The Traveling Family

Hey, Its Good to be Back Home Again!

Dar Es Salaam & trip preparation

We did arrive safely in Dar on Wednesday evening! It was a bus ride that we thought would never end. I struggled with feeling sick quite a bit because no front seats were available. Finally, I had felt bad long enought and got someone to trade me up closer to the front. It was dark when we arrived and had to get a taxi to the YMCA. When we arrived we found out that there was actually no reservation according to the grumpy lady at the desk but she said she might be able to find us room. It took forever to get checked in it seemed like but finally we had our 2 rooms with 4 single beds between them. Dar is very hot and muggy and if it wasn't for the ceiling fans in the rooms I might have had to stand in the cool shower all night. When it is that hot you are up at the crack of dawn and ready to get out into some fresh air. The very grumpy desk lady said there would probably be no room for us Thursday night so we began to look for a hotel and found one. We spent the rest of the morning visiting the pharmacy to get malaria meds and cough medicine for Bella. Then we went to the medical suppy store and picked up the malaria test kits to take home. After that I went to the Ethiopian airlines office to check on flight times and we do leave here 30 minutes earlier but I don't think it affects the DC to Seattle flight. I had to request vegetarian meals for my family and I tried to do it for the group but they would not let me without proof of their tickets. We accomplished everything by walking around downtown and managed not to get lost and found everything easily. 

We were able to move to our new accomodations by noon and then we were off to the local wood craft market to see them work and to pick up a few keepsakes. The day flew by and before we knew it we were at the bus terminal waiting for the Tall family to arrive and the bus was over an hour late. We had tried to call the YWCA to leave a message for them but they would not let me so we had to go to the bus to make sure they arrived and to let them know where we were. They looked like what we felt like when we finally got off the bus! So happy to get off that rotten bus! My family found a Thai restaurant last night and we ate some of the best authentic thai food ever.

This morning we ate breakfast and then headed out to slip way to boat out to Bongoyo Island, which is a marine park just off the mainland. We met up with the Tall's at slipway (about a 15 minute taxi ride) and all boarded the boat. That boat was so slow and it took us 45 minutes to get to the island that looked 10 minutes away. The channel we crossed had many swells and I was wanting off that boat. The beach was very nice with white sand and the snorkeling was pretty decent. I saw some puffer type fish, several trumpet fish, a couple fish that I don't know what they were, many small fish in large schools, and some angel type fish. The kids all had a blast and many seashells were found. mat spotted a whole bunch of eels in one lagoon area and that was very neat to see. The water felt like a hot tub in spots and then would get cooler in some other places. We stayed out there 2 hours and I am baked like a fresh boiled lobster. As we were leaving the Island I mentioned that we all were going to be burned again and the men said we all looked okay. About and hour back at slipway and I could see and feel it on myself and could see it on the kids. We all had used sunscreen but we still burned. We had a good day and made more preparations for getting home. The kids are chomping at the bit to get home, especially since the hotel we are at has christmas decor everywhere. Well this will pretty much sum up our Africa mission trip and adventure. I will not be blogging on this page again until after I get home. Thank you to all who commented back to us and to all the others that just read and kept up I hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip. There are so many details and many things that I never even mentioned so after I get home I may try to update things.

matema/lake malawi

Thursday & Friday-

We are all out in Matema at Lake Malawi just near the border to Malawi. We left yesterday at 5am and drove for over 7 hours to get here. I have learned though that a 3-4 hour trip automatically means just about double the time. It was a crowded ride out for everyone because we had 23 people crammed into a Land cruiser and a full pickup- some of the boys rode in back of the truck with the canopy on.

The drive was really a pretty one and made the trip worth it. We went through quite a farming belt going over some of the mountains where there was maize, potatoes, bananas, and teas being grown everywhere you looked. The mountains were so green and I am sure they get more rain there too. We made a few stops of course for the cho but mainly for picking up charcoal to cook with, and fruit to have here at the lake. The last hour of the journey was out a dirt road that wasn’t very good but on top of that it was under construction so there were dirt piles everywhere! I have learned that everything is an adventure over here in Africa! We arrived here about 12:30 to the lake which is very nice. The waves roll in just like the ocean does; I guess the lake is something like 500 miles long or more. The little resort here is actually really nice and right on the beach which they keep well maintained. There are palm trees out here and we passed some chocolate trees on the way too. I must say that it is so much hotter here than where we have previously been and that is compounded by the humidity that makes it just a little bit uncomfortable-so we stay in the water a lot. The humidity is not the worst I have been in by far but it will cause you to feel damp all day.

Mat, Hannah, and Bella have had a lot of fun playing in the lake with the other kids. I have to make them get out of the water. Sunday we will all go snorkeling with one of the men that work here-he is taking us out to a good area to see all kinds of tropical fish by dugout canoe. That is the only type of boat that you see on the water is the dugouts that go out daily and the men fish from them. We have met several European people out here and have seen many of them that work at the local mission hospital.

We are really enjoying our time here and it is nice not to have to worry about sharks! Bedtime is rough because it is still so hot and humid it is hard to fall asleep, but at some point during the night it does cool off some. We have little geckos running around our rooms and the kids try to catch them. Steve found a scorpion in their room and he caught it in a plastic bag to show the kids. The girls have been finding shells in the lake and Mat is adding to his list of birds that he has seen.

They sell some crafts here so we have been bartering for some of the ones we like. My kids even go down there alone and barter with the men then they will come running and tell me what a good deal they made and ask for schillings.

I found some very nice little tables here that are all hand carved.

I hope everyone at home is doing well and probably all of you are in the middle of the holiday frenzy. I am so glad to be here and miss that part of it but we miss our family and friends a lot. We are glad that we came so long and have felt that the places we have been has given us a really good experience of how most of the country lives. God bless you all and we will be seeing you soon.

Weekend-

We have been having a very good time here at lake Malalwi (formerly known as lake Nyasa). The kids don’t want to be out of the water very long only for eating and using the bathroom. There has been quite a bit of good snorkeling going on here and we are seeing lots of tropical fish. We all loaded into Memere’s truck and drove down around the end of the lake through some villages and finally the road ran out. These little villages are different than anything we have seen in Tanzania so far. We were introduced to kasava here as well, but let me tell you the smell is a cure all to stop eating cheese! They harvest the kasava, pound it, soak it, let it ferment, then they lay it all out on bamboo mats in the sun to dry. The odor is just nauseating as we walked by on the beach. I can only describe it as a cross between a really strong blue cheese and a rotten cheese, it’s bad!

Several people from the last village made pottery and that was very interesting to see. The pottery was stacked up all over just at the top of the beach. Many women and men load up stacks on top of their heads and then they take off over the mountains to sell it. We are only about 20 miles from Lupalilo, where we were up in the mountains.

Jason noticed right away that these people were not speaking Swahili or Kinga, but he couldn’t pick up on anything they were saying. He is guessing they speak Congolese since many have fled here from the congo or his second guess would Malawi, but he thought he would recognize that. The kids that followed us all the way down the beach numbered about 30 or more. White folks really draw attention over here and they are very curious. Most of them stayed and sat in the shade and watched us snorkel but many of the boys jumped right in the water with us and played their water games. The kids here are very well behaved and more respectful than the other places we have been. They always like to have you show them the pictures you are taking and they think that is great. We saw many different types of tropical fish but I am not sure of any of their names. The colors were so bright and vivid and many of the fish just stayed right near you so you could watch them.

Everyone had a really good time and I had brought along some type of pringle chips that I had found at a more American duka, seaweed, and m&m’s so we all had some snacks on the way back and the kids really liked that. There eyes always light up when something like treats are pulled out and their hands come out very quickly too. It’s nice to be able to share treats with everyone and it makes us very happy to see the kids enjoying them. Several of us are sunburned pretty badly. Chris told Jon that he didn’t burn; the next day Chris looked like a cooked lobster, just boiled. I had to remind him that we are fairly close to the equator and the sun is very intense here. All of my kids are burned; I think Mat is the worst because I have to battle him to stay out of the water. The kids have found some long pieces of logs that they play on in the water and the boys wrestle around. The water is very shallow and stays that way for a long way out so the kids really enjoy the freedom to move about without getting into deep water.

My family went out to the sunset bistro last night for dinner; it is owned by the mission here and a German lady is head cook there. She made us vegetarian pizza that was so good, it tasted better than most stuff we get back home. There was a cabbage salad with many veggies, peas and carrots cooked together and she topped off our meal with a German Christmas cake (it had frosting). The cake reminded me of a chocolate spice cake that my grandma makes; she had put a yummy chocolate frosting on with sprinkles. My kids really liked that and we ate way too much-ended up taking the rest of the cake back to the group to finish it off.

There was a really good lightening show last night over the lake at about 3am. Strikes of lightening would strike straight down at the lake; it was so neat to see. The nights here are very hot and muggy so it is hard to sleep much until later morning when it finally cools down to about 74 degrees. Chris and I stayed out of the water today to let our burns heal up and we tried to limit the kids more as well. Its very relaxing here to just sit on the patio and watch the waves come in.

All day the waves broke hard like the ocean, it was hard to believe that it could be that rough on the lake. I guess there was probably a storm going on down lake causing the rough water. Of course the kids thought it was great that they encountered surfing conditions here at the lake and Mat wished he had a boogie board. The cooks here made us homemade rolls at our request so we all really thought that was a treat for dinner.

