Off They Go

My Mom and Al left this evening.  Their departure was very sad and I feel down at the moment.  Their visit was was wonderful, though.  Please pray for them as they begin their long journey home. 

PS Before they left, Al took a few family photos for us. Here are a couple of them...

Safari

On Thursday, my Mom and Al went on a safari.  You can’t go all the way to Africa and not go on one.  They just went on a day safari and came back the same evening.  George went with them.  It was too much driving for Eli so the two of us stayed home. 

Eli and I had a great day together.  We started the day by making mandazis(dough nuts) to give to our neighbors.  Eli is getting so good at sitting and entertaining himself, that I can plop  him on the floor while I get stuff done.

The others went on a safari with a neighbor of ours.  He runs a safari company and was willing to take them cheaply.  Since our husbands were off having fun, I went to their house to visit with his wife.  They have a three month old baby, who is adorable.  We had a nice time chatting and exchanging baby stories.

Then Eli and I headed to town.  His new stroller is really nice to walk with.  He loves to ride in it and would do it for hours if he could.  As we walked, we encountered a group of kids.  They may have been from an orphanage.  They were delighted to encounter a mzungu and her baby.  They walked and talked with us for a while.  I was excited to be able to communicate with them with my limited Kiswahili.  I asked if they were going to school and they told me no, they were going home.  I asked where their home was and they pointed out their street.  When we reached their street they left us and we proceeded to the grocery store.  We picked up a few things and headed home where we got dinner ready for George, Mom and Al.  I knew they would be hungry when they got home. 

They arrived home, tired, but full of stories from their fun day.  It was a good day for all!

Church with the Family

On Sunday, we went to church.  Due to our Kenya trip, we missed the previous two Sundays so this was their first chance to see where we are working now.  I come from a fairly conservative church background and was a little worried Mom and Al may be overwhelmed at church.  People here are more boisterous in their singing, prayers and sermons.  It took me a while to get used to it.  My Mom and Al did great, though, and had a nice time I think.  It was an atypical Sunday as the youth (Jr High through twenties) had an overnight camp at another church.  It was smaller and quieter than usual.  Since my Mom and Al leave on Tuesday, this was their only chance to see our Tanzanian church family.  I wish we had more time at church but I am glad they got to meet them, even if for a little bit.

Caches and Fiestas

Saturday was Al’s birthday celebration.  His actual birthday was Sunday, but we threw a little Mexican Fiesta a day early.  Earlier in the day, the boys (George, Al and Eli) went out on an adventure.  They went off in search of a Geo Cache.  Ever heard of that?  It’s a fun, free treasure hunt using GPS devices.  Small items called cashes are hidden all over the world.  It’s a great way to get outdoors and find new places.  Al looked up caches in Moshi and one was about a half a mile from our house.   

Their search was successful.  The found the cache and signed the logbook hidden inside. 

While they were gone, my Mom and I began prepping for the fiesta.  We made tortillas from scratch.  I messed up on the recipe a bit and we ended up making 25!  Then we made tortilla chips from some of the tortillas.  Next came ground beef, salsa and guacamole.  Beans were already cooking in the crock pot since morning.

Once the guys came home and Eli went to bed, we began the party.  With no power.  Gotta love Tanzania power!   

Fortunately it came on later in the evening and Al got to blow out the candles we lit during the outage.

  Al got outfitted in African gear and then we enjoyed a cool, cake.

It was a fun day!  Happy Birthday Al!

Swimming

On Wednesday, we took Mom and Al to one of our favorite places: the YMCA.  It's a short walk from our house and has a swimming pool.  We have only swam two other times and were excited about going again.  Eli LOVES swimming.  He really enjoys splashing around and playing in the water.  We had a lot of laughs taking under water photos taken by their water proof camera.  I'll save those if I need to blackmail them in the future, but for now here are a few cute ones...

New Hair Style

There is a new hair style happening here.  It’s the latest craze.  What do you think?

Cake

On Tuesday, we were invited to our neighbor’s house to celebrate their daughter’s second birthday.  They asked us to join them for cake.  When we got there, Vero, their daughter, cut the cake and passed it around to each person, feeding them with a bite.  As we were about to leave (it was past Eli’s bedtime), they invited us to eat with them.  We declined due to Eli’s fussiness so they packed some food for us.  They sent over a large piece of the cake.  The cake was the lower half of a baby.  It was just the bottom (in a dress) and the feet curled under.  The portion we got was a chunk with a foot on it!  It was funny to see a baby’s foot on our table.

I love African hospitality.  It was fun for my Mom and Al to see how it works.  Nothing is planned.  Just a last minute invite through the fence and a “sure, that would be nice” response.  Then you are offered lots of food and drinks.  It’s an honor for the host that we come as well as an honor for us to be invited.  Now it’s our turn to reciprocate!