The Hills of Africa

Goodbye America

2012-01-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

It's our last morning in America. We leave in a few hours.
Today I'm enjoying with intent:
- the last glass of cranberry juice
- the last instantly hot shower with clean water
- the last bit of reliable electricity
- the last morning for the kids to watch PBS while I work
- the last use of unlimited internet
and
- the last time with my parents and aunt.

But I'm looking forward to:
- warm weather all year and the end of cold weather clothing
- a garden for us all to enjoy
- routine!! (Who knew one can be excited about the same old routine?)
- the end of traveling for a while
- a slow pace of live
- focusing more time on really enjoying my kids
and
- a home of our own!

Goodbye America; we've loved being with you!
Hello Uganda!

Counting

2012-01-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

1 broken computer
2 exhausted adults
3 sick children
4 days till flights
5 bags still to pack

Counting is so stressful!

100% financial support
9 checked bag allotment
8 new books to read on our new gift: Kindle Fire
7 more days till a home of our own
6 months of luxuries in America
5 of us traveling together instead of 4 & 1 in the original plan
4 amazing grandparents
3 kid baths in clean water today
2 (only) flights to our new home town
1 functioning updated website

Counting blessings is so much better!

Facing the Unexpected

2012-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

You might remember that we had a plan to return to Uganda. Dusty was to leave the 11th to get our home situated, purchase a vehicle, and spend some time with our friend who is currently serving as the Director in Entebbe so he could make a smooth transition into the position. I was to go later with the kids on the 21st.

Our timing apparently is not what the Lord has in mind, and although this has been a tough time, we want to do what is best in His plan. We have learned this over and over as missionaries - flexibility is critical in our lifestyle.

After two days of fever, we thought Cooper might need to go to the pediatrician. Instead, on the third morning we discovered he had cut his first tooth, and the fever went away. We were relieved till the next day I began to notice my back hurting. On the following day I became crippled by pain which escalated to the point that I went into shock. We had a presentation planned for Saturday that we canceled about 2 hours before it started as I could no longer get out of bed, was going into shock again, and was in excruciating pain and fear.

We went to the ER where I received a very strong shot and was put on high doses of a pain killer and muscle relaxant which are preventing me from nursing Cooper. For the most part, I am staying in bed. Our entire family has stepped in to take care of Cooper and me, for which we are so extremely humbled and grateful.

We are now in the process of changing our flights so that we can travel together as a family. While this brings peace of mind to all of us, we also are keenly aware that it will make things a bit more stressful once we arrive in Entebbe. I am very thankful that we can go through it together as a family though.

Transitions are always stressful for us, and this one has been even more stressful with a move, changing countries, my back problem, and a few other situations that have not yet resolved themselves. However, we know the Lord is taking care of us and has us firmly in his grip.

We appreciate your prayers through it all, and we truly look forward to the time when we can settle down in our own home in Uganda after moving in and jet lag are over.

The "What is Furlough Like?" Question

2011-11-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

We get a lot of questions about furlough. What do you do? What is it like? Do you get any rest? Has it been fun? How are the kids adjusting? etc.

While there are no short answers to these questions, I can at least try to give you a glimpse into how our life has been since we got back in July. Here is how we've been spending our time.

1. Work - Dusty goes to the office at the church during the weekdays and works on linguistics, survey reports, getting acquainted with our work in Uganda, and finishing some work from Tanzania. I've been tackling our website issues which have made me enter a maddening cyber-chase.

2. Logistics - This includes trying to get our container full of our household items from Musoma to Entebbe (it's there now!), renewing passports and getting them to Uganda for visas (they're there, but now we need them back), submitting foreign medical receipts for insurance and then dickering over them with the insurance company.

3. PD (Partnership Development) - We're having several open-house events, giving presentations to multiple groups from 6 churches, meeting with supporters, and updating our address lists. How can this be so fun and so tiring at the same time?

4. Kids' education - Some time is spent taking care of the kids' schooling while they are here: Tessa is in public school 1st grade while Jack goes to a church preschool two mornings a week. Soon I will be wading the murky waters of home schooling curriculum and trying to figure out how to get it to Uganda in January. Anyone going to Uganda soon with luggage to spare?

5. Medical - All of us are in need of check-ups, shots, and some physical updates. Cooper had 4 shots this morning actually. These appointments inevitably lead to more insurance dramas.

6. Rest - Yes, it is part of our goal to get some rest from the stresses of living abroad. This is tricky since it seems we are just trading those stresses with American stresses, but nonetheless, we are enjoying some time with family and friends. We recently had two short vacations in the Colorado mountains and were very thankful to be back in our beloved Rockies again in spite of the kids' very serious croup episodes.

So, like you, our lives are a mixture of family, work, fun, stress, fellowship, and hassles. However, we never feel quite at home because we are traveling between 2 states and 2 countries, living in a home that is not ours and heading to an entirely new spot altogether.

That being said, we really are enjoying our time with our family, old and new friends, favorite restaurants, libraries, playgrounds, and the change in the seasons. Now, back to the glorious effort to clear out my inbox...

What It's All About

2011-10-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our team in Tanzania had the privilege of dedicating the first translated and printed book of Luke among the Ikoma (and Nata and Isenye) people in the Mugumu village. This is a huge milestone for our family and our entire team. Although we weren't there to celebrate, we are so thankful to have some of Michael Nicholls' photos of the celebration and wanted to share a few with you as well.

Long before the ceremony begins, the ladies of the church started preparing a meal for everyone who came. The food is usually ugali (boiled cornmeal), goat stew, rice, beans, and a bit of greens.

The children of the community curiously awaiting the dedication.

The participants joyfully line up to carry the box of Luke booklets into the church. The man on the left in the blue shirt is Mussa Karume Tobias.

Accompanied by singing, the Word is brought into the church in gift-wrapped boxes.

After unwrapping the box, Bishop Stephen Mageri holds up a booklet for everyone to see.

Celebration!!

Mwalimu Mtiro and a friend reading the very first book ever in their own language.

And this, folks, is what it's all about. This is why we first started thinking about becoming missionaries. This is what we have been striving toward since we moved to Tanzania in 2004, surveyed the people groups in 2005, and opened the cluster translation project in 2006. This is why you've been supporting us and praying for us and the Tanzanians around us - the Word of God in their mother tongue.

Thank you for going there with us in your hearts to make an eternal impact in the hearts of the Ikoma people and all the others both in the Mara region and around the world.

Praise God!

Early observations of life in America

2011-07-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Now that we've been here about two weeks, I'd like to share some observations about life in America. Some are things that I appreciate; others are simply things I notice.

1. There are lines on the roads indicating where you should drive, and where you can pass - and people follow them! When we have lines in East Africa they are considered mere suggestions. Driving here is so easy that we can almost safely zone out while at the wheel.

2. It's blazing hot in Texas, but everyone is surprised that it's never that hot in Musoma. Although we're so thankful for the A/C, we are surprised at how cold they keep the restaurants and other places. It feels quite odd to walk out into 105 degrees outside carrying a sweater so we can comfortably go out to eat!

3. CLEAN WATER! Oh, the luxury of clean water. I don't have to keep my mouth closed in the shower. I can rinse off my toothbrush from the tap in the sink. I can rinse a cup and then drink from it immediately afterward without worrying about amoeba. It's so nice!

4. The "bigness" of it all - at restaurants sodas and plates of pasta are huge. Along with this comes the "sweetness" of it all - sugar seems to be added to everything edible. And while on the topic of sugar - the sugar here is so nice and fine and white! Our sugar in TZ looks like what Americans call "Sugar in the Raw," big and brown, and we laugh that people consider that special!

5. Options are limitless. We can't get decent orange juice in TZ unless we squeeze it ourselves and add sugar (which due to the above reasons doesn't dissolve nicely). But here we have the choice of: pulp, no pulp, vitamins added, diet, healthy heart, antioxidants, fresh, frozen, from concentrate, from various types of oranges, from various brands, and then - which is the best price? And that's just juice! Now think about churches, entertainment choices, restaurants, clothing, friendships, music, books, and the list is as limitless as the options.

6. Green grass and beautifully manicured landscaping around homes and businesses in spite of lack of rain - and sprinkler systems!

7. Doctors' appointments are hard to get. In Nairobi we can get an appointment with a good doctor within 1 or 2 days pretty easily, even if we are a new patients.

8. It's light here from 6am - 8pm. In Musoma it's light from 6:30am - 6:30pm...year round. We can't seem to get the kids into bed at the right time since we're all internally confused.

9. In East Africa it seems to take us a lot of time and a lot of effort to get even small errands accomplished satisfactorily. Here, things are straightforward, traffic is easily navigable, and everything is open when we need it to be. American businesses have catered to the high value we place on efficiency, and customer service is standard instead of extremely rare.

10. We don't pay for internet by the megabyte - it just feels nice to view whatever we like without even thinking about its size.

So we're grateful to be back in the Land of Plenty, enjoying its riches and conveniences, but we also still appreciate life in Africa where things generally seem more simple and light.

African Anecdotes - Domestic Violence

2011-06-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

Domestic violence - 12/6/2004

Last night, through the window, I heard a heated discussion between a man and a woman. In village living, the neighbor knows all. She was screaming and crying and he was talking loudly to her. I couldn’t understand, but it was clear that she was either accusing him or defending herself. Every now and then there was a thud, and her screams would heighten. A baby was wailing the whole time. It was just awful, and I prayed for them, but I barely knew what to pray for.

It has lead me to be thinking along these lines, “Why was I chosen to be born in a culture of education, where abuse is not acceptable and is illegal? Why was it me who was born in a family without fear of abuse? Why do I get to be a woman who doesn’t think about whether my husband will yell at me or hit me? Why me and not her?” I’m thankful, and so is Dusty, but our hearts are grieved for the women and the men here, who are raised believing that domestic abuse is not only normal, but to be expected.

And worse than that, we have heard that some women do not feel loved unless they are beaten! They have it so very backwards. Somehow they believe that if they are beaten every now and then, their husbands care about them and how they cook, where they have been, how they raise the kids, etc. If she cooks poorly for a few days without a comment from him or if he doesn’t eat at home for several meals, then she will assume he is eating from some other woman’s table, so his yelling at her or hitting her is an assurance that he’s not cheating, that he loves her.

African Anecdotes Revisited - Death

2011-06-07T00:49:00.000-07:00

Death remains a very common topic here in Tanzania because it is so frequent and common, which does not make the grief any less of course. After seven years of living here, we are still amazed at how often we hear of people dying, including children and babies. Malaria takes a big toll among adults and children alike.

10/27/04 - Death in this culture

Although many things have changed in these parts, some traditions remain and differ by tribe. For instance, men are buried lying on their right sides, women on their left sides; everyone is buried with their heads to the West. The right hand in Swahili is called the “hand of man” and the left is called the “hand of woman.” There is good death (dying from disease, natural causes) and bad death (dying from murder or accident). Men are mourned for 4 days because they are or can be the head of the family, and women for 3 days.

In some tribes family members of the deceased shave their heads entirely. When the hair regrows, the family members can stop thinking of their loss. People deemed crazy are not mourned. If a baby is born as a stillborn, there is no mourning period, and no one, including the mother, is allowed to cry because it may bring bad luck, and she can have another child. If her husband dies, a woman is encouraged to remarry after the 4 days but these days everyone is wary of AIDS so she isn’t required to marry again. The cemeteries are divided into about 6 spaces for people to be buried according to religion.

In the past, when a person died, he/she was wrapped in a fresh cow skin, and the mourners ate the meat from the cow. Now he/she is wrapped in white cloth and put in a coffin. Muslims are not buried in coffins, but their bodies cannot touch dirt, so they are covered with leaves, etc before the dirt covers them. In the past, if a chief died, they would bury a live servant with him because he still would need someone to serve him; the family of the servant would be financially reimbursed (or paid in cows, etc.). When twins or breech babies were born, they would be “thrown out” because they brought bad luck. Also, if a child’s top teeth grew in before the bottom teeth, they would be thrown out too for the same reasons. Most of these traditions ceased when understanding grew.

Dusty was just saying today that we hear of a lot more death here. Someone was hit on their motorcycle in town on Sunday and was decapitated. 2 of our teachers have had neighbors die since we have been here. And we heard lamenting wailing from the village through our windows when someone died there. Community life is so much stronger here that everyone still knows everyone else’s business. The average lifespan is much shorter here too. If a person gets cancer, chemo and radiation are not really choices because of the lack of money and health care. And of course AIDS is claiming so many. We haven’t seen anyone with visible AIDS yet, but we know many people who have lost family members that way.

African Anecdotes #1: Church

2011-06-05T00:55:00.001-07:00

In light of our leaving Tanzania and moving to Uganda, I am finding myself in a retrospective state of mind. Therefore I'm posting some of the original African Anecdotes that I began writing in 2004 before I began blogging.

A choir in a Masaai church we visited in Kenya in 2004

10/5/04 (written in Musoma during language school)Church

Life continues on here, and we visited our 4th TZ church this week. We have been to 8 services in East Africa so far including Anglican, Lutheran, Africa Inland Church, a Masai (tribe) church, and Baptist; some were urban and others were rural. The first hour of most of these services is focused on singing, prayer, and scripture reading; most services go for two hours or more, and only one had an optional Sunday School for adults.

Let me tell you, the choir is always the main attraction. The choirs here are a treat for both the ears and eyes. They have no robes, but they have a combination of dancing and signing that is very engaging. It seems that each song has a different set of hand signs and foot movements to follow, and no one ever screws up. They harmonize their voices, but unfortunately, I can’t always appreciate that because the music team (electric guitars, bass, drum, and/or synthesizer) plays loudly and not very well.

Churches usually take at least 2 offerings, so we always split what we will give in three groups, both for me and Dusty, so that we can participate in 100% of the offerings. We have yet to figure out the reasoning on multiple offerings. Everyone walks single file to the basket at the front of the church and donates while the choir sings. Someone always announces the attendance and offering amounts of the former week, and one time it was announced that the women gave more than the men, and all the women cheered and clapped in an otherwise very liturgical service. We have been to 2 services where vegetables and fruit were auctioned off among the congregation to raise funds too.

Sometimes laypeople give the sermons, and it is not uncommon for a woman to preach. We never know how long the sermon will be, but it feels very long. Sometimes I just pray quietly when my brain tires of listening for words I recognize. Women (in general) sit on the left side of the church, and men on the right, but everyone expects foreigners to sit together, which is nice for us. Kids usually sit in front, and behave very well, considering that they are there for 2 hours! The pews are always wood with or without backs on them. We are always asked to stand and introduce ourselves as guests, and we usually stumble through some pathetic Swahili sentences, but everyone is gracious and pleased in spite of our tripping tongues. At the end of the service while we are singing, the first person out (pastor) shakes hands with the next person out, and so on, so that we shake hands with every person in the church and exchange greetings. The kids do a little curtsy thing to us, and they have a different verbal greeting too.

Jack in "Sunday School" outside our church in Musoma where we still worship. The pastor's house is in the background. The kids play under this mango tree.

Introducing: Mafuru Hill

2011-05-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, Sululu, our office construction foreman and good friend, gave us the blessing of naming his 12th child. We named him Simeoni, from the second chapter of the book of Luke. In return, we asked Sululu to give Cooper a Jita name as Sululu is from the Jita tribe. He chose the name Mafuru, which is a small fish and also the name of his deceased brother, which was quite an honor for us. Apparently Cooper/Mafuru was born during the time when many of this fish are available.

Although we will continue to call him Cooper, Sululu and his family will now call him Mafuru. We can now introduce him to Tanzanians as Mafuru, which is much easier for them to say and understand. And now we are Baba Mafuru (Dusty) and Mama Mafuru (me)!

Dusty holding Simeoni, now 4 months, and Sululu holding Mafuru

Sululu's uncle and Mafuru. This older man has completely withered legs and is only able to walk with the use of a tall stick, but still radiates such beautiful joy. He is always happy to see us.

Mama Simeoni, Sululu's third wife, and Mafuru. Cooper couldn't sleep because he was being passed around a lot, and any time Cooper let out a little squeak from being tired she insisted that he was hungry even though I had just fed him. Tanzanians don't let their babies cry - they just keep feeding them. Our explanation of putting Cooper on a feed/wake/sleep schedule fell on deaf ears...again.

Sululu's second wife on the left and third wife on the right with some of the kids. Everyone enjoyed holding the little mzungu (white) baby.

This was such a fun morning - having chai with our friends in their home, cuddling Simeoni with his big eyes, and waiting for Cooper's Jita name with mounting curiosity.

The Ultimate Kidism List

2011-05-25T02:35:00.001-07:00

Due to lack of time/energy I have not been as faithful with our email updates as I would have liked, but I have been collecting the kidisms from the past 3 months. So here they are, in full. Enjoy!

First, from our time in the Nairobi as the kids were adjusting to the wonders of urban life:
Jack, accustomed to bathing in a basin and watching the water drain down the bathtub: "Look! The water is sinking!"

Jack, on the first shopping trip: "Wow! A parking lot! Can we park here?!"

Kim, after Tessa prayed for the person passing us in an ambulance: "because one day it could be one of us." Tessa: "Oh, it will definitely be me." Us, shocked: "Why?" Tessa: "Because I am always blowing my nose!" (she had a rare cold at the time)

Jack, noticing the overhead car light is not working: "The car's umeme is off." (umeme = electricity, and at home in TZ, we have frequent reason to say "the umeme is off.")

Jack, hearing a car alarm: "Mama, what's that bird's name?"

Tessa, after a beggar knocked on our vehicle window:"Mama, is he rich?" Kim: "No, he's poor and was asking for money." Tessa: "Well, he should go to a bank to get money instead of asking us." (followed by a lengthy explanation of poverty and our response to the poor)

Tessa: "They should really get Chik-Fil-A in Nairobi." (Amen!!)

Jack: "Come see my dot com!" (the city he built from tracks, trains, and blocks on the floor)

Tessa: "God just told me how He wants me to serve Him!" Us: "Really? How?" Tessa: "He wants me to go to the playground tomorrow!"

Kim: "And we may have to wake you in the middle of the night if that's when the baby comes." Tessa: "Or the side of the night would be fine."

Jack to Tessa, who was playing with his toy: "Be fortunate with my helicopter!" (meaning: 'careful') Jack likes to use big words, even if he doesn't understand them.

While on vacation at a hotel on the coast of Kenya:
Tessa, pointing at a group of boys: "Mama, I like cute boys... like THAT one." Yikes!

Jack, after a conversation about baptism: "When we were in the ocean, I put my face in the water and baptized myself!"

Jack, in the restaurant after a meal: "Where's the sink?" We were confused why he wanted a sink and made an effort to get him to clarify. Turns out he wanted to take his dirty dish to the sink! Us: "Oh no Jack; these nice men will take our dishes for us!"

Kim: "..and we can take a boat tomorrow." (meaning the glass bottom boat at the hotel) Jack: "I would like to take a boat back to Musoma." The boy really missed his home!

