Back in the USA

I and the boys arrived in Texas ten days ago. I am finally recovered from jet lag, and feeling well again. The last few months of life in Africa have been hard and fast, with plenty of new experiences. With all that we've had to do in making the move to the village, we have not been well connected with the outside world! We hope to catch up with everyone during the next few months, especially since we should have pretty regular internet service (hurray!). And I hope to become a more regular blogger... we'll see how that works!
I am looking forward to blogging about some of our experiences during the last few months of living on the shamba (farm). So check in occasionally!
And I am very much loving connecting with family, friends, and resting in the Lord's presence as He renews, refreshes, and heals me. Hope to see many of you as we will be in Texas until mid- next year.   But, time will fly!
Bob is still on the island, finishing up some work and projects. We hope he will be able to join us early next month.

Sorrowful news

On Thursday, Jan. 31, we received a call in the wee hours of the morning, informing us of the death of my sister –in-law, Pessa. It was a terribly painful ordeal. Her death was unexpected, and a great loss to all the family. She left behind her husband, and twelve-year-old daughter. She was Bob’s only sibling.

She had been having problems for quite some time, and as no treatment seemed to be doing any good, she finally scheduled to have a hysterectomy operation on the last day of January. She was concerned about it- of course, she didn’t really want to have the operation, but all other remedies being exhausted, she decided it must be done. She asked for prayers. Mama Bob, Dennis, her husband, and Dennis’ mother accompanied her to the hospital in Dar. This hospital is one of the best in the country. Bob wanted to go, too, but they assured him it was not necessary. And so that afternoon the operation was done, but she went into cardiac arrest while yet in surgery. She recovered, however, and was stabilized. The operation being finished, she was sent to the ICU, where they allowed Mama to go to her. They called us, and let us know all was well. But she went into cardiac arrest again, and was again stabilized. There was some trouble about oxygen,too- she was in need of it, but there was no tank available. One was finally procured from another department. But for the third time, she went into cardiac arrest, and from this she never recovered.

We received the news with a call in the middle of the night. Such a call is so shocking, and heart-wrenching, it is impossible to describe it. We could only cry tears of sorrow, and cry out to our Lord for help, wisdom, comfort.  It seems impossible, at first, that she is really gone. How can it be? How can we live, how can we get on? In these first days it is so painful, it seems impossible.  There were more calls during the night back and forth, and amidst all our grief, we slowly learned what happened. Bob called other relatives to let them know. We got no more sleep that night.

In the morning Bob left as early as he could. He needed to be there for Mama, for Dennis. He needed to be there for himself- to grieve with his family. He flew to Dar as soon as it could be arranged. Some of his close friends came over right away in the morning, before he left, to give their condolences.  Arriving in Dar, he met his family at the hospital, and they started making arrangements for the funeral.  

I and the children flew to Dar the following day, after it was decided the funeral would be on Saturday. We told the boys the sad news after they woke up in the morning. But they were not concerned- they did not understand. Wilberforce was quite sure that Auntie Pessa would be there when he got to Morogoro, and she would give him treats and do fun things with him as usual.

We took a taxi from the airport to the hospital, where family and friends had gathered for “last respects”, which was akin to visitation.  We arrived late- thanks to our tardy airplane- but from what I gathered, they had said some prayers and had a short service there in a conference room of the hospital. The coffin was there, glossy black, with metal motifs depicting Christ on the sides. Rather Catholic- looking, I thought- then I remembered that Dennis’ family was Catholic. It was closed when I arrived. I sadly greeted all the relatives and friends who had gathered. Mama was sitting in the room near the coffin, sometimes crying, sometimes talking with the visitors. I went in to see her. We embraced, both crying; she thanked me for coming. I couldn’t say anything at the moment. The boys came and sat on her lap, which seemed to comfort her.

Soon preparations were made to depart from the hospital. The casket was loaded into a van, the front of which was decorated with bows and ribbons. A large bus arrived, and many relatives were boarded. I and the boys along with Bob and some other relatives, rode in our own van. And so the caravan proceeded on the three hour trip to Morogoro town, where Pessa and Dennis’ home is. Except it took us a lot longer than three hours. Bob was too exhausted to drive, and so one of his friends drove- very slowly. It took us more like five hours.  Finally we arrived at Dennis’ house.

The casket had been set in a bedroom. It had been decided that since the body had been embalmed, there was no need to take it to the morgue; several fans were put in the room to cool the area. All the furniture had been moved out of the living room, and mats spread on the floor. A mattress was in the center of the room, where Mama and Dennis’ mother sat. Women were sitting all over the mats, talking quietly, or crying, or sitting silently. There were perhaps 75 or so women in there. The men were outside, where canopies had been spread, and plastic lawn chairs had been brought from nearby churches. I met Zawadi here- she was in a bedroom, with some of the other children. When I came in, she cried, and I cried, and we hugged. She soon recovered, and I was called away. She seemed to be doing very well, though, considering her loss.  Presently a meal was served to everyone. It consisted of rice, meat mchuzi, beans, mchicha (greens), and water. Afterward some hymns were sung. The boys were completely tuckered out at this point, so we took them to Mama’s house, where we slept that night. Everyone else would sleep there at Dennis’ house together, on the mats or the ground, or where ever there was a place. That is the tradition here, to comfort the bereaved.

