim with the dolphins but it was late in the day and so they were tired and not in the mood to play. Maybe next time...
We were able to stay at a bungalow resort type place for budget travelers. It was such a blessing to just relax...and the place was actually pretty empty! I think everyone else was vacationing before Easter!
...pictures just don't do it justice. Wish some of you could have been there ;).

2007-04-03T14:55:00.000+03:00

Ok...so we show up at this church this past weekend. We knew they were having a special 'choir competition' to celebrate Palm Sunday and we thought it would be fun to attend...we were NOT expecting to be the judges (along with two of our music students)!
These are a bunch of kids who are sponsored through Compassion International. Unfortunately, they were not competing...it was an adult competition. We really liked them the best...it might have been due to more than just their singing abilities, though.
Here was one of the 10 competing choirs...

2007-04-03T14:40:00.000+03:00

This guy standing next to me (Jesse) is one of our students. His wife is on the other side of him. These are some of their kids...they have 11!! I have asked him to adopt me, too...what's one more?!
This is another one of our students whose village we visited a couple weeks ago. His wife is standing with him. The two children are his and the others are relatives...like his wife's sister and a neice or something...
This picture was taken out the front window of the car on our way home from a weekend of village ministry just the other day. We cover a lot of terrain that looks like this...
...then there are times when it looks more like this.

2007-04-03T14:28:00.000+03:00

Ok everyone...sorry about letting so much time pass since the last update on some of the projects here at Waama. They are done digging the well!! This picture is of the brick-laying. They hope to have everything up and running in the next couple of months (they still need to run a lot of pipe, etc.).
This is inside our house the other night. I don't know what the deal is but sometimes these little critters just seem to be able to find a way in even if the windows and doors are shut! DOOM the room! ('DOOM' kills bugs)
This is the son of the dean here at Waama. We went to his birthday party the other night...he definitely knew he was 'in charge' !

2007-03-30T12:26:00.000+03:00

In my most recent update, I mentioned that we had hosted all this year's students here at our home just because we wanted to throw an 'end-of-the-term' party for each group. Above, is the whole group of first year Bible students...
...these are the Christian Education students...
...finally, we hosted the Music students. They were a lot of fun!
Everyone enjoyed eating our American finger foods. They said, "We only get stuff like this if we go to a fancy hotel in the big city!" In other words, they never get that type of food.

2007-03-27T15:58:00.000+03:00

Sorry this is late!! Ben turned 24 on March 25th!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN!! (by the way, that is coffee cake and sweet, blue something cool aid - thanks to the Olsons!)

2007-03-27T15:38:00.000+03:00

Here is how most of our weekends start out - all loaded up with students and equipment.
This is typically what our accomodations look like while out in the village...
These are the Christians we visited a couple weeks ago. This is the building they are working on. They started about 4 years ago. This is the current church building in this village. Both are basically right next to each other (old and new) but the new is brick, will have sheet metal roofing, office space, and a significantly higher capacity.

2007-03-12T13:31:00.000+03:00

Here are some pictures from our recent weekend ministry opportunities. This was the first of six "getting stuck" experiences going to church on this particular day. We ended up only being about 2 1/2 hours late for church so Ben was still able to preach his sermon.
We continue to feel so blessed with the places we get to go. We see some real beauty. This picture was taken from a church where we showed the Jesus film recently. It is set up on a hill overlooking this landscape.
We always go to villages where our students are from. This is the home of "Willy." He is standing to Ben's right with the yellow shirt. The rest are neighbors, friends, and fellow students.
This is a group of youth Ben and I were able to meet with at one of the churches. After sharing some words, we had 5 Bibles to pass out. As far as we could tell, only about 2 people in the group had their own Bible prior to this day.

2007-02-23T12:08:00.000+03:00

This is the site of our largest Jesus film showing so far. 200 people on Friday night...
...600+ people on Saturday night! There were tons more people than you can see - off to the right and back into the darkness. Don't worry, with our big speaker and new screen everyone could see and hear just great!
Compared to our experience on the last trip, this flat was only a minor delay.

2007-02-21T17:41:00.000+03:00

We call this picture "Love Birds"...that's what they are!! Aren't they cool! I took this picture right by our house on the campus here. Yes...we live in paradise.
...yeah...about that 'paradise' comment...sometimes it rains. When it rains a lot, this is what happens. 'Wa/ama' is actually a kiiraqu word (the local dialect) which means 'flood plain.' Thankfully the school is on the hill overlooking this area.
...we really had a lot of rain on this particular day.

2007-02-08T17:04:00.000+03:00

These are the Christians in Guse. We had a great time. You might even be able to pick us out of the crowd!
Ben took this picture from inside the truck. The kids really get a kick out of seeing themselves in the camera...and right away!!
You might notice that nice new speaker up front. We are so blessed with the equipment we are able to use. The people seemed to really enjoy the whole experience.
This is one of the evangelists we met here. He is actually from another parish and just came for the day. It ends up he is a brother to one of our students! It was fun to make that connection.

2007-02-08T16:07:00.000+03:00

Yes, that is our truck. We had been digging mud out for a while by this point and it just kept sinking! It was rather depressing...
These are the people we hired to help get us out. That is their Land Rover pickup. When they finally got us out they said, "Did you see that? Land Rover - made in England." I don't know what they were so proud about...if it is so good, why didn't they get us out about 12 hours sooner?
You should have seen it when all four tires were spinning. You can see a little bit of the resulting mud, anyway, which was caked on rather thick when all was said and done.
This is how we started. The mud ended up being much softer than it looked. Little did we know what lay ahead at this point.