And after we returned to Tanzania:

Jack: "I don't like you exasperated. I like you happy." (We had read a book earlier with an exasperated mother in it and had explained that word to the kids.)

Tessa: "...and then Jesus said the magic words, and the water turned into wine."

Jack: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a beaver." (should be 'bee')

Tessa, with arms spread partially: "I love you this much." Kim, with arms spread all the way: "Well, who do you love this much?" Tessa: "Cooper."

Dusty: "What's happening in Libya is so sad." Tessa: "Who's Olivia?"

Jack, whose fish taco was falling apart: "We need to put some tape on this taco."

Tessa while looking at things through the car window: "I'm a good-looker, aren't I?"

Tessa, after a previous conversation about getting engaged: "When I grow up and a man asks if I will marry him, I will DEFINITELY say yes!"

You might be a missionary in Tanzania if...

2011-05-19T02:45:00.001-07:00

(apologies to those who have already read this, but I just discovered that it got lost among older posts, so here it is again)

You might be a missionary in Tanzania if...
1. You're the only person in the neighborhood who exercises for the sake of exercise, and everyone knows it.
2. You keep a frozen water bottle in the freezer to put in the fridge for power cuts.
3. You know instinctively which bumps in the dirt road to avoid and which you can pass over easily.
4. You only have one wardrobe, and it's for warm weather. Similarly, you get a bit excited when it's cool enough to actually wear socks.
5. You shop at the second hand clothing market for all your family's Christmas gifts.
6. Knowing every toilet has issues here, you ask the host what you need to know about the quirks of the toilet before you go to use it.
7. Smelling smoke in your house does not make you panic because you're keenly aware that it's just someone burning refuse outside.
8. Your language is laced with Commonwealth English. You go "on holiday." You were "in university" or even "in uni." You change "nappies." You put your trash in the "rubbish bin."
9. You know what it means when someone is taking a medicine ending in -azole. (parasites or worms)
10. You know that what looks like a squeeze mustard bottle on a restaurant table is actually filled with hot sauce.
11. You pack produce in your suitcase. (most recently butternut squash)
12. You don't think twice about seeing a dirt-colored cow lying down outside the grocery store door because you're so excited about actually going into a grocery store in the big city!
13. You arrive one hour late to a wedding and yet are still one hour early.
14. You understand why there is a sign on the toilet door saying, "Do not stand on seat." (Locals use squat toilets - ceramic hole in the ground - and aren't sure how to use a Western toilet.)
15. You can't leave your house without being frowned upon because you didn't wrap your baby in three blankets even though it is 85 degrees and sunny outside.
16. Instead of going to liquor stores to get free boxes for moving, you BUY them from random shop owners on the side of the road.

Kids' Easter Photos

2011-04-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We have so much to praise God for this year with the birth of Cooper, and as always we are especially thankful today for the resurrection of Jesus, who has brought us eternal life. May your Easter be filled with the joy of the risen Lord! As we say in Swahili: Amefufuka! (He has risen) Amefufuka kweli kweli! (He has risen indeed!)

2007 in Musoma

2008 in Musoma

2009 in Texas

2010 in Musoma

2011 in Nairobi

Embassy

2011-04-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the American Embassy in Nairobi. The last time we were there was four years ago when we were obtaining Jack's passport and social security number. Since then things have changed a bit - namely that you can no longer simply go to the embassy - you have to make an appointment online or over the phone.

The odd thing though, is that when pursuing a passport, the embassy makes the appointment for you. I keep imagining the movie-type situation where the bad guys are chasing the good American all the way to the embassy gates. In Kenya that American wouldn't get in without his/her official paper proving that he/she has an appointment!

So we found out yesterday afternoon that they gave us the appointment for this morning at 10:30. They had put our request off a bit, so Dusty emailed them and remarkably received a reply within hours with the appointment for today. So that was impressive at least. We cleared our schedule - embassy appointments are precious!

We left our house at 9:15 so we could meet our friend Carl at a nearby shopping center parking lot at 10:15. The most odd thing is that the embassy has NO PARKING - at all. Perhaps this is to prevent car bombs? But then why not have off-site parking? It's completely frustrating. Carl took us to the embassy and dropped us off, and we took a taxi back to the shopping center when we were done.

We were scanned immediately at the gate, and then anything we brought with us was scanned again. The items the security guards chose to keep while we went inside were our cell phones, car keys, and ... Spencer. Spencer is the metal, magnetized train that Jack chose to bring as his toy for the day. Let me tell you, Jack's bottom lip popped out and tears formed in his eyes as we walked away from Spencer, although we hastened to comfort Jack by telling him he would get Spencer back when we left. The poor guy was so worried and saddened!

We waited about 45 minutes to submit our paperwork, sign it, and swear in. Everything went smoothly and the lady didn't mention our missing information, so hopefully it will not be a problem. She said it will take 2-3 weeks to get the passport. Obviously we're hoping no longer than 2 weeks so we can return to Tanzania.

In the meantime, Cooper is neither Kenyan or American. He's just a boy floating with no citizenship anywhere. Apparently, children born to foreigners have to apply for Kenyan citizenship, which we're obviously not going to do. Simply obtaining his birth certificate was stressful enough, and dual citizenship is still not allowed, at least as far as we know.

The most harrowing part of the morning was fighting traffic in a construction zone. It was absolutely unbelievable how aggressive the matatu drivers are. Matatus are the 14 passenger mini-vans that many people use for transportation here. But other drivers as well are just as aggressive. There appear to be no road rules and risk is the name of the game.

All told, we've been very pleased that things have happened so quickly - even the staff at the embassy were impressed to see a 10-day-old baby applying for a passport. Usually it takes longer, so we know the Lord, not the embassy, is expediting our process!

Welcoming Cooper

2011-03-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

We're so happy to announce the birth of Cooper Clement Hill, who arrived on Sunday, March 27th at 10:30 in the morning, weighing 7 lbs, 15 oz. He is a healthy baby, and we were released to go back home the next morning.

Knowing how fast Jack arrived, we left ourselves plenty of time to get to the hospital, and because it was a Sunday morning we had no traffic and made the normally one hour drive in 10 minutes! I had a full team of the OBGYN, midwife/doula, pediatrician (required in Kenya to be present), nurses, and Dusty of course. The labor came hard and fast and left no time for the epidural - so I had a natural childbirth even though I would have preferred otherwise. Additionally, it was "back labor," meaning the baby's face was turned the wrong way, so the pain was intense.

We are all very grateful that Cooper and I are both healthy, and we are recovering well. He is so sleepy at this point that we can barely wake him up to feed him, and yet he still manages to be awake in the middle of the night. Now for a few photos:

Jack enjoyed snuggling up next to me in the hospital bed. He's not quite sure what to make of the whole baby thing, but he's doing a great job and is happy to have a brother.

A rare wakeful moment on the Rift Valley sheepskin we bought for Cooper.

Tessa is completely in love with Cooper, and having a baby in the house has been a great joy for her. She holds him all the time and enjoys dressing him and helping with diaper changes.

The Princess Zahra maternity ward. Jack had just knocked his ear on Cooper's car seat so he wasn't too happy here.

Cooper, snuggly in his multiple blankets in the hospital bassinet. East Africans love to bundle their babies, but we were very surprised the staff never placed a knit cap on his head like they do in the States.

Riding on the bassinet and banging it into the walls - a nice, quick introduction into what Cooper can expect from his siblings' activity level.

Happy mom, sleepy baby about 7 hours after the delivery.

Happy father, uncertain brother about 5 hours after the birth.

Tired and content.

Our first Kenyan visitor, Salome, who was thrilled with Cooper - and he was pretty interested in her too!

We praise God for this amazing gift - a beautiful baby boy, a safe delivery, a morning drive to the hospital with no traffic, quality hospital staff, meals at home provided by friends, and an apartment to stay in while we recover and apply for Cooper's birth certificate and passport.

Small Towners in the Big City

2011-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Before we left Musoma, and in the middle of a heat wave without power, I commented, "If Nairobi is this hot and having electricity issues I will be SERIOUSLY disappointed." Apparently I said that so strongly that Tessa timidly asked, "what does 'seriously' mean?"

Fortunately, I have not been disappointed - it is cooler here, and we've barely lost electricity at all - just blinks here and there. We're not having an ant problem, milk is easy to buy, the kids and I love the bathtub, we've been to a couple of restaurants, and we have a grocery store nearby. On the health front, we've visited the OBGYN and hospital twice, met with a doula/midwife, and found out that partial epidurals are available. So the list of things to which I was looking forward has been met. Yea!

Traffic is just as atrocious as I remembered, and the apartment is quite "cozy" (read: small), but we're managing fine. Home schooling is going surprisingly well, and Dusty's able to walk down the hill to the office to do his work on the computer and with colleagues. The kids have made a few friends at the tiny playground next door, and we're settling in well.

Having said these things though, it's clear that we're small town folks in the big city. We find ourselves readily speaking Swahili to Kenyans, who speak perfect English but enjoy Swahili too. Dusty's managing parking fine, but I have still resisted parallel parking our truck on the hill of our apartment complex. We're experiencing sticker shock at the prices of medical care - in Musoma it costs less than $5 to visit the doctor at the clinic - here it's about $40. Granted: the care is a bit different too!

The kids thought that a car alarm was a bird singing. They are fascinated by the traffic and ceaselessly comment on all the large trucks and buses. They referred to traffic yesterday as "the parade." They continue to talk and pray about malaria, which really isn't an issue, so we don't have to use our nets. They're thrilled by having ice cream in the freezer (well, we all are), grapes in the fridge, and store-bought cookies. The milk from the carton/bag tastes different to them, so Tessa decided it must come from a "different cow" than the one from which we get milk in Musoma.

But with all the big city has to offer, we still are focused on the main reason for our being here - waiting for this baby to come into the world, and into the Hill family. I'm getting a bit of stage fright, Dusty's trying to figure out how to navigate Nairobi and the American Embassy to make the baby an American, and the kids continue to pray that "the baby has fun in Mama's tummy."

Surely the next time I post, we'll have the Little One out, named, videoed, and photographed to our hearts' content. Till then, thank you for all your encouragement and prayers!

Life in Nairobi So Far

2011-03-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

From today - March 24th. Due date is April 3rd, but for obvious reasons, I'm hoping the baby comes as soon as possible. Two of our biggest concerns are being stuck in the very tight parallel parking here at the apartment or stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital.
Our mornings are spent in kindergarten home school. Jack plays on the floor with trains, colors, and blocks while Tessa and I work together. Occasionally he joins in for reading and other activities. Temporarily home schooling Tessa is good practice as it appears that we will be home schooling once we move to Uganda as well. So far, it's going quite well, but I do wonder how it will keep going once the baby comes.
Tessa dancing to the Sheryl Crow song from the movie "Cars." Both kids love rocking out every now and then.
Blowing out the candles on her pink cupcakes on her actual 6th birthday. I could only find some odd floating candles in the shop, and only 2 of the 6 would light. We topped the cupcakes with ice cream and real strawberries - the biggest treat. We had already celebrated her birthday early with her friends in Musoma with a butterfly birthday cake, and I'm so glad we did - this birthday celebration was just the 4 of us, but was still fun (except when Jack blew the candles out first and got in a bit of trouble!).
Opening presents after breakfast on her birthday from care packages (thanks Wendy and Nana!) and us.
Kids get creative when resources are few. This evening Tessa decided to make herself into a pirate by coloring an eye patch and taping it to her face with Scotch tape - topped by a hat. I think Dusty got her to say "Arrgh" here. Cutest oddball pirate I've ever seen.
Care package arrived with Cinderella clothes for Barbie - thanks Wendy!
Wendy, my cousin, sent some Duplo blocks for Jack - they've seen a lot of happy daily use. We're so thankful!
A nice quiet activity - both kids reading on the couch.

Nairobi Bound

2011-03-01T03:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, March 6th we will be making the drive from Musoma, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya. For the most part, I'm grateful to go, but there are a few disadvantages as well. Here's how the lists boil down:

Why I'm looking forward to being in Nairobi:
1. The climate! It's nearly 6,000 feet high, so it's always cooler there, and we've been dealing with heat like we've never known in Musoma. This has been more difficult being pregnant, but also because with 7 hours of daily electricity rationing, we frequently can't run a fan.

2. Electricity! While we're being cut daily, Nairobi folks are getting cut 3-5 hours only once a week.

3. Nakumatt - a real grocery store (plus) to make meals so much easier! Think Target - Kenya style. The kids think it's a treat to climb into a shopping cart. When you ask Jack "where did you learn that?" he often says, "Nakumatt," but why he says that remains a mystery. At Nakumatt I can buy...

4. ...Pasteurized/Homogenized milk! No more buying milk from the bucket on the back of the milkman's bicycle, boiling it, letting it cool for hours before putting it in the fridge (if it's on), then scraping off the cream in the morning.

5. Bathtub! We are staying in the apartment where we stayed when Jack was born, and it has a bathtub, which we don't have here in Musoma. Here we use big laundry basins for the kids. My pregnant body and I are looking forward to experiencing something resembling weightlessness, and the kids always have a blast in a real bathtub.Tessa in the tub at the Nairobi apartment right before Jack was born.

6. Restaurants! It will be very nice to not have to cook every day for every meal, whether we go out or order take-out on occasion. We have four restaurants in Musoma, but two of them only serve fish/chicken and fries, and the other two sometimes make one wonder if it would have been better to stay home and cook/clean for ourselves.

7. Ant-free home. We are currently experiencing the worst ant invasion we've ever seen. Maybe this is because we're in the dry season, but we've had several dry seasons without problems like this. They've invaded our entire kitchen - even the fridge, the floors, the back porch table, the dining table, the dog's dish, and sometimes the toilets too. We put out ant traps, but they march on, so we've taken to spraying them with a water bottle that has 10% bleach.

8. Paved roads. Ok, I know there are many roads in Nairobi with frightening potholes, and lots of traffic, but the 4km dirt road we must use to get to town here in Musoma is definitely NOT agreeing with my pregnant belly. It is a rough drive on all of us, plus we've had to use a detour since Sept/Oct as they have been slowly working on a 3/4 km stretch. Today was the first day we noticed something resembling pavement on that stretch. My patience has ended, and I don't want that road to be "the straw that broke the amniotic sack."

9. Hospital! The books tell me I could have the baby any day now that I'm in my 36th week. Being in the same city as a really good hospital will provide relief from anxiety for me - I do NOT want to have a baby in Musoma. I've only had one prenatal visit this whole time, so it will be good to finally meet with the doctor who will be delivering the baby and finally get some prenatal (and natal) care.The hospital where Jack was born and #3 will be born if we can make it through traffic!

10. The baby! We're all eagerly anticipating seeing and getting to know this new person in our family. Hopefully we can choose a name during the eight hour drive to Nairobi!

What I'm not looking forward to about being in Nairobi:
1. Having to borrow someone else's washing machine as the machine for the apartment complex is broken. Fortunately we can buy and use disposable diapers and let the cloth diapers wait till we're back in Musoma.

2. Cooping up the family in a small 2 bedroom apartment with parquet floors which echo. And no garden with a lovely view of Lake Victoria like we have here!

3. Making new friends / reestablishing older friendships - finding friends for the kids to play with might be a challenge as many of our friends who used to live in Nairobi have now moved away.

4. Homeschooling Tessa while entertaining Jack and then adding an infant to care for on top of it all. Can I keep up with her curriculum? Thank goodness it's only kindergarten - surely I can handle that, right? Tessa in front of her school in Musoma

5. Nairobi traffic. Anyone not having experienced it might not believe me when I say it is my number two cause for worry about having this baby (see #7). I do NOT want to deliver a child in our truck!

6. Dusty being in Entebbe, Uganda for the first 5 days after we get there - I have a lot of phone numbers of friends and a good taxi driver's number just in case I need to make a run for the hospital! However, I'm looking forward to this opportunity for him to see the city where we'll start living in 2011, get to know the team members there, look for housing, and get a better understanding of what his role will be... as long as he makes it back to Nairobi before the baby.pregnant with Tessa in 2004 in front of our office in Entebbe

7. Delivery with no hope of an epidural - enough said. I am NOT a "natural" kind of gal when it comes to childbirth.

So I only came up with seven disadvantages, and I'm sure I could have listed more than ten things to which I'm looking forward. It must be a good plan!

Naming a Tanzanian Baby (no, not ours)

2011-02-02T00:46:00.003-08:00

On Sunday we had the privilege of visiting our Tanzanian friend, Sululu, and his family at their home to welcome their new baby boy bringing a quilt that I had made for him. Sululu is the foreman for the construction work at the office, so Dusty is his "boss," and Sululu felt very honored to have his boss and family come to visit for chai time (mid-morning daily tea time).

Sululu has three wives and 12 children. The third wife, below, is the mother of the baby. Sadly, the family had just lost their nearly two year old boy a few months ago to a sickness which should have been preventable, so everyone has welcomed this baby boy with great joy.

We were only a bit surprised when they asked us to give the baby a name - this is not too unusual, but is a great honor, and we had not prepared anything. He already was given his family name from his mother's father, Maragesi. We decided to find a name in the book of Luke since that has been the book our project has been working on for a few years, and the first two chapters are printed in the family's language, Kijita.

Dusty selected Theophilus (the "most excellent" recipient of Luke's gospel), and I selected Simeon, the righteous man who was waiting for the Messiah and blessed Jesus and his family when Jesus was presented at the temple. The kids cast their vote for Simeoni (the Swahili version), so we went with it. Jack was curious about the baby, but definitely did NOT want to hold him.

Dusty read the story of Simeon from the book of Luke to the family and told them why we had selected the name. The family was amazed - Maragesi Sr.'s Christian name is also Simeoni! What are the chances of that? They knew God had truly chosen that name for this little baby, and we were amazed as well - it was truly a beautiful moment and a definite "God-thing" as all acknowledged. Maragesi Sr. nearly cried.Tessa couldn't get enough of holding the baby, even when he got her legs wet.

After chai, we began to say it was time for us to go when Sululu announced that the ladies were already making lunch for us. He said that giving chai to someone was nothing, but a meal must be served to honored guests. The ladies brought out the full spread: rice pilau, 3 kinds of meat, vegetables, bananas, cake, and ugali.

Ugali is the staple food of Tanzania. It is a corn-based mush about the consistency of play-dough which is eaten alongside other food and rolled in the right hand into a ball before popping it into your mouth. Our kids have never liked it; it's a bit bland and pasty, but when they saw that you can roll it around like play dough, they changed their tune to the delight of our hosts. Everyone laughed when Jack rolled it with both hands!

Finally our day with Sululu's family ended with a speech by Sululu, a prayer by his uncle, a prayer of blessing from Dusty, and a family photo. Maragesi Simeoni Sr. is sitting next to Dusty's left. It took a bit of coaxing and jesting to get everyone smiling, but it was well worth the effort - don't you think?

