Mondays with Allee

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;  do not be discouraged,  for the Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1: 9 Well here we are, in a place I don’t think any of us wanted to believe we would be. Two weeks ago I woke up to an email from the ELCA stating that all US citizens serving abroad were requested to return home immediately.  I almost ignored the email at first.  I had received multiple emails from the ELCA in the weeks leading up to this, letting us know the status of the virus and what precautions they were taking.  They requested our contingency plans in the event of an emergency in our place of service.  But being in Bukoba, so far removed from the situation back home, or even any situations that may have been occurring in other parts of Tanzania, I naively felt relatively secure that I would not be affected by the turmoil.  But then I read the email....

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace  as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 First of all, I pray that you and yours are well.  Although we have had no confirmed cases here in Tanzania and life continues as usual, my social media has been consumed with all things corona virus. I’m sure some of you are worried, some annoyed, and many others just totally overwhelmed by it all.  Continue to have faith amidst your fear, be smart as you take preventative measures, and show God’s love to all you encounter, especially during this time.  We finally got a break from the rain this weekend.  The sun rose Saturday morning and brought life to the whole campus.  The children brought their freshly washed uniforms out to dry in the warm light and groups of boys started soccer games around the compound.  I made fresh squeezed lemonade and Joseph worked on planting the new flowers we ...

Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love.  Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed.  Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Hebrews 13: 1-2 This past weekend was pretty much a washout.  The whole city was awoken Saturday morning to bright flashes of lightning followed by loud, earth shaking thunder as the rain pelted down on our metal roofs.  Around thirty minutes into the storm following a huge clap of thunder, the power throughout the village went out and remained that way for the rest of the weekend.  The rain lent itself nicely to my already sleepy mood on Saturday.  I spent most of the morning listening to podcasts, catching up on YouTube and lesson planning.  The normally bustling campus was quiet other than the squeals of little ones as the students ran to and from the dining hall at meal times.  The rest of the day they hunkered down in their dorms reading, doing homework, and ...

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.  When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.  She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Proverbs 31: 25-27 After all of the transition and chaos that the month of February entailed, the past week brought some much needed simplicity and routine.  I received my schedule of classes and was excited to be given all of the periods of English for fifth and sixth grade as well as vocational skills for sixth grade and music (YES MUSIC!) classes for both grades as well.  Being in the classroom again after nearly eight months without teaching has brought me so much joy.  The students here at KEMPS are so kind and intelligent and well behaved.  They are loving music class and I am amazed all over again at how naturally they pick up new rhythmic and melodic concepts and how freely they sing.  Making ...