Today a man came by selling papaya, coconuts, pineapples, and chocolate fruits. My curiosity was peaked by the chocolate fruits so I bought two of them to try. The man broke one open and showed me how to eat it; it tastes like mango, passion fruit and apples all mixed together. It is definitely a sweet treat and there is not much to eat on it. You eat the little bit of flesh off of the seeds and spit the seeds out. They process chocolate out of the seeds.

The last few evenings we have been holding games of kick the can in the dark. We all have a good time playing with each other. Last night I wore a black t shirt and black pants so they really couldn’t see me at all. Tonight I was laying flat on the beach and I had someone practically jump on me and throw sand in my face in the process. It was Steve and he jumped when I said ouch from the sand hitting me. He said he didn’t know anyone was laying right there. I thought that was funny. Another time I was behind a neighbors cabin and ran into Jonah and we took off running because his dad was it and he was coming for us. We ran around the neighbor’s cabin and I hurt my foot on a rock and was grabbing my foot bent over when he informed me that the man was naked outside on his patio. Well, I was sure glad that I had hit my toe and didn’t have to witness that!

Chris and I walked down today and ordered two cakes for the group for dinner tomorrow. Tomorrow night is our last night here and we head back to Kibidula on Tuesday and stay one night there. My family will be leaving Wednesday morning for Dar Es Salaam on the bus and that is a minimum 8 hour journey back. We have really enjoyed our experience here in Tanzania and hope to come back to Africa again, it is so different from anything else we have done and the people are so friendly.

Monday-

The first day that it rained in the morning and stayed overcast most of the day. I got busy and tried to organize our stuff to be packed up for heading out of here tomorrow morning. Then we made the most of our last day here by playing volleyball, kick the can, dare base, and annie annie over. The kids sure liked learning how to play the last mentioned game. Some of the adults are now suffering from stubbed digits, sore and pulled muscles and just plain tiredness. How can those kids keep going all day long and we get worn out fast. Not much swimming went on today just a short dip here and there. The kids kept asking to play one game after another. Volleyball proved to be a challenge to some since several had never played the game before. So we taught them as we played and by the end of several matches many had picked it right up. I personally have a very tender right wrist after playing volleyball; I think I popped some small vessels there. Tonight as we ran around and played kick the can my legs felt a little sore from all the different moves you make playing volleyball, like digging down and falling in the sand trying to get a ball. This was a very memorable part of our trip and it really made for some good family time that we had been deprived of this trip. There has always been so much to do that time gets away from us everyday but the last few days have been good for the kids.

Today was Emily’s third birthday and she was very happy to receive candy and glow sticks from us as a little gift. Chris and I drove down and picked up the cakes from the German lady (Verayma) and brought them back for supper. Well we literally had cake for dinner which made everyone happy. After we sang happy birthday to Emily we all got to eat the cakes. It was a great way to end our day and our stay here at Matema beach.

Every night we get entertained by many insect sounds. There is the usual crickets chirping but here there are so many that I could never figure them out. They are very loud and then you add in the bats that start chirping as soon as you just fall asleep! It wakes me up every time because they are very loud. Last night there was a bat in our room which apparently had been caught in Hannah’s shatangi. We keep our door open at night for the breeze (we have bug nets here over the beds) and we keep the lights off and just use candles for a short while. So I was attacked by the bat in the dark and it hit the wall then swooshed past my right ear and swooped around and hit into my left shoulder, then it hit the wall just above the door and then out the door it went. Yuck! I would prefer not to have them that close to me and just see them flying around outside at night. We are all settled in for the night and it just started raining and Chris just had to dash out and drag in the clothing racks that had some of our clothes drying on it. We leave after breakfast in the morning for Kibidula and we might be able to make it in 6 hours if we don’t stop to buy things. We will get in there and have just enough time to get packed up for Dar and head to bed.

Tuesday-

We left Matema at 10am and arrived back at Kibidula at 5:30pm. We stopped and ate rice and beans for lunch and had a couple cho stops but other than that it was a long trip home. Going up and over the mountains takes a long time and you gain a lot of elevation. The cooler air was very welcome to everyone packed into the vehicles. There were 14 of us plus the baby on Antoinette’s lap in the land cruiser and the other 10 bodies rode in the truck. We have to pass through several police check points on the highway; most of the time they just wave us through but today 2 of them stopped us and asked Jason some questions then waved us on. Those check points are to watch for smuggling from other countries that border Tanzania.

I have been washing up a little bit of laundry and getting things organized for packing. Chris is heading up the kid bathing department which was sorely needed because the showers at the Lake didn’t work and we had to bath by pouring water bottles over us. So we are happy to have our cold shower back tonight. Anita made us very delicious dinner of broccoli and potato soup with homemade buns and cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots with a cashew ranch sauce. It was so nice of her to feed all of us and it really hit the spot. Well I will try to post when I get to Dar tomorrow but I can’t guarantee that I will be able to.

We are still planning on our original flight time on Sunday which will give us the Monday arrival time that we’ve all planned on. I mention this because I have heard rumors that Ethiopian airlines is known for changing flight times so if and when that happens I will notify you.

Mat playing around at the lake.

Safari!

Monday-

We decided not to leave so early to head to Iringa and left here about 9:30am after breakfast. Steve drove my family out to the main road (17km) and dropped us off with our bags to catch a bus as they come along. We were very fortunate that a bus picked us up only after waiting 10 minutes. It was the Scandinavian bus line, which is the nicest bus line in Tanzania. The bus was clean and not over crowded and the driver and assistant were very nice and didn’t try to rip you off. At first they told us they may only be able to take us to Mafinga which was about a 15 minute ride away and that we would have to take another bus there. Once we pulled into the Mafinga bus depot (if you could call it that) the assistant said to stay sitting and he would see if they would take us all the way to Iringa. Turned out that they could so we had a very nice bus ride and I got to visit with a very nice man from here that spoke good English. Chris, Mat, and Hannah had to sit in the back of the bus where the available seats were and I held Bella on my lap in the front seat. We arrived in Iringa in time to get lunch at the Hasty Tasty which was owned by a British family that served good food. The kids ordered French toast and we tried curry with rice and cheese chapattis and chips. The kids thought it was a treat to get that food and we bought sweet dough’s (donut holes essentially) and fresh apples to eat for breakfast the next morning on our way to the game park. Next we walked across the street to Will’s office (the owner of the campground we were going to stay at) and left our bags so we could go see parts of Iringa town and shop. We went to Neema crafts, which is a place that employs the handicapped and teaches them to makes crafts that they sell. They make paper from elephant dung and all kinds of products from that. Just think some of you back home will be receiving elephant dung gifts! It was a neat place to visit and we asked for a tour and that was so nice to meet the people who were doing all the work. They also had cake and ice cream there so we bought 2 pieces of cake for us 5 to share but we took it with us for later. We spent quite some time shopping around and looking at things and I did manage to buy a few items to take home but you have to be careful and know how to barter. It is nothing like Mexico bartering, it is a whole different system over here. Most of the time you leave empty handed. We headed back to Will’s office and got a ride out to the campsite and got there at 5:15pm. He informed us that dinner would be at 6:30pm so the girls and I took advantage of the HOT showers they offered before supper.  I can’t tell you how good that water felt and I actually felt clean when I was done. We had a good supper and then the rest of our group came rolling in from Kibidula. After dinner Will briefed us all on the safari trip and what to expect and what not to do. Then it was off to bed in our tents for a 4:45am wake up with a 5:45am departure. I should mention that it was a gaited campground with security in a really pretty, peaceful spot that had a little river flowing through it.

Tuesday-

Safari day came very early and it was pretty chilly that early in the morning so no one was just jumping to ride in the open air safari truck. So my family along with Jon and the boys and Steve hopped in and froze most the way to the park. Will had mentioned to us the evening before to go light and wear shorts because the park would be hot. He said take a light rain jacket if anything so we didn’t have anything warm to put on for the ride up. The sun was at our backs as it came up so it couldn’t penetrate the sides of the vehicle much. As we finally got close to the park about 2 ½ hours into our trek we started to unthaw and we also started seeing animals so that took our minds off the fact that we were cold. Poor Hannah just froze the whole way up there and had a hard time warming up.

We arrived at the gate by hour number 3 and had to fill out paper work and get a permit to enter the park. The man at the gate was very inebriated and had a hard time thinking and doing our processing. It didn’t help that off to the side you had an armed park ranger standing and staring at you (turned out later that he was very nice) with a huge rifle. Well we finally made it through all that stuff and we were off into the park to see the wild animals of Tanzania. We all really had a good time and saw plenty of animals and birds (too many to list here), unfortunately we saw no buffalo or any of the cats. We were told later that 2 weeks ago there were lions everywhere but that once the rains start they fade back and you don’t see them as much. Oh well, we were so happy for everything we did see and the whole safari experience. There is so much to tell it will have to wait until we get home. After lunch we switched rigs and boy was that nice. The other vehicle was a traditional Land Rover that you could stand up through the openings in the top to see. The view was much better and the breeze kept you much cooler. Mat spotted so many birds up there and all the kids just a fun together spotting animals. We left the park at 5:15pm and flew for home and arrived at the campsite by 8:30pm to a late supper that we all had a hard time eating because we were so tired. Everyone else went right to bed but Chris and I walked up and down the road for about a ½ hour just to stretch our legs and get the blood flowing after sitting all day. We had asked will about a horse back riding trip and he said that we could just go out to his brothers farm and go riding so we said okay for the next day.

