I did it

So, I did it. I made the first step. Isn't amazing how little things can make a huge difference? The first thing I did was go to a local bookstore to find children's story books in Swahili. What I didn't realize is how hard of a task that would be, most of the books are in English. (If even of you out there like to write children's books, there is a great market for you here in Tanzania!) I managed to find a couple. The next stop is a local ministry called Mkombozi or Redeemer. For several years, this ministry has worked with street children. I decided to stop by and find out about their ministry, what they do, and get recommendations for how best to respond. In just a short amount of time, I learned so much and got some practical tips. Plus, I was able to tell them about two little boys that I know that are living on the streets that they will follow up with. Because they seemed to know a lot about the Arusha situation, I asked if they knew of anyone that works with adults that are on the streets. Even though they did not know of anyone right away, they said they would look into it and get back to me.

From all of that, one of the biggest changes is how I feel. I feel less intimidated and useless. I am more ready to engage the people that I see. I so often feel like I am in the middle of something and I have some place to go when I see people on the street begging, so I do not stop to engage them in conversation and get to know them. Selfish! Now, instead of avoiding places I want to go to them to start building relationships. I am not sure what I can do, but I know I can love them.

To finish the day yesterday, I decided to go out of my gate and interact with some of the children. Typically, when we pull in, there are several children hanging around that beg for money, candy, or a gift. Since I don't want to encourage begging, I typically ignore them and go inside my big gate. Today, I came out of my big gate. Once I got outside my gate, I looked around but did not see any children. So, I just went to the pile of concrete blocks to sit and wait. Less than a minute later a group of girls came running because they saw the mzungu. Sure enough, the first words out of their mouths were give us candy, give us money. I said that I brought a book. They stared at me strangely but then shrugged their shoulders and said okay, we will take the book. I smiled and said, I did not come to give them the book but to read with them. They seemed a bit shocked. I am not sure, but the look on their face seemed to say, you are one crazy white lady. So, we sat down and started to read. I fumbled through the swahili which got lots of laughs. Eventually, the older two girls sat next to me and helped me read. Throughout the story, we laughed at the silliness of the story.

After we finished reading the story, we sat and visited some more. Honestly, some times I feel akward. I don't know what to say or what to do which I think is why sometimes I avoid situations. A couple of little boys came up and joined us and wanted to know what we were doing. At first, they both were very shy but eventually relaxed. Since we were in a concrete yard, naturally a contest to see who could the rocks the furtherst quickly ensued. The children were doubled over with laughter when they would see me stretch, warm up, wind up, and look fierce and then throw the rock two feet or drop behind me. Absolutely hilarious. We just had fun together hanging out.

Now, I am looking forward to going home in the hopes of seeing the kids again and playing!