Karibu Nyumbani Mwalimu!

As I arrived again the one phrase that will stick with me was “karibu nyumbani mwalimu” or “welcome home teacher”.  It’s true I was home again and I felt whole again.  One of the most influential priests in my time at Mailisita was the priest who followed Fr. Kawishe (Fr. Val’s brother) at Mailisita, Fr. Marunda.  Fr. Marunda and I ate lunch every day for about 7 months and spent many other days together visiting the children, visiting his farm and running miscellaneous errands or pastoral duties.  Needless to say we grew very close and shared many stories with one another.  In multiple emails to me, my parents and conversations with Adam he has repeated a phrase that always stuck with me.  He always said that “Mr. Terry needs to come home to Tanzania because he left half of his heart here.  His children are here.”  

Greeting my P3's!

It’s absolutely true and I could not put it better than he already has.  From the moment I stepped off the plane my mind was set on the school.  As I left the airport and looked out at the sea of African drivers, I could not find anyone there to pick me up.  Then through the crowd Matt Partain shouted “Hey Mzungu” (the equivalent of saying “hey white guy” in swahili) all of the drivers first stared at me and then began to laugh hysterically.  When visitors come to Tanzania from the plane they are most often tourists or volunteers from America or Europe and are greeted by their tour guides or hosts which are almost always African.  I am sure every driver was there looking for their “mzungu” guest, yet I was the only one being greeted and identified by that.  In Tanzania it is very common for people, especially children to point, stare and shout “mzungu” when they see white people, especially when traveling to rural areas.  It is not meant negatively, but when it is used it often still draws laughs from many older locals. 

The next morning I started right away and made my way over Stella Maris with Nathan Partain which was very fitting since he was the man I first met with when I thought I wanted to go to Tanzania.  I was greeted very warmly by Mama Lucy with a big hug and as she held my hand, she kept repeating “My son is home!”  After quick introductions to the new teachers Mama said “let’s go see your students”.  She knew where my mind was!  As I approached P3, the first class I ever taught as a teacher anywhere, I saw them turn and immediately start talking to one another saying “Mr. Terry!”  They shook their hands in their seats and started shouting hello and “Good morning Mr. Terry”.  I couldn’t contain my excitement either, because I immediately walked right in, interrupted the lesson, and we all started clapping and singing songs together like I had never left.  P2 was also warm and excited as well and when Mama asked them “who is this?!” they all shouted out “Mr. Terry!!”  P1 was a strange mixture of excitement and puzzled looks, which was the exact same look every class in Tanzania always gives me the whole “is this guy really here to be my teacher?”  I am already excited about the opportunity to get to know each of them and be their teacher.

Asking the children "why is Mr. Terry here?"

What is also exciting for me is the opportunity to share more of our stories with everyone at home.  I feel more complete knowing that I can share in my journey, stay in touch with my loved ones, and fulfill my responsibility to the people in this community.  I know for certain that God put a longing in my heart for this place and these people long before I ever came here.  He put a desire in me to help these children before I met them.  Now that I am back home, I can now continue to do the work He intended me to do.

When I left 10 months ago Mama Lucy told these children that “Mr. Terry is coming back for many years” right after I told her I was coming back for a year… but as always mothers know best and here I am staying for a couple years.  None of this is possible without the commitment of the Mailisita Foundation, St. Joseph and the many donors and people associated with helping these children.  I thank everyone from the bottom of this very full heart for helping me do this work and reuniting me with these people.  

Going over the recent test results, getting to work right away!

There are many stories and emotions that I want to share from these first few days, but I am still processing and reflecting on it.  Things have been very busy, and as I am posting this I had to take a break we to get rid of an unwanted guest... a Tarantula!  Check back soon and I will update everyone on the most memorable moments from the first few days at school and first weekend helping the hotel…Also I will have some more new pictures!

Leaving the perfect job...

