January 24th Front Yard, Notice the grass!
Doing clothes lines, 1/25/2012
Yard Man 1/25/2012
Swahili Teacher 1/25/2012 Living Room
View from front yard.Wednesday, January 25, 2012
January 25, 2012
January 24th Front Yard, Notice the grass!
Doing clothes lines, 1/25/2012
Yard Man 1/25/2012
Swahili Teacher 1/25/2012 Living Room
View from front yard.
Today has been a very hot day but a very busy one. We had our first lesson in Swahili, our nets were placed over our beds, the workers came and put our clothes lines up and we went shopping and found some items for the house that we needed. Tomorrow we will meet with some of the seminary faculty to discuss some of our schedules and classes we are teaching. Later in the week we will do more planning for the start of the new school year. It is beginning to feel more like home here and we are adjusting to the weather and our surroundings. Above are some more pictures of our house and people who are helping us.
January 24th Front Yard, Notice the grass!Doing clothes lines, 1/25/2012Yard Man 1/25/2012Swahili Teacher 1/25/2012 Living RoomView from front yard.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Home In Tanzania 2012
David and I have arrived in Msalato, TZ. School is out for three for weeks here at the seminary but some faculty from England and New Zealand have already arrived. We are settling in fine except for the heat. It is summer here and the rainy season. Every thing is green and wet and humid! The faculty we have met are wonderful and of course we have already visited with Moses and Ruth our Georgia friends from Tanzania. Moses is the Director of Msalato Theological College and Ruth is his wife.
The only obstacle so far has been the road from Dodoma to Msalato. It is awful, full of pot holes and when it rains the holes become small and large ponds. David is enjoying his car (SUV) and loves to drive it to Dodoma. It is perfect for these roads.
Our house was remodled for us before we came and it is a great improvement over the small one bedroom apartment we had at St. John's University in 2009-2010. It has three bedrooms, hot water, electric outlets that work, fresh paint and lizards in the back and front yards! A front porch for viewing Dodoma and the lizards.
All in all we all happy to be in one place and settled into the house. Praise be to God for that!
Here are some pictures from Dar es Salaam and Msalato. More will follow later.
Focas, a faculty member from St. John's University, Dodoma and David at Pizza place in Dar.
Cefa Hostel in Dar.
Chapel at Msalato.
Our house at Msalato.
The SUV we got in Dar.
The only obstacle so far has been the road from Dodoma to Msalato. It is awful, full of pot holes and when it rains the holes become small and large ponds. David is enjoying his car (SUV) and loves to drive it to Dodoma. It is perfect for these roads.
Our house was remodled for us before we came and it is a great improvement over the small one bedroom apartment we had at St. John's University in 2009-2010. It has three bedrooms, hot water, electric outlets that work, fresh paint and lizards in the back and front yards! A front porch for viewing Dodoma and the lizards.
All in all we all happy to be in one place and settled into the house. Praise be to God for that!
Here are some pictures from Dar es Salaam and Msalato. More will follow later.
Focas, a faculty member from St. John's University, Dodoma and David at Pizza place in Dar.
Cefa Hostel in Dar.
Chapel at Msalato.
Our house at Msalato.
The SUV we got in Dar.Home in Msalato
Today is Sunday, January 22nd, a day of rest and church going for all Christians in Dodoma and Msalato. We have arrived at Msalato Seminary and are mostly settled into our new home. The house was remolded for western people which means heated water, an American toilet, stove and fridge,new paint and cleaned through-out. It looks great! Praise the Lord.
We now have a car, our Trusty Besty, the SUV. She is 12 years old but works great. David loves to drive her. The only real difficulty we have had has been the road into Dodoma from Msalato. It is full of pot holes and when it rains they become lakes and ponds making it difficult to see where the road goes.
Over the past week we have met the instructors here at the seminary for English and some of our past friends we knew from St. John's University. We are slowly connecting but it is more difficult because of the distance and the road conditions.
We did manage to go into town at least once a day and sometimes twice a day this past week for supplies and items we needed for our home. Today we rode with a neighbor in her car to church at the Anglican Cathedral for the English service. There were about 20 or so misionaries there along with some brave Tanzanians who wish to hear the service in English. It was nice to be back. We met some people from St. John's and others from CAMS ( English Mission School).
This time our trip to Dodoma is different. It is odd but we both feel a connection here. The Christian Angelo community is very close mainly due to how few of us there are in the area and I believe our common goals.
