Renewed Remembrance
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1: 4
Coming back to Tanzania after an extended period of time away is always an adjustment. With all of the joy that comes with arriving, there is also a mental shift that has to take place as I am consistently reminded just how much I am no longer in America. Running water and electricity is not a guarantee. Hot showers consist of boiling water and pouring it over my head with a cup. There is no HEB or UberEats, no unlimited high-speed internet or air conditioning and ceiling fans. Teeth must be brushed with bottled water, faces washed with mouths closed tight. All of these things become normal over time, but the initial shift from the comfort and accessibility of life in America never seems to get easier, no matter how many times I do it. I feel like now, after being here just over two weeks, I am finally back in “Tanzania mode”, and it feels so good to be back.
During my first day back in class with my sixth graders, we spent the majority of the eighty minute period visiting about what had occurred during our time apart. They asked question after question about the pandemic situation in the U.S. They asked how many people had died, and what would happen if someone was admitted to the hospital. They asked about the death of George Floyd and the protests around the country. They asked how our president was responding to both crises. They asked about our upcoming election and asked me how I could vote all the way from Tanzania. Their questions surprised and humbled me.
The next day I asked them to write about their time away from school. I asked them how they felt when they found out that school was closing, and how they felt when they found out they would be returning. I asked them what they learned while they were at home and what the Corona virus taught them. When I read their responses, I was reminded just how lucky I am to teach such amazing students, and how much I have to learn from them. They wrote about their mixed emotions upon receiving the news that the school would be closed. They said that they worried if they missed too much school they would fall behind in their studies and have to repeat a grade. They wrote about learning to cook and clean from their sisters and mothers, how to fix cars and bikes and sell goods from their brothers and fathers. They wrote that they tried to keep up with their studies by watching educational programs on TV, or listening to the radio, or having older siblings tutor them. They wrote that they missed their friends and teachers and their dorm mothers and access to three hot meals every day, but mostly, they missed their studies. When they found out that school was opening again, very few wrote that they felt sad to leave their homes. They were overjoyed to return. And when it came to the final question – what has Corona virus taught you – their responses left me in awe.
“Corona virus taught me to value my education at KEMPS.”
“I learned that we have to protect our health because health is life.”
“Corona virus taught me to appreciate the time we have at school learning from different teachers and pupils.”
“Corona virus taught me that we need to take dangerous diseases seriously.”
“I learned that we have to appreciate every day because we never know when it will be our last.”
These kids get it. They have an understanding and appreciation for the important things in life - not the hot showers or food delivery or WiFi or air conditioning - that many of us don’t gain until much later in life. And while I am here to impart knowledge of music and the English language with them, they have incredible skills to teach me as well. I know that my time with them will forever change me for the better. I can only pray that my presence in their life has even half of that impact.
So what has the Corona virus taught you? What have your children learned from it? How has it changed you for the better? I pray as you continue to navigate the uncertainty of this time and prioritize your health and safety that you are blessed with a renewed remembrance of what is truly important in life.
Mungu akubariki,
Allee
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