Wednesday-

We actually slept well and woke up by 7am to get going for the day. We packed up everything and a rig came to collect us to go riding about 9:15am and took us out to meet Victoria. The rest of the group headed up to Iringa town to do their shopping and we would meet up later (sort of). Well the entire horse adventure is one my girls will talk about for a long time. Mat didn’t want to ride and so we told him he could bird watch on their property. They owned over 1200 acres and it was just beautiful and the birds were everywhere. Meanwhile Chris and I and the girls went with Victoria to catch our horses up out in the pasture. The girls horses seemed okay and they were able to lead them by themselves but my horse immediately started biting the lead line and then would stand stiff like a mule and not move. I could see we had a few things to iron out right away or the ride might not be that good. I turned around as Chris came leading his mare up and I said “Chris, she has her hears pinned tight and she is trying to bite you”! So he turned around and tried to correct her but she spun and kicked out at him fast and missed him by 12 inches. His eyes were pretty big and I told V what she had done so she took over the leading bit and mentioned the mare was terrible on the ground but great to ride. Does that make anyone want to ride her? We led them all up to the paddock area and began brushing them out and picking there feet. The she said she would not ride and would lead both the girls’ horses, which made me start to think that maybe they weren’t kids horses after all? Then she began telling me all about the spirited 6 year old gelding I was going to be riding and what a clown he was and that set off some reasoning in my mind about what was really transpiring here. So I went up to her and said that I didn’t feel comfortable with her trying to lead both my girls and said I would lead one and put  Jupiter (that clown of a horse) back to pasture and I know I made the right decision. I have learned over the years that what some people deem as a good riding horse I would never consider one at all. Since it was a thrill for the girl’s to ride the Australian stock horses I felt it was safer for each child to have an adult on hand to lead and to help. Chris got to ride the mean mare and did fairly well on her but she had many bad habits and tested him over and over again for the entire ride. Hannah ended up being able to ride Papillion alone with V just walking beside her at most of the time and I led Bella on Apollo probably 2/3 of the way and she was able to ride him with me walking beside for the last 1/3 back. Hannah really did a good job handling that horse and I had to iron out a few kinks with Apollo, like him trying repeatedly to bite the person leading him or at times he would walk into me. After several rope slaps and pushing him back I was getting pretty tired of his disrespectful behavior. Then V announced that they could trot the horses and Bella said that she wanted me to keep him on line so I said okay. I had just coaxed Apollo into a trot when I felt my hair being pulled and realized that he was trying to bite me but just got my hair (all slobbered up) but that was the last straw and I nailed that horse good. Once he understood what I meant he was like a dog in my pocket, I was able to take her off lead and he would follow me wherever I went but of course he stayed out of my space. There was one fiasco with the siafu ants that sent the horses into a frenzied freak out session. Try to picture Bella’s horse prancing  around me all the while stomping and kicking out while crow hopping his rear up and down to get those ants off. I was able to keep his head turned toward me and I reached up and jerked Bella off and told her to get far away as the horse continued this show. I was trying to swat the ants off as I could because they do bite very hard and they won’t let go! Then I realized that Hannah’s horse was having an even worse fit and as Apollo kept up the frenzy around me I was telling Hannah to take her horse in a circle because that horse looked like she was either going to throw her off or take off running, so I kept telling her over and over to keep that horse circling and not give reign. Finally V was able to get close enough to grab the horse and Hannah bailed off fast and moved away. We were able to get the horses calmed down and got all the ants off and the rest of the ride went very smoothly. Hannah handled herself so well, especially since they all were riding English.

We finally made it up to Iringa by 1pm and did a couple things before heading out to Kibidula. We actually met up with the rest of our group for a few minutes and then we parted again to get things done. We made it back to the Kibidula road at 4pm and Bill came to get us and we ran back to Mafinga for a short time. So we are tired and getting packed up for Lake Malawi and leave at 5am in the morning here. I have no idea if you get internet reception at the lake or not. So once again, if you don’t hear from me for a few days that will be the reason.

Our Safari rig, one of them and me and the kids just getting through check in at the gate area.

Isabel riding Apollo by herself and feeling pretty proud.

Hannah giving Papillion a good work out. She would ride ahead then circle back behind us.

Weekend at Kibidula

Saturday-

We had a very nice day and the sun was out shining in the morning. We had breakfast then changed for church and got to experience the village church with a wonderful choir. The pastor was very nice and asked us all to stand up one at a time and introduce ourselves. Then one of the Swiss ladies, Doris, preached the sermon and it ended with the choir singing a medley of Swahili songs.

Our family was invited over to eat with Doris and JeanLuc and their 5 kids for lunch. They actually have 6 kids but one is off at school is Austria. The kids left at home are twins, Eric and Kristoff, Mattias, Livia, and Tim. They range in age from 7-16 and are also very nice kids. Doris is a sister to Anita so it is nice for them to be close to each other here. We had a great meal followed with special Swiss cookies (2 platefuls) and Swiss chocolate. Then Jeanluc and Doris showed us around their huge garden and all their fruit trees. They grow so many different things here that I won’t even begin to mention them all. We all ended up taking a nice walk together and then we headed back down to Jason’s house.

We got to end our day with homemade popcorn seasoned with taco seasoning. Antoinette puts in on her popcorn and it is actually very good.

Sunday-

I got busy and washed more laundry by hand and Chris got the cook stove fired up so that our clothes would get dry. I cleaned up in the guest house and mopped the bathroom tile floor. The kids ran around and played and the boys helped put together the trampoline that came in Jason’s container for his girls. A truckload of men had left earlier in the morning to go back up to Mago to unload the container for Memere but Chris chose not to go back up there. The other men managed to make it back late Sunday (what a long day). We were invited out to Bill and Nannette’s for lunch at 1pm so we hurried and got done as much as we could then we drove Memere’s truck out there. It takes about 10-15 minutes of driving to get to their home. Several homes here at Kibidula are very spread out and it would take a long time to walk over. Nannette had made us this delicious curry over rice with a huge bowl of salad. It was so good and my kids kept coming back for more. We had a very good visit then the rains finally stopped so we headed to the airstrip for a rematch in soccer. Several of the kids here showed up to play but as we arrived there it rained again. We all stood in the airplane hanger for 45 minutes hoping it would stop but it never did. In fact it really poured hard so we gave up and everyone left and we took many of the kids home in the rain. Next, I got busy and packed for our safari trip so that we could leave in the morning.

Thanksgiving & Friends

Thursday-

Yesterday we woke up to Thanksgiving here at Kibidula. We had a wonderful breakfast that Antoinette had prepared for us with banana muffins. Then we learned that there would be a dinner for us over at one of the other family’s homes that live here. The Ross family consists of Bill and Nanette and their kids Joya, Kiel, (both girls), Matthias, & Ezra. The ages range from 11 down to 3 years old and they are very nice kids. This family is here from North Carolina and has only been here for 3 months and plans to stay for 6 years.

Nannette fixed some very good food and we helped Antoinette prepare some food to take over. The meal was all vegetarian and it was really good.  We had Mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes fixed with sugar and toasted nuts, cauliflower (first time since we left that we have had), cooked carrots with green beans and pea pods (the beans were a treat), lettuce from the garden with dressing and fresh tomatoes, wheat bread, chipattis, fruit salad, and pie. We were not expecting anything like this so it was a real treat and all the food was good; it was an extravagant meal compared to what we had been eating. We got to fellowship with the families here and meet some of the missionary students from the states. The kids all had a really good time making new friends and playing together. After the meal it was decided that we would play a big soccer game up on the airfield. So we drove back to Jason’s house and the guest house to change out clothes and picked up some more Swiss kids that live here along the way to play. I believe that we ended up with about 28 people on the soccer field and we were still missing several women and girls from our group. There were five different countries represented on the playing field. United States, Tanzania, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland and everyone sure had a good time and the game went on for several hours. The men were looking a little pooped out about half way through. I played goalie part of the game because the young girls were afraid to get hit with the ball. Chris scored a goal against me so we teased him that he was picking on girls! Mat took Chris out pretty good, although it was not intentional; Chris went flying through the air and looked like one of those figure skaters doing a twist in the air before slamming down to the ground. Steve had to drag him up or I think he would have laid there for awhile and then he hung his head between his knees for quite sometime. The game was fairly mild but there were a few collisions and trip ups.

Last night we had popcorn and fruit rice pudding for dinner and the kids watched a dvd on the computer about Ireland. Jason arrived from Tanga (up near the Kenya border) last night about 8:30pm with his container and Memere’s container arrived from Tanga sometime this morning to Mafinga. They use the Tanga port because Dar Es Salaam is so congested that you can hardly get in and out of the harbor area. Memere is going to open up her container and take out some of Jason’s things before having it transported up to Mago. Jason looked like a boy at Christmas unloading the truck full of container contents. I guess there are a few more containers due in the next few months for Kibidula families and just for the farm here.

Wednesday night we ate dinner with Thomas and Anita (they are Swiss) and we had bread, fruit (canned peaches & fresh strawberries), and veggie turkey roll that Thomas had brought back from Arusha (Up north near Kenya border) which takes 15 hours to get there. That was such a treat for us, it was the first processed vegetarian food we’ve had the whole trip, well we do eat TVP but I don’t count that.

I washed some laundry by hand yesterday and yes most of the families here do to. Antoinette is lucky and has a washing machine in her house that they run on the generator and I was able to do the majority of my stuff today in her washer. That was the first time any of our clothes has seen a washing machine since we left.

