Camp

We've had a lot of opportunities to share about our work in Tanzania, but one of my highlights this summer was sharing at Kings Kids Camp near St Louis, MO.  Preparing for this presentation was fun and exciting, and it got me wondering why we don't make all of our presentations so interactive and... well... interesting!!  How do you make linguistics interesting?  You don't talk about it!! Just kidding. :)  It's true that linguistics can be a very dry subject.  If you don't believe me, you should try reading Tim's Master's Thesis!  But somehow, knowing that our audience was 9-13 year-olds forced us to think outside the box!  And I'm glad we did. 

We did a monolingual demonstration where Tim played "Mafuru" the Tanzanian.  I had three translation helpers try to translate what he was saying, illustrating both the need for translators and the difficulties (on an elementary level) that they face.  They loved hearing us talk back and forth in Swahili as I translated for him, and I taught them a few Swahili words along the way.  My favorite part was later hearing that some younger campers debated for quite some time whether or not Tim was actually from Tanzania!!  I guess the blonde hair didn't give him away after all!  We also did a compare/contrast between an Ikizu alphabet chart and the English one... the kids really enjoyed that and were rewarded with candy for each difference they found.  We showed the obligatory maps and even had a video of what it was like to drive on Tanzanian "roads."  And finally we closed with a bit of cultural education-- I gave them all candy and then taught them the word Shikamoo (respectful greetings to elders) and had them present their candy to their counselors as they practiced the greeting.  Tying candy into any experience is sure to help them remember it!

This presentation was especially meaningful to me because I was 10 years old the first year I went to this camp.  Camp was where I first learned that Jesus was more than a character in stories-- that He was real and wanted to be my friend.  I spent three years as a camper and four years as a Jr/Sr counselor until finally I had too many scheduling conflicts between camp and short-term missions trips.  It's only one week in the summer, but somehow those who go to camp keep coming back for more year after year.  This experience was so nostalgic that we're already trying to figure out how to make sure we can be back in time for camp on a furlough-- it would be so special to have all three of us at camp together!

And now a picture... this was my last year at camp as a counselor (1999).  I'm in the back row, second from the left. :)

I only wish I had one from my first year at camp... or maybe I'm glad I don't!

-JLR

Psalm 42

 ¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
   so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
   When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
   “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
   as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
   under the protection of the Mighty One^[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
   among the festive throng.
 ⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.
 ⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
   therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
   the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
   in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
   have swept over me.
 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
   at night his song is with me—
   a prayer to the God of my life.
 ⁹ I say to God my Rock,
   “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
   oppressed by the enemy?”
¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
   as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
   “Where is your God?”
 ¹¹ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.