In the car as we were driving home, Tessa wisely told us, "Sululu's family gave us two presents today - the first was that we got to name the baby, and the second was a really nice lunch." What a great insight and attitude from a five year old!

Common Symptoms of Being a Missionary in Tanzania when...

2011-01-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

1. You're the only person in the neighborhood who exercises for the sake of exercise, and everyone knows it.
2. You keep a frozen water bottle in the freezer to put in the fridge for power cuts.
3. You know instinctively which bumps in the dirt road to avoid and which you can pass over easily.
4. You only have one wardrobe, and it's for warm weather. Similarly, you get a bit excited when it's cool enough to actually wear socks.
5. You shop at the second hand clothing market for all your family's Christmas gifts.
6. Knowing every toilet has issues here, you ask the host what you need to know about the quirks of the toilet before you go to use it.
7. Smelling smoke in your house does not make you panic because you're keenly aware that it's just someone burning refuse outside.
8. Your language is laced with Commonwealth English. You go "on holiday." You were "in university" or even "in uni." You change "nappies." You put your trash in the "rubbish bin."
9. You know what it means when someone is taking a medicine ending in -azole. (parasites or worms)
10. You know that what looks like a squeeze mustard bottle on a restaurant table is actually filled with hot sauce.
11. You pack produce in your suitcase. (most recently butternut squash)
12. You don't think twice about seeing a dirt-colored cow lying down outside the grocery store door because you're so excited about actually going into a grocery store in the big city!
13. You arrive one hour late to a wedding and yet are still one hour early.
14. You understand why there is a sign on the toilet door saying, "Do not stand on seat." (Locals use squat toilets - ceramic hole in the ground - and aren't sure how to use a Western toilet.)
15. You can't leave your house without being frowned upon because you didn't wrap your baby in three blankets even though it is 85 degrees and sunny outside.

2010 by the Month in Pics

2010-12-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

January - the typical excitement over opening a care package!

February - we're always trying to get decent family shots for the prayer updates and newsletters. This one is in our backyard.

March - Making Tessa's 5th birthday cake together

April - The kids love dying and decorating Easter eggs. This year we had letter stickers from a care package that worked nicely.

May - Mother's Day gifts that Dusty bought on a trip to Dar included Caesar salad dressing, a citronella candle, beet seeds, and pesto in a jar.

June - The Tanzanians and missionaries from our project came together by (ironically) playing each other in a "World Cup" soccer match, and everyone had a great time and felt more unified as a result. Since then we've had several more games with mixed teams.

July - Annual family photograph session on the Kenyan coast at our branch conference. Sometimes the best photo follows the silliest.

August - Tessa gets involved at the literacy workshop.

September - Dusty's birthday, hamming it up.

October - dressed up for the wedding of one of the translators, Shem.

November - mini-vacation at the Rondo Retreat in the Kakamega Rain Forest in Kenya. We let Tessa use our big and heavy camera to finally get a picture of the two of us together. She did a pretty good job!

December - Jack turned 4 on December 23rd, but we celebrated with a party on the Saturday beforehand. He loved his dinosaur cake, pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel, and musical chairs. On the 26th he said, "Now I'm almost five!"

Christmas by the year since 2005

2010-12-13T00:04:00.001-08:00

We moved to Tanzania on July 5th, 2004. Having finished language school, and on our way back to Dallas for the birth of Tessa, we spent our first Christmas in Entebbe, Uganda but I have no pictures of it available. I do remember making chocolate chip cookies on the floor of our friends' house as they were having their kitchen built. Here is one picture from each of the following years.

2005 - We were borrowing a house after moving to Musoma from Dodoma. There were no decorations, but we enjoyed spending the day with our Australian friends at their barbecue.

2006 - Obviously a big year! We were released from the hospital in Nairobi having given birth to Jack 2 days prior to Christmas. The challenge that day was then climbing three flights of stairs for Christmas dinner with friends.

2007 - Finally, our first Christmas at home since leaving Denver in 2003.

2008 - Christmas with my parents at their lake house in Texas, followed by a massive family gathering in Dallas. It was fantastic to be with family again after 4 hot African Christmases.

2009 - We enjoyed another quiet Christmas at home. The day was a bit cooler and drizzly, so it felt more like an American Christmas. We have no chimney, so Santa came into the house by the front door, since we "left a key out for him."

2010 - The kids are putting the first ornaments on the tree. As we set up our very fake tree, Tessa asked, "Did this come from outside?"

May you have a very Merry Christmas surrounded by love and laughter, gifts and treats, family and friends, music and morsels, and the love of Christ.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, but...

2010-12-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, but now that we're in our sixth African December, I'm finally coming to terms with the reality of a Green Christmas.

What do I miss about American Christmases? Let's start with the leaves changing colors at Thanksgiving. We don't experience that here in any form, and somehow those leaves in America set the stage for the glory of the Christmas season in all its change. I kind of envy our Australian friends here who at least see nothing different in the climate here from the climate of their home Christmas. The picture below was taken on Christmas morning 2007 - Tessa put on her new dress and went out gardening, so you can see the type of weather we were having.

I miss my family and celebrating our traditions with them mostly - the less said about that the better, but also I miss seeing my breath in Colorado on a snowy or cold day and the breathtaking lights on the trees and houses of Dallas and the decorations in every home. Where does one hang stockings when there is no fireplace, and how does Santa get into the house with no chimney? We try to answer those questions every year.

I miss the holiday parties and gatherings. I miss the many scents of American Christmas - the pine of the tree, cranberry, apple cider, flavored coffee, fire in a fireplace, and turkey in the oven. And of course I miss the flavors of Christmas even if my hips don't! I miss the music in every store and home even though I have Christmas music here. I miss the choir concerts and singing carols and Christmas hymns with the congregation on Sunday mornings as there are no Christmas Swahili songs in churches here. The below picture was taken at a Christmas office party in Nairobi in 2006 as we were there waiting for Jack to be born. Tessa was not happy to see this friendly Santa!

In spite of all these things, there are many reasons to enjoy Christmas in Tanzania. For one, no one is marketing toys to our children or to us. It's much easier to celebrate simply without all the merchandising and temptation to spend unreasonably. Our kids can run outside without any thought to what they're wearing - no need to bundle them in mittens, hats, scarves, socks and boots only to have to dry those things when they return.

Our poinsettia and amaryllis bloom all year around in our garden. We sing hymns on our back porch every Sunday night, so during December we sing Christmas hymns. We decorate the house with a very fake and tiny tree we bought in Nairobi and hang small carved gourds on it. We've even found pine cones at the convent up the trail from our house, and the gardener there lets me collect them although he must think I'm quite odd. I've never seen pine trees anywhere else here. And our neighbor has a juniper tree, so I trim some of the branches to make an Advent wreath. The Jesse Tree and it's stories from the Old Testament and New Testament have brought a special emphasis on the history of Christ into our house in the last two years.

Below is a picture of our tree on Christmas Eve in 2009 after Santa had come (assisted by many care packages from the kids' grandparents). Looking at the bounty made us feel a bit appalled when we considered how few other homes here have any gifts at all on Christmas morning.

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas
Just like the ones I never knew.
Where the mongeese chatter
And pumpkin matter
Is cooked into pumpkin stew.

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas
Looking at Lake Vic through the screen.
May your joyful spirit be seen
And may all your Christmases be green.

From our cheery green home to your white one,
Kim

What we've learned since Friday

2010-11-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

We just returned yesterday from a brief visit to Kenya. The first part was a mini-holiday at the Rondo Retreat, a beautiful garden with cottages in the middle of the Kakamega Rain Forest. The second part was spent at Tenwek Hospital having check ups. Here are some things we learned during that trip.

-Driving in Kenya is very dangerous due to rough roads, speedy drivers who have no awareness outside of their own vehicle, narrow roads, pedestrians and animals on shoulders, or a combination of all the above.

-In spite of very bumpy roads with lots of speed bumps, a hungry three year old boy's state of exhaustion may make him fall asleep in his car seat while holding his lunch in his hands. When said lunch is covertly removed, he may awaken.

-Lush green tea farms in the highlands of Kenya are beautiful to see, but not so pleasant to smell, especially when one is the owner of a bionic nose due to pregnancy.

-The famous resident Blue Turaco bird is an expert at hiding whenever we are at Rondo.

-Our healthy singular baby is an expert at hiding gender when an ultrasound machine is present.

-Trying to make a corrupt person see the light of day is an exercise in futility.

-Being patient when a situation is beyond my control, even if I think I could control it better than the person in control, is still beyond my grasp.

-It takes more than one parent to handle two children receiving vaccinations when one of the children is held in the grips of terror, and is terrorizing her sibling, all waiting patients, and all seven shocked observing nurses.

-Children should not be strapped immobile into car seats for hours following a vaccination in the thigh. The result of this action is that they will cry or at least limp when movement is required for a period of more than 24 hours - even in their sleep, and will be unable to go to school.

-Email and laundry multiply exponentially when we are away from home.

-Rich red Kenyan soil does not easily wash out of said laundry.

-The seemingly small amount of items in a shopping cart in Kenya do not necessarily fit into the refrigerator/freezer/cabinet in Tanzania.

Thank you to Rondo for the relaxation, Tenwek for the good health care, Nakumatt for the shopping, and God for all the above plus safety on the roads.

On the Road...Again

2010-11-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a weekend visit with friends who live about two and a half hours away. Dusty drove, so I got to write down a few more observations of roadside life.

-a welder wearing knock-off designer sunglasses for critical eye protection
-flocks of school kids in uniforms walking home for lunch
-a motorbike taxi driver wearing a boater's life vest to meet the new standard for wearing fluorescent/reflective driver identification vests
-a boy on a bike carrying a bike on his bike
-smoking fires set by farmers to prepare the soil for the next crop
-mosques
-massive piles of rolling cabbages as we drove through one village
-pairs of men holding each others' hands, a common practice
-lathered bathers in small brown streams
-children and women doing laundry among purple water hyacinths covering the surface of the water
-mango trees absolutely dripping with green mangoes
-spiky sisal plants planted as natural fencing and boundaries
-mountains of rice drying in their husks which look like construction piles of sand
-As we drove past the Serengeti, we saw wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and baboons.

And our favorite - Spiderman! Or, at least a young boy in Spidey pajamas. We occasionally see adults and children wearing pajamas that come from the Western world and are mistaken for regular clothing.

I wish I had photos to go along with all the sightings, but at 100km/hr the camera just can't get it all well. You'll just have to come out and see for yourself!

On the road through town

2010-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Although we moved here six years ago, I still find myself having moments of acute awareness of my surroundings, and how different things are here than in America. Of course there are similarities as well, but I'll just list a few things I saw the last time I drove through town.

-a bicyclist carrying a mattress on the back of the bike
-three jeeps full of standing officers with red berets
-signs of the coming election on Sunday the 31st - people wearing ball caps in their party's colors, flags attached to motorbikes, posters, etc.
-motorbike taxis - "boda boda"s with 2 adults and a child not being uncommon
-a woman driving a motorbike - quite unusual
-a teen boy on a bicycle wearing a pink and white striped sweater vest. Pink has no gender-related meaning here.
-Lake Victoria appearing as a field of green crops. Apparently the wind has blown in a lot of biological debris which is clogging our section of the lake and making our water extremely stinky. I'm ready for the wind to change direction!
-healthy goats and cows, and scrappy dogs - all meandering around and over the paved (and busy) road
-a young boy on an adult bike who was not tall enough to reach the seat and therefore bounces from side to side over the middle bar as he tries to reach his destination
-jacaranda trees laden with beautiful purple flowers and bougainvillea dripping with tropical colors
-a man pulling a kokoteli (large two-wheeled carts) loaded with over-stuffed furniture
-produce vendors on the side of the road selling mangoes, bananas, avocados, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers among other fruits and vegetables
-people buying sugar cane from men on bikes
-a man walking with two fresh tilapia fish hanging from a rope by his side
-ladies and children with basins full of all sorts of items balanced perfectly on their heads

Although there are many, many more interesting observations to make, these were the ones I could remember once I got home and found paper and a pen. I hope it gives you just a written glimpse of our town Musoma, and our surroundings here in Tanzania.

A Day in the Life

2010-09-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

How is our life in Tanzania different than yours? How is it the same? Let's take a look at what a typical day here might hold, and you can see for yourself.

Breakfast. We occasionally have guests come to help us with some aspect of the project. It's nice when a guest stays at our house, as our friend Leila did recently. She took this picture of us at breakfast. Jack was upset because he had knocked his knee and was being consoled by his Mama and Blankie. Tessa wears her princess crown almost daily. On this day she is holding bean sprouts that she and Jack grew from 2 lone beans. They planted them later on in the afternoon. In this photo Dusty is recovering from a black eye he received from an accidental elbow to the face during the weekly Sunday afternoon soccer game.

Dusty takes his "piki piki" to the office, which is about 4km down a dirt road.

After Dusty leaves, I hit the trail with Ellie for some fresh air and exercise. The fresh air bit can be a challenge since the farmers are daily burning off dead grasses and residue these days, and the air is frequently smokey.

We try to do something interesting in the mornings. Here the kids are enjoying water balloons before tossing them at each other, which they loved.

Another example of a morning activity - we made grape juice! We've never seen grapes in Musoma till the past few weeks when they've shown up at the market. Because the skins are a bit tough, and the grapes have seeds, I decided it would be easier to enjoy them as juice. The kids plucked them, threw them in the blender, and then strained them. I boiled the skins, added a bit of sugar, and strained it again, and now we have fresh grape juice for the first time ever. Great!

After lunch is Jack's nap time, "Mama Time," and "Tessa Time." While Jack sleeps, Tessa does a bit of coloring, a craft, looks at her books, and enjoys her imagination while I get a few things done (guess what time it is right now?). Yesterday's rest time was interrupted by a mighty crash and screaming. While trying to get some photographs to look at, Tessa inadvertently pulled a six foot tall bookshelf down on top of herself, but miraculously escaped unscathed. To say we were relieved would be a vast understatement. I prefer rest time without drama.

While he's at the office, Dusty is currently supervising the beginning stages of constructing the new translation building. Here are two workers grinding rocks (to mix for concrete). The team is also clearing the area for the building and making concrete blocks for the walls.

Dusty is also supervising the literacy team, and we're in the middle of four weeks of literacy workshops. Here he is holding a meeting in Swahili with some members of the team to clarify some details for the workshop.

Back at the house, and after rest time, I get some afternoon chores done like taking down the laundry. We are very blessed to have both a washer and a dryer, but unless it is raining, or the trees are dropping seed balls full of gook, we hang the laundry outside the kitchen window like in the "good old days."

A fun afternoon activity, when the weather is not too hot or wet, is reading books in the hammock with the kids before the pre-dinner frenzy begins.

Our evenings are generally more mundane (dinner, bath-time, etc.), but who wants to read about the mundane on a blog? So instead I'm giving you a glimpse of an evening we had out recently when a few of the missionaries were invited to the home of a colleague from work. Nashon is a pastor, but he also helps out at the office with several tasks. His wife and family prepared a lovely dinner for us in the home they are building. Traditionally the guests bring a gift for the host like bananas or sugar, but we all pitched in for a less traditional gift: much-needed bags of cement to help with the construction.

Mama Grace (Nashon's wife) pulled out all the stops by cooking rice, beans, fish, meat stew, cucumbers, pasta, cabbage with carrots, and pilau - all cooked outside over a small coal stove. It was an amazing spread in the home of a family full of generosity.

After the meal, Tessa and Jack played with the neighborhood children. The evening's big game for the kids was jumping off a large rock. We made it back to our house a bit before dark, and after brushing teeth, a good-night story, prayer, and bedtime songs, the kids collapsed in their beds, under their mosquito nets exhausted from...just another day of our lives in Tanzania..

Come walking with me

2010-09-06T03:49:00.001-07:00

Well, since you can't come walking with me, at least you can see some of the sights I see when I go on my morning walks/runs. I am hoping this will give you a better sense of what it looks like out here where we live - at least how it looks in the dry season.

I took my camera with me today for the first time, and God really made it worthwhile by bringing everyone out for a picture, beginning with:

Three Crested Cranes! I've never seen them in Musoma, so this was a real treat. I was actually taking a picture of a rock when I heard a shriek that startled me greatly - I expected it to be someone protesting my being there with a camera, but fortunately it was these three gorgeous visitors.

Here they are again in front of the aforementioned rock, which from the other side looks like a hand with a finger pointing to God - at least that's what I see when I look at it.

Musoma has many interesting rock formations. This one has two magnificent trees growing from it, and is frequented by mongooses, rock hyrax, and monkeys - all of whom Ellie (our small Rottweiler) loves to chase.

This sad looking hibiscus bush is why I brought my camera. The last time I passed it I thought about how pathetic it looked - beaten by the wind and sun, but especially destroyed by the mouse-birds who eat all its leaves. Yet in spite of very difficult circumstances, it has managed to still bloom every day.

Here are two of its beautiful pink, white, and red blooms. It made me think of how when we are in dry and difficult situations, the Lord can still produce goodness and beauty in our lives. What a great encouragement from a simple bush.

Occasionally on my walks and runs I get to see monkeys, so this morning I was delighted to see this little guy way up on top of a rock. After the glory of the cranes I figured my wildlife sightings were over, so the monkey was a nice surprise. If you look hard enough, you'll see him. Or her. It is a vervet monkey.

And the wildlife kept on coming as I passed this tiny tortoise making its way down the trail. We see them frequently, and I never tire of them.

Another interesting rock formation forming the background of the nearest cemetery. I occasionally see people here tending the graves of their loved ones. I imagine the graves are very difficult to dig in this site with all the rocky soil.

I'm usually on the trail about 45 minutes, and because it is a small trail I usually pass between 7 - 15 people. Usually at least one of them is on a bicycle carrying a burden to town. Today there were two cyclists - this man with a wide load of sticks, and another young fellow with a massive bag of cassava, which is used to make the staple for all Tanzanian meals, ugali.

Because the trail goes through farmers' fields, I often pass ladies and children carrying loads of produce on their heads. Today was no exception. Every time I pass someone, Swahili greetings are offered by all.

After passing the three ladies, Ellie and I ran into a group of about 25 goats and two small shepherd boys. I longed to take their photo but rarely do because that action can very easily be offensive to Tanzanians (thus the former two shots of people from the back). I passed straight through the goats while Ellie avoided them entirely before we ran headfirst into three cows followed by two more older boys.

The above picture is of Lake Victoria as I approach our compound's gate.

Finally, I make it to our house after enjoying a nice long walk in a sunny and dry land. Thanks for joining me!

Tanzanian Perks

2010-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Occasionally someone will post something of Facebook that will remind me of a benefit of living in Tanzania. These little reminders help me keep a positive perspective about life here. So let me see if I can list a few here for you.
1. Kids have a wider circle of roaming safely since everyone knows who the two white kids belong to, and kidnapping is not an issue here.

2. We have an amazing garden and view of Lake Victoria that would add an astronomical price to any house in the USA, but here it's not even a factor in the rent. Trivia point: Lake Victoria is approximately the same size as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg all together.A view from our backyard. The smoke is actually a cloud of lakeflies.

