our new sewing machine!

thanks to some lovely ohio ladies, we have a new sewing machine. pictured here is christina, a woman in anna's womens group who sews well. we have hired her to come out on saturdays and teach the older girls how to sew. thank you for a gift that will be used many, many times over.

gettin' kasuka-ed

Each week for the past several months since they've started attending St. Jude's, who lets students grow their hair long, six girls have made their way to the beauty salon on Sunday afternoon to braid their hair for the following week. The salon experience is very symbolic of the African culture in general. A few examples:

1. Waiting is not a big deal...this week there were 9 of us getting our hair done by two gals, and several people that came in after us just sat down and joined the conversation, not minding the fact that they might be there for hours. People here really, really know how to wait, in a way that Americans would never dream of being okay with.

2. Small things are social events....with a hard life comes more exuberant celebration over even the smallest of things. Being in the salon is a social gathering and an event to be enjoyed, and being here in Tanzania has taught (is still teaching, rather) me to be aware of how to find the joy in even the smallest details of the day.

3. The world is a family....the African proverb that says that it takes a village to raise a child is so true in every facet of life here. All the women that came in after us took up combs to help remove the previous braids from our girls' hair, not because they thought it would make the process go faster so the ladies would get to them more quickly, but simply because they wanted to help. One lady who came in to get her own hair braided ended up braiding Angel's hair, while our Rhobi took care of entertaining her two young sons outside the shop, and left before she even braided her own. Africans really truly know how to take care of each other, in birth, death, and everyday living. Another reason I love living here.

big-fros-are-us: Amina, Grace, and Rosie before braiding a family event, featuring angel and rhobi

nossi's first braid

afterwards: nossi and angel

AH Finance Committee

Bhoke Mwita and Peter Michael, along with a third secondary student that is rotated in weekly, are the financial administrators of the Angel House monthly budget. Bhoke graduated high school last year and is working as a staff member at Angel House, and is interested in studying business in the future. Peter Michael was elected by the rest of the children to help Bhoke and I make envelopes for each of the budget items, do the monthly and weekly shopping, and discuss how the budget needs to be adjusted from time to time. I am so proud of them and the responsibility they are handling so well on behalf of the whole house.

Tough girls

You have to be a real trooper to survive here. Bucket showers with cold and not all that clear water, dusty roads, and a first glimpse of the stark reality of how some Tanzanians live make for quite a culture shock, but the gals are doing great. Leading songs, dancing with the youth choir, holding babies, practicing English with the older students, and looking to find Jesus in each place we go...we're thankful for their ability to endure the tough stuff in order to attain the beauty that resides here as well.

Raegan and Winnie

Carol helping ChaCha and Derick make necklaces

Regan showing Grace, Sammy, and Winnie how to thread a needle