World Cup

The World Cup has taken over our house! It's huge all over the world, except in the US, I think. Does anyone care about the World Cup, or soccer in general for that matter, in the US? I know I didn't while I was there. The last time I watched soccer was four years ago when I was in Kenya and the World Cup was happening in South Africa. It was fun to watch it with people who enjoy it. I found myself getting into it a bit. This time around, George has been watching it in the evenings, but I haven't really been paying attention to the games.

I was caught by surprise when I got a call from a missionary friend here in Moshi (the one who leads the playground ministry) saying "George invited us on Facebook over to watch the US game tonight, was he joking or can we come?" I laughed and said, "sure, we'll be home. Come over." So she came with her kids and a friend and we all watched the game together.

It was really fun! We all complained about the players when they fell down and exaggerated injuries in order for a penalty to be called and most of us cheered team USA on wholeheartedly (I won't name the team Germany supporters. Rhymes with Schmorge). What I love about soccer is the time. 90 minutes of play, no time outs for out of bound balls or penalties. Just a few minutes added to the game for injuries. Much better than American football where 60 minutes of play takes over three hours. The World Cup is cool because it brings people together. I love things like that. It was really nice to have people over for an impromptu, stress free soccer party.

Go Team USA! (By the way, we lost the match, but moved on to the next round.)

Send Off

Two Saturdays ago, one of the ladies in our church, Edita, got married. I was so happy as she has had a very difficult life. Several years ago, her husband died after they had been married only a few months and several months later, she delivered a baby who died shortly after. Despite all this, she has remained so strong in the Lord and Jesus truly shines through her. She is a hard worker and faithfully serves at the church. Tanzanians celebrate marriage with two ceremonies: the send off and the wedding. The wedding is held on a Saturday and is thrown by the groom's family. It occurs usually where his family is from. The send off is for the bride. It is thrown by the bride's family on the Thursday before the wedding. It signifies her family sending her off to get married.

This was our first send off, so I was excited to go and see what happens. It was scheduled to start at 1:00pm. I was bummed because we would have to go late, after Eli woke up from his nap. I didn't want to miss anything. However, I had nothing to worry about. Why do I always forget that I am in Africa? They don't run on American time. When we arrived at 3:00pm, Edita wasn't there, nor were many of the guests. They didn't come until 4:30! Can you imagine arriving for a party (especially a wedding) and it started three and a half hours late?! Well, that's typical here. So, we didn't miss the beginning, but now we would miss the end because we had to leave by 6:00 to put Eli to bed. What I did see and experience was very neat.


While we waited, Eli got to hang out with the kids gathered to watch the event.



Here are my guys all dressed up.



The send off occurred at our church. The team really transformed the place. Weddings and send offs are put on by a committee. Committees are composed of friends and family of the bride and groom. It is their job to raise money for the event and plan everything.



Edita arrived and looked so beautiful. I struggled to hold back happy tears for her. When she arrived, she was followed by a band who played as the wedding party danced around the car.



Once they all danced down the isle, Edita and her sister took their places of honor.



The wedding is about the bride and groom, but the send off is all about the bride.

The ceremony began with a song and a brief teaching from the Bible. Then the church leaders were called forward to pray for her.



Next were some of the traditional ceremonies. First Edita’s parents were brought forward to be wrapped in a blanket, given by the grooms family. This signifies them being left with something to keep them warm after their daughter leaves.



Next, Edita’s brother gave her to the groom’s family.



Last, Edita was covered with material to show she would be taken care off and accepted by the groom and his family.



It was at about this time that we needed to leave. I didn’t want to, but we try to avoid Eli’s tired meltdowns when possible! Pastor Zac told me, “You have to wait for the cake. It’s coming.” I thought, “Cake… yes, I will wait for that!” Well, I was in for a surprise. A traditional cake in the Kilimanjaro region is a roasted goat…. Served whole!



After the cake, something fun happened. The groom made an appearance. He was hidden somewhere in the crowd. Edita had to walk around and find him, then offer him a gift. It was cute.



Right before we tried to leave, Redemta said you have to eat first. Although it wasn’t the dinner portion of the ceremony, she snuck me a plate from the buffet line. The food was delicious - beef stew and rice, cabbage, potatoes and more. We scarfed it down before heading home.



After we left, I was told they did gifts (when people came forward to give their presents to Edita) followed by dinner. I loved being there to celebrate with Edita. I kept looking at her, wondering what she was thinking. Perhaps, she was reflecting on the last time she did this (with her first husband), thinking that would be her only time and then being so thankful to God for bringing her someone else. I don’t know, but it was a joyous occasion.



(The bride and groom, in purple, addressing the crowd.)