As I reflected on my last night in America for a while I found myself thinking of how I “left my job”.  Many people keep reminding me of this fact, the fact that I am both leaving everything in America but also that I am leaving my nice, paying job.  In truth St. Joseph School means so much more to me than just a school or a place to work.  I attended religious education at St. Joseph Church when I was a child in elementary school, it is where I received first communion and where I was confirmed and welcomed into a Catholic community.  It was also the parish that gave me my first opportunity to teach and share in our work of spreading God’s love through the way we live our lives.  The St. Joseph community has always been in my life.  Over the past two years I reflect on the parents, staff and children of St. Joseph.  I start to think everyone is partially wrong because I am not just leaving “my job” I am in fact leaving “my perfect job”.   I mean was just named “King” for the school after only 2 years …

The parents are perfect.  The support from the school was endless.  Whether it was with an educational decision or with adopting a huge role in helping Stella Maris, there was incredible support.  The parents all fully accepted me from the moment I walked into the school a week after being home from Africa (both times).  When they pictured the perfect first grade teacher for their 6 year old boy/girl, I can be certain it was not my image they saw.  Nevertheless they were patient, kind and open minded to accepting me despite these quirks.  Not many teachers are as blessed as I am to know in my heart that every day I was made a better teacher because I was working together with the same goals in mind.  The parents are always present physically in the school, helping and supporting me in every way they could.  Even when it came time for me to announce my leaving, I was humbled to see the support I got from my fund raiser and throughout the school.  I will miss the parents for their support, friendship and Christian example that they have given me.

The staff was perfect.  I was often visually out of place being the only male primary teacher, but never once did I feel that way.  I was blessed to have the single greatest mentor, teacher, friend and example of love to guide me through my years at St. Joseph School in Sharon Shute.  She is sometimes lost in my story as a teacher which is why I want to talk about her, because I know she will read this too : ).  She not only taught me how to be a better teacher, but also a better example of God’s love for the children of St. Joseph and Stella Maris.  She taught me how important love is for a teacher, how it is a tool of strength and the greatest resource of a great teacher.  Without love we can do nothing great, that is certain, but Sharon taught me how without love for every student, a teacher cannot be great.  With love comes patience and desire to make every child better every day.  I would often refer to her as mom because I would talk with her about how to help students but also everything else going on in my life, which I will miss.  I will miss her/the staff’s guidance, attitude and love but I know that now it is time for me to be that example for others.

The children of St. Joseph were perfect.  No school is without “problems” or conflicts, because that is part of the learning process, frankly that’s why we work in a classroom together.   However I can honestly say I never left school once thinking “man that was a bad day”.  Every day I found myself drawing confidence, strength and inspiration from the children.  Every morning they would walk up to me just to share some silly thing that happened that morning, say hi or give me a hug.  There is no better way to start a day and I was blessed to have this experience every morning for 2 years.  What is most remarkable is not that I love and care for my 45 children I taught at St. Joseph, but that I will miss the other hundreds that walked the hallway.  I will miss saying hi to all the children, giving high fives and hearing about what’s new.  I will miss watching them grow in abilities and seeing that “light bulb” turn on when they understand a new concept.  I will miss the students for their energy, intelligence and love that they have given me but I will carry them always in my heart. 

Thank you St. Joseph Church and School.  You have and always will be my home.  I look forward to walking hand in hand together on this journey, because without all of you none of this is possible.  I carry each and every one of you who have supported me in my heart and in my actions.  I have been so blessed to have all of you in my life and everything I do to help others is made possible from the love I have received from you.

Next time I check in (within the next week) I will be in Tanzania.  Asante sana na mungu akubariki!  Thank you and God bless.

Asante to WGN and Bill Moller

Stella Maris Executive Lodge

Big thanks to WGN and Bill Moller!  It was another great opportunity to share our story and reach a larger audience.  The next great step in helping these beautiful children is spreading our story as much as possible.  Luckily with kind people like Adam Mesirow and Lisa Trafficanta working hard to spread our story that has already been very successful.  It is almost more imperative than ever to spread our story because of the Stella Maris Executive Lodge (our hotel) is open for business.  Luckily for us there are no hotels in the area that offer a greater opportunity to help others simply by nothing more than spending a night there! 