3. Fresh produce! Our avocado tree has great fruit right now on it (and yes, avocados are considered fruit here), and the local market is only 1/2 mile away where I can get fresh produce as often as I like. Local pineapple, mango, bananas, tomatoes, etc! No need to remind any Tanzanian to "Eat Local."Here's one day's take of fruit from our garden this spring: passion fruit, oranges, and guavas.

4. Oh, this one's great! I don't have to pick up after my dog when I take her walking/running! People would think I was absolutely insane if I picked up after her. I can only imagine what they would think I would do with her poop after picking it up. Plus she can be off leash all the time.
5. No need for heaters or air conditioners. The windows are open almost all the time.
6. No traffic here in Musoma. Dirt roads take care of that.
7. You never know when you'll spot a fun critter outside: hedgehogs, monitor lizards, tropical birds, monkeys, mongooses, and chameleons to name a few. In the effort to remain positive I'll not mention the MANY unfun critters.Me with a chameleon on the end of a stick.

8. Only one season of clothes to wear, so no cycling wardrobes in and out, and we never have to deal with dressing ourselves or kids in mittens, socks, boots, coats, warm hats, etc.
9. The simple life. Need a haircut? Meet me on the back porch with the scissors or clippers. Want some fresh flowers? Grab the snippers and step outside. Entertainment? Family game night. Home repairs? Get Dusty and his toolbox.
10. No need for the zoo; we have:

Being foreign again

2010-05-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

At an outdoor Swiss museum with all kinds of old houses and traditional demonstrations.

At a restaurant/hotel over a lake near Brienz, before an amazing hike to a huge waterfall.

In the gondola on the way up to see the Matterhorn, which was topped by clouds most of the day.

Playgrounds everywhere! With amazing views and gorgeous weather! Wow - we really miss playgrounds in TZ.

Jungfrau - a very tall mountain. The kids got to play in the snow, and had a blast till their hands got too cold.

We're blessed to have parents who have taken us on a family holiday to Switzerland. My parents helped send us here, and Dusty's parents are spoiling us here. It's fantastic to be with his family again and to have a real vacation surrounded by the amazing beauty of Switzerland.

It's funny to notice and experience:
-straight hair because the dry Swiss air has zapped our Tanzanian curls, even though it's been rainy every day.

-everything happening on time - the trains leave exactly when they say they will, and everything else is beautifully efficient.

-cold weather, fog, drizzle, snow. The cold air was a challenge for our packing since we barely have any clothes or shoes for cool climates.

-summer light - it's 9:00pm here, but feels like it's 6:30 because the sun sets so much later here, therefore we keep forgetting to get the kids in bed on time because it seems so early.

-clean water!! We can drink from the tap - wow! Bath water in the kids' mouths? No problem!

-we look like everyone else here, which feels great, except that they keep speaking German to us.

-mountains, snow, glacial lakes, waterfalls, cows and sheep with ringing bells.

-glorious cheese, yogurt, turkey meat, strawberries, grapes, and I could go on and on. Dusty would add all kinds of beef and pork too. Suffice it to say that we are thrilled with real grocery stores and all kinds of restaurants. It is odd, though, to shop in a grocery store and not be able to read any of the labels.

-all kinds of transportation. We've been in quick, smooth, and fun airplanes, boats, gondolas, cable cars, and buses (not so fun on curvy mountain roads). The kids rode a zipline - does that count?
Jack's in train-heaven, coincidentally matching this one.

Kidisms:
-Tessa looking at a woman in high heels, "She has nice shoes. They have sticks on them."

-Tessa at 7:00pm, "But it's not bedtime! It's morning."

-Jack, "Where's our home now?"

-Tessa, watching a bear and her cubs, "I'd like to have a cub. Ellie could play with it." (Ellie is our dog.)

Conversations in the Animal World

2010-05-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we were surprised that Ellie did not meet us at the gate when we got home from doing errands in town. A minute later we heard her barking in the backyard, and we recognized it as the type of barking that means business with another animal. She was having a little chat with a kenge (monitor lizard). Kenge occasionally come for social visits. We like them. Ellie doesn't so much.

Ellie: "I'm howling at you so you know how I feel."
Kenge: "If I stand on my tiptoes, you'll think I'm really big."

Ellie: "Sorry for the sudden invitation, but would you like to come to my bowl for dinner?"
Kenge: "Um, no..."

Kenge: "But I do love to tango."
Ellie: "Oh, me too!"

Ellie: "Hey! Don't turn your back on me! You get back here! Last chance for dinner..."
Kenge: "I've really had enough of this. Where's the exit?"

Ellie: "Fine. Whatever."
Kenge: "Whatever. See you next time."

Having had the vet out here this morning to give Ellie her rabies vaccination, we decided we didn't want to call him again to come out to give her stitches or pop her eye back in place, so we called Ellie off the kenge and are hoping that by now, the kenge has found his way out of the yard. Plus, we like live kenge, not dead ones.

By the way - how great is it that the veterinarian, on one day's notice, will come out to our house on his motorcycle, stay for tea, give Ellie a shot, and the whole thing costs about $1.25?

The Name Game

2010-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our names get a bit warped out here. Let me give examples:

Kim: The brand name for shortening here is "Kimbo," which is my parents' pet name for me. I recently gave my name to a shop clerk while buying sodas for a church event. He wrote "Kim" as "Camel." That was a low blow.

Dusty: Very tricky for Tanzanians to say, so he usually goes by Dustin, which is pronounced like "Dastin" and is frequently said "Datsun." Yes, you remember those vehicles from the '70's, right? When we first got here, he was occasionally referred to as "Bwana Vumbi" (Mr. Dust).

Tessa: Before she was born, we asked Tanzanian friends to pronounce a list of names so we wouldn't burden a child with a butchered name. Our friends said "Tessa" properly, and we went with it. What they didn't tell us is that in Swahili it means "torture." Oops. So we frequently find ourselves explaining that it is a short name for "Teresa" even though that's not her name. "Tesa" is also the name of a laundry soap here, so that brings a nicer connotation than torture - don't you think? It turns out many here can't say the 'e' in her name the way we say it, so it comes out as "Tassa" or "Teesa."

Jack: With Jack we went with a name that is also used here, Jackson. We knew we would call him "Jack" though, and because Tanzanian names almost always end with a vowel, we knew they would call him "Jackie" which sounds like a girl's name to us, so before we knew it, we were calling him "Jacko" as a preemptive strike against "Jackie." However, people now call him "Jakobo" thinking his name is "Jacob."

Hill: Having a complicated maiden name, I thought no one could screw up "Hill." I mean, it's a common noun with only one syllable and only one spelling. Wrong. When I showed up for my first prenatal appointment in Nairobi when I was pregnant with Tessa, I found they had written my last name as "Hell." Yep.

Fortunately I go by "Mama Tessa" almost all the time, which is the normal format for parents' names here - they stick Mama or Baba (Father) in front of the eldest child's name. Because of this, it's funny that you can know someone quite well without ever knowing their first name.

More on Tanzanian names at a later date. Till then, this is Camel signing off on behalf of Datsun, Teesa, and Jakobo.

May 22 Update:
We took Jack to the clinic to submit a "sample" to be tested for parasites. It came up negative! But we had a classic name mix-up, this time with evidence:
Our friend, the doctor, wrote Jack's second name as "Dusty," and the receptionist took it one step further.

Dialectical Divergence

2010-04-19T01:22:00.000-07:00

So you might think this posting is about our work with the nine languages of the Mara Region. Wrong. This posting results from our friendships with other missionaries and expatriates who also live and work here. We love being part of a truly international community, and are constantly chuckling at our amusing differences. Here's a taste of our wazungu translation work. (Wazungu = white people living in East Africa)

USA first - British/Australian next

FOODS:
*candy - lollies (AU), sweeties (UK)
*cookie - biscuit (UK), bikkie (AU) Do Aussies say this just because they're speaking to kids or do they say it all the time?
*biscuit - scone. However, to a Tanzanian, a "scone" is a dinner roll. And a good Southern girl will insist that a true biscuit is definitely NOT a scone.
*breakfast - brekkie (AU) See above question.
*dinner - tea. Sure to get an American over her head when she invites a friend for "tea" and that person then expects dinner.
*eggplant - aubergine. Not to worry as we avoid it in both dialects.
*sweet pepper - capsicum. I had a good laugh when I saw "Paul Newman Spaghetti Sauce with Capsicum" for sale in Kenya.
*zucchini - courgette. "Would you like a lovely slice of courgette bread?"
*jello - jelly. Don't ask an Aussie or a Brit for jelly on your toast.
*fries - chips. As in "fish and chips"
*chips - crisps - These last two are always confusing to the kids as we interchange them according to company and continent.

DRINKS:
*lemonade - lemon cordial or lemon juice (AU) I'm not even sure I knew what cordial was till I got here. Doesn't it just mean polite??
*Sprite - lemonade (AU) When offered a lemonade at an Aussie's house, I no longer hope for fresh squeezed lemonade
*fruit concentrate - squash (UK). "Would you like some mango squash." Hmmm, ew!

CLOTHES:
*sweater/sweatshirt - jumper - I think we only use "jumper" for a longish snap/button dress under which a shirt is worn. So when I was complimented on my jumper I had to laugh as an image of a very uncool 80s dress came to mind.
*flip flops - thongs -Guaranteed to get a chuckle out of an American
*swimsuit - Aussie cossie (AU), bathing costume. When asked if they had brought their costumes at a hotel with a pool, my kids looked up at us with puzzlement.

CARS - AUTOS:
*gas - petrol
*hood (of a car) - bonnet
*trunk (of a car) - boot
*shoulder (of the road) - verge (UK) "No driving on the verge." I think we only use "verge" before "of a nervous breakdown."

HOUSEHOLD:
*garbage - rubbish "Ah, that's a load of rubbish!"
*socket - power point (AU) "Does the house have power points?" - guaranteed to confuse an American who is thinking of a Microsoft presentation.
*flashlight - torch
*cooler - eskie (AU), chillibin (NZ) Say chillibin three times fast; it's good fun!

KIDS:
*goofing off - faffing around (UK) - "Kids! Quit faffing around and come to dinner!"
*whine/complain - grisle, winge - It's so nice to have FOUR ways of describing your kids' annoying behavior!
*diaper - nappy
*crib - cot
*pacifier - dummy. I love this one.
*c-section - caeser (AU) Did Julius Caeser's wife have a caeser?
*Mommy - Mummy. As if I don't feel old enough already!

GENERAL:
*afternoon - arvo (AU) Now I know to invite my friends for "arvo tea" if I don't want to deal with a whole dinner.
*to fall hard - to stack it (AU) "Man, I stacked it this morning when running to help the screaming kids."
*soccer - football
*vacation - holiday. How do they differentiate a holiday (Christmas, Easter, etc) from a vacation?
*1st floor - ground floor
*2nd floor - 1st floor, etc. - You can only guess at how confusing this can get when giving or getting directions.
*operating room - operating theatre. In case of needing a "caeser" for Jack, I was told "You'll need written permission to have your husband allowed in the theatre." Was the operation rated R? hee hee.
*thanks - ta!

I know this is just a short list, so add on the ones you encounter in the comments.

So the next time we're in the States just ignore us or interpret when we sound a little funny as we casually throw around words like nappies and dummies, bikkies and crisps.

Ta!
kim

How I Know My Kids are Missionary Kids:

2010-04-13T05:14:00.001-07:00

1. They flew before they could walk. Ex: Tessa had been on 8 airplanes by the time she was 5 months old.Jack and Tessa in the airport before boarding a plane.

2. They have debates with their friends about where their "home" is. Tessa recently argued with her friend Harry who insisted she was from America while she insisted she was from Musoma.
3. They speak in Swahili and English and can still count in Spanish thanks to Sesame Street DVDs.Tessa and friends in their Swahili class

4. They are not bothered by having a whole fish on the plate before them. In fact, Tessa wanted to eat the eyes, and Jack called it "my Nemo" (from the animated movie) while biting into the tail.
5. 100% of their clothes are hand-me-downs or come from care packages.
With chameleons we found in the backyard; kids in care package clothes and shoes.

6. They're confused by the concept of socks. Aren't they for skating on our concrete floors?
7. They believe that all choirs dance and even dance with the choir when inspired.Joining the choir in late March

8. They know what to do with nothing.Nothing here = mud.

9. They make friends quickly and are almost flippant about saying good-bye.
The kids' good friend Naomi.

10. They have passports, and they're well used. Tessa's on her 2nd passport which has five pages full of stamps. Jack's passport has additional pages, 17 of which are full.

I recently attended a talk on missionary kid (MK) issues. We talked about the term "third culture kid" (TCK). A TCK is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. It was interesting to review a list of the pros and cons of growing up as an MK. Here are some of them in no particular order.

Pros:
1. Less pressure to perform (smaller peer group and not barraged by sports, music, art classes, etc.)
2. Longer childhood
3. Well-read (not as many entertainment options)
4. Family grows closer
5. Creative with resources and time
6. Expanded world view
7. Adaptable and flexible

Cons:
1. Loss of extended family relationships (which is so much better now thanks to the internet and Skype)
2. Confused identities upon return to passport country - Where am I from? Why don't people understand me? What do I do in this situation?
3. Ignorance of American culture which leads to confusion and feeling like a misfit
4. Struggle to keep friends since they are accustomed to leaving or being left
5. They don't quite fit in when they're abroad or in their passport country. My kids aren't Tanzanians, but they're not really Americans either.

It seems that several of the challenges occur mostly when the family or MK is in their passport country or when the MK is functioning on the adult level. Our kids did great while we were in America although Jack was much more clingy than he otherwise would be.

I know for me it can be difficult to raise my kids in a place that I was not raised even though I have a lot of international experience under my belt. The only instance I can remember offhand was when I took the kids through the car wash in America thinking it would be as fun for them as it had been for me when I was a child. Instead, it left both children crying as though they were under alien attack.

Really, these things just touch on some of the issues related to MKs. What it makes me realize is that raising children overseas can have really great blessings and challenges. I truly hope that when my kids start facing some of the challenges, the Lord will grant us the wisdom to know how to help them along.

Did I mention they're handy to have around?

Every Hilly Day: a Random Photo Post

2010-04-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

This post is simply a collection of photos of everyday life here in Musoma. Enjoy!

A cloud of sami (lake flies) over Lake Victoria. I was happy to watch them move in a direction other than towards our house. They're tiny and get into everything, then die and stink up a storm.

Jack and Tessa enjoying local yogurt and straws from a care package. Jack's got a nice yellow shiner on the center of his forehead from a fall earlier. The bruise lasted an entire week.

Our vegetable garden, which now hosts sweet corn, lettuce, bell peppers, butternut squash, and real American sweet potatoes! All those things are thrilling! Planting a vegetable garden was one of my three goals for 2nd term, so it's exciting to be reaping the rewards on our plates.

ONE day's take of passion fruit, guavas, and oranges from our garden. The passion fruit makes great juice, but the oranges were inedible - which we sadly discovered after making orange juice.

Jack and Tessa at the local train station restaurant (our house). Their waiter was Alphonse (me). The menu was red juice, apple slices, avocado chunks, sausage sticks (leftover egg/sausage casserole), and noodles (also leftovers). The reward for eating it all was the Ice Cream Supreme Especial (vanilla ice cream, cocoa powder, 1/2 a cookie, and an ancient maraschino cherry). Bon Apetite!

The two chameleons we found walking through the grass in the backyard. We later put them in separate basins (the kids' bathtubs and our laundry tubs) for the day so we could play with them (i.e. worry them just enough to make them change colors and get stripes). After Dusty came home and saw them, we released them into our garden.

One of the chameleons silently yelling at me. Chameleons do bite, and Tanzanians are quite afraid of them.

Recognize these cute little elves? No copyright/patent infringement here! We got these as a treat for the kids in Kenya.

A typical Tanzanian plate of food - rice, beans, meat. This, or a variant, is what Dusty eats at the office for lunch every day until he gets tired of it and asks me to make him a PB&J.

Spiderman and Princess. One is powerful, and the other is sweet, as you can see from their faces/gestures. Tessa is waving to her adoring subjects, and Jack is shooting out invisible webbing. I was practicing with face paint for Tessa's party the next week. They loved being my guinea pigs.

A gorgeous moth who landed on the back of Tessa's front porch birthday sign.

A fantastic, big, hairy moth who was visiting our front window one morning.

Trust me; the Scottish Shortbread cookies from South Africa are much better than their hilarious name.

The sticker says, "Be Truth" which I thought was a fabulous misspelling for a "Beetroot." The idea of having a price sticker on produce is totally bizarre here anyway. But hey, we're thrilled to be able to buy beets. The kids love them since they make their tongues purple. They cost 4,000 Tanzanian shillings per kilo, which roughly translates to about $3.50 for 2 pounds.

Action Jackson struts his stuff in our kiddie pool on Tessa's birthday. I painted his face like Batman, but by this point most of it had washed off.

Bat poop (guano) leaking down the wall after a particularly hard rain brought water through our cracked roof and deteriorating ceiling boards. The cool thing was that one of the men who came to fix it found our team's translation of Luke 1 and 2 in his language and got really excited.

Easter Hills

2010-04-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

Easter here was a mix of America and Tanzania. I'll start on the American front. We started with soaking our brown eggs in dye that I bought on sale last year in Texas. We don't have white eggs here, and I was a bit concerned the colors wouldn't work, but they did great. We used rubber bands for stripes and letter stickers to make the word "Easter."

The yearly photo of the kids in Easterish apparel and their eggs. Jack wore this same shirt last year, but this dress is new for Tessa. It was her reward for overcoming thumb sucking. She and I went to the "mtumba" (used clothing market) to look for a dress and found this reversible one before the clouds ripped open with rain. $3.00 for "two" dresses!

On Saturday we joined other missionaries for brunch, worship, an Easter play, and an egg hunt. Both kids were very excited. We only have one handled basket, but Jack was happy to use this bucket. When I peeked inside to see how many he had found I laughed to see two yellow egg-shaped passion fruits sitting alongside the eggs.

It's great to relive the wonderful moments of childhood while watching our own kids enjoy the same traditions, even while we live in Africa.

The Tanzanian side:Easter festivities began on Tuesday with a three day evangelical crusade in our neighborhood. Several choirs participated, but this one was especially vibrant and active. I still can't quite believe how Tanzanian choirs move so amazingly and sing at the same time. This lady with the cloth was so moved she jumped up from the audience and joined the choir waving her kanga and dancing. If you look closely, you can see that she is ululating - Tanzanian women, in a show of support and enthusiasm, yell out in a shrill voice while wagging their tongues from side to side.

After the crusade our church had four days of celebrating Easter. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays here. On Sunday, church was a massive event with about 6 branch churches of the African Inland Church of Tanzania all meeting at our little neighborhood church. Our church is far too small, and is still being built, so other churches brought chairs, and canvases were hung for shade. At least 4 choirs sang and danced.

At one point, the music and dancing were so compelling that many people jumped up and joined in, moving through the choir, singing along, waving cloths, and ululating. You can see Tessa standing at a pole in front taking it all in. Last week, both she and Jack joined our little choir and danced along.

Two ladies from a visiting choir. Choirs practice for hours to get their harmonies and movements synchronized. Many choirs make sacrifices to pay for matching outfits. Although we personally prefer choirs without accompaniment, church members seem to enjoy keyboards and electric guitars with a good loud PA system, which you can see over her left shoulder.

I had to include this picture of this older lady because I was so impressed with how she kept up physically with the cardio-workout movements. Watching her reminded me of how I feel when I see senior citizens skiing in Colorado, "Gosh, I hope I can do that when I'm her age!"

Children frequently sit on the ground because of lack of seating. These kids had the best seats in the house - right in front of the choirs!

We hope your Easter was filled with your loved ones, moments of laughter, and constant gratitude for our Savior who has redeemed us. As we say here, "Amefufuka kweli kweli!" (He is risen indeed!)

Mini-safari

2010-03-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of living in Musoma is that the Serengeti is only an hour and a half South of us. To celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary we went to a small low-profile tented camp outside the gate to relax, swim, and play for 3 days. One of those days was spent in the park. Here are some pics from our little vacation.
The Western gate of the Serengeti. These were just a preview of the many bones we saw inside the park. Apparently the predators have been busy.

A small homestead on the road to our lodging. Most people who live in this area are subsistence farmers.

Twiga

Any guesses for which animal's skull this is? (see answer after the last photo)

Heron with 2 crocs. We stopped in the shade of a tree next to this river for lunch in our truck and watched several birds tease about 8 crocs. Actually the birds and crocs seemed entirely uninterested in each other.

Lilac-breasted rollers. We've taken up bird watching a bit since entertainment is hard to come by in Musoma, and a good friend gave us a bird book. We were glad we brought the book on this venture into the Serengeti because even though we saw no big cats or elephants this day, we had a good time watching and identifying 18 new (to us) species of birds.

Warthog, impala, baboon

Alpha male baboon

Jack peeking through a beaded curtain at a very nice tented camp where we stopped for an afternoon siesta for the kids, who slept on the cozy chairs in spite of the hippos harrumphing loudly right next to us.

Tessa in the beads.

'Dusty and Jack show their chiefly positions of power.

Tessa sitting in a chair whose cover is entirely made of tiny glass seed beads. Incredible.

The four of us on our anniversary.

Answer: hippo

You Know You're a Missionary When...

2010-03-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

-you have enough luggage under the beds to host the town's population of mice.
-you have at least three Action Packers (plastic storage lockers) which are covered in fabric and being used as furniture.
-you know how to scrap your meal plan and come up with something good and fast when the electricity goes out an hour before dinner.
-you cook with grams, cups, milliliters, Fahrenheit, and Celcius.
-you have a system for bathing, flushing, and washing dishes without running water for days.
-you've figured out things you never would have understood back home - electricity, computers, plumbing, and exterminating.
-you keep a flashlight next to the bed, and you use it frequently.
-you're satisfied having accomplished three out of seven errands when you go to town.
-your main reason for using child car seats is to keep kids from flying around while you bump and bounce over washed-out dirt roads full of pot holes.
-you bring Bibles in two languages to church, plus a dictionary, and still only catch 1/4 of the sermon even though you were paying attention.
-broccoli and lettuce seem exotic, while mangoes and papaya seem boring.
-you use cloth rags for cleaning instead of paper towels, and it's not because you're environmentally conscious.
-you write newsletters and take family photos every month.
-you laugh when you see a magazine photo making a mosquito net look charming or romantic.

You know you're in Tanzania when...

2010-02-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

* Your kids don't have to go to a petting zoo to pet farm animals; they just go to the daily market.

* Your kids play a game they call "mosquito" while chasing each other with pointed fingers while buzzing about.

* You catch a chameleon in the back yard, and the locals are afraid of it.

* You never know when you electricity or water will not be working, and when the water comes back on, you never know what it will look like - or taste like! Don't worry - we wouldn't go near this stuff, except with a camera.

* You hear a voice calling "hodi" instead of a knock at the door.

* Bicycles pass your vehicle on the road because the road is so rough that your four wheels are in four separate pot holes.

* You have a shoe motto which is, "Crocs, Stocks, or Flops" (Crocs, Birkenstocks or flip flops), and your kids aren't really sure what socks are for.

* You see monkeys and mongooses while exercising.

* Your produce sometimes comes from your backyard: bananas, avocado, guava, passion fruit, lemons, oranges, papaya, pumpkin, lettuce, and peppers.

* You have a milkman bring milk every day from local cows, and your eggs are still warm and have chicken gunk on them.

* Locals transport items on their heads instead of in backpacks, purses, or computer cases. These items include water, wheeled luggage, soap, sugar cane, benches, milk, firewood, and well, you name it.

* Having a personal vehicle is rare.

* The word "football" means "soccer," and it's the only sport that matters.

* A good wedding present is a gift-wrapped goat.

* Your house's view of your garden and Lake Victoria is worth a vastly greater amount than your rent.

* The only seasons are wet and dry, Christmas is hot, there's no daylight savings, and the sunset time only varies by 20 minutes all year round.

* Your kid complains of a tummy ache, and you immediately suspect amoeba, worms, or giardia. Your child has a fever and you're pondering malaria.

* You're thankful for your safe arrival after any short or long car trip.

* You feel you're right where God wants you to be!

Accident Involvement

2010-02-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

As I've written before, driving here is tricky - to say the least. When we get in the car, we pray beforehand, even for a short trip.

On Saturday while Dusty was in Dar Es Salaam, I was driving home from a birthday party in another town with the kids and two Australian friends (Nigel and Rose) and their two daughters. He is a paramedic, and she is an ER doctor.

As we were driving through Musoma we came upon a motorcycle accident that had happened a minute or two before. I asked our friends if they wanted me to pull over, and they did.

They immediately jumped out and ran over while I found the latex gloves in our car's medical kit and briefed the 4 kids on what was happening, instructing them to stay in the car and not to look. The crowd was forming, but I pushed through with the gloves and gave them to Rose and Nigel. The site that met my eyes was really horrifying - there were three men down with a lot of blood. I really thought two of them were dead because they were lifeless and so bloody. But Rose said, "this one has a pulse," and I could faintly see Nigel's guy breathing.

Anyway, I barely did a thing other than calming the kids, asking how I could help, and doing a bit of crowd control. Nigel and his guy got into a dala dala (14 passenger public van), Rose's guy went into a passing car, and she couldn't find the 3rd guy (who later ended up in an ambulance). They smelled alcohol on the breath of the victims.

Meanwhile the crowd was getting angry at her since she wouldn't let them put one of the men in our car. Although I had offered, there were other options, and it wouldn't have worked well with so many kids in the car. So Rose suggested we get out of there before the crowd got too worked up. Someone actually told her, "if you won't let them in your car, what use are you?" Appalling. She was helping to save their lives!

We went to the hospital where Rose and Nigel turned the victims over to the hospital docs, and then we went home. I talked to a Tanzanian friend about it today who had heard of the accident. She said she heard that wazungu (white people) had helped the victims, and that everyone was thankful. I was relieved as I had been worried about driving our recognizable car if people were mad about the transportation of the victims.

It has taken me some time to process what I saw there, and it's given me all the more inspiration to keep praying for our safety and to be thankful for how the Lord has provided for us. And I'm thankful to have had doctors in our car who were able to help those men.

Costume Day at the Hill House

2010-01-28T04:37:00.000-08:00

The other day the kids pulled out the costumes they got from my mom for Christmas and ran around the house.
Jack got a new Thomas outfit, but we already had one from a good friend, so now we have two live trains in the house, and no fighting!

Superman also came to visit, but he forgot his trousers. It lightened his load so he could fly faster.

Jack is very serious about being an engineer and listening to sir Topam Hat's instructions on his walkie talkie.

The princess royale with accessories.

Visiting a Tea Farm in Kenya

2010-01-28T04:18:00.001-08:00

While we were in Kenya, Tessa and I had a mother-daughter date to walk to and visit the Kiambethu Tea Farm.
Before we left we split a strawberry milkshake, which Tessa had been craving. It was not what she or I would call quality, but it was special anyway.

Here is Tessa walking the path through the tea fields.

In the background you can see the Kenyans plucking the new bright green tea leaves, which are the only leaves used to make tea.

Many tea pluckers live in employee housing. The employee houses here recently got new roofs.

Simply beautiful views as we walked

The house was built by the current owner's grandfather in the 1920s. It is now also a B&B with beautiful gardens. They also raise British Jersey cows here and sell the milk. It's a good combination - tea with milk!

Another visitor to the tea farm was this funny little "zebra rat."

The view from the Ngong Hills from front porch of the house, although it's a bit too cloudy here to see the hills. Yes, these are the hills of which you have heard in "Out of Africa."

Rules of the Road

2010-01-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

a bus piled typically high and named "California Special Annointed"

During our recent road trip to Kenya I was inspired to share with you some of our road conditions out here, many of which never cease to amaze me. For instance it seems there are no firm rules of driving here, but mere flexible guidelines instead such as:

* Drive on the left side, but driving on the middle is a fine idea and driving on the right is also acceptable every now and then.
* Drive the speed limit, which may or may not be posted, but by all means exceed at any opportunity!
* Two lanes are standard, but feel free to make that into four if it suits you. Bumpy dirt shoulders are fabulous substitutes when the real lanes are in even worse condition.

Did you know Ferrari has buses? With "Allah be praised" written on them?

* Might makes right, therefore a bus speeding toward us in our lane will often force us to get off the road even though the bus has ample room on its side of the road.

* Use your right blinker to tell a vehicle behind you not to pass you because there is oncoming traffic or to indicate you will turn right. Don't turn on your lights till it is seriously dark.

A very common traffic jam

* Motorcycle riders should wear helmets, but let's face it, who can find or afford one? Most don't wear them, but we've spotted some wearing helmets backwards and at least two wearing equestrian helmets though we've never seen a horse in Tanzania!

* Look both ways before crossing the road. Really, this is the least known rule of the road, and sadly is the cause of many fatal accidents.

The road in the middle of our town on a calm day, taxi on the left, daladala in the middle named "Give me the report."

* Daladalas (public service minivans) have specific places to pull over to pick up and drop off passengers, but hey - why not stop almost in the middle of the road in town or on the highway?

* Daladalas may carry only 14 passengers, but our friends recently counted 32 people getting off of one! Hanging out of the door and windows works just fine.

The 4km road from town to our house has taken a new pock-marked face with recent rains.

Road Conditions:
* We have tons of potholes and speed bumps and even potholes IN speed bumps.
* Speed bumps on the highway are almost never marked and therefore catch us frequently by surprise while we drive at high speeds, the children are napping and our car is loaded with fragile recently purchased items.
* We share for road space with animals, bicyclists, pedestrians, motorbikes, and most frightening - unattended children.
* Recent badly-designed repairs to roads, made in concrete and rocks, were quickly washed away in fast moving rains.

Local drive-thru Walmart

* There are always so many things/people/vehicles/animals in front of and beside the car that I rarely have a moment to glance in the rear-view mirror unless I'm passing another vehicle. Using the rear-view mirror in the States felt like a luxury.

Women carrying loads of grass on their heads. Notice how closely the pedestrians are walking to where our car and the oncoming car will be. We are driving about 100km/hr.

Although I write some of this tongue-in-cheek, driving here is very difficult and confusing, and frequently dangerous, and we are therefore very thankful that the Lord has kept us safe so far. We do always appreciate your prayers for our transportation - be it on a trip or just daily driving in our own town.

The Recent House Critter Dispatch

2009-12-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

We've photographed enough recent visitors to our house and yard that I am now able to make a blog entry about them. However, the most exciting/disgusting one is at the end so be sure to read on to get the best story!
This is definitely not the first mouse we've caught; just the first I've photographed. We busted this guy right before Dusty went to work. He was residing in our cloth napkin drawer, and thinking of all the times we've wiped our faces with his bedding about put us over the edge. The kids stayed and watched while Dusty dispatched him; it didn't seem to bother them, nor did they make the connection between him and all the cute mice in their children's books. I don't mind mice - I don't lift my feet and screech when I see them (although I may have uttered a certain sudden unpleasant word or two when I nearly touched him while lifting up the napkins). However, I hate the scent of their pee and poop lingering around the kitchen, and I despise it when they find my food or say, chew the valve off my Camelback water container.

This visitor was dispatched in an entirely different way - we gave him to our dear friend Ezekiel at his 5th birthday party the day after he wandered into our yard.. We placed him (yes, I checked online for his gender) in our bathtub, which is still useless and outside prior to it's being moved into our bathroom, so that we wouldn't lose him in our big green yard overnight. We made two discoveries: 1)tortoise poop is gross; and 2)tortoises say a breathy "hhhaaaa" when you pick them up, kind of like Darth Vader.

We haven't seen these lovely critters in a while, but this one appeared INSIDE our screened porch, which is sort of like our family room. It was lurking right behind the kids' rocking horse. I trapped it in a plastic container and saved it for Dusty's disposal techniques. Turns out, Dusty thought the best technique was to put the top on the container and see how long it takes for a scorpion to starve or suffocate. Although I have no fondness for scorpions, that sounded cruel and mostly, I did not want a scorpion rotting in a perfectly good and hard-to-come-by container. Even Dusty had to agree with that argument, and this more likely cousin of Darth Vader was taken outside and dispatched in Dusty's own special unknown way. I don't ask questions but maybe he used his light saber.

Isn't this a cool frog? I found it beside our back door while the kids were sleeping. He/she looked too wet and possibly too poisonous to touch so I just let the frog go with no dispatching. I have nothing to report because I couldn't find this dude online. Can you?

And now the final fabulous critter dispatch story: Occasionally, for unknown reasons, swarms of kumbikumbi (huge termites) fly to our outdoor houselights, buzz around for a while, shed their wings, and then die in piles on the floor. Maybe mating is involved in this odd process. The wings often float under the doors and into the house. Today I found a wing stuck to Jack's thigh as he was scooting around the floor with no shorts (potty training) playing with his trains. Anyway, some people here in Tanzania collect, fry, and eat them.

SO, Dusty goes to work yesterday and discovers that the lady who makes chai and lunch for everyone at the office has pulled off remaining wings and fried the kumbikumbi and is serving them like popcorn at chai time (10:30am tea and snacks). Apparently everyone - Tanzanians and missionaries - tried them, and LIKED THEM!! Dusty remarked that he should have brought some home for us to try, but when I reminded him of our ongoing tummy issues, he agreed it would not have been a stellar idea. Again, I'm happy that Dusty kept his dispatch techniques (oral this time) to himself! Phew.

I have no photo of my own, but found this one on www.matthewtodd.org.

Dedication Ceremony for Luke 1 and 2!

2009-12-05T00:44:00.000-08:00

After five years of being in Africa, we had the great pleasure of seeing the first portions of Scripture printed and dedicated to the Lord this past Saturday! It was a beautiful morning filled with singing, praying, and listening to translators read portions of Luke 1 and 2 in their mother tongues publicly for the first time. We're thankful that the Christmas story will be brought to many for the first time this year. We would like to share some photos of this joyful celebration with you. Thanks for supporting the work we are doing here so that this can happen!

The tent Dusty helped set up to host the dedication ceremony and for daily use at the office as well.

Dusty giving the introductions (in Swahili) of the various people and teams who made it possible to bring God's Word to the speakers of these nine languages.

Bringing in the gift-wrapped boxes containing 1,800 editions of Luke 1 and 2 in nine languages. We were all singing praise to the Lord in accompaniment to the joyful delivery of the boxes. It was a beautiful sight and sound!

The guest speaker pastors praying over and dedicating the boxes of Luke 1 and 2 booklets.

Pastor Lukafuba, the pastor of the small local church we attend, reading aloud from the Kizinza edition of Luke 1 and 2.

Paul Meja and Pastor Futakamba were excited about their new booklets.

Dusty sharing a laugh with Pastor Waynse after the ceremony.

Holidays at the Hill House

2009-11-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

The table set for Thanksgiving before the food and guests arrived. We had two of our American friends join us for a chicken lunch with all the typical side dishes except sweet potatoes.
The bouquet centerpiece. I cut these flowers from our garden earlier that morning and was pleased to find so many with fall colors. Below the vase I placed some flowers from our very tropical looking ornamental bananas - they're so heavy, and hang upside down, that I haven't figured out how to put them in a vase.
The kids decorated turkeys for each person's plate. Tessa insisted that I draw her turkey with a bow, eyelashes, and a skirt, but would not let me put on a beak! Instead she drew in a nose and smile - nothing quite like a cute turkey!
The pumpkin pie. We had extra dough that the kids wanted to play with. I had no Thanksgiving cookie cutters, but we figured that apples and chickens would do fine. I think they were the favorite part of the pie for the kids.
Apparently chicken does indeed have tryptophan because we all became quite drowsy after our lovely meal. Here are Dusty and Tessa napping on the back porch. It seems that only Tessa was pretending.
We are celebrating Advent in our home for the first time this year. I was thrilled to find a juniper bush next door that needed clipping, and three purple candles in our drawer. The green one has to substitute for the pink candle since we didn't have one. Before dinner we sing a Christmas carol and light the candle and talk about a Scripture passage leading up to the need for and birth of Jesus. The candle came in useful tonight when the electricity was shut off. Because we lack all the Christmas season broo-ha-ha that comes with the holidays in the States, it's nice to choose some elements we can still practice here that are festive but also instill a spiritual understanding of the season in our kids, and keep our focus on the Lord as well.
The Christmas wreath currently has frangipani blossoms on it which I will cycle out when they wither. I was very excited to find pine trees and pine cones on my walk today in one of the neighboring convents. The gardener happily let me take some cones home, although I'm sure he thought I was odd in spite of my effort to explain. I placed them on the Advent wreath and will follow suite with the door wreath when I can figure out how to attach them or when I run out of frangipani blossoms from my one little tree.

Khanga

2009-11-22T05:19:00.001-08:00

"I have been satisfied, and God arranged my condition"

I went into town this weekend to buy the new Christmas khanga, and it occurred to me that this is something so very Tanzanian, and it might be interesting to the folks back home. Khanga are cloths which are worn by women here either as wraps or they are tailored into dresses and outfits. They are about $4.00 usually and come in sets of two. The khanga I bought is white with black polka dots and purple bells and candles. It says "Heri ya Chritsmas na mwaka mpya" or "Happy Christmas and new year," but we had to laugh that they spelled Christmas wrong.

I'm not sure what this one says. The proverbial Swahili can be very hard to translate.

The interesting thing about them is they all have a saying/proverb at the bottom, and these proverbs can be used as messages. So many with wedding proverbs are given to brides. Those with Christmas messages are given as Christmas presents. But often, one woman will wear one with a saying intentionally to communicate something to another woman.

