“What has God done in your life during your years at Idigima?” – Part III

The title of this blog post, What has God done in your life during your years at Idigima? – Part III, is the final follow-up to the previous blog post from this past July where responses from Form III and Form IV students on a weekly Bible Knowledge test to this same question were posted.

That blog post can be accessed thru the archives (scroll down on the right hand column) or click on the following link:

“What has God done in your life during your years at Idigima?”

Gary & Joanne were asked to respond to the very same question. Gary’s response to the same question was posted on September 14, 2012. You can review Gary’s response post by accessing the archives or by clicking on this link:

“What has God done in your life during your years at Idigima?” – Part II

Joanne’s response to this question follows.

(The above is a picture from their photo file that was selected and
submitted by the Grenells as an appropriate visual for this post)

The Lord has been teaching me many things about myself and what it means to really be humble.

For instance, it is culture to bring a gift, no matter how small (a bar of soap, a pen, a small bag of dry beans, or a small bag of salt, etc.) to the host/hostess of where you are going. Many students really appreciate our being here (all the way from America, leaving our family, etc.) to help them in their education and helping some meet their daily needs (food, rent money, encouraging words).

So, often, students will bring us gifts from their home villages. Sometimes they say the gift is from their parents or maybe it was a harvest time for that crop (peanuts, maize, Irish potatoes, rice, etc.) and they just wanted to bring something to us to make a pointed “Thank you.”

One of my “love languages” is acts of service. As many of you know, I seem to need to be doing something all the time and for someone else, to show my love. With this comes the “‘no need to say, “Thank you,” feeling. So, put me in this culture and poverty, where someone is bringing ME gifts that I know is quite a hardship and sacrifice for them, and I am greatly humbled!!

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne