Jenny Rodd

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Dear Family and Friends!

How are you? How was your March? Last time I wrote it was February!!! What has been happening with you?

The End of FCD

Since I last wrote I graduated from the Foundations of Community Development Course (FCD). We had fun celebrating and it was a significant moment for me, a mark on the road saying this is the path I am continuing on. Afterwards I had a week of rest in Morogoro. It was a wonderful simply reading, reflecting, staring at the mountain and I enjoyed a hot shower! I thank God for all I have been learning on the FCD and my rest. To highlight a few key things-

·         Relationship is the foundation for community development. Without the bridge of relationship with members of the community I cannot effectively give God’s love and serve them. This takes time and patience. I love people and building relationships! It needs understanding especially when different cultures are involved. I want to invest long term in communities and serving them, so I look forward to making these relationships and learning a language. Community development is all about the people and any practical change comes through the people.

·         I have seen that sustained development comes when the community participates and has ownership of the development. Without this usually the work will be left once the outsiders go. The dominant worldview in Africa says that I can change nothing, it is the way it is and if anything will change it will be someone else who does it. Not all believe this, but it is the underlying belief. Encouraging and empowering people to see the positive influence they can have can be challenging, but well worth and vital in bringing change. I believe that we have the responsibility, authority and abilities to steward what we have been given. So development starts with discipling change in our world views, I am learning much more on the DTS                about discipling different nationalities which is a big learning curve and key for my future.

·         I must take time to hear the needs of the people and not tell them what their needs are. Much damage has been done through good intentions of outsiders telling communities what they need. Although I might see a need, the community needs to see it themselves and own it, otherwise it will not be sustained and more damage can be done than good.

·         Something that has surprised me is the growing concern and care for how the land is used. I have loved working on the farm and growing our food! Here simply growing food for consumption and the market can be a challenge with the environment. There are a few practices that can assist so much, e.g. in making the available water go further. I want to continue learning about this and I have questions about how I might continue working in this area.

I have learned a lot and now I’m looking for opportunities and wisdom to put it into practice, here in Lukobe, on the DTS and wherever I am. Please pray for opportunities and wisdom as I apply what I have learned.

Lukobe and DTS

Then I returned to Lukobe, that was five weeks ago. Now the Discipleship Training School is in full swing. We have ten students and four staff made up of six nationalities, Tanzanian, Nigerian, German, American, Burundi’s and British. So far we’ve had teaching on different aspects of faith and how we live life, e.g. sin, repentance and forgiveness, world view, the nature and character of God. I also had the opportunity to teach on discipleship and laying down our rights. It has been so encouraging to see students so ready to learn and committed. I’m mentoring three women, Verena from Germany, Editha from Tanzania and Alex from the US. I can see all that I have been learning and observing in DTS and leadership over the last few years being used. There are many times when something is given to me on the spot, I’m encouraged to see that what is needed in the situation comes.

Jacob speaks into Jenny

There is a story in the bible where a man named Jacob wrestles with God, it has been speaking to me a lot. Jacob is in the middle of a long journey and transition. He is faced with his fears about his brother (he is returning to his home after a significant conflict), concern for his family’s well being and questions about his future. As he is wrestling with God he is asked “What is your name?” He replies “Jacob”. Whereas before he’d hidden his identity, deceiving others and perhaps himself, in this moment he owns his name, he doesn’t hide or pretend. In that moment he is given a new name, his purpose and future are spoken into as one who strives with God and man and prevails. I am wrestling and learning to say in Tanzania, “My name is Jenny”. It is not in one big thing but lots of little things, in conversation and relationship building, communication in discipleship, decision making and conflict and resolution, in learning and changing. This is one of the reasons why I believe God led me to do DTS. Inasmuch as it is to serve and refresh those here; I’m living, sleeping, working, learning and eating in the culture I want to serve (broadly speaking). To be able to serve well, I need to understand and learn how to be a part of the culture. I realise that this will always be a work in progress and I won’t stop being British, yet living and working closely with the community here is helping me learn and establishing me in this environment. Please pray for me in this.