For instance, if you have made a mistake, sought forgiveness, but didn't get it, you might wear a khanga with the following proverb around the person you offended. "Mhesabu visa pendo haliwezi." "Whoever counts the mistakes of his or her friend can never love."

And "Maneno yako mazuri, vitendo vyako hatari." "Your words are good, your actions are danger." Someone might wear this around a hypocrite.

"Yote ni matawi shina ni mimi." "All are branches. I am the trunk." (The legally married woman is the root. The rest of the women/wives are branches to the man.)

"Coast issues are not a game." I'm not sure what this really means.

Many khanga are simply nice reminders: "Natule asali tumwache nyuki na ukali wake." or, "Let’s enjoy the honey and ignore the bee and its sting."

"Penzi la mama haliishi." "A mother’s love does not end."

"Furaha ya harusi ni kupendana." "The joy of a wedding is to love one another."

This one is a mystery to me too.

Some khanga simply make political statements: "Hongera Rais Kikwete kushinda uchaguzi." "Congratulations President Kikwete on winning the election."

Currently there are several khanga with Barak Obama's face on them as folks are still excited about Obama as the American president. I've also seen his face on belt buckles and other odd places.

In any case, it's very good to know at least some elementary Swahili before buying a khanga, even if you love the pattern and colors, or else you might be making a statement you did not intend!

Cooking Substitutions and Thanksgiving in Tanzania

2009-11-22T04:17:00.000-08:00

Local produce brings great inspiration:

When the recipe calls for something from the list on the left, I use what's on the right:

One can chicken broth = boil a chicken, save the water
Canned pumpkin = peel, scrape, boil, and mash a pumpkin
Tortilla chips = make tortillas from scratch and then cut up and bake
Sour cream = maziwa mgando (clotted milk we can buy in town) strained through a tea towel
Cream cheese = maziwa mgando, strained longer through the teal towel
Butter = Blue Band margarine, the butter of the third world!
Asparagus = green pepper
Artichoke = green pepper
Broccoli = green pepper
Red bell pepper = green pepper
Celery = sadly, nothing else will do
Pecans, walnuts, almonds = somehow, peanuts just don't fit the bill

This is definitely the short list. Substituting occurs daily in my kitchen, and as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. It's true!

Although meals take significantly longer to prepare here, we've learned that some American friends think our African foods are enviable! While I was moaning about having to scrub piles of dirt from potatoes, wash the chicken crud from the still-warm eggs and boil the still-warm milk from neighboring cows, our friends back home are paying through their noses to eat locally grown produce, organic eggs and "raw" milk!

So although on furlough I loved all the easy, prepared, frozen, and processed foods in the grocery stores in the States, I've learned to appreciate our raw, organic, and fresh foods in Tanzania. Plus, for the first time ever I have a vegetable garden with lettuce, pumpkin, and corn!

Thanksgiving this year will have (among other things) pumpkin pie from the pumpkin I bought at the market yesterday, chicken from the Catholic retreat center down by the lake, stuffing from the bread baked in my kitchen Tuesday, and cranberry sauce from ... a jar (which we found in Mwanza, a city 3 hours away)!

Our Thanksgiving turkey from 2007. Turkeys are very rare, hard to buy, extremely expensive, a lot of work, and not all that tasty, so this year, we're stickin' with chicken!

As always, so much to be thankful for! But do enjoy some pecan pie with us in your thoughts this year!

Photos from Kenya

2009-11-20T05:15:00.000-08:00

This first picture was actually taken after we got back from Kenya. I was home with a cold and the kids, and they were desperate for action when I was desperate for rest. Relief came to all of us in the form of a rainstorm. I sent them out in their raincoats for some fun. They had a blast, and I did not mind cleaning them off with a hose as much as I thought I might. I'm sure they would beg to differ though!

One of the sweetest moments in Kenya, and in parenting too!

The kids encouraging Dusty to do a somersault. They succeeded.

I've recently been given a bird-watching book by our friend Patrick and have become an amateur bird-watcher. The Kakamega rain forest in Kenya is the perfect place for watching birds. Because the kids frequently want to get their grubby hands on my binoculars, I made them their own - fun for the whole family now!

A Sausage Tree! I guess these are just big seed pods, but the tree really is called a sausage tree for obvious reasons.

The Oddities of Exercising in Tanzania

2009-11-09T05:04:00.001-08:00

Let it first be stated that exercise for the sake of improving one's health is not really something people do here. You probably do not recall any Olympic track events with Tanzanians (although a few were there). This is because individual sport is not really a value here - soccer is. People spend so much energy hoeing fields, walking or biking to their jobs/school, carrying large buckets of water or bundles of sticks on their heads, and other sorts of labor, that they do not require additional exercise.

I think it is difficult for them to understand our more sedentary lifestyle and the fact that we do not want to be plump. The concept seems to be that rich people are heavier because they don't have to work physically, so weight is considered something to be admired. In spite of this a Westerner is still usually appalled when a Tanzanian compliments him/her with "Umenenepa!" (or You've become fat!)

Secondly, white people (wazungu) are also oddities here. So when a Tanzanian sees an mzungu (one white person) exercising, it's very unique for some people, and they are inclined to stare or ask questions, or even join in - especially kids. Having people comment and stare while one is exercising can be quite bothersome, and can you even imagine joining a total stranger walking or running in America? Last week I had a boy walk with me till I turned to go back home, and he had to occasionally run just to keep up. This week a car pulled up beside me, and the passenger asked me where I was going, if I needed a lift, and what about the dog!

I am walking about three days a week with our Rottweiler Ellie (purebreds are another oddity). On Saturdays, when they are not in school, I frequently have children follow me giggling and making comments. I have recently discovered the joy of realizing that the children are giggling about Ellie's "missing" tail instead of laughing at me! It is truly a relief to know I am not the brunt of the joke, and Ellie never seems to mind.

Using my iPod has also helped relieve some of the displeasure of exercising as I generally can't hear what people are saying about me or Ellie. I try to be cordial and return greetings, but I keep going instead of stopping for conversations with those who are inclined to ask more questions.

Finally, whereas last term I did all my walking on the dirt roads and was put off by cars, bikes, and heavy foot traffic, this term I am trying to stick to the trails in the hills behind our house. It's made a huge difference in my enjoyment of exercise as now I get to relish truly magnificent views of Lake Victoria and the surrounding hills. Plus I occasionally see turtles, monkeys, and rock hyraxes. And, the only traffic is the occasional person carrying a load of something to sell on their heads. Clearly, they're working much harder than I am, and that helps keep me in my place!

What do they have in common - church, cows, and tortoises

2009-11-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

This morning we went to church and found a few new items of note. Firstly, the new pastor's family, who live next to the church, now have a cow. It kept occurring to me that in the States, before church, we tell our children such things as "be nice to the other children, do what the teacher tells you to do, your water bottle is in your backpack" etc. However, now we are finding ourselves at church telling our kids "don't get too close to the cow, do not go behind the cow, cows can be very dangerous," etc. The kids apparently got the picture, but I had to laugh when the cow kept mooing, and then Jack mooed back - nice and loud - during a solemn communion.

Secondly, it is possible to have a one man choir. You've surely heard of a one man band, but a one man choir? We go to a very small church. This morning I counted 9 adults and 21 children. Apparently a lot of the kids come on their own. Most of the time we have about 5 or 6 people in the choir, but for the last two weeks we have had one. He does a great job, with all the moves (Tanzanians choreograph every song) and even sang some of the harmony as well. He was later joined by another member of the choir so we had the duet choir. The music is always my favorite part of church here, and today was no exception.

Finally, and this brings in the photos, Jack found a tortoise outside the church. Sometimes the church has a lesson for the kids, but sometimes the kids just wander around outside and get into mischief. This little fella was too cute, so we had to put him in Jack's hat and take him home.

The Little Fella.

The Other Little Fella.

"Aw, this tortoise is so cute. I'm so happy to hold it. I'm having so much fun!"

Half a second later: "Oh no! It's moving! There is a monster in my hands! Take it, take it or I'm going to drop this horrid creature! Aaaagh!" Hee hee.

We gave the little guy away to our friends with four kids tonight in the certainty that a)we would lose it, b)the dog would eat it, c)Jack would surely drop or crush it, d)both kids would get salmonella from holding it and then sticking their fingers in their mouths, e)it would get too big and then eat my entire garden, f)it would starve to death from shock, or g)it would outlive us, and we'd have to write it into our will.

I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for us next Sunday at church!

Tessa's New School

2009-11-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday Tessa is going to the school here on our compound. All the other children are Tanzanians, and it is our hope that Tessa will pick up Swahili from them even though instruction is given in English as it is a private Catholic school. This week will be her third time, and so far she seems to be enjoying it.

The "sherehe." (celebration) Last weekend the children of the school put on a program to celebrate Founder's Day for the man who began the Catholic order for this compound. The nuns and priests of our compound come from India, and it was a real hoot to hear an Indian nun singing an Indian type of song in English to an African drumbeat while Tanzanian children were dancing with Indian movements. Tessa's comment was "why are they wiggling their heads?"

During the program our landlord, one of the priests, asked me if Tessa would like to go up on stage and recite a poem. I said "she doesn't know any poems," to refuse him as I knew she would be too shy to give a public performance of any kind. His return comment was, "you bring her to our school for a month and she will get smart." Hmmm.

The kids at the gate to the school. Everyone was eager to pose for my camera. I wish I could give them all a copy of the picture.

Tessa's classroom. The kids all wear uniforms, so I just do my best to have her in white so she mostly matches the other kids when they take off their red sweaters. Isn't it amazing that kids here wear sweaters at all? Even when we think it's hot, they still can feel cool so it makes sense for them. I'm just wondering how long I can keep her white jeans and shirt truly white from the wear and tear of the playground at the school! We're fortunate the school has a playground - it is the only one I've ever seen in Musoma, but it makes American playgrounds look like Disneyland, and is totally void of anything remotely resembling safety.

Tessa outside her school building on her second day of school. The kids absolutely adore her. Everyone knows her name - from the smallest 3 year old to the oldest teen. Word got around fast about the little "mzungu" (white person) coming to school. She doesn't seem to mind the attention, but is starting to make comments about how her skin is different from theirs - it's a great open door for lots of good conversations at home.

Backyard Follies

2009-11-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

Rain at last! This photo was taken on October 30th at about 4:30 even though it looks like night-time. We have been back in TZ since mid July, and finally the rains have started for real. It has been VERY dry and hot, so we all are very happy to have some big rain, even if it means that the laundry isn't drying, and I have to mop up puddles from the back porch or the leaking roof in our bedroom. The kids have a blast in their boots and rain coats in the puddles when I'm in a good enough mood to let them go splash around and then deal with all the wet clothes, hair, boots, etc. It's worth it for them to have such a great time together. Good clean fun!

Mostly the rain is a huge relief to the vast majority of people here who rely on farming for food. It really puts things into perspective for me because I'm accustomed to appreciating rain only for bringing relief from the heat or from having to remember to move the sprinkler for my flower gardens. But here, it really is the difference between life and death.

Sibling affection in the hammock - aren't they sweet? OK, I admit, I did ask them to give kisses for the camera, so it wasn't totally spontaneous, but they were happy to oblige. We all love to hang out the hammock, get a few books, and have some quality time together under the leaves. That or just have some serious tickle-fests!

The mysterious lily. Some of you guessed what it might be, but so far no right answers. Keep them coming! I wanted to show a picture of it on the actual plant to give you a better idea of what the whole picture looks like. This was about two days into its blooming. It has up to 12 flowers each time it blooms so it smells wonderful for a whole week.

Our house as seen from the back yard. The back porch is on the left, and the master bedroom's windows are on the right. Our most recent addition is that we put in a little sand pit under one of these windows, which the kids are loving. We just got some sand from our road and surrounded it with some rocks. People often ask us what "that" is growing up our tree. One friend suggested it must be "Jack's Beanstalk" and the name has stuck. It always makes my imagination go wild thinking about what could be at the top. Fee Fi Fo Fum...

The view as seen from our back porch. Unfortunately you cannot really get a good glimpse of the hills on the other side of the bay from this photo, but we get to see them every day. Somehow having a great view really refreshes us all day. Plus, usually we have a very blue sky, which you can't see here either. One of the best things about our home is that we have huge old trees to give us shade - a great blessing in a hot land.

Six more irresistable family photos plus a quiz photo at the end

2009-10-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Tessa looking cute in Jack's circle of trains

The station master surrounded by those he loves

Ok, before any of you pitch a fit be informed that Dusty only takes the kids for slow rides around the small loop in our compound, which is a private dirt road. Even I find no harm in it, and they love it! He does insist on them wearing "protective" eye gear and footwear.

Dusty uses his "piki piki" for going to the office as it uses far less fuel than the truck (recall our fuel prices are astronomically higher than in the States). He also uses it to stimulate his mind and talents as it seems to always be begging for a repair or two, or three...

Waiting for a ride on the piki piki all geared out

After her turn on the piki piki, Tessa said, "Thanks for the ride, Pop!" We have no idea how she decided to call Dusty "Pop," but it was as cute as she is!

The QUIZ photo: Anyone who can tell me what type of lily this is will win an all expense unpaid trip to Musoma, Tanzania, a glass of fresh lemonade here on our back porch, and a lily bulb to take back through customs. The lilies have a very sweet and strong fragrance, and the leaves are broad and flat and grow up to 4 feet high. Each stalk can produce up to 12 flowers. Any guesses??

Some photos of where we live and work

2009-10-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

This is a view of the Lake with our roof visible (barely). If you can spot the round building near the center, then look just to its right, you will see two roofs. Ours is the one in the back. From our house, we actually have a great view of the lake, and you're welcome to come see it anytime!

Musoma has tons of these rock outcroppings; they're very common around Lake Victoria. I recently discovered this one near our home and scrambled up it with our dog, Ellie. It's a great place to hang out because the tree gives shade on the top, the rock is flat at the top, it has a great view, and there are monkeys and rock hyraxes!

Dusty is currently the construction manager for our new office building. This is the plot of land where, God willing, we will be building the new translation office.

Dusty in his office talking to a friend of ours from church. This is the mission control center! Well, it is for Dusty anyway, and for operations, construction, and linguistics. All hands on deck!

Finally, here is a shot of the newly renovated administration building, and the linguistics building to its right, where Dusty's office is. Renovating and building are difficult anywhere in the world, but here we have many challenges. Dusty somehow manages to use his skills, education, engineering experience, and Swahili to rise to meet them all. When he leaves the house to go to the office, I frequently tell him, "Go build the kingdom one brick at a time!" And he does. Other days I say, "Have fun storming the castle!" which you Princess Bride fans will appreciate.

What We're Doing These Days in Photos

2009-10-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

The disclaimer is that we had to downsize the photos significantly in order to upload them, so my apologies for the poor quality.

Tanzania has gone Obama-crazy. Can you tell what this is? While walking down the street, Dusty saw this box of bubblegum. Do you think this product was officially sanctioned by the Obama Administration? We see his face everywhere, on all kinds of products and vehicles. Popular guy in these here parts! We'll keep an eye out for other funny items.

One thing we do around here is fix stuff. Including vehicles. Even the kids get in on the action. You can never start them too early, right?

We like a little teamwork. Sharing is Caring. Solving puzzles together. Fixin' flats.

Nothing like a little grease under the nails, eh? A working man's hands look good paired with wooden Dutch shoes. Oh yeah.

With some spare time, Dusty likes to take out his bow and arrows and practice in the backyard. Here he's teaching a friend the ropes. Don't worry - we keep the kids far from the line of sight. And the dog too. But if a screeching ibis got in the way? Well, we wouldn't be shedding any tears about that.

When it's not rainy season, we like to pretend that it is. Or is this a fairy hiding under a toadstool?

Goggles really do make running through the sprinkler much more fun. Even when they're so fogged up you can't see anything - maybe that's where the fun is!

Dusty exchanges high-fives at a church dinner. The kids love engaging with us and learning about us. And following us, and touching us, and staring at us, and asking us questions...

How cute are these kiddos? They love seeing their image on the camera display after I take a picture. It's easy to draw a crowd of kids with a digital camera. Behind the kids you can see the way the Tanzanians cook. It was a pretty good church dinner of beans, rice, goat meat (I passed), and greens. Unfortunately there were no spoons or forks, so this was the first time we ever tried to eat rice with our fingers. We were a little messy, but our kids thought it was fun, and it was!

Can you guess which ones are ours? That is our new church building behind the kids.

Happy Birthday to Dusty! Someone recently told me that she recalled me to be a maker of "pretty cakes." I quickly reminded her of this winner (and yes, this is the final product before it had been cut), which required slicing off all the burned parts before I poured on the glaze. Regardless, it was still tasty, even with all those candles on it. :)

Tessa has learned how to do things the Tanzanian way. Here she's washing her doll's clothes. It was a dull day, so I filled the bathtub (yes, that's our bathtub) with water and soap, gave her a tutorial, and let her have some good clean fun.

Jack, on the other hand, is not so good at "good clean fun." On this day we went down to visit some friends who live near a beach. I greased him up with sunscreen, which acted like a magnet between a boy and dirty sand. This is one of Jack's classic expressions.

And finally, here's what I like to do with a little paint and the kids' naptime. This bulletin board used to be a dart board, and the wall looked pretty sad with all the chunks taken out by stray darts. This was my solution to hiding the holes. AND, if you send us your Christmas cards this year, we'll get to look at your gorgeous faces all of 2010! Here's our address so you're officially without excuse.

Dusty and Kim Hill
Box 1235
Musoma
Tanzania

Back in Africa

2009-07-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, during the course of everyday life in Africa, something odd will happen which will prompt Dusty to say, "you should put THAT on the blog!" The first time those words were uttered since our return was for the new toilet seat.

Because our toilet seat cover has been broken in half for a long time, we put it on the to-do list to get an entire new seat. Dusty went to town and came back with a new seat and cover. He promptly put the new seat on the toilet the next evening. By the following morning, the seat was mysteriously cracked in half! It had not cracked beneath either of us, so who who-dun-it?

Such is the quality of products we can purchase here, and returning purchases is basically unheard of here.. In the end, Dusty went back to the shop, and the shop owner gave him the display seat which he has not installed yet. I haven't seen it, but he says it's pretty banged up. I guess that's better than split in two though!

Regardless, we're happy to be back in our own home after a year of traveling and living out of suitcases and borrowed drawers. We've been welcomed warmly back into Musoma and are adjusting back to African life. We're amazed at how long it is taking us to settle back in, and are relearning how to cope with things like unreliable electricity, mosquito nets, and filtering the tap water. The kids are gratefully handling it all in stride.

Here are some pictures of our travels since we left America, in reverse order (sorry for the odd formatting).

1. My birthday party in our house. It was a team effort: Dusty made the cake, I made the icing, and the kids helped with the sprinkles.