I have hardly seen the kids today they are out with the other children here somewhere on the 5000 acres of Kibidula. There are kids that are 15 & 16 along with them so I don’t worry and the parents that live here say that they are okay. Well, whatever they are doing they have a lot of fun! Mat has identified so many birds on this trip and he has been going nuts here at Kibidula because there are so many different types. As soon as light hits the sky in the morning he says “can’t I go bird watching the birds are already out”? So we let him go.

Anita and Thomas are preparing lunch for my family and the Tall’s family today to give the Ford’s time to spend with their family here. So Jason’s family, the Ford’s, and Memere took off for Mafinga to do some things together. That will be nice to have time without the rest of the group around.

Monday we leave for Iringa to stay the night and then Tuesday morning we head to the Ruaha game reserve for a Safari; the kids are very excited about going! Then after we safari all day we head back down to Iringa and stay the night again, then on Wednesday we will get to go to Market there and look around. Then we will head back to Kibidula and pack up quickly that evening for Lake Malawi and we will head out Thursday morning and come back the following Tuesday. I may not get reception out at the lake so if you don’t here from me just know that we are okay but we have no reception for the computer. I hope it will work out there but just in case it doesn’t I wanted to mention it.

Thomas told us that 2 days before we got here someone had killed a boonslang and skinned it out. Boonslangs are poisonous tree snakes that have fangs in the back of their mouths. They are fairly docile and really have to chew to inject venom; they mainly eat birds out of the trees. He then told us they have puff adders, and green mamba’s too but that snakes are pretty elusive around here.

Mat spotted a blind snake yesterday and was very happy with himself to be able to add one more specimen to his list of observations.

The girls spend a lot of time playing with Helena and Arriane and their many animals they have. We hope everyone had a good holiday yesterday and didn’t eat to much food. Love and miss all.

A scene from part of the soccer game that we played on thanksgiving day. So much fun!

Journey To Kibidula

Wednesday-

We made it to Kibidula about 1pm and just in time for a delicious lunch from Jason’s wife, Antoinette.

All of us were up at 4am this morning but most of the group admitted that none of us slept very well. I was awakened at 1:30am with another spectacular electrical storm that just lit the sky up. Huge, bright flashes of light every couple seconds that just made great display!

Everyone jumped up right at 4am we started hauling out luggage which the men loaded onto the back of the truck in the dark. I couldn’t believe that they got every piece on there. Everyone used our beloved cho for the last time, we prayed, and then we hit the road by 5am. Teresa, Angie, Bella, Leila, Memere, and I all rode in the truck because we motion sick people can’t ride the bus if we can help it.

The other 12 members of our group walked out the road and we waited at the end for them. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for the bus and it came roaring along and we flagged it down. We saw the other part of our group safely on the bus and it tore down the road then we took off in the truck.

I must tell you that the road is very rough, rocky, and its dirt! You can’t go very fast on it (well to be safe) plus take into consideration the other lumber vehicles and bicycles. Finally after 2 ½ hours of rough travel we reached the pavement at Njombe and we were so excited to see some kind of civilization again! We drove up the hill and found the bus that was dropping off passengers and taking some on to make sure our group was okay. They were all there but looked a little distressed. They were all crammed at the back of the bus and Mat stuck his head out and said the bus was really smelly. The word was that it was a 71 passenger bus but that there were about 110 people crammed on standing in the isles too. Later on Jon told me that I would have been sick for sure because he had fought it some part of the way out. I can sure sympathize with him; I really hate to get sick from traveling.

Come to find out the Lord was really watching over that bus because it had pulled into Njombe and was just parked on the side of the road and the front tire blew. That would have been horrible coming down that rough dirt mountain road.

Thank You God for keeping them all safe!

The truck load of the women went and fueled up and then we were on our way to Makembako which is where you turn for Kibidula. Memere asked us if we would want to shop at the market for a while and let the bus catch up. We all said yes; it was the biggest market we have been in yet and we found a couple things. We actually shopped for 1 ½ hours before hitting the road again for the last hour leg of the journey to Kibidula. We all had the feeling that the bus had long since gone past us and now we had to catch up because it is a very long drive from the highway back to Kibidula. We made the cut off in good time and no one was there so we figured that they had started walking. Turns out Chris, Steve, Mat, and Hannah all decided to follow the road while Vanessa said she knew a short cut and led everyone else on a “long cut”. That first group looked pretty tired and was glad to jump up on the edge of the truck and grasp onto the luggage. Quite a distance further we caught up with my family and Steve and they were also very happy to get a ride. That vehicle was definitely a sight to behold; we already had luggage piled up past the top of the cab and now we had 12 people hanging off the back driving down the road. Meanwhile in the cab we become very crowded taking in all the carryon bus bags. I was wondering if I would be able to open my door when we got there. We were laughing the whole way in and there was one big bump that bounced Jonah completely off the truck but he held onto the ropes and was running behind the truck and was able to jump back on before she stopped. Memere was already driving fairly slowly because of the load in back so that no one would get hurt, but we sure had fun. All the kids kept yelling faster, faster; they said they hadn’t had this much fun in a while!

We pulled into Jason’s house and Antoinette had a wonderful meal prepared for us. She made us chapattis, rice, pinto beans (they were good) greens, lettuce (second time we’ve had it), tomatoes, and carrots. She also had some cookies that she had baked and they were also good and the kids ate them right up. Our biggest thrill of the meal was that there were plates, forks, and napkins. Out in Mago we had no napkins or paper towels and only bowls and spoons.

Marci and family-

I hadn’t been in the house very long when a package was deposited on my lap and my eyes lit up. Immediately my children and husband flocked around me and that drew the excitement of all the others. My good friends had sent us a care package of goodies and cards! We are so excited to get something from home, especially right before Thanksgiving, it really means a lot. Thank you so much to the Dauncey family for their kindness and it couldn’t have been received at a better time.

Noah and Nathan: thanks for the cards that you made me. I am being careful when I work and I am very glad to be able to do other things now. Thanks for the treats and I will see you when I get home. Mat

Megan: thanks for the horse card megan and the stickers, we miss you too and we are going to see you when we come home. Thank you for the candy. Love Hannah and Bella

We are now set up in the guest house by ourselves. We won’t know what to do without the other 12 people of the group to live with. We have a bathroom and beds to sleep on (Yeah), even though the shower is only cold water, we really don’t care. This is like paradise to us after where we have been staying for the past several weeks. The guest house has an occupant that we will share with, her name is Irma but she is gone all day. We stayed here one night with Dave and Kristen on our way out and Irma had come in after dark when we were all in bed.

There are many nectarine trees out around the house and they are ripe. They are only the size of plums but they sure tasted good; it reminds me of home.

We were already introduced to the nasty horse on the premises that belongs to Anita and Thomas’ family. The horse pins its ears and comes at you and tries to bite I stood my ground so it decided to turn like it would kick me and of course I stepped back 2 steps. Oh how I wish I had a stick about then to pop it on the rump. There was a mean little donkey right next to the horse but the little girl Helena said they can be nice sometimes. My question was “how do you take care of them, if you can’t get near them”? Then I had Brianna, Helena, and Hannah all ran up to me and say “Bella’s waiting for you in the girl’s dorm bathroom”. I was wondering what she was doing there in the first place and Hannah informed me there was a problem of the “trots” taking place. So we all arrived at the bathroom, but no Bella only a pair of panties lying on the floor of the cho style bathroom. So I retrieved them and went in search of my daughter and found her back at the guest house; she then got to take a shower. I just thought it was funny that she left her panties and took off. Well she did have an accident and that was pretty understandable to want to abandon them. Now all the kids are out running all over Kibidula having a good time playing. Anita is making our beds right now; she is such a nice lady and we had a nice visit with her earlier.

We are looking forward to a nice dinner, showers and a nice bed tonight. We have a nice view from the upstairs loft to wake up to. Take care to all our friends and loved ones and don’t eat to much for Thanksgiving!

This is how our truckload looked upon arrival at Kibidula! That is how everyone clung on over the bumpy road.

Our Last Night At Mago

Monday-

I was up at 4:45am to fix breakfast because we ladies were going to head out at about 7:15am to distribute clothing and toys we brought. So I was creeping around the kitchen with my headlamp on trying not to make a sound while I made biscuits and gravy with tvp and fried potatoes along with oranges and bananas. Breakfast was on by 6:45am so we got to eat well before we left.

Well it ended up that we didn’t leave until after 8am but we were on our way. Teresa, Angie, Vanessa, Christina, Isabel, Isabelle, and I all helped Memere sort through dress sizes and sort out pants and sweatshirt sizes. It took us about an hour to get set up and then the kids arrived. These children were all orphans and there was over 100 from the Lupalilo school. Girls received a dress, 2 sweatshirts, and 1 pair of pants; while the boys received 2 sweatshirts and 2 pairs of pants. We all did a different type of clothing to make it go faster and as each child came in you had to hold the clothing up and try to match a size to the child. I knew that the kids are always dirty and sort of have a smell but that is how most of them are. I was surprised to realize that many of them also smelled like urine too. It is very sad to see all their clothes worn and in tatters but that is all they have. All the kids seemed very happy to get some new clothing to wear and they each received either a toy or some candy as they left the room.