It was a lot of fun hanging out with Bill and Adam Mesirow before I went on air.  The studio itself was an experience, since it was on Michigan Ave. (amid the NATO chaos) with people peering in (mid interview) and waving.  In between "on air" time Bill would talk to the people on the road passing by and engage the "live" audience.  It was new and slightly more nerve racking knowing that people were standing right there watching me, but I loved it though.  It was a lot of fun to be there to talk with Adam and Bill as well as get to know Bill before ever going on air.  He was able to relate quickly to the story because of his family, his experience in Africa and his understanding of teachers.  It was such a great opportunity and he was a tremendous host with great questions.  I could tell he really wanted to help and spread the word of the work we have been doing in Mailisita.

In case you missed it here is the interview:

Interview with Bill Moller and Terry Mulligan

Mickey Finn's fundraiser success!

Hans thanking everyone!

I want to thank everyone so much for coming out to support the Mailisita Foundation and myself Thursday night at Mickey Finn's.  Together we raised more than $11,000!  I had very high hopes for the fundraiser, and this money far exceeded what I imagined possible!   When I heard the total I was admittedly floored, it takes a lot to make me speechless (a feat some thought impossible) but I was truly speechless.  I was so overwhelmed, excited, in over my head and blown away by the turnout and support shown.  We had more than 300 people show up that night, which is a greater turnout than any previous fundraiser!  It was not only a great quantity of people, but many new faces to the Mailisita Foundation which is very encouraging to see.  My greatest hope for the fundraiser was to involve more people (especially St. Joseph families that have been contributing for years!) to understand how they can help further and understand greater what has been done in Tanzania.  The St. Joseph community has always been my biggest supporter, and St. Joseph School was definitely out and making their presence known Thursday night!  Many families came out to bid on auction items, share stories, listen to some great music from Peter Brush and Jeff Holland's band Sagebrush and celebrate the great work being done to help the wonderful people of Mailisita.  I want to take some time to thank the amazing families that generously donated items to my fundraiser.  If you were there than you know we had some amazing items as well as a great diversity of items!  Thank you to the:

Lutes Family
Scott Family
Elert Family
Kristopher Family
Jen Waldvogle
Joanne Avampato
Jennie Lussow
Peter Brush and Jeff Holland
Taylor Family
Chris Anest
The Landgraf family
Carrie Graham
Bossler Family
Tomassetti Family
Beth Kraft
Glenda Braun
Taylor Family
The Hardy Family
Simmons Family
Coughlin Family
Shannon Hertzler
Cristina Riggio
Jen Ottoson


Not enough can be said about these amazing families and how much I appreciate them.  Their love and support shown to me has been what has been made my involvement in the Mailisita Foundation possible.  Without the support of others I would not be able to afford to teach in Africa.  That goes for the planning and coordinating of the fundraiser too.  The Kristopher, Martin, Taylor and Bossler Families all spent hours talking through every step of the fundraiser.  In particular, I owe an especially big thanks to Jodi Kristopher.  She called, texted and talked to me everyday leading up to the fundraiser.  Her family has been such a big blessing to me and her personal contribution lead directly to the success of Thursday night.  She spread the word and helped me so much!  I wouldn't have been able to do it without Jodi.  Thank you everyone!  I could go on and on, but most of all I just want to say thank you and I love you all.  Thank you for your continued support and making my first ever fundraiser a huge success.

Thank you to the Daily Herald and Abby Scalf!

A huge thanks is owed to the Daily Herald and Abby Scalf!  Abby did an amazing job telling our story and connecting my classroom here and in Tanzania.  She was so kind with all of my students and flexible coming into the classroom.  All of my students at St. Joseph School really enjoyed Abby and sharing the experience together.  Not enough can be said at St. Joseph School and their role in supporting the work in Tanzania.  The entire community has supported me from my first trip over and I am thrilled that the students at St. Joseph could be recognized.  The children of St. Joseph have supported the school with yearly collections since the beginning of the construction of the school.  Their work in supporting the school as well as their work in the classroom is worthy of lots of praise!

Click here for the Daily Herald article

One of the stories that Abby shared was about Happy's dislike for a sour candy.  Most of the food in Tanzania is very bland, so candy is super popular.  Sour candy however is not so popular.  Luckily for me I caught a bit of their reaction on video:

The greatest reward of teaching them English has been getting to know each child and give them the chance to express themselves especially their sense of humor.  Thank you again to Abby for sharing our story and I hope you all can make it to our fund raiser on May 10th at Mickey Finn's!