It has been exactly one month since we landed on African soil, and exactly four months since we left American soil. It as been a long road but it has been worth it to know we are in God's plan. We are now in Tanzania doing language school. We have been here a little over a week and half and have just completed our first two days of school.
We are all settling into our new house and have enjoyed meeting our neighbors and getting to know them as we adjust and figure out the little things like the market, buying prepaid electricity, and of course finding the all important Coca Cola Classic vendor station.
We were here for two days when Sarah went to the market to buy the basics and stock our new kitchen. She returned two hours later with few grocery items and two chickens!
She told me she saved them from the butcher. We had no chicken coop, pen, or enclosure so the first night they slept in our laundry room, roosting on Sarah's ironing board. Asa and I quickly got to work on a temporary pen and today just completed their new state of the art chicken coop, complete with chicken wire and everything.
The kids are excited about starting international school at the end of the month and we are praying for some good new friends for them to connect with. The boys have already made friends with our neighbors - every afternoon Asa, Nehemiah, and Benjamin spend hours with three African boys playing everything from soccer, to tree climbing, and the required game of war complete with bamboo sticks fashioned into guns, crossbows, and canons.
On our drive from the coast of Tanzania inland to Iringa, we passed through the Mikumi National Game Preserve. From the main highway we saw lots of wild animals and had a chance to snap some pictures from the side of the road.
We expect to be here in Iringa through the end of the year while we learn the language and become proficient enough to communicate on our own (w/o charades) and reach a point where we can truly begin to help others through our job with the NGO and through personal relationships talking about our faith.
Our mailing address while we are here is:
Dinkins
PO Box 1131
Iringa, Tanzania
We would love to hear from you so don't be afraid to send us an email or drop us a note. Looking forward to more stories to share in the future.
From the heart of Africa,
The Dinkins
(Below are some more pics you might enjoy of various things we have seen - the wildlife pics all came from our drive down the highway on the way to our language school town!)
We are all settling into our new house and have enjoyed meeting our neighbors and getting to know them as we adjust and figure out the little things like the market, buying prepaid electricity, and of course finding the all important Coca Cola Classic vendor station.
We were here for two days when Sarah went to the market to buy the basics and stock our new kitchen. She returned two hours later with few grocery items and two chickens!
She told me she saved them from the butcher. We had no chicken coop, pen, or enclosure so the first night they slept in our laundry room, roosting on Sarah's ironing board. Asa and I quickly got to work on a temporary pen and today just completed their new state of the art chicken coop, complete with chicken wire and everything.
The kids are excited about starting international school at the end of the month and we are praying for some good new friends for them to connect with. The boys have already made friends with our neighbors - every afternoon Asa, Nehemiah, and Benjamin spend hours with three African boys playing everything from soccer, to tree climbing, and the required game of war complete with bamboo sticks fashioned into guns, crossbows, and canons.
On our drive from the coast of Tanzania inland to Iringa, we passed through the Mikumi National Game Preserve. From the main highway we saw lots of wild animals and had a chance to snap some pictures from the side of the road.
We expect to be here in Iringa through the end of the year while we learn the language and become proficient enough to communicate on our own (w/o charades) and reach a point where we can truly begin to help others through our job with the NGO and through personal relationships talking about our faith.
Our mailing address while we are here is:
Dinkins
PO Box 1131
Iringa, Tanzania
We would love to hear from you so don't be afraid to send us an email or drop us a note. Looking forward to more stories to share in the future.
From the heart of Africa,
The Dinkins
(Below are some more pics you might enjoy of various things we have seen - the wildlife pics all came from our drive down the highway on the way to our language school town!)
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| Nehemiah has been picking out his own wardrobe. |
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| Almost missed this guy hiding in the bushes when we drove by. |
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| PUMBA! |
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| This Canyon is part of the Isimile Stone age site excavation. Here they have found stone tools used by "cave men" from a looooong time ago along with tools and weapons made from giraffe and hippopatumus bone. |