We worked it at until after noon and then I assisted Memere in attempting to extract some fluid from a little girl that has a huge fluid pouch under her left cheek and on her neck. Her mother is Hiv positive and so is the little girl; it is very sad. No one else in the room wanted to be that close to the big needle and syringe so I did it. The little girls name was Vicky and she is probably 5-6 years old; she began crying the minute that needle pierced her skin. The removal of fluid was slow because the needle was really not big enough. I bet Memere had that needle in place for 7-10 minutes getting some fluid. The fluid was very syrupy and brownish in color and I wish we could have drained the whole thing but not to be now. Then she bandaged Dismo again (a little boy that has seizures and fell in the fire and was severely burned) because his leg hasn’t healed in months. He also told Memere that he had funza’s so she dug 2 out of his foot.

Then we loaded up and headed out to Mago for lunch. We arrived to a meal of rice and lentils which was very good.

I jumped in after lunch to wash our laundry but a big storm was moving in fast so  Chris helped me along with Lisungu and Beth (she offered). I was lucky enough to get it all washed, rinsed, and through the wringer and hauled up to the house before it poured. Chris had to string laundry line in the house and get the fire going. All three families had laundry hung up in the house and it made it quite humid inside.

We started working on getting things packed up but it was slow going and the darkness crept up way to fast.

Tuesday-

Well I had a hard time sleeping but the rest of my family had a good nights rest! I also awoke feeling nauseated and I was thinking I was going to be sick all day. Well I stayed home from the distribution and took a handful of charcoal and felt bad for a while. But a couple hours later and I felt just fine and have been all day. I made mung bean soup and homemade biscuits for lunch and Vanessa cut up carrot sticks and Miriam made potatoes. Then we have all spent the rest of the day packing and cleaning house.  It was hard trying to decide what to leave with Brent and Shari, Memere, Baraza, and Yona and what to take home. I condensed 21 pieces of luggage down to 11 pieces total. I think I will make it home with that many since one has a bunch of stuff to eat at Lake Malawi and then I can fill it with gifts.

We just had fruit salad and left over soup for dinner with bread and we are all tired and I just can’t believe we are leaving. We are all sad to leave our new friends here but we are excited to see other parts of Tanzania. We leave for Kibidula at 5am in the morning and we will travel for 5-6 hours to get there. Most of our group is taking the bus but a few of us and all the luggage will go with Memere. I will update you when we get there so no one wonders about us.

The sewing ladies finished Chris and Mat’s shirts today and Mat’s looked great but Chris’ shirt was a bit off. Oh well, he will make do and we appreciate how hard they worked.

Trip to Makete

Saturday-

Wow! What a great Weekend here and such a nice way to end our work here.

Miriam and I had cooked enough food for everyone at church that everyone ate their fill. We fed between 50-60 people and it was nice to fellowship with the church members here for the last time. Yona preached the sermon and Barasa interpreted for us. He told of his life as a missionary for many years and the work that has happened here over the years. Chris recorded the entire message so that we could take it home.

The rains decided to pour down right after lunch was finished yesterday. So the Kirby family actually took an afternoon nap instead of going for a hike. We will all have a hard time leaving here and leaving the new friends that we have made. As Barasa put it; it is harder to be left than to leave. So we knew that they would be feeling very sad as well. We look forward and probably take for granted seeing our Swahili friends here everyday. It is such a joy to see them, work with them, spend time with them, and learn Swahili from them. I really can’t believe that we have been here for over a month and are leaving soon. I can see all the work that needs to happen here and all the goals that need to be reached and I wish we could have done more.

We finished off Saturday night in the usual custom that we had started of watching a Blue Planet or animal movie. All the locals and the fundis look forward to watching the shows and it was our last out here. Chris and I stayed over at the house because we were washing dishes and then Chris mentioned he didn’t feel the greatest again. He thinks he may have passed another stone sometime during last night and by this evening he is back to normal.

Sunday-

We were all up early this morning and got busy right away. First thing Memere had a lady show up here needing 3 teeth pulled so she helped her out. She numbed her mouth up but the lady still grasped and cried out. With as much numbing medicine that she used I would guess the lady doesn’t tolerate pain well at all. We didn’t allow the weak stomached folks to observe this time so that we did not have to worry about someone passing out on the concrete. Teresa held the flash light and I held the gauze and the supplied the empty gauze bags for the lady to spit her blood into. Memere managed to get 2 of them out and the lady refused to have the third one pulled out. Steve sent over 2 vicodin for the pain and we gave her a handful of Ibuprofen for the knee pain she was complaining about. She thanked us all before she left and I know she will feel better tomorrow.

I jumped in and made some biscuits for breakfast since we had no bread. They turned out very well and went together with the huge fruit salad that Vanessa and Steve had cut up. We had our delicious ugee (not really) again with granola so we all had plenty to eat.

Chris and I took the opportunity to go and visit with Shari and Brent for about 45 minutes because we feel that time is slipping away so fast and then we will be gone. They are such nice, good people and they really love the Lord.

The men and some of the kids worked at clearing the tall grass again while Jon gave Memere a pruning lesson. I observed some of the pruning lessons and found it to be quite interesting. Some of the girls were washing laundry earlier in the day but we were all in a hurry to get done. This was the day that Memere was driving us all over to Makete. So we were all excited to go!

I packed our rain coats, water, bandaids, tissue, dried fruit, and wipes. You never know what you will need when you are away from home. We all piled into Memere’s truck and took off for Makete and with the excitement the 13 of us packed into the bed of the truck hardly noticed our discomfort- but boy was it a different story coming back. The Last 15 minutes of the drive over it poured rain and we had to break out the rain coats. The market at Makete was huge compared to Ikonda. It was more of a traditional market that we would think about back home. I had a long list of produce to get for Shari so Chris and I started in filling her order to get that done with. I was able to get her everything except pineapple but I substituted with avocados. Then we all figured out what we would eat for lunch and almost everyone voted for chips (fried potatoes) instead of murage and wali (beans and rice). Well then we had a time finding a place to feed us all because our group was so big. Finally we split up and my family found a very nice and fairly clean little hole in the wall that served chips. She was such a nice lady and fed us all we wanted, we were just wondering how we could eat anymore when Jon, Jonah, & Sam came by and they were still looking for food. So we told them to come in because there was so much and they were able to eat all they wanted and the boys seemed extremely happy.

My family shared 2 orange sodas and my kids thought that was the biggest treat because we don’t usually drink those.

We had a lot of fun shopping around over there and everyone found something. There were so many duka’s to look in that we passed over many of them. I bought chiffon floral print head wraps for Miriam, Leah, and Lisungu. I bought some new sandles for Meto and a necklace for Deborah. Miriam and Leah put the wraps on right away when I gave it to them and they looked nice. I gave Lisungu her wrap and she took it and ran for home shrieking with delight to show her mother. Later she came back and told me thank you and she looked like she might cry. Meto was so proud of his new sandals that he kept trying to brush the dirt off every couple of steps and Debo loved her necklace.

We also gave Yona’s family and Barasa’s family a money gift from my family. They have worked so hard here and life is very rough and hard. They work 10 times harder just to live here and they a hardly receive much money. Both families were very emotional about the gift but were also very happy. We told them that God is blessing them and the work here and that we are praying for it all to continue and they will reach more souls for Christ.

Tomorrow will be clothing distribution in Lupalilo for a couple hours in the morning and then I will be hurrying around trying to get laundry done and packing for our trip out to Kibidula.Tuesday we will do distribution in Mago too. Tonight I gave Memere a whole bunch of stuff that I had brought for her and things that I didn’t want to pack home. I took several things down to Brent and Shari too.  The Waggoner’s spent most of their day building the raised garden beds and putting manure and compost to let the soil sit during the raining season and be ready for planting when the rains stop.

As I have been here typing Bella has been singing all kinds of bible songs in my ear while she is waiting to look at the pictures of our dogs that I have on my laptop. Hannah is already in bed and mat is over in front of the fire and Chris is out in the shower tent in the dark. I am getting tired and I need to dry my hair over by the fire so I can go to bed. I have to get up really early to do breakfast and then need to be at the school by 7:30am to give out clothes.

mat thoroughly enjoying himself on the day they went swimming in the creek! He said going down that water fall was worse than a spanking! I guess it hurt.

the day that we gave Barasa and Yona their bikes! Hannah was presenting Yona his bike!

Isabel holding Leila while she was sleeping on her lap!

Our Last Week In Mago

Things have been busy around here the last few days. The church is now almost all painted except for the Sabbath school rooms. So we will have a nice clean painted church for this weekend and all the locals will be very happy.

Memere arrived here yesterday afternoon with a load of doors and produce; she also brought 3 fundis back with her to work another week and get some things finished up here. They worked on plastering the walls of the school rooms next door today. Memere brought us tons of mangoes, 15 pineapples, tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers, sack of oranges, and lots of bananas. So we had a great big fruit salad for dinner last night with chips (deep fried potato chunks), which we have all come to like. Most of us have shed pounds and our clothes don’t fit anymore, Mat has had to make 4 new belt holes just to be able to cinch up his belt.

I went down and washed laundry yesterday and I finally felt better so I didn’t need help from Lisungu. Hannah helped me scrub some of the socks but soon decided they were terrible to wash and they are!

Memere had brought us margarine too so I told the kids that I would make bush style cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Friday. So I started in making dough from memory right before dinner and let it rise. Then I mixed up another batch and got that one rising. Both batches of dough did really well and were fluffy.