2. The tunnels and tents my grandmother gave the kids for Christmas - set up for the first time since Christmas, and in our own house in Musoma.

3. Our annual family photo on the beach of the Indian Ocean.

4. The kids at Turtle Bay, the location of our annual branch conference in Kenya.

5. A painting shop in Zanzibar selling traditional Tingatinga paintings.

6. Having lunch while on a day-long safari in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania.

7. The tent where we all lived for one week during our two weeks of Swahili refresher course near Iringa, Tanzania. It was crowded and very cold! We were thankful to move into a cottage/hut for the following week.

8. The kids waiting at Heathrow airport for our flight to Tanzania. Amazingly, Jack fell asleep in the rental car and stayed asleep through unloading the baggage from the car onto the trolleys and continued sleeping for about an hour in the airport. What a blessing! Between Dallas and Musoma, we had an incredible amount of travel, airports, flights, rental cars, countries, and luggage.

9. Tessa and Dusty went out one morning in England to explore the canal system and it's locks. We visited several of our friends for about 4 days in England.

10. The Netherlands, where we visited our good friends for 5 days and visited the Outdoor Museum with traditional windmills and other historical monuments.

About Leaving

2009-06-04T19:31:00.001-07:00

Worst things about leaving:
1. Packing
2. Stress
3. Saying good-bye over and over
4. Cleaning and constant laundry
5. Anticipating all the things I'll miss (food items, family, friends, fellowship...)
6. Waiting for Tessa's passport to miraculously appear in the mail
7. Forgetting to buy something and rushing out to get it
8. Finding out the airline only accepts bags 10 pounds less than what I packed in each bag
9. Making odd meals from the bits and pieces left in the fridge/pantry
10. Struggling to be a good mom while feeling stressed and emotionally fragile

Best things about leaving:
1. Anticipating being done with packing
2. Hearing from friends how much they appreciate us
3. Lots of meals out with friends and family
4. Having friends help out with cleaning the house
5. Looking forward to being in our own home again!!!
6. Getting rid of things we didn't really need
7. Happiness at Dusty's finishing his master's degree
8. Grandparents taking care of kids while we pack
9. Well, I can't seem to find 2 more things for this list.

See you again after 14 airport visits, 6 countries, 6 weeks, and 400 pounds of luggage miraculously delivered somehow to Musoma, Tanzania in late July.

Road Trip 2009

2009-03-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

We've just finished the most massive road trip that I think I've ever taken, and on top of that, we did it with 2 toddlers! Amazing! It took us 3 weeks to make a full circle of Denver, Dallas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and back to Denver. We stayed one week in Dallas and at least one night in the other spots. Here are the photo explanations and then the highlights.

Tessa and Jack have been through so much transition that Tessa has taken to climbing in bed not only with her security blanket, but with her security brother as well.

Tessa and Jack chilling in their car seats with cool new sunglasses, which I bought after tiring of hearing, "Aaagh! The sun is in my eyes! Make it stop!"

Dusty and the kids in front of the Corn Palace in South Dakota. They've been building this place for over 100 years with corn. The photos of the old buildings look much cooler, but it was still interesting to see the modern version with most of the exterior decorations made of corn cobs and husks. We didn't visit anyone in SD so we were compelled to stop at this roadside attraction to curb the boredom of the plains and plains and plains and plains...

Mount Rushmore! Seeing this monument was a first for all of us. Dusty's dad saw the picture and wondered if we had aligned ourselves intentionally with the Famed Four, but alas, we can take no credit for the wonder that we are.

Jack in the croup tent in the hospital in Rolla, Missouri. This is obviously not a highlight of the trip. He started having raspy breath in Kansas, and when we went to a doctor in MO, we were surprised to get sent to the ER in an ambulance. Poor Jack couldn't even enjoy getting to ride in the ambulance - normally a very cool vehicle in his books. He was admitted to the hospital, stuck with needles, put in the croup tent, and given lots of breathing treatments through a nebulizer (machine that dispenses medicine as a vapor).
After a rough night, we were released the next morning into the snow with some prescriptions. The friends we were visiting, Bob and Sara Bowers, gave us an extra nebulizer (how great is that?) and after a few more rounds, he was on his way back to health and on toward Wisconsin. We're just glad this incident happened in the States and not in Tanzania where I have no idea what we would have done.

On to the top 10 highlights:
10: DVD players attached to the headrests in the back seat!!!
9: The children's museum with the Caldwells in Enid, Oklahoma.
8: Costume night in Kansas - Tessa as a lion, and her buddy Luke Hunsberger as Buzz Lightyear dueling for top dog.
7: Being thankful not to be one of 4 overturned cars in Missouri snow. We're giving God praise that we had clear roads the rest of the way.
6: An amazing turkey dinner with the Philippi family in Wisconsin and turkey sandwiches in the car the next day.
5: Playing on the snow-covered swing set at the Readers' house in MN.
4: Finally seeing Mt. Rushmore on a sunny day with hardly anyone else around.
3: Going on a double date with the Kroekers in WY and hiring actual babysitters for the first time...ever! (Tessa's nearly 4 now.)
2: Tessa and Jack having so many new friends that they forgot all their names and referred to them as "boy," "that girl," or "the children."
1: Getting to spend some great times with friends across the nation who we haven't seen in years.

All told, it was a great trip and extremely worth while. If I remember I'll post the miles once we do the math. We're now in Denver for 3 weeks before heading to Dallas for 2 months and then back to Africa on June 7. We all got sick after Jack, but we're all now recovering from coughs and colds. Best of all, we're just thankful to finally unpack our suitcases and chill out for a bit before the next transition.

Tessa's handling the transition like a champ and enjoying each new place and friend. It's been harder for Jack though and it shows in his behavior. In fact, while we were in Dallas, he told me "I want go home," and I just have no idea what that even means to him! It's amazing that at his verbal stage he was able to form such a sentence with the abstract concept that is "home." It nearly broke my heart. We will all be glad to settle in for good, although that won't happen till late July when we get back to Musoma.

At this point, that's the main reason I'm looking forward to returning to Africa. For now, we're having too much fun in America.

Sorry for the length of this blog - I guess it makes up for months of no postings.
cheers,
Kim

Fall Fun Festival

2008-11-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Dusty and the kids with the firetruck at our church's festival. The kids had a blast in the bouncing house, on the giant slide, playing games for candy, and petting the animals in the petting zoo, especially the "zony" - half pony and half zebra.

The kids and me at our playgroup, which we love! Tessa misses her buddies in Tanzania, but she loves her new friends here too. Tessa is infatuated with the whole princess thing, so she didn't even think about any other costume.

The pumpkin we carved at our house in 10 minutes. Jack didn't even complain about wearing his hand-me-down costume, which really surprised us. Tessa earned her wand by having dry underwear during naps!

Recent Photos

2008-10-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

1. Dusty's Birthday brownies

2. The kids at the Arboretum

3. Wearing our cowboy boots to Marsh Lane Baptist Church's western-themed missions conference

4. Fall fun at the Arboretum

Life of Luxury

2008-10-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is not to make our friends in America feel guilty, but I do want to comment on what I am considering to be luxurious about life here.
1. Hot or cold, clean, drinkable water from the tap.
2. Easy driving conditions: not having to be hyper-alert for animals, children, adults, loaded carts, cyclists, and other vehicles who are about to jump in front of our car at any moment.
3. Cooking and preparing meals with anything and everything easily at my fingertips. This weekend it was delicious vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries.
4. Playgrounds and libraries - a culture that caters to children.
5. Actual changing of the seasons - this morning I saw my breath for the first time in three and a half years!
6. Dependable plumbing and electricity.
7. Grandparents close by who are happy to babysit their adorable grandkids.
8. Church nursery which is safe and enjoyable and educational.
9. Being able to understand EVERYTHING anyone says to me, and everyone understands everything I'm saying.
10. A dishwasher!

And the list goes on, but these are on the top of my head. On the downside, life here is jam-packed busy, and our kids have caught every last American cough, cold, and fever, but otherwise we are doing great and are enjoying the life of luxury.

Back in the USA

2008-08-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

A friend recently emailed me assuming we were not yet in the States because I had not updated the blog. I told her that's because there are so many entertaining things to do here and people to see that I hadn't even thought of the blog. Plus I haven't figured out how to get the photos off the camera and onto this laptop.

Regardless, we're having a great time here. Dusty's already finished his first course in school, in which he was a teaching assistant. I think grading papers gave him a whole new perspective on schoolwork for his other classes starting next week. The kids are having a blast in the pool at our house and at local playgrounds and libraries. I enjoyed shopping for some new clothes with birthday money while Mom watched the kids. And we're all loving hanging out with family and friends.

Highlights have included: peaches, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, yogurt, turkey, boneless skinless chicken breasts, and all the other fantastic food we can't get in TZ. Jack's new word is "a-ay" which is "airplane" without the consonants - he gets lots of daily practice with all the airplanes zooming overhead. Tessa mistook two gold glass high-rise office buildings for sand-castles.

I'm writing from Denver where we're having a short trip, so Dusty's highlight is going to the Rockies game tonight with buddies. And my personal highlight was getting over carsickness in the Mt. Evans' parking lot to hike the remaining way up to the top of the 14,000 foot mountain... while carrying Jack... in the snow... in FLIP FLOPS... and not falling!!! Let's just call it Supermom (otherwise known as poor planning). Fun times. - photos later.

Walking and Reading

2008-06-15T10:25:00.001-07:00

Jack began walking about 3 weeks ago on his 17 month birthday. It took him a long time to walk, but he got the hang of it fast. So fast that he is now comfortable wearing these wellies which are significantly larger than his feet. He kept trying to wear Tessa's frog wellies, so I pulled out thes old ones of Tessa.

He's also a book abuser. No, he doesn't abuse books; he abuses the person that he wants to read the book to him. He approaches Dusty or me and tries nicely to give us the book and sit on us. If we are otherwise occupied, then he will hit us with the book and start hollering and crying, until we cave or run away. If we read, then he's so happy, but if we leave, a real tantrum begins even if the hitting stops. Today he hit Tessa in the face with a book - ouch! But what can I say? He's a librarian's son.

Mary and Joseph Confusion

2008-06-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

We live on a Catholic compound here in Musoma. They recently built a sort of grotto thing to hold a statue of Mary, painted it pink, and surrounded it with potted plants, flags, and colored lights. It's quite bold to say the least, but fortunately the pink has faded. Tessa is enamoured with Mary, and we must greet her every time we come in the compound if Tessa's with us ... "Hi Mary!"

Ironically, the gatekeeper is named Joseph. Tessa, who has never seen the classic Disney movies, recently received a coloring book with Cinderella, Beauty, Jasmine, and some other heroines with their beaus. She thinks they are Mary and Joseph. Apparently all the Biblical Christmas stories she was so familiar with in December have now been replaced with the "Mary statue - Joseph gatekeepr - Disney" combo. I'll have to think of some fun Biblical lesson to get her back on track.

Thoughts of a Family Dog

2008-06-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

His finger's in my eye. Her bouncing bottom is crushing my lungs. They're so loud, and he has some serious stinking poop in his trousers. When will the big people tell them to leave me alone? How long do I have to take this? Don't these little people know I'm a scary Rottweiler?

Ah well, it's all worth it if I can just reach the cookie the little guy left under the dresser two days ago.

Last Day of School

2008-06-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here on our compound we have a small Catholic school. On Friday, we heard drum beating and singing, so Tessa and I set out to see what all the hub-bub was about. 1 minute later we had to return to the house for our umbrellas. When we arrived we saw the field had been cleared so the many kids could march out and put on a show for some visiting educational dignitaries and a smattering of parents. This meant that the kids were standing at attention, singing their songs, and doing their daily exercise routine while standing in the rain. I felt so sorry for them as I watched them stand there shivering with beads of rain rolling off their heads - and they just stood and took it! No screaming or running or complaining like I would expect of American kids.

Kids here have some bizarre stoic ability to sit (or stand in this case)quietly through anything. But this is the first time I've seen them do it in the rain. Children, even young ones, can sit quietly through a 2 - 3 hour church service, all lined up on the front bench with their parents somewhere behind them, and rarely will we see a kid get in trouble or toted out. We've heard 2 reasons for this. 1) They are disciplined frequently and severely at home. 2) They are undernourished and simply don't have the energy to misbehave.

I think it must be a lesser combination of the two. I think additionally, entertainment is rare here, so they're happy to watch or be involved in almost anything. Plus they are next to siblings who can pinch them or whatever to make them behave. Finally, the little ones are nursed a long, long time so when one of them fusses, Mom just opens her shirt, and voila! - a quiet youngster.

Whatever the reason, quiet kids in a service are something to admire as our own kids wriggle, giggle, cry, fuss, and complain. I'll be thankful for the church nursery and Sunday school to take our kids off our hands when we come home so we can worship in peace, and so they can have a good worship time too.

Juvenile Scissor Phobia

2008-05-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jack at left, at 16 months: "No, no! Not the scissors! Not the curls! Torture, torture. Won't someone, anyone, help me? Aargh!"

Jack below, 10 minutes later: "Oh, well, hee hee. I guess I overreacted just a little. Thanks Mama."

Me: "oh no! Oh dear! Where's my baby boy? Who are you? What have I done?"

The Face of Translation

2008-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

I just thought you might enjoy seeing some of the people who are helping us walk the long road of Bible translation. These four are among many who have helped in our project with building orthographies (alphabets) for 8 language groups here. All are busy people with many other demands on their time, but they were all happy to come and work on their languages so that one day they will see the Scriptures in their own mother tongues.

Can you imagine...
.. not having the Bible in English?

.. praying in your second language because no one told you that you could pray in English?

.. not knowing how to read?

.. never having read anything in English because it was not yet written?

.. not having any Bibles or other books in your house?

.. going to church but worshipping in your second (or third) language?

.. never having understood that Jesus loves and died for you?

Frankly, I can't really imagine these things, but after living here, I know that there are so very many countless Tanzanians (and others around the world) for whom these statements are true.

We are so very grateful to be a part of this awesome task. We're also thankful to have seen all that the Lord has been doing here in Musoma since we arrived. We are encouraged by the great faith and dedication of those who are working alongside of us, like the people whose pictures you see here. And we're thankful that you are a vital part of this ministry through your constant prayer, encouragement and support. We look forward to seeing you soon on the other side of the ocean!

Furlough Pros and Cons

2008-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

We're coming home for furlough in July. Here are the pros and cons (or what I'm looking forward to and what I'm dreading).
PROS:
1. Family, friends and my dog
2. Worship in English at our home churches
3. Restaurants, movies, babysitters, grocery stores
4. Places to go, people to see, food to eat
5. Cold weather, and cold Christmas at home
6. Playgrounds and all things especially geared to kids
7. No mosquito nets
8. Libraries
9. Constant water and electricity

CONS:
1. Traffic and gas prices (cheaper gas but more driving in the States)
2. Expensive produce that's not even that fresh
3. 8 hour jet lag with 2 children after 4 flights - yikes!!
4. Changing diapers on a kid with multiple layers
5. Layering clothing on kids who barely even know about socks
6. Busy, busy, busy American life
7. Well, I can't think of any more cons. Maybe that's because we're so ready to come back to the States that Dusty mutters Chipotle, Chipotle, Chipotle even in his sleep! :)

Birthday Insanity

2008-04-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Tessa turned 3 on March 18th. On Good Friday, we celebrated her birthday with our neighbor Micaiah who also turned 3 that day. We had 21 kids and 21 adults here at our house for the swimming party and NO WATER! That's right folks; the water was off till Tuesday night. That's 5 dry days with guests for dinner on Easter. Fortunately we have external tanks we used for the baby pools and filled buckets of rain water for bathing, toilets, and dishes. Whew! In addition to water issues, the kumbi-kumbi hit the night before the party. These are bugs attracted to light who shed their wings and crawl under the door leaving behind them masses of wings. The kids were in and out of the pools and every foot dragged wings back into the pool with them, so it was quite a mess, but they didn't care and the adults pretended they didn't either.

Here's the classic screaming kid photo - Josiah was then replaced by his baby brother who also cried for later photos. We're so blessed to have so many missionary kids in our community - it's amazing really. All are 7 and under, but most are younger than 4. Anybody out there want to come over and help us teach them? Please, please?! Seriously, we would love to know if God puts it on your heart to share this opportunity with someone who loves kids and wants to come to Africa for a while. Please pray for a short or long-term teacher for our kids. We want to start a co-op school soon, and just look at all these precious faces waiting to learn fractions!!

Easter Bunnies

2008-04-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Tessa's pink Easter dress this year came from mtumba (the used clothing market) here in Musoma. It is 100% silk, was probably a flower-girl dress once, and we bought it for less than $5.00 for a dress-up princess birthday party that she attended in January. We hunt the mtumba for upholstery/curtain fabric, fitted sheets, clothes, shoes, and other random items. You might remember the huge America flag I bought there? Jack doesn't have dress-up clothes, and guess what? He doesn't care and neither does anyone else! Of course here, any piece of clothing without rips and stains is pretty much dress-up anyway.

The Easter package from my mom arrived a few days late, so we had the Easter egg hunt the Saturday after Easter - it just made the holiday seem longer. Thursday before Easter was a Muslim holiday, and Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays here too, so we all enjoyed our 5 days off. I think Easter is a bigger holiday here than Christmas is. Churches have services every day starting Thursday. It's nice to be in a place that has never heard of the Easter Bunny, and where God has all the glory. Not that we don't appreciate a little Easter chocolate of course.

South Africa Vacation

2008-03-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a few snapshots of our vacation in Cape Town, South Africa earlier this month. It was a beautiful place with great weather and so much to see and do. It was great for us to feel that we were no different from anyone else, and Cape Town is so "western" that we had almost no culture stress. In many ways, it felt like being back in the States. We could even drink water from the taps - a real luxury! We loved the aquarium, play grounds, restaurants, shopping, Dutch colonial architecture, and the concert in the botanical gardens. It was truly a great vacation even if it took us 2 days to get there.

Here we are on the top of Table Mountain, where we all got sunburned but still had fun taking the cable car up the mountain and hiking around.

Look closely: did you know there are penguins in Africa? I sure didn't. There is even a beach where you can swim with them, and although we didn't get to go down we could watch folks tanning and playing on the beach alongside the penguins. I never thought I would see people in swimming suits hanging out cordially with penguins. On the ferry to Robben Island, I also saw some floating on top of the water, kind of like ducks.

Here we are at Robben Island Prison, in the cell across the hall where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner for 18 years. Jack looks pretty happy here, but he tossed his cookies on the ferry on the way home. He's genetically inclined toward motion sickness thanks to my mom. Otherwise it was a good and eye-opening morning, and gave us an appreciation for our freedom regardless of our beliefs.