Because I live, you will live

As I continue with the DTS I am also forming what June-August will look like as I continue scouting. I made contact with YWAM Zimbabwe who have invited me to visit which is very encouraging- yay! I am looking forward to that. I will also spend time in Tanzania with community development workers (who taught on my FCD) gleaning from them and their experience about what could be helpful in my next step. I can see how important it is for me to have time with those who have more experience working in communities and I’ll be looking for opportunities to listen to them, see them in action and work with them. It may not all happen this time round, but as I begin to meet people please join with me as I pray that doors will open up for the near future. There will be more to come on this as I continue to pray and visit different places; I look forward to being able to share more with you!

 In conclusion

I really am sorry it has taken me so long to write and then the delay to send this out. I continue to ask for your grace and patience, as sometimes we have no power and when the power returns the network is not good. I love hearing from you, it is such a blessing to hear from you and means a lot to me. One common question I’ve been asked is, “when are you coming back?”- Well I have re booked my ticket so I can say confidently (the airline won’t let me extend) that I will be landing in the UK September 1^st 2011!!!!

I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time. God bless you! Lots of love, Jenny

JENNY’S JOURNEY – LATEST NEWS – FEBRUARY 2011

February 11th

Hello Dear Friends,

How are you? I hope this finds you well and that your February is warming up. Right now it is raining heavily which is very exciting, especially as we planted in the shamba (garden) this week.

I have nearly graduated from my course in Foundations of Community Development (FCD). February 18^th we’ll be feasting with chicken and rice, celebrating that we’ve completed the course!

For the last four weeks I’ve been in Lukobe with the team. Lukobe is the village that we visited weekly during the lecture phase of the course last year. We continued working on the Rus water pump that would improve their access to water.  The Chairman of Lukobe, Kamanga, has been so committed and eager to learn about new techniques and simple technologies. We taught him and a few other men how to make the pump. We also learned about the many ways a bicycle can be used to power a carpenter’s workshop! Now people in the village know how the pump works, how to make the valves and where to get the materials from locally. This means that they can take care of it themselves and are not dependant on outside help; they have the knowledge and understanding, this is community development-yay! It was so encouraging to see Kamanga bring his improvements and creativity to the pump as we were completing it, it showed me how much he was engaging with it.

This week, having completed the pump, we were hoping to have some time in the fields talking about agricultural matters but it didn’t work out. Kamanga has been busy in the local government offices and he has said that unless he is there rounding people up, no one will come. The community seem to view us as Kamanga’s visitors, not the community’s. This gave us much food for thought as we evaluated and reflected on our interactions and what we could have done differently. I see this is a realistic part of community development, it doesn’t always go as planned.

We’ve also spent a lot of time in the garden of the YWAM base helping make, prepare and plant beds of tomatoes, onions, sweet potato leaves and cow peas. This has involved hauling much manure from the back of the cow sheds, so I’ve been happy as that smell reminds me of the fields back home.

Coming to the end of the practical placement, I know I am in the right place. I love it! Working with people, getting to know them, coming alongside them and being a part of their investment into their community. I am facing my fear of learning a language and truly see the need and joy of being able to communicate with someone in their tongue. I’ll always be learning, there’ll be challenges and highs, but I want to follow this road of community development.

As I’ve said in past emails I made tentative plans with specific places/ people that I wanted to visit, Arua in Uganda where I worked in 2008, YWAM Centres in South Africa and Zimbabwe, but I also wanted to be flexible so I could respond to what I found when I came. So let me tell you what I’ve found or what has found me- YWAM Morogoro, Tanzania! I have accepted an invitation to stay and help with the March DTS. At first I dismissed it because it was DTS and that’s what I left behind in Scotland. However I felt an encouragement to pause on my journey in how Jesus stopped on his way for people as he was moved by compassion. I realise I will face many needs along the way and my prayer is that I will have wisdom to know how to respond. I also believe that this is going to be a significant time of learning about the culture and how life would be in this part of the world, as I will be the only non African staff on the DTS and in the centre. I will be in Lukobe working with the DTS and the community for 3-4 months longer. Then I will continue on with the scouting trip. This means that it will be around August I return to the U.K.

Prayers and Thanksgiving:
- How God has been leading me faithfully.
- For continued good health and strength.
- The completed water pump in Lukobe.
- For grace, understanding and wisdom as I continue to learn
- For wisdom and revelation as I scout out the land!

Asante sana (Thank you very much!) for your continued support and emails.

Wamekuwa Baraka kwangu! (You have blessed me!)

Lots of love, until next time.                      

Jenny