I began making them out last night and the pans soon filled up and the rolls were rising. Hannah sprinkled the sugar on and Bella did the cinnamon and I rolled them up and cut them. They smelled so good cooking it reminded me of being home and making overnight cinnamon rolls and buns. The kids were all begging for some before bed but they were put off till morning.

Most of us were up at the crack of dawn this morning; I needed to finish breakfast and the kids wanted to eat. I had made enough that everyone could eat what they wanted. I melted margarine on the stove with sugar and cinnamon and spooned some over our rolls. Some of the men and boys ate 5-6 rolls or more and some had 2-3. We were all happy with that treat for breakfast and the kids asked for some more before we leave. I highly doubt that will happen because it was a lot of work and some of the pans were hard to cook in.

Even though we have dropped weight we have been eating very well; very healthy eating over here-No Taco Bell!

Today I had to do more laundry because somehow I had overlooked some Chris’ and some of Mat’s yesterday. It went really quick with only a few things and the sun was out this morning so they dried quickly.

The rains finally came this afternoon and we were so happy because we needed it. The weather cooled things down nice and it dampened the soccer field out in front of the church. Today Memere picked up the bikes that we had pooled our money together to get for Yona and Barasa. Those men were so happy today and immediately tried out their brand new bikes. We all felt that a bike would be helpful for the men doing outreach and bible studies, not to mention shortening the trips that they usually have to walk. We also told Miriam that we had bought her a new sewing machine but that is had not come yet and she looked surprised and happy!

Today the sewing school had finished up all the projects! I can’t believe how hard they work and they are so fast. They sewed so many things this week that it’s hard to imagine them getting it all done, but they did. I am very pleased with everything for my girls, myself, and the items for friends at home.

Tomorrow we are feeding everyone that comes to church, kind of like potluck except they don’t bring food. Miriam and I spent most of the day preparing food and Shari came up and helped us some. We will be having quite an assortment of food and I hope and pray that we made enough for all. I am responsible for Sabbath afternoon meal so today was quite a cook a thon.

Jon, Steve, Chris, Teresa, and the kids went down and pruned the fruit trees and used a machete to cut down the tall grass in the rows. Well, its been a long week and we are all fine and just most of us still have lingering cold symptoms. Isabel is back to her old self except for a cough.

The kids are anxious to head out to Kibidula next Wednesday morning and then we will head out to do a safari somewhere. They will really appreciate it after camping out and working very hard in tough conditions.

We are all tired tonight and can’t wait to get to bed and relax. Hope everyone at home is well and that you all have a good weekend.

To Grandpa & Papa,

We are thinking of you and praying for you when you go for you surgery.

Bumpa- The kids talk about you all the time and like to tell the other kids stories, especially Mat.

Birdie- The kids have been talking about your bread and pies and hope that you will make them some!

Alanna- Thanks for the doggie updates; the kids all miss the dogs especially Bella. We wonder if they will remember us or not (Mindy will, but Rio we are not sure).

The kids are excited to bring home keepsakes for their friends and family and they keep begging me to get things but we have lots of time and we will be many places the last few weeks.

Normal Life Here

Tuesday-

We received another day with really warm weather and no rain (92 degrees) with a clear sky. The stars are all out and bright tonight, Bella pointed out Venus and Jupiter on our walk to the cho in the dark.

The painting continued today over in the church while Steve tried his hand at plastering around the baptistery door. Some of the girls were painting the window frames and the bars in the window frame along with some of the doors. Brent got another door put up over in the house. It is slow going on the doors because everything has to be done by hand. He mentioned that it is very tedious work and I would definitely agree. We get one door done in a day and that is good progress.

Tonight we had a blazing fire in the fire place courtesy of Jonah. We had blue flames shooting up it was so hot and ended up opening the door up. On days like today that are 85-90 it was just too hot in the house and the drinking water was actually warm. But I would sure appreciate that fire on the cool rainy days that we have when everyone grabs sweatshirts and warm pants.

Teresa is busy making banana muffins for breakfast in the morning and they smell really good. Angie made lemon pudding and hot carob drink for dinner along with some potato and bean ugali that Miriam made. At lunch I made macaroni and cheese and this time it turned out better but the noodles still get really soft no matter what. So we have come to the conclusion it is the altitude here. We had beans with beef tvp and rice along with fresh cabbage salad and pie crust sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. So you can tell that we eat very well here.

Last night Bella spiked a high fever in the night and her cough got worse so we gave her fever medicine and cough medicine. Then I kept a cool cloth on her forehead and the back of her neck. Then I told her that we had to check her for malaria because her fever came out of nowhere and she was a little distraught. I showed her all the pieces of the test kit and explained what they were, except the lancet (the old crude lancets). Finally, it came down to where I needed to poke her finger so of course she saw it and jerked her hand back. Then she announced that she could do it herself so I gave it to her. She tortured herself about 10 minutes of slowly poking into her skin but not enough to break the skin. So when daddy said he would come and hold her hand down she very gladly presented her finger and I poked her so fast that she didn’t have time to think. She never cried at all and we had a good blood sample. Bella really liked watching the test work and I explained it to her. She came out negative which was a relief! Her fever dropped off for the rest of the night and she was able to sleep.

I am still fighting the residual cold symptoms that mainly rear their ugly head at night (figure that). I was so stuffed up last night that I could hardly breathe so I gave in and took cold medicine and then I was wired and could not sleep. Finally after hearing a rooster crow at about 3:30 in the morning I dozed off. The roosters are all confused because the moon is so bright that it lights up the sky and they crow from about 2am on.

I was awaken this morning by Chris shaking me and asking me to get a tub because he felt sick to his stomach. I said you are sick too? Then he said he was having kidney pain and proceeded to whine and writhe on the bed. I got up and got him the tub and water then I went and found Steve to get some vicodin. Chris took 2 of them and kept hyperventilating and rolling around on the bed. He had quite history of kidney and bladder stones but he has not had one in a long time. About 15 minutes after he took the pills the pain started to subside and then it was gone. He said it had passed from his kidney down to his bladder so now we are all awaiting the final passing. Jon was teasing him about being a baby and we were all laughing.

Both Chris and Bella had a good day with Bella’s fever coming and going. Poor thing Isabel’s front teeth are almost in and her gums are very swollen. She complains about them a few times each day but I told her we will throw a party when she gets her front teeth in. They have been gone for 5 ½ years!

The girls got their blouses and skirts today and they were all smiles. They tried them on and showed some of the other girls. As each of the girls here get something made they run and show all the others so they all get excited to see what’s made.

Mat played soccer again this evening with the local boys and made 2 goals. It is definitely a rough game and the girls don’t play because they would be hurt fairly quickly. Sometimes the men play but not tonight. Mat, Jonah, and Sam were all playing around with the wheel barrow today giving each other rides. Most of the time they work very hard so it is funny to see them come up with ideas that they think are fun to get out of work for a while.

Today Pepere took off from Dar and is on his way back home. Tomorrow Memere begins her journey back to Kibidula and then on out to here. She should arrive back here on Thursday and then we will push hard to get done what we can by next Tuesday. We take off first thing Wednesday morning for Kibidula and the kids are excited to have rest time. I am excited to have a bed there to sleep in and have some good homemade cooking.

I took down all the fabric and measurements to the sewing class today and things are under way. I am very curious to see how this all goes since many of the requests today are for girls back home and they were not actually here to be measured. I was assured by Brent that they use inches not centimeters but I am going first thing in the morning because I have this fear that they are not reading the measurements as inches but the other.

Wednesday-

We were up bright and early and everyone seemed to have a good night’s rest for a change. I actually slept most of the night and could breathe. Bella had to have fever medicine one time through the night and Chris is great.

Teresa’s muffins were good this morning and we had fresh plums from one of the little girls that visit us (her dad brought them). Today Miriam’s parents visited and brought us more fresh plums.

The sewing school is humming right along with the projects and they brought up my skirts today which turned out nice. There was a slight miscommunication over the measurements so the dress for Andrea has now become the dress for Jenesis. They misread the measurements but it is all straightened out now. I am excited to see the finished products.

We all painted over in the church today and I have to say it is the worst paint I have ever used. The primer actually didn’t smell too bad but the cream colored paint that goes over the top is terrible. It gave me a migraine and made my throat sore for a couple hours and my voice croaky. I finally had to get out of the church and take a shower; luckily it was my turn to cook dinner so I had an excuse to go over to the house. The reddish brown paint for the windows and doors is so thick you can barely paint it on, yet it will drip. I can’t figure that one out! None the less the painting is coming along and the church is looking great.

For our dinner tonight I made several packs of the Korean Ramen, opened up gobs of seaweed and cut it up, and sliced bread and oranges. I asked Miriam to make rice and to fry the whole potatoes and they were delicious. Everyone enjoyed the food and every pot was emptied. The Waggoners were invited to eat with us and they really enjoyed the fare. For dessert I broke out several packs of M&M’s which made the kids extremely happy. Poor Jon and Steve don’t like the seaweed but they had to eat it in their ramen. The seaweed in the soup comes dried in the seasonings and it has a really good flavor with some spice to it. So we ended the day with good food and everyone was full.

Meanwhile the boys and Chris and Steve were out playing the nightly soccer game. I took video of part of the game and I got quite a kick out of watching it.

Hannah did a good job painting today and playing with the kids that visit us.

Mat and the boys moved bricks all day and worked very hard. Isabel helped Miriam peel potatoes and played with Leila and the other kids that visit.