Tonight we will welcome back another couple who have been on long holiday. There last name is also Reid but they are from Canada. In our little community here on campus we have one couple from England, another one from New Zealand, two retired doctors from Georgia, and of course us from Denver, Colorado. We are a very international group in this part of Tanzania. But we all have one common thread: the will to follow a call to teach and serve in this country. It is very good to be here and to met the challanges of the Tanzanian people.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Pictures to follow soon.
.
We now have a car, our Trusty Besty, the SUV. She is 12 years old but works great. David loves to drive her. The only real difficulty we have had has been the road into Dodoma from Msalato. It is full of pot holes and when it rains they become lakes and ponds making it difficult to see where the road goes.
Over the past week we have met the instructors here at the seminary for English and some of our past friends we knew from St. John's University. We are slowly connecting but it is more difficult because of the distance and the road conditions.
We did manage to go into town at least once a day and sometimes twice a day this past week for supplies and items we needed for our home. Today we rode with a neighbor in her car to church at the Anglican Cathedral for the English service. There were about 20 or so misionaries there along with some brave Tanzanians who wish to hear the service in English. It was nice to be back. We met some people from St. John's and others from CAMS ( English Mission School).
This time our trip to Dodoma is different. It is odd but we both feel a connection here. The Christian Angelo community is very close mainly due to how few of us there are in the area and I believe our common goals.
Tonight we will welcome back another couple who have been on long holiday. There last name is also Reid but they are from Canada. In our little community here on campus we have one couple from England, another one from New Zealand, two retired doctors from Georgia, and of course us from Denver, Colorado. We are a very international group in this part of Tanzania. But we all have one common thread: the will to follow a call to teach and serve in this country. It is very good to be here and to met the challanges of the Tanzanian people.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Pictures to follow soon.
.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Heading to Dodoma Again!
December 14, 2011
HABARI!!
After many months of waiting and endless e-mails, our plans are 90% complete for a Dodoma departure in early January! This time our volunteering will be 6 miles north west of town in a little village named Msalato.
We are excited and very eager to begin this second mission with the Anglican Church of Tanzania. We will be housed on the campus of Msalato Theological College which is affiliated with St. John's University in Dodoma, TZ. The seminary houses around 90 to 100 seminary students with some day students coming for lay ministry and teaching certifications as well as English classes. The college is partially supported by Episcopal churches in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia as well as the Anglican Central Diocese of Tanzania. Our duties will consist of teaching English listening skills as well as oral reading and silent comprehension skills. This will be very similar to what I did in my teaching profession with younger students.
In addition, David may work at St. John's with the Special Education Master's program he wrote before we left in February of 2010.
If you wish to know more about Msalato Theological College try these web sites:
http://www.msalato.com/
http://www.mccannmission.com/
HABARI!!
After many months of waiting and endless e-mails, our plans are 90% complete for a Dodoma departure in early January! This time our volunteering will be 6 miles north west of town in a little village named Msalato.
We are excited and very eager to begin this second mission with the Anglican Church of Tanzania. We will be housed on the campus of Msalato Theological College which is affiliated with St. John's University in Dodoma, TZ. The seminary houses around 90 to 100 seminary students with some day students coming for lay ministry and teaching certifications as well as English classes. The college is partially supported by Episcopal churches in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia as well as the Anglican Central Diocese of Tanzania. Our duties will consist of teaching English listening skills as well as oral reading and silent comprehension skills. This will be very similar to what I did in my teaching profession with younger students.
In addition, David may work at St. John's with the Special Education Master's program he wrote before we left in February of 2010.
If you wish to know more about Msalato Theological College try these web sites:
http://www.msalato.com/
http://www.mccannmission.com/
These pictures show the seminary as of January, 2010.
Check us out after mid January, 2012.
Blessings
Charlotte and David Reid
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Returning Home
I write this blog with a very sad heart today because we will be returning to Colorado near the end of this month. Our decision to return was not easy but necessary. Our stay here has richly blessed us with many wonderful memories of the Tanzanian people and the countryside.