The Day Cheese Comes to Town

You guys are so good to go through the ups and downs of our lives and ministry with us. I am so grateful I can share the hardships and I love when something joyful happens that I can tell you about too. Due to our location, there are many comforts of home (both US and Kenyan) that we have to live without. However, once a month, a little piece of heaven on earth arrives in the one big grocery store in Moshi. You want to know what it is?

CHEESE!!!!!

I never considered myself a cheese junkie until I left the US and rarely got to eat it. It is not something East Africans eat so it's hard to find. Stores with imported goods may have European cheeses, but they are very expense and not to my liking. I like simple mild cheddar or jack cheese. There is one brand in Kenya, Raka, that is awesome. It's expensive so I only got it as a special treat while we were in Kenya. I was thrilled when I saw it in our store here. Unfortunately (or fortunately for our wallet and health!), it only comes once a month and there are maybe 15 packages of cheese. Once it's gone, it's gone until the next delivery, one month away. And word spreads quickly that it has arrived. If you don't catch it the day off or the day after it arrives, you lose out. That means that you could go months without it if you don't happen to be at the store when it gets there.

So, I go three to four months without having any cheese. But, man, when I do, it's awesome. Oh the fun I have with cheese! Mostly it brings out my Mexican (food) side. I love to make quesadillas, burritos, chicken tacos, nachos, etc. I will also put it on eggs and burgers and will have special snacks of cheese and crackers. Eli loves cheese day too. I love to see him embrace his California side with a lunch of quesadillas, guacamole and salsa. He also loves to eat pieces of cheese with a snack. George (who hates it) doesn't understand how excited we get over cheese!



I would love to buy all the cheese and freeze it, but it would be way too expensive! So, we cherish it while we have it. I don't even ration it, I just go for it and cook with it until it's gone.

I love the day cheese comes to town!

22 Months

Eli's speech continues to grow by leaps and bounds. He is putting words together and starting to speak in full sentences. I first noticed this when he said “ Nala's chasing buggies.” I looked outside, and sure enough, Nala was chasing bugs around the yard. Eli is quick to remember when we correct his speech. He used to say “hold it” when he wanted to be held. We would say “hold me” when he said that and eventually he corrected it. Now he deliberately says “hold. Me.” I can see how much he is concentrating on saying it right. Some words I let slide. He calls “chipmunks” “me-munks.” I don’t care if he says “me-munks” forever!

He is learning more and more Swahili, although he speaks mostly in English. One of the greetings in Kiswahili is “Shikamoo” which is something to say to someone older than you as a sign of respect. We have been teaching Eli this and today outside of our gate, he said it unprompted to a little girl passing by. She laughed and said “marahaba” (the response by the younger person). It was so funny. He is now starting to say “thank you” (or “asante”) unprompted as well which melts my heart.

Eli remains very friendly and loves to see people. He knows the names of all our friends, neighbors and acquaintances. His memory never ceases to amaze me. We were looking at photos on my camera and there was one of him with kids at church. So I said, “church” and he said “no, Edita's party.” He was right! We were at church, but it was for a party for Edita (more details in another blog).

Eli cracks us up all the time. One time I was on the couch and asked him to come so I could change his diaper. He promptly sat down in a corner near he was playing and said “time out.” Ha! He put himself in time out rather than get his diaper changed!

Here are photos from the last month...

I used to have to wait to do certain chores until he was sleeping, but now he can come along and “help.” He loves to sweep and clean. Laundry is especially fun for him.



He likes to be a big, independent boy. Pushing the shopping cart is very exciting for him.



He was fascinated by the fridge repair man. I had to banish him to a chair after he continually invaded the repair man's personal space.



His hair is out of control. We have no idea what to do with it. It's all different lengths. Some curly, some straight. We have tried to put spray in it to bring out the curls. Combing it doesn't work well. He twists his hair at night so we have had to cut off some ends that got badly tangled. I am tempted to shave it and start fresh, but George would kill me.



Eli loves time with Dad. He loves to go on errands with him and follow him around the house.



He is so social and loves to play with kids.



This is our neighbor, Wahida (Ida, for short). They love to play together. She is the cutest little thing.



It has been cold here so he has had to bundle up. Here he is wearing a pair of slipper socks I bought in high school! Those things are the best!



Eli is very sneaky. One morning as I was getting breakfast ready, I noticed he was very quiet. He had found lotion and taken it onto the porch to play with. Fortunately, I discovered this before he squirted any out. When he saw me he said “Bye Mama!” which is what he says when he wants to be left alone to his mischief.



Don't even think about taking these shoes away!