There is another little girl named Leila that visits us here and Bella always gets her up in her lap and the little girl falls asleep. I looked out the window and there Bella was on a stool balancing this little girl who was sleeping on her lap. After lunch Bella was babied by Christina and Bethany which she really enjoyed.

Hannah helped me prepare dinner and Mat kept coming and begging for food before dinner. I should say all the boys because they are starving all the time.

Memere was in Iringa today when we contacted her and she is getting more paint for us. She told Angie that she found lentils and mung beans for us and we were very excited! She will be bringing more fruit and veggies for us; I asked for more beets because they are so good.

Hopefully we can get most of the painting done before Sabbath this week and we are tentatively planning a huge church potluck since this is our last one here.

We are talking about having a thanksgiving meal at Kibidula but I’m not sure it will happen because its lots of work. I know my family is gearing up for thanksgiving and getting ready to feast on a huge assortment of foods. I actually am glad that we will miss over eating this year and the only thing that I am hungry for is pumpkin pie and my kids say chocolate pie.

Alanna- to use the brine, yes use apple cider and water and use a clean 5 gallon bucket with lid. I cook the cider or whatever it says with the spice then I use cold water and ice and put the turkey into the bucket for 24 hours (I set my sealed bucket on the back deck overnight just keep the ice in it). Then I stuff it with oranges, onions, celery, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme or whatever herbs you like. I also make herb butter and place it in a baggie and squish it all to the bottom of the bag to create a log shape. Then you freeze that over night-take it out when you have done everything else and cut up into slices and I slide that under the skin all over the turkey. You can do what you want but that is what I did.

My family no longer eats meat as of last Thanksgiving but we used to enjoy the turkey with our family, now we enjoy vegetarian fare.

I wish all my family and friends a very nice holiday- I know it is early but I don’t want to forget later.

Sunday & Monday

Sunday-

We had another nice day with no rain, although it spit a few drops about lunch time and we had a nice breeze most of the day. I accomplished getting laundry done this morning with the help of Lisungu again. She washes clothes so fast I can’t believe it.

Memere and Pepere showed up the morning unexpectedly with a truck load of paint from Njombe. She figured that we did not have enough to do while she was running Pepere and Mr V. to Dar Es Salaam. Believe me, we have plenty to do!

None the less we were all very glad and surprised to see them. They were here long enough to unload, give instructions, and eat breakfast then they hit the road back to Kibidula and on to Dar. So the house was being cleaned out today and we are all moving over there tomorrow sometime. We will still use the church for cooking and of course that is where the generator is wired for lights so I imagine we will only sleep next door.

I started making muffins after lunch and I am just baking my last pan at 8:30pm. I had to chop the almonds really fine and soak the dried peaches and then drain and chop them. Then I helped Vanessa finish cooking her homemade pizza dinner. Then I began baking the muffins which it does take a long time up here. Hopefully they will taste similar to peach cobbler.

They killed the first snake today over by the new house. I guess it was mostly a black color, probably a garter snake. Well they killed it and chopped off the head then buried it. Barasa said it was a harmless snake but the African people kill all snakes. It gave the kids their daily needed excitement!

Brent, Chris and I walked up the hill to the duka’s looking for produce and a new chisel. The men broke the chisel they had working on the doors over at the house. Well we found oranges and greens but no chisel so we headed back down. We got to observe the locals in a sad state today; they were all drunk. You could smell the liquor wafting through the air. Some of them were fist fighting and every person that approached us (including the women) were intoxicated. Brent said it is so sad but every Sunday that is what they do. He says they don’t know any better but hopefully with the mission project here that can change for many of them. They drink some nasty bamboo liquor that they make themselves out in the forests.

There was quite a soccer tournament going on right before dinner tonight. Several local boys came by and asked to play soccer so our men and boys obliged them. They all had tremendous fun and those local boys can sure play. I get a kick out of watching our group play many have trouble keeping their hands out of the game.

We had contact from the other half of our group today and it sounds like they are having an overall good time at Zanzibar. Our kids are counting the days when we leave for Lake Malawi. There are no showers, laundry, or electricity there so it will be interesting so get there and see it. I guess the majority of the world’s tropical fresh water fish come out of that lake. Just so happens on the blue planet dvd we watched last night it showed the lake and all the amazing fish in it. So now the kids are very excited to go swimming and snorkeling-without sharks!

Just a note to the girls back home about the skirts and dresses; I will do my best but with the short time some will get dresses, some skirts and some skirts and blouses. It is quite a ordeal to get over to Ikonda for material but I am going sometime Monday (tomorrow) morning so I can get the sewing school all the material and give the measurements. So I will get everyone something okay.

Monday-

Again we had a beautiful day to wake up to with the sun shining and a blue sky. After breakfast we all started moving our stuff over to the house. My family moved all of our stuff except the bug tents which contain the beds we left those for later. I went down and looked and the shirts and skirts that Leah was making for the girls and they are coming along great. She measured me today for my skirts and shatangi. After that Chris and I took the girls and left for Ikonda to get more material and fresh produce. We were out of everything except a few oranges that I walked up and got at the duka in Mago yesterday. We were lucky enough to see a troop of monkeys on the way to Lupalilo and the girls thought that was fantastic. There were several moms with babies clinging on and some juvenile ones but the male was the most striking. He sat on a tree limb and posed for us except I had no camera along (I couldn’t believe it). We kept walking and no bus or vehicle ever came along so 3 hours later we arrived in Ikonda. We had water and dried fruit with us and we played follow the leader games with the girls to make the hike go quicker.

I bought them an orange soda and a piece of bread in Ikonda and then we gathered the items we came to find. One duka had a brand new pile of material and she had to cut it for us but I found a few. Then I gathered the items Shari sent money with me to get. But for our group I got mangoes, huge bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, lemons, and a couple green peppers (they weren’t that great). We filled up a couple large burlap style bags and Chris said they were very heavy. We had put the material and Shari’s stuff in the back packs so they were a little heavier and Chris had to carry those big bags but he had to stop every little bit. He said his arms and shoulders were aching. I forgot to mention that we waited in Ikonda for a ride for about a  ½ hour but no ride so we started walking back-imagine that! Well we walked for another hour and a penguin bus came flying along and we flagged it down. The girls were very happy not to have to walk the other 2 hours back. Chris and I were very happy to be packed like sardines into a small bus with people standing along where the door slides open. We were very crammed and I probably didn’t do a good job explaining how jammed. So we figured that we walked about 16 miles total maybe more because we walked very fast going over.

We got back and the rest of the group had spent the day painting inside the church. I am sure we will paint again tomorrow.

Now we have fresh produce to get us through Thursday when memere comes back and now I can get all the skirts and dresses made.

I am sitting out under the stars typing and it is very beautiful with all the crickets chirping.

We met 2 Italian nuns from the catholic hospital today but of course they spoke Italian. Many of the kids would greet us with the Italian Ciao! So we started answering in German, Spanish, Italian, and English. We figured they would understand something. We met 2 English speaking locals and that was very refreshing to have a conversation. One was a student and the other a teacher at the secondary school. My girls want me to mention that we saw 2 leaf bugs that have pretty red wings when they fly. They look like an orchid or a bird of paradise bloom, I can’t believe how neat they are. Well we are tired tonight and as Hannah said in the bus I bet we will sleep well tonight Mom. I  fully agree with her.

Second Victim of The Funza!

We had an absolutely beautiful day here today with a great worship service. No rain again today which made more many more hours outside enjoying each other and the weather. I really look forward to our Swahili friends singing for us, I could listen to them all day. We had a great big lunch here and several church members ate with us. I made spaghetti with homemade sauce and Angie mixed up some of her cashew cheese sauce for those who liked cheesy noodles. Beth, Hannah and I figured out how to make garlic toast (very garlicky) with oil, garlic powder, and salt. Teresa and Shari helped cook the toast so I could do other things. We heated up leftovers from last night and we had quite a feast with enough food for all. I really encouraged everyone to eat the garlic toast otherwise they would not be able to stand those of us that did. I can still taste it tonight even after we had a light supper of coconut, dried fruit, bananas, and pea soup that Angie made.

Everyone is in watching blue planet but I am not sure which one. Chris and I are on dish duty so we are in the kitchen and then I pulled out my computer.

My family, Barasa’s, Yona’s, and some others went with us to visit the cripple lady whose teeth memere pulled the other day. I knew she was doing well because yesterday Shari and I stopped in on our hour walk to Lupalilo and she was smiling and feeling better. I could understand why!

Anyway we wanted to visit her and take her some things and see how she was today. So we were quite a large group walking up the dirt road with the wives of the locals here singing most the way. The lady’s name is Yusta and she was very happy to see all of us. She has to scoot herself on the ground with her hands and some of the men got her a little low bench (probably made just for her) to sit up on. I gave her material, Chap Stick, gum, candies, beads, and a bound note pad with pens. She looked like she might cry but really liked everything. Barasa described to her what some of the things were. Then the women all sang in Swahili to her about 3 songs and we prayed then Yona read from his bible and he prayed. Then we all told her goodbye and went on our way. We were probably there about 20 minutes but she enjoyed it. Come to find out, Barasa said she is a converted Adventist but the rest of her family remains catholic. My husband commented that he was very glad that we went to her.