Home Security and Tummy Cheers

2008-03-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

From these photos you can see the security gate and screen on our front door. It protects us from possible intruders, but also from mosquitoes, our bigger concern. No expat lives here without a massive keychain for the various locks around a home - for instance, we have 3 locks just for this door. All our windows have bars and screens on them. We don't even notice them anymore. The other security device we have is our tiny Rottweiler, Ellie, full grown at 50 pounds. Black dogs here are more feared than others, and we've heard it is because of the belief of black being evil. She's hardly evil, but does put up a good bark which is enough to scare the mightiest foes, even though they may only be wandering cats or goats.

I think all 3 in this photo are watching Dusty work on his piki-piki (motorbike). Jack, on this particular evening was so filthy after dinner that I removed his shirt, whereupon Tessa insisted on removing hers as well and then running over to Jack for "tummy cheers." Picture fraternity boys doing the belly bump, but on a toddler scale. Jack was clueless, but still thought it was funny, and I couldn't resist snapping a photo of them afterwards watching their Daddy at the door.

The next day they got to help him work on the piki-piki and play with the tools. Yes, Jack is indeed teething on a bisi-bisi (screwdriver). What a stud! Who needs baby toys when you can chew on tools?

Backyard Produce

2008-03-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Our yard has been very productive with passion fruit, bananas, avocados, and guavas while the neighbors can add lemons, tangerines, and oranges. Never having lived in CA or FL, this seems like a minor miracle - having fruit in our yard just dropping out of trees. The passion fruit are so high up in our trees that they sound like bombs dropping on our tin roof. One hit the other day during nap time, and from Tessa's room, I heard a startled "Oh! ha ha ha." We give away what we can't eat, which is also a nice benefit. By the way, avocados here are considered fruit, so we're no longer surprised to see them served in a fruit salad or sliced along with papaya and pineapple served at breakfast.

Workshop Finale

2008-02-10T09:44:00.001-08:00

Photos: Dusty's speech, using the Swahili Bible. The kids outside the church who were chanting "wazungu" (white people) when we drove up. The inside of the church where the celebration was held.

The Orthography II workshop ended on Friday with a celebration of everyone's hard work. Several of the leaders gave speeches. All the wazungu were amazed when the guest of honor gave a lengthy comparison of the participants to breasts full of nourishing milk! Everyone else just nodded their heads in serious agreement. The point he was making was that the participants had done great work to lay the foundation for Scripture the same way that breast milk is essential for a child to grow. In this culture, breasts are just a very normal every-day part of life - but, gosh, that sure is different in the Western culture, isn't it?

Dusty gave a strong speech in Swahili, and a participant from each of the languages read a story. Each language group wrote a story for the first time in their mother tongue, which is pretty amazing for everyone. It was a privelege to hear them read the stories even though we couldn't understand them till they retold them in Swahili. They were clearly proud of their achievement and looking forward to sharing the stories with others upon their return home. We're thankful we get to be a part of this ground-breaking work, and it's always exciting to have a small part of the project completed.

Atrarat

2008-01-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

The focus of our month here in the Hill House has been
getting rid of MICE. The mouse that wasn't stirring the night before
Christmas apparently had babies who have been scurrying around our
kitchen and bedroom leaving the fragrance and sight of mouse pee/poop
in their wake. Last night through my pillow I even heard one scratching
under our bed.

So after failed attempts with three kinds of
poison and a handmade mousetrap, a 12 year old shop keeper offered
mouse "glue" named Atrarat (how do you say that?) made in Italy. The
other side of the box is written in Arabic, as are MANY items sold
here, so I doubt this stuff makes it into many Italian restaurant
kitchens. Although we did get a gecko and a few bugs stuck in the glue,
we scored no mice. Have no fear: my hunter husband sent one to his
maker last night and another tonight. He dispatched the first by
slamming it between the dog's crate and the wall, and the second met
its fate from Dusty's moccasin. Three cheers for Dusty! Or at least two.

Daddy, I Cut My Hair!

2008-01-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well, Tessa has gone and done it: she's finally had her very first haircut! The problem is that she did it herself. I had just cut Dusty's hair, and while he was cleaning up and I was working on a sewing project, Tessa found the scissors all alone and decided to put them to good use. She just lopped off a couple of locks of hair from the top of her head and a few from the front. Hair was everwhere, but now it's safely in a Ziplock bag in her baby book. Fortunately she doesn't look too bizarre, unless you're looking closely, but her hairstyles are now a bit more limited. It could definitely be worse, and she was pretty darn proud of herself. It was a hard call between laughing at her (thus condoning her actions) and scolding her. In the end, my parting comment was "stay away from your brother!"

Bizarre Produce

2008-01-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

OK, so the potato, garlic, and tomato are perfectly normal, but how about the carrot and banana(s)? I don't remember ever seeing produce like this in America, but here we see these types of things all the time. Of course, they are so inspiring that sometimes we just have to get creative and have some fun, so here are our two little friends, Mr. Tango Potato Head and Mrs. Twirling Banana Legs. Next time you see these two for sale at Kroger, let us know: they will have traveled a long, long way!

Bible Thumping

2008-01-07T09:45:00.001-08:00

We experienced the Tanzanian rendition of Bible Thumping at church on
Sunday. What else would you do if you got to church and did not have a
drum? The boy in front of us just banged on his Bible with his hand to
keep the beat as everyone else clapped. He did a good job making a
joyful noise to the Lord, and it sounded pretty good to me too. Even
Tessa thought so because she grabbed her own Bible and tried smacking
it a couple of times. Our church is very small and rarely has musical accompaniment, which is generally a good thing here since those churches with keyboards turn up the volume very loud! We like the normal acapello style of our church here. It seems that folks here are born with the ability to harmonize so the singing is always great.

Christmas Morning

2007-12-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was a beautiful sunny day in Musoma as you can see from Tessa's picture. After opening all the presents, she got her new dress on, grabbed her new beach bucket and headed out to do some properly-attired gardening. I got a leather framed mirror from my loving husband (see photo). He got a new shoe shelf made just in time by our local carpenter. Jack's favorite present was all the wrapping paper for chewing. Tessa's happy with toys galore including a trike, a backpack on wheels, and tons of books.

Jack's rash went away on Monday so by Christmas he was back to being Happy Jack instead of Cranky Clingy Monster Boy. We're very glad to have him in good health now that the bizarre virus is gone.

The big meal of the day was an amazing BBQ with 3 other families followed by a birthday cake for Jesus and my pecan pie with real ice cream! Then we played a Scandinavian lawn game where you throw short, heavy wood rods at blocks - fun for the whole family (when else do we encourage our kids to throw sticks around?). We had a great warm Christmas this year with thoughts of all you in the snow.

Thirsty?

2007-12-29T04:18:00.000-08:00

Are you thirsty? Well, just come on over for a fresh glass of tap water at out house! Yummy! We had water like this for Christmas day, then no water at all on Wednesday, then finally - clear water on Thursday evening. The sad thing is that we were not surprised to see this junk coming out of our faucets because it's not too unusual. Of course, even when it's clear we still have to filter it to drink it. We're trying to explain to Tessa that she can't drink water from the tub or tap when she's playing or bathing. How do you explain parasites to a 2 year old?

Jack's mixed birthday

2007-12-23T23:48:00.000-08:00

Jack's birthday yesterday was a mixture of tears and laughs. He had fun with his birthday cake although he wouldn't touch it till I put him and the cake on the floor. Then he had a ball with the mess, including a few bites of cake frosted with dog hair. He also liked watching his sister and friends open his presents, even though he barely got a chance to play with them because of the stiff competition.

However, he's been sick for 6 days now: 3 days of 101-102 fever, and now a very loud rash on his head and torso. He has been clinging to me the whole time which is giving me callouses on my hips and arms. The upside though, is that he's sleeping more, and his laundry is very clean since he doesn't want to be alone long enough to crawl! Times like these, we wish we had a doctor around, but we've used our medical books and think he has 5th or 6th disease, which is just an ordinary virus that just has to wear itself out.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

2007-12-23T23:38:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share these two photos of our African Christmas. Here is Tessa honing her fine cookie-making skills. She wasn't too handy with cutting and decorating but got an A+ at licking.

And I finally got my act together and made our family stockings from scraps of fabrics I've used to make curtains, bedding, upholstery, etc. Both Tessa's and Jack's stockings are made with the fabrics I used to make their quilts. I think it will be fun many years from now to remember how I've used these fabrics through our house. Thanks to my Aunt Lynn and her sewing machine, our stockings also have our names!

Due to slim pickings on small gifts in these parts, our stockings will probably be kind of limp tomorrow morning, but I doubt Jack and Tessa will mind when they see all the presents under the tree. Plus, Tessa likes wearing hers as a hat, and we can probably use Jack's as a sleeping bag!

Christmas tree

2007-12-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

Several of you asked to see our little fake Christmas tree, so here it is. Some of the gourds are carved, while others are wrapped in a net of beads. The painting behind the tree is one that my mom painted. I wrapped the chairs and tree stand in African fabric.

We'll be here as a family of 4 Christmas morning, opening presents and stockings, with Christmas music in the background and pumpkin bread. We're sharing the afternoon with Australian friends, for whom warmth is normal on Christmas day so they do a BBQ. Two Wycliffe families (our good Dutch friends and a new family), new to our cluster, will also be joining us.

Christmas here definitely feels more like Bible times with the heat and the lack of commercialism. No gaudy decorations everywhere, no ads in the papers, no commercials for the newest toys, no malls or parking problems - just family and friends, presents and food. And heat. :) It's nice not to be innundated with materialistic side of Christmas. And if the internet is working then we'll try to call home on Skype, which would be very special for us and our families.

Tanzanian Thanksgiving Turkey

2007-12-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving here a bit more traditionally than we ever did in the States in that our table was spread with produce from local gardens and a FRESH turkey. Yes, Dusty went to some great effort to find a turkey, and fortunately we paid a local man about $3 to get it "presentable." I tried to get there to take a photo of the bird before he met his maker, but I was just a few seconds late. I told them I was hoping to take a live photo, so the man kindly offered to put the head back on! How funny is that? Anyway, that bird was a tasty treat for us in a place where turkey is definitely not common. About 15 missionaries all came together to share the holiday and we all pitched in to pay the $65 price tag, and let me tell you, it was well worth it, but I think we'll just stick with some roast chickens for Christmas.

Kenya Weekend

2007-12-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a little mini-vacation in Kenya at a beautiful cottage retreat in the only rain forest in Kenya. The highlights were rolling around in the lush grass, kicking the ball with the kids, watching the blue monkey and colobus monkeys play, eating great food prepared by someone other than myself, and having nothing on the agenda.

The lowlights were Jack vomiting all over himself and the car seat
on the drive up (great entertainment for all the locals who gathered to
watch us clean up), a very stressful shopping trip in the city for 6
months' of supplies (isn't shopping supposed to be fun??), a bumpy
detour, and money issues since our bank was bought and trouble ensued
(but it worked out and is getting resolved).

We'll be staying home for Christmas, so this was a nice pre-holiday
vacation. We've decorated the house a bit with a real fake tree and
African carved gourd ornaments which are pretty cool. We're playing
Christmas music, making something resembling cider, and wrapping gifts,
but with the warm weather it's still a challenge to realize this is
actually the Christmas season although we never miss all the commercialization that you are surely getting.

So here's a "warm" season's greeting from Africa: Merry Christmas to all of you, our family and friends - we sure wish we could celebrate with you this year but will eagerly anticipate seeing you in '08.

Who's in your yard?

2007-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of our African backyard wildlife. Here are two of our visitors. Our Rottweiler, Ellie, drew our attention to both of these guys. We only saw the chameleon once, but had some fun watching him change colors and separately move his eyeballs simultaneously in all directions. The monitor lizard, who is about 3 feet plus the tail, comes around all the time and drives Ellie nuts.

We've also had the occasional monkey, hedgehog, rabbit, and a regular band of banded mongeese who keep the snakes away. Plus scorpions, gorgeous butterflies, and icky slugs and bugs. The strangest thing was finding a fish in our grass when Lake Victoria is about a mile away! How did it get there? Dropped by our permanent hawks who occasionally let half a snack slip their talons. So although we don't see giraffes, elephants, and rhinos wandering around every day, we do get some pretty fun animals to remind us that we're not in America.

kuni (firewood)

2007-11-06T09:33:00.001-08:00

You might remember seeing Tessa carrying her dolly on her back the same way Rose, our househelper, carries Jack. Well, here's the most recent development on raising our little African-Americans. Rose came out to gather firewood with her daughter and neighbor, which they use for cooking between 3 rocks holding the pot. Tessa watched as I took photos to show all you great folks at home who buy neat bundles of firewood at the local grocery store and toss them in an SUV for cozy evenings by the fireplace. (and wouldn't I love to join you on a chilly evening?)

Anyway, the next thing I know Tessa's doing a bit of her own gathering, and by the look on her face, she's still trying to figure out how they do it. Me too! It's amazing to see huge buckets of water, benches, or trays of fish or fruit all balanced on someone's head! Then again, I've actually seen one lady with just a bar of soap on her head - now I think even I could manage that one. My favorite is seeing someone with a roller suitcase on the head - isn't that what the wheels are for?!

Boga-lantern

2007-11-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

Tessa and her buddy Micaiah learned the fine art of pumpkin carving on Halloween. We don't have orange pumpkins though, so we used a regular green one but Micaiah's mama painted hers orange! The girls had a great time watching and participating and even Jack got in on the action. In Swahili, pumpkin is "boga," and Tessa came up with two terms for a jack-o-lantern: boga-lantern and jacko-boga. Pretty cool, eh? She's good with Swanglish or maybe just confused by her brother's oft-used name.

One odd thing was that I actually felt guilty for wasting a pumpkin, which I would ordinarily use for cooking pumpkin bread, soup, muffins, and baby food. I never would have felt guilty making a jack-o-lantern in the States! But I never would have used anything but canned pumpkin either. Also, after a few days, it grew mold and fruit flies - ugh. Never saw that in the States either.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and got some funny looks from our African friends.

Time for a new kid already?

2007-10-29T11:26:00.001-07:00

Now, don't get your hopes up by the title - I'm not pregnant. But I've just discovered a new Tanzanian folkloric anecdote. Our friend Rose saw Jack (10 months) sucking his toes this week. She told me that here, when a baby starts sucking his toes, then it's time for the mother to get pregnant again! Her mother got pregnant with Rose's younger sister when Rose was only 7 months old. Yikes! Particularly considering that he was sucking his toes at 5 months. Not to fear - we're not sold on this tradition.

Other families keep their kids 2 to 3 years apart, in other words for as long as the youngest is still nursing. We won't be sticking to that tradition either - no, I'm not making any statements about subsequent children - just saying that I don't think Jack will be nursing for 3 years!

What to do with a flag?

2007-10-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

I went to our little used clothing market to get some fabric to recover a chair some friends gave us, and came home with a much unexpected item. Isn't shopping like that? This is a 9'x5' flag (folded in half in the photo). I just couldn't believe that a huge American flag was randomly in our little market. It was pining for a new home and suffering a lack of appreciation and respect. I was trying to tell the sellers that I couldn't possibly use it and that they would never sell it to anyone here so I could get a good price on it. I don't think they really understood what they had. Anyway, this flag was just so sad and lonely that I had to rescue it. For five bucks!

Now the question is, what do I do with it? It's got a few rust stains, but is in good condition otherwise. It's too big for any of our walls, and I would never be so blatently American as to hang it from a pole in our yard - that wouldn't be too appreciated here. I could use it to make a quilt - denim on one side and flag on the back, but should I feel guilty for using it on a bed, particularly if I have to cut it up? So I need your creative thoughts. Help!!

Rare Photo of 4

2007-10-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo for the archives: all 4 of us smiling. Our next effort will be to get one in which all four of us are smiling AND looking at the camera. Wish us luck. We make a special effort to get into the backyard on weekends and throw the frisbee or baseball and hang out in our hammock. It makes us feel a bit more American.

What's new with the Hills

2007-10-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I blogged because:
-We've been busily blessed with guests - one in Sept, and 2 in Oct. It was especially wonderful to host our good friends, Andy and Lyle from Denver. They got the real African treatment with days of no Internet, water, or electricity. But they also got to see almost all the African animals on their one-day safari. In Tanzania, guests are ALWAYS considered a blessing, and we've converted to that style of thinking.
-I was sick half of September with a cold and am now apparently shooting to be sick for half of October with a different cold.
-Our Internet has been insufficient to say the least.

Here's an update:
-My head has completely healed since the bump-removal surgery!
-Tessa is basically potty-trained except for diapers during sleep times!
-Jack has his first tooth and matching crankiness. My friend found it before I did, which gave me a "Bad Mom Moment." I'm over it though.
-We hoped we had entered rainy season, but I think we were wrong. It's been pretty dry.
-I'm having my first African dress made from African fabric in a local style for the office opening celebration. Photo to be posted later (if it's a winner). I'm a bit nervous.
-Dusty's extremely excited about the CO Rockies going to the World Series. That is an understatement. It would be impossible to describe how he feels. Especially since I am not him. He's really hoping the Internet will hold out so he can wake up at 3:30 in the mornings to listen to some games. Even I am happy for the Rockies, and that's impressive right there.

Tagged

2007-10-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been tagged by three or four friends, but as they were different topics, I'm just choosing one. (Tagging is apparently where someone writes a predetermined list and then chooses other blogging friends to do the same.) I am choosing the "8 Random Things About Me" tag without tagging anyone else.
1. I SCUBA dive with Dusty when we can - pretty rare these days as we can't so much as dip a toe in Lake Victoria.
2. I only have 24 teeth.
3. I own the World's Only Miniature Rottweiler (full grown at 50 pounds although her parents were both over 90).
4. I am secretly sentimental/nostalgic.
5. I never expected to be a career missionary.
6. I may never master the 16 noun classes in Swahili. The 2 in Spanish were more than enough for me.
7. I really enjoy gardening, but can't seem to do anything with seeds.
8. My favorite sound is Tessa and Jack laughing at the same time.

Tanzanian Style

2007-08-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

This is how Tanzanian women carry their children. Tessa has learned this art far better than I have. She and her friend Micaiah are fond of keeping their baby dollies close by. (lack of clothing waist down is due to our "go for broke - naked bottom week" potty training technique. See post below.)

I tried to carry Jack as Rose is doing here, but Jack seems to be happy in front or back, and I really didn't like it when I tried him on my back and he spit up down my spine. I think I'll just stick with my Baby Bjorn front carrier, even if Tanzanians think it is strange.

Little Spooner

2007-08-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, it's true. Even Jack has mastered the fine art of nose spooning! Let's all congratulate his newest milestone. See below for Tessa's spoon photo. She has moved up to the soup spoon, so we're proud of her too.

Potty Time

2007-08-27T04:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we're only officially training one of them on the potty, but the other is just there for entertainment. We're entering the 2nd week of training, and it's actually going pretty well. I never knew we could be so consumed in this type of activity, but I have to remind myself that we are teaching her a major life skill. Plus, this stage makes me thankful for our concrete floors!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good photo of when Tessa and her friend Micaiah decided to wear the potties as hats. Fortunately, they were clean at the time!