Car Accident

One of the toughest things we have had to deal with over the last two weeks was a car accident. George was stopped on one of the main roads waiting to turn when he was slammed from behind by a matatu that was racing another matatu. A matatu is a 13 passenger van used for public transportation. They are they cheapest and most commonly used form of transportation for the average person here. Usually they are packed with people, way over the capacity. On one ride we were on, there were 27 people shoved in there. It did not make for a comfortable ride, especially since I was very pregnant with Eli at the time. Fortunately, the accident happened at night when the matatu had only one person plus the driver in it. The impact was so huge that the matatu was totaled. Our car had a damaged rear bumper, rear tail light and smashed side of the car, near the back. We are so thankful for our strong car. It really protected George from serious injury and further damage to the car. George came out of it with a sore back, neck and lingering headache.

As if the trauma of the accident wasn't enough, a lot of drama happened after. First, the driver of the matatu fled. Later when the police showed up, he returned, but told a bunch of lies saying the accident was George's fault. However, there were over 20 witnesses that supported George. The accident occurred were there were many taxis and the drivers saw it all. Second, the driver was overheard attempting to bribe the police. This is a common occurrence. Many times whoever is the highest bidder gets the police report in their favor. As a foreigner, George was susceptible to unfair proceedings. Since the accident occurred at night, the police told everyone to take the cars to the police station and return in the morning for the investigation and final findings.

The next morning, George went back with all of our documents (insurance, registration, etc) and spent all day at the police station. This time, the driver had a different story, accusing George of bribing the police (something we would never do), as it looked like he would be found at fault. His exact words were “there is no justice for the poor man.” Which was hurtful because we are advocates for people in need and we (and he) knew he was lying. The owner of the matatu showed up and it was determined he had fake insurance. He announced that since he had no insurance and his car was a total loss, he would not be paying for our repairs. He fired the driver and said if we wanted our repairs to be paid, we would have to go after the driver. Why the police didn't hold the owner accountable for lack of insurance, we don't understand.

The police told George the only way to proceed was to arrest the driver and take him to court to cover our damages. At this point, the driver's wife showed up, crying, begging George for mercy. Her husband had lost his job and they could not afford to pay for him to be in jail or for our car to be fixed. She (and the driver now) begged George to forgive him and let him be released from prosecution and liability. What was George to do? This was a very poor man, struggling to support his family. Now he lost his job. Even if we went forward with the court case, there was nothing to get from him. He would sit in jail until his family could pay the debt. Yes, it was his fault, but after prayer, George decided to let them go. We can only pray and hope that this will be a lesson in forgiveness and making wise decisions (no reckless driving) for the driver. It was a lesson for us as well. We did nothing wrong and now we had to deal with the aftermath of his mistakes. After he said hurtful things, letting him go was hard. However, we felt it was right to leave justice in God's hands. It took me a few days to process it all and deal with those emotions.

So, we were left with a smashed car. The good thing about fixing a car in Tanzania is it can be done very cheaply. A Few to several hundred vs several thousand in the US. They are very skilled at repairing parts instead of replacing them. Now we have our car back, but the unexpected cost of fixing it really hurt. (Plus, the day after our car was done being fixed, the battery died and we had to replace it. Man, it seems like it's always something!) However, we are very aware it could have been worse. We are praising the Lord for keeping George safe and that no one was seriously injured. We have to believe He has a reason for allowing this to happen.

Getting Back

Goodness, it has been so long since I have blogged. I am sorry about that. The truth is, I have just been exhausted, physically and mentally and by the end of the day, haven't had energy to stay caught up on blogging or emails. Please forgive me if you are waiting for a response. I will respond soon! The good news is that we have recovered from a terrible flu that has been going around. Eli had it, then I got it pretty bad. We just have a little lingering chest congestion, but are fine otherwise.

The reason for the exhaustion is a story for another blog, soon to come. Basically, we continued to get slammed. Things just keep happening to us that have left us feeling tired and discouraged. We have been relying on the Lord to get us through each day. It seems like everyday, more bad news comes or something happens to try to knock us down. We have been thankful that God has sustained us.

Over the last few days, though, I have been feeling convicted that surviving the storm isn't enough. I have been drawing my strength from the Lord, but still have felt burdened and discouraged. I have realized that not only can I survive the storm, but thrive in it. I can still radiate with joy despite the hard times. So, that is my goal, not to give in to the blues, but to let God's peace show in me through being upbeat and joyful.

So, that is my goal, to not just get through the day, but to be hopeful and joyful. It takes practice. Having the desire to do it and actually doing it is another thing. It will take a constant renewing of my mind when I am tempted to feel down in the dumps, frequent turning my thoughts and worries over to the Lord.

Stay tuned as I get you caught up on stuff here. Thanks for your patience and prayers during the silence.