Steve and Barnabas in Tanzania

This is Mery's bible story book she got a year and a half ago.  She has worn the cover and several  pages off of it in that time.  During times like this it is good to make sure we spend time daily reading the Bible and communicating with God.  While it is ok to be afraid of this virus, you can find comfort and strength in your beliefs. I need to be honest about a couple of things at the beginning of this blog.  I have mainly seen just numbers dealing with the pandemic and am not sure why this virus outbreak has caused such an uproar and disruption to the world (I do mean world here).  I assume it must be a non-tangible bit of information, something that cannot be quantified because the numbers don't match previous plain flu outbreaks much less avian or swine flu. Secondly, I struggled with what to write about with all of this going on.  Countries closing their borders and cancelling flights, entire states closing their school systems, the NBA ca...

This trip home to the states is coming to a close and I have been working to create a blog that gives a lot more detail about what a Virtual Mission Trip, what types of Virtual Mission Trips we need and how to go about creating one.  I will eventually takes this blog and post as a tab at the top of the page here on my blog site so people can find it easily and reference it often.  I will also attempt to update it with Virtual Mission Trips I have received. What is a Virtual Mission Trip? This is one of those not so crazy ideas I get when I am walking for miles on dirt roads.  It really is not anything new, just a more focused view for those wanting to participate in projects to help others.  A Virtual Mission Trip is where you (or someone helping you) creates a video we can show our students, our teachers or the community in general that helps in some way just as if you spent thousands of dollars and took a week or two off work and traveled here to do something wi...

Tumaini Evangelistic Pre & Primary School has finished the first semester of our 2nd year in full operation.  When I think about what I want to tell people, I always start to brag on our ministry and our students.  So I am sorry but I am going to do it again. Obed reading to the Baby and Middle Class Our School average grade for the first semester is 84.2.  This is in a location where 21 is a passing grade and less than half pass. The Baby Preschool Class Top Students:  Eva (3rd), Joshua (1st) and Ramathan (2nd) Our Middle Preschool Class Top Students: Meshack (3rd), Angel (1st) and Yahaya (2nd). Our Pre-Unity Preschool Class Top Students:  Jackson (1st) Stephano, Catherine and Isaya (tied 2nd) Our Standard I Class Top Students:  Dorine (3rd) Baraka E. (2nd) and Nice back on top at #1. Our Standard II Class Top Students:  Theresia (2nd), Obed (3rd and first time in top 3), Gladness (1st)  Gladness and Obed are twin...

I had a friend from high school be the first to help me out with the Virtual Mission Trip I proposed back in June.  He recorded his daughter reading Dr. Seuss's "Hop with Pop."  The kids really enjoyed having someone close to their own age read a story to them.  But I think what was more fun was all the rhymes in the story and having a try to practice saying some of them after she finished reading the book to them. So a big thanks to my high school friend Jerry Burke and his daughter Lila for being our first to do this.   This is also a great example of using the power of Facebook for good.   Jerry and I recently reconnected through our high school's conversation about the 30 year reunion.    Wow hard to believe that was over three years ago.   I have had several folks ask me to do a blog on how to make a video and upload it.   That is a little more complicated than what I can do on site.   I have put together some vid...

When I was home in June, I asked people to consider making videos of them reading a child's book, especially illustrated books.  The reason, simply enough is for the kids to get as much exposure as possible to having books read to them in English.  Unfortunately I have not heard of anyone getting me any of these type videos made, so I must not have explained well enough the need for reading to kids. Before I start, I am not an educator.   I manage and build things in this world, that is my skill set.   I have other skill sets, but really hope I never use most of them again.   With that said, even I know the   importance of helping children in the preschool age and students in their early years develop multiple ways of learning about the world around them.   I understand that while I love logic and math, it is not the only way to solve a problem.   In fact you need creativity if you want to find new ways to solve the problem.     ...

Since going to Tanzania, this is my first birthday I have spent at home.  Typically I don't celebrate my birthday in Tanzania as it really is not a big deal for most people there.  Last year as things at my previous site were starting to come apart, I choose to hide my birthday on Facebook because I did not want to go through all the "Happy Birthday" posts when I was not feeling very happy.  That was my 50th birthday which should have been a big deal to me but wasn't because of everything else going on.  This year I am home and I have decided to celebrate my 50th Birthday a year late.  I had hoped to have a party, but that is not in the cards.  So I have been promoting "Virtual Mission Trips" this year I thought I might try a "Virtual Birthday Party.   I am having a Birthday fundraiser like the ones you see on Facebook but just through my blog to raise money for the operating budget of Tumaini Evangelistic Pre and Primary English Medium School in ...