In January and December I wrote about the desire to serve. David and I still feel very committed to this idea and believe with all our hearts that we still can make a difference here in Africa. But over the last two months several events have occurred that have altered our abilities to continue here for this next semester. One, there were two sudden deaths in David's immediate family over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. He needs to return home to touch base and help with family matters. Two, we realized that my teaching at Msalato Seminary this February would demand a real car due to the terrible roads and we were not able to secure funding to buy or lease one here. So with a heavy heart we return home to regroup and decide how to secure the money for our trip back and the car. In the meantime we are posting these pictures from our first and last trip to a wildlife preserve near Dodoma. Hope you enjoy them.
Please look for our blog again in October of 2010. Hopefully by that time we will have arrived back in Tanzania.
On the way to the park with Benedict Hodrum, the Director of Planning for St. John's University.
Elephants were everywhere in the park.
On our second day in the park we went on a seldom used road and found three lions and a set of cubs that were about a 1/4 of a mile away in the brush. There were vultures over head so we knew the female lions had just killed something big or had just eaten and were resting. I took all the lion pictures from our car. Just a normal car right out of the window in the front seat. No zoom lense either. Count the feet!Baby lion cub but away from mom!
In January and December I wrote about the desire to serve. David and I still feel very committed to this idea and believe with all our hearts that we still can make a difference here in Africa. But over the last two months several events have occurred that have altered our abilities to continue here for this next semester. One, there were two sudden deaths in David's immediate family over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. He needs to return home to touch base and help with family matters. Two, we realized that my teaching at Msalato Seminary this February would demand a real car due to the terrible roads and we were not able to secure funding to buy or lease one here. So with a heavy heart we return home to regroup and decide how to secure the money for our trip back and the car. In the meantime we are posting these pictures from our first and last trip to a wildlife preserve near Dodoma. Hope you enjoy them.
Please look for our blog again in October of 2010. Hopefully by that time we will have arrived back in Tanzania.
Elephants were everywhere in the park.
They are smaller they told us than some but it was great to watch them.
On our second day in the park we went on a seldom used road and found three lions and a set of cubs that were about a 1/4 of a mile away in the brush. There were vultures over head so we knew the female lions had just killed something big or had just eaten and were resting. I took all the lion pictures from our car. Just a normal car right out of the window in the front seat. No zoom lense either. Count the feet!Baby lion cub but away from mom!
David loved the hippos in the park because they did not move just breathe.
The Giraffes were wonderful. So graceful and yet so big. It was hard to see them from a distance because they appeared like trees and blended into the landscape.
We had a great time and look forward to going to another park when we return, maybe even the crater up north. Hope we can continue this blog later in the fall. God bless you all who followed us and gave us your support, prayers and money. Charlotte and David Reid, February 18, 2010.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
January 20th, 2010
Below is a journal entry I made while traveling back to Dodoma from Christmas break. Hope you enjoy it!
Today on my way to DC I had somewhat of a revelation. I know it may sound trite
but “life is all about serving .” You can choose to serve yourself or to serve others.
As I was waiting in Denver to catch my first of three connections to Dar a CNN show was blaring about the world’s reaction to Haiti’s troubles. People were texting, twittering, and calling in about their problems here in the US and in Haiti. Comments ranged from sorrowful for having little money to bitter that their financial woes had not been solved. But all expressed concern and regret that Haiti was in dire need of aide.
It reminded me that as a species we do care about most living creatures. ( Of course for myself I must rule out snakes and spiders.) We show great concern when cruelty is done to animals, when our environment is turning up side down, when we see injustice, genocide, religious and political scandal. We even care about historical injustices and past wars. What I realized on my way back to my adopted home of Dodoma is that “reacting” to these concerns is the key to life. You see, I can care but do I act on the caring? Do I give time or money? Do I give something from myself?
To say that I care is only the first step. To say I can do is the second step. And to say I will serve is the third and final step. Now I don’t want anyone to confuse serving as only the act of working. As the hands and feet of Christ’s body we can do more than physically serve him. Serving comes in many different modes such as giving our time for a national drive, collecting used clothing, books, toys, or food for the needy around the world. Organizing awareness in our communities for the homeless, the poor, the sick, the mentally ill, or those in need of medical attention. Serving takes many forms …one just needs to ask: where is the need that they may serve and take that final step. Tonight as I listen to the news I know we have many places and people to serve. There are disasters, poverty, bombings, conflicts and misery all around us. Unfortunately the choices are endless.