This evening we got to try some homemade roasted peanuts that I brought back from Lupalilo. I had to sort them and Hannah helped quite a bit then I had to cook them over low heat on the gas stove. Of course I burned some right away and had to try and pick them out. Next I had to mix salt in water then toss it on the peanuts and let the water evaporate. Well they still were not cooked all the way but I took them off the heat. This afternoon I slipped them in the oven on a real low heat and that finished them off nice and most everyone liked them. It was a different treat!

I went into my tent to lie on my back for a few minutes this evening and was rubbing my feet together and I felt a bump. So I sat up and rubbed my big toe on the underside with my finger and felt something. I thought it is either a blister or a funza. I don’t usually get blisters so I had that sinking feeling that I was the second victim of the funza- I was very correct. My husband said let Miriam dig it out and immediately I said NO. I just have this thing about not letting other people work on me with pins or needles. So I got out the headlamp, alcohol wipes, and a pin. I remembered what Miriam had said when Beth had it in her toe; she said remove the whole sack. So I carefully began sliding the pin under my skin and lifting it up and then I could cut it with sewing scissors. I worked all around the circumference of the sack until I thought I could finally get it out without breaking it. The very last edge I had to snip with the scissors and a few eggs leaked out but I had done it! I had correctly removed the entire egg sack and left a small crater in the underside of my big toe. I put the egg sack on the alcohol package and brought it out for everyone to see; and believe me they all wanted to. Miriam said I did a good job and even all the Swahili friends wanted to see the sack and my toe. All the kids in our group couldn’t wait until everyone had seen it so they could squish the eggs out- they were delighted when they got their hands on it.

Now that I have experienced the funza I would have to say that it is no big deal. I felt nothing on my toe like pain or itching like some do. It did not hurt taking it out at all it just took time. However, it does burn some now where the opening is left.

Chris woke up this morning with a sore throat- it’s going around to us all. Jonah and Izzy are doing much better and Jonah even ate today and was up a lot. Poor little Leila has been fighting a cold but came down with a fever today. I will pray that she is healed because it’s so hard to see those little ones suffering. It’s hard enough to see the older kids getting sick and feeling miserable. We have all been praying that everyone will be made well.

We all enjoy all the comments from everyone. The boys would like to say a special hello back to Garhett and I believe they requested pizza at the airport upon arrival back home! They are dreaming of their favorite foods again except this time Jon was leading the conversation about his favorites. We have all been here so long that an apple sounds so good.

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but if the day is nice and does not rain we will take the kids down and let them swim in the creek in the afternoon. Take care to everyone at home and we miss you all.

Our group walking to visit Yusta today.

This is Yusta the cripple woman that Memere pulled several teeth and clean off

The plaque.

This is the funza egg sack, chris put his finger in the picture so you could see the

Size.

Mago News

There have been interesting things happening around here the last couple of days. The locals have been busy harvesting the burnt pine trees ever since we’ve been here. They have lumber mill of some type right out in the trees with them planing the lumber down. Then a huge truck will come and load up all the finished lumber and haul it off.  Well add all the rain we get every afternoon and it spells disaster for these huge trucks. One of them tipped over in the road because of a big mud hole. They brought another one in to try and help set up the other truck and the second one tipped part way off the little bridge. Finally last night one of the trucks made it out past the church and we were cheering-only to be short lived. That truck went up the road and got stuck in the mud not to far from the main road connection. Well it blocked our road all night so Mamere and Pepere had to stay the night here!

First thing this morning the men and kids were up working on the little trail that runs up behind the church so that Mamere could get her truck out and she just let with a bunch of weight in the back and I suppose the men will have to push her in places and there is also a water ditch to cross but I bet she makes it. Today was the day that Dale and Pepere left on an early bus for Kibidula and Mamere is leaving later with a truck load of fundis to take them back to Mafinga.

Pepere fly’s out of Dar this week and Dale is meeting up with the first group after they come back from Zanzibar to fly out together.

The fundis gave a very nice farewell/thank you speech last night after we showed them another blue planet dvd as a thank you. They are very good men and hard workers. They said that they could feel God watching over this project ever since they started and said we were all good fair people. Memere of course, answered back and told them that they had been the blessing here by agreeing to leave their families and come and work for 3 weeks. Then we all prayed together and they all left for the night.  I think 3 of them are coming back next week to work 1 more week here and I know that 1 of them has requested bible studies. So that is very neat to see the Lord work even through the language barrier.

Yesterday Angie and I along with Hannah, Bella, Christina, Beth, Izzy, and Shari and her Hannah all rode to Lupalilo and Ikonda with Memere. I was looking for fabric liner and more material along with searching for produce for our group. Angie was looking for material for the other girls and Shari went along to get her weekly produce. I ended up finding 4 pineapples, tomatoes, green peppers and my material stuff. I met 2 older ladies there that were very nice and seem very interested in what we are doing there. Many of the people are fascinated by the length and color of our hair, especially the little girls. Memere found 2 new brooms since ours had been broke and duck taped back together. So we had a good shopping trip over.

We stopped off at Lupalilo on the way back to Mago to grab Memere’s dental tools because she had to pull some teeth. While she was gathering supplies I walked over to her nursery school to see Nye the teacher and all the little kids. They were all very happy to see me and instantly lined up in the front of the class had brought with her and they were learning English. It reminded me of a sparse Sabbath school room. All the kids had to shake my hand before I left. Then we headed over to a cripple woman’s house to watch and assist Memere with teeth extraction.

This woman was so crippled that she could not use her legs at all and she had to pull herself along the ground with her hands. Of course her legs had wasted away from not being used- it was just sad to see. She was sitting on the ground weaving a basket and letting some millet dry in the sun while she kept her chickens away with a stick.

We laid a shatangi down on the dirt right in the sun and she drug herself over and laid on in. She was so worried that her bottom and legs would not be covered by her wrap so we laid another shatangi over her legs which instantly made her more comfortable. Then Memere had this lady open her mouth and I have never seen anything like it before. She had plaque so bad that you could not see her teeth. So Memere started scraping plaque off her teeth in huge chunks. Of course the blood started flowing from her poor gums and the next thing we knew Izzy walked over to Angie and said “I don’t feel good”- and that was all she wrote! Angie swooped her up just as she passed out. That poor girl was white and pale and Angie took her to the truck.

Memere began pulling teeth without pain medicine but quickly saw it would be a bigger job and gave her some numbing. She pulled 5 teeth out and I felt really bad for that woman but knew she would feel better later on.

I feel much better even though I have a residual crud. Jon and Steve are both much better. Poor Jonah and Izzy came down with a fever last night. Jonah was worse than Izzy and his fever went higher. We gave him some medicine and Teresa was sponging him down. At one point we even put an instant icepack on his neck because he just wasn’t cooling down like he should. Well by the time we all went to bed his fever had dropped a lot. He did get sick in the night but this morning he has been sleeping peacefully and Izzy seems fine.

I will have to end this update because I am making fried potatoes for breakfast to go with the apple cinnamon walnut muffins I made last night. Oh, and we have had regular rodent visitors in the kitchen and cook shack. Last night one was staring at me from the top of a spice container. Apparently they climb very well!

Well Mat and & Sam seem lonely without Jonah around to work and play with. Jonah is trying some broth and has been up to the cho a few times. Everyone else is just dealing with a cold and some of us are getting getter. We are praying that everyone will get well and no one else will get sick.

We had a meeting last night and decided that we will be leaving here November 26 to head for Kibidula then we will all go out to Lake Malawi for 4-5 days of R&R. Then we will go back to Kibidula for a few days and try to get in a safari trip somewhere. Then we will journey back to Dar and then out to Zanzibar for a couple days before heading home.

If anyone back home has any requests for anything from Africa please speak up and I will be happy to try and bring it back.

To the Morgans: Trina if you can get me some measurements for Tori, Ellie, and Erica I could have a dress made or blouse and skirts for the girls. But I would need them right away because we are leaving here in less than 2 weeks. Shoulder width, chest, tummy, hips. arm lenght and circumference along with leg length for skirt or dress length.

If anyone else would like something sewn please send the measurements right away and I will have them done.

Mac & Cheese Goo

What a busy day today! The departing group was on there way bright and early. Many of us remaining were up to say good bye again but I had a terrible night and slept through most of it. I hope they are having a good safe time together. I will miss them not being here and look forward to seeing them at home.

I managed to actually do a lot today but I still have the cruddy cold. I can hardly make myself take the GSE because it tastes so bitter. Poor Steve has been in bed most of the day feeling pretty miserable and Angie said he had a hard night too.

We were moved out of our room temporarily so the men could get in and put up the pine slat ceiling boards. Pepere, Chris, Brent, and Jon worked on it most of the day. This afternoon it was pouring rain and I was out in the kitchen with the girls doing school work and I heard a funny cracking noise! I ran into our room and all the men were laughing and standing on the ground. They had all previously been on homemade ladders and scaffolding nailing up the boards. Well the homemade ladder gave way and cracked; Pepere road the ladder down, Chris jumped down to the floor and I guess they said Jon was temporarily hanging from a rafter. The ladder was about 3 feet shorter and we were very relieved that no one was hurt.

I had Lisungu help me with laundry today because it had piled up from not feeling well. She washed most of it and I did the undies and socks, then I rinsed and ran all the clothes through the wringer and hung them up. Well we enough time to barely finish and be late to lunch. I just had eaten and walked down to the sewing school and the rains came so all the clothes had to be brought in and dried; only they don’t really dry inside.

I took the girls down to be measured for skirts and blouses along with a shatangi. They were very excited ab