I know personally how this works you see. I used to say I cared. That was it.. nothing more. I would watch TV news and cry or hear about others volunteering and wonder, “How do they do that?” But nothing more did I do. Today, I am sitting on a plane waiting for my connector flight to Zurich where I board another plane to Kenya and on to Tanzania. Three years ago with retirement in front of us, my husband and I would never have dreamed we would be volunteering in Africa. What a wonderful difference God can make in ones life. All we need to do is just open up and say,” Yes I will Lord. Hear am I.”
Tonight I am returning to serve, to care and to love my fellow sisters and brothers of Tanzania. We are all one family under God. One heat beat living on this great earth!
If you ever wondered how you would serve don’t ..just say in prayer, “ Here I am Lord” and he will lead you!
PS: I wish to add a footnote here. A special thanks goes out to all my ELC fellow members who donated so generously to my collection basket while I was home. (Over 380.00 dollars) An additional big thank you to a special caring individual who donated $200.00 one Sunday morning. God bless you Michelle. And last a wonderful and grateful thank you to Christine and Jeremy for their work in collecting all types of balls and games for a primary government school we have adopted in Dodoma. Stay tuned for pictures! Last but not least a grateful praise God for the council’s pledge of money coming in the Spring which will be used as a scholarship fund for Msalato Seminary students. Thanks to all of you I go back with a warm heart and a renewed belief in the goodness of God’s children.
In Christ,
Charlotte Reid
Below is a journal entry I made while traveling back to Dodoma from Christmas break. Hope you enjoy it!
Today on my way to DC I had somewhat of a revelation. I know it may sound trite
but “life is all about serving .” You can choose to serve yourself or to serve others.
As I was waiting in Denver to catch my first of three connections to Dar a CNN show was blaring about the world’s reaction to Haiti’s troubles. People were texting, twittering, and calling in about their problems here in the US and in Haiti. Comments ranged from sorrowful for having little money to bitter that their financial woes had not been solved. But all expressed concern and regret that Haiti was in dire need of aide.
It reminded me that as a species we do care about most living creatures. ( Of course for myself I must rule out snakes and spiders.) We show great concern when cruelty is done to animals, when our environment is turning up side down, when we see injustice, genocide, religious and political scandal. We even care about historical injustices and past wars. What I realized on my way back to my adopted home of Dodoma is that “reacting” to these concerns is the key to life. You see, I can care but do I act on the caring? Do I give time or money? Do I give something from myself?
To say that I care is only the first step. To say I can do is the second step. And to say I will serve is the third and final step. Now I don’t want anyone to confuse serving as only the act of working. As the hands and feet of Christ’s body we can do more than physically serve him. Serving comes in many different modes such as giving our time for a national drive, collecting used clothing, books, toys, or food for the needy around the world. Organizing awareness in our communities for the homeless, the poor, the sick, the mentally ill, or those in need of medical attention. Serving takes many forms …one just needs to ask: where is the need that they may serve and take that final step. Tonight as I listen to the news I know we have many places and people to serve. There are disasters, poverty, bombings, conflicts and misery all around us. Unfortunately the choices are endless.
I know personally how this works you see. I used to say I cared. That was it.. nothing more. I would watch TV news and cry or hear about others volunteering and wonder, “How do they do that?” But nothing more did I do. Today, I am sitting on a plane waiting for my connector flight to Zurich where I board another plane to Kenya and on to Tanzania. Three years ago with retirement in front of us, my husband and I would never have dreamed we would be volunteering in Africa. What a wonderful difference God can make in ones life. All we need to do is just open up and say,” Yes I will Lord. Hear am I.”
Tonight I am returning to serve, to care and to love my fellow sisters and brothers of Tanzania. We are all one family under God. One heat beat living on this great earth!
If you ever wondered how you would serve don’t ..just say in prayer, “ Here I am Lord” and he will lead you!
PS: I wish to add a footnote here. A special thanks goes out to all my ELC fellow members who donated so generously to my collection basket while I was home. (Over 380.00 dollars) An additional big thank you to a special caring individual who donated $200.00 one Sunday morning. God bless you Michelle. And last a wonderful and grateful thank you to Christine and Jeremy for their work in collecting all types of balls and games for a primary government school we have adopted in Dodoma. Stay tuned for pictures! Last but not least a grateful praise God for the council’s pledge of money coming in the Spring which will be used as a scholarship fund for Msalato Seminary students. Thanks to all of you I go back with a warm heart and a renewed belief in the goodness of God’s children.
In Christ,
Charlotte Reid
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