Next day was the funeral.

 

Today and Forever

It's ten o'clock pm on my island. The boys are tucked in bed. Bob is already asleep, tired after a long day at the building site. I'm about ready to hit the hay myself, but feel compelled to type a few lines on my neglected-as-of-late blog! 

I have done lots of crazy, normal things today. Crazy, because a gal from Texas would certainly never expect to do these things. Normal, because I live on an African island. Anyhow, I've scrubbed out the water filter, picked pebbles out of the beans and set them to soak for tomorrow, taken a cold shower, and am ready for much-needed rest.

As a mama, I do a thousand things in a day that will all be undone tomorrow. But what will last that I have done today? What is my eternal work for the day? The time spent  with my children- especially in their spiritual instruction. The time spent with my neighbors- each moment with them is an eternal investment oppotunity. Prayer- I have prayed for many, friends, family, situations today. This is time not wasted, as it makes eternal impact in our world. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that is might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Why did he do that? To glorify God; to make Him known. Our prayers of faith in all situations can and will have the same impact.Time with the Word- always humbling, insightful, rejuvenating, and the Word of the Lord shall last forever.

I've done nothing extrordinary today; nothing extreme or difficult (ok, well, husking those coconuts actually was pretty difficult!). Yet I have an made eternal impact. Each day is an opportunity to influence the here and now- but also eternity.

The Radical Problem

Well, things have calmed down a bit now, at least in our part of the world. Wow, it's been a crazy few weeks, what with embassies being attacked and protests and riots and whatnot. Here on the island there wasn't much trouble- whatever was brewing was pretty well snuffed out before it got started, and there was only some small protests and vandalism during the Islamic uproars. This, however, was on the mainland last Friday:

There was a HUGE demonstration by Muslims, outraged at the slander of Mohammed. They tried to go to the US embassy, but the police and military were were ready at arms, to keep them at a distance. Bob was actually there in the city that day; he said it was crazy, and put the city into confusion for the better part of the day. Their signs say 'Curses on America and Israel'. Wow, let's blame two entire nations for the foolish work of one scum bag Egyptian! Of course, it's not really about the ridiculous film, it's much deeper than that, but that silly clip gives them something tangible to complain about. Speaking with Muslims that day, Bob was frustrated as he tried to talk earnestly with them, encouraging them to look at this reasonably.
The attacks on the embassies are awful and tragic. It is unbelievable how adherents of Islam can even begin to say that theirs is a peaceful religion. Yet they insist it is!
Most Muslims are not what you'd call radical. And yet, most cannot disagree with what the radicals are doing, because this is part of their religion. Islam is spread through fear, intimidation, the sword, and slavery. It has always been so. Apparently they are not aware of the old adage, "He who is convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." Yet, what one thinks is not so important as his works/looks/prayers/etc.
How often I wish I could make my friends here understand that the Lord looks into a man's heart, not at his works!
Jesus came to save. He did it not through conquest, but through laying down His life as a ransom for many. He came to save those fellows in the picture above. Gilbert asked why they were demonstrating, as Bob was telling us about it. I answered, "Because they do not know the love of God. That is why." They do not have His love and forgiveness in them, that is why they are full of rage and violence. It's a terrible state to be in.

"For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, HE saved us..."

The radical problem is sin, and we've all got it. But through Jesus, God has made the way for us to be reconciled. How I thank Him for His mercy! We continue to pray, and talk with our neighbors. These events do strain some relationships, but it opens up lots of dialogue too. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be children of your Father in heaven..." This is way of our Lord. We will follow Him.

Back to School...or not

Yesterday was the first day of school for many of your kids. For us it was the first day of school after a three week Ramadan/Eid vacation. But only my Wilberforce started back to school yesterday.
We could not convince Gilbert that he would enjoy going back to school. He's been complaining about school for a few weeks now. It was getting increasingly difficult to make him go each morning. Over the holiday we tried to figure out what the problem was, and little by little he would talk about it.

He does not like school anymore! Mostly this is just due to his personality. He's a goer and a doer, always wants to be busy and doing new things and interesting projects. If he's not actively engaged in some exciting work, he gets cantankerous and bothersome to everyone! At school he was getting bored with the repetition, which was naturally for him causing behavior problems, which didn't lead to the best relationship with Teacher. He also needs lots of attention- he's very demanding in that way. It was very frustrating to him when he needed help with his school work, but Teacher didn't help him because she was busy with others.

There's also a couple of cultural problems. Gil felt badly when the teacher called them names. The other children are more accustomed to it; it's pretty common for adults to do that to kids. He was also very let down when the teacher would promise to give him a gift when he did a good job on his school work- but then never did. This is a sad, but common practice here. Parents or other adults will attempt to manipulate a child by promising him a reward if he does well, but then not give him anything. Of course, older kids wisen  up to that gimmick pretty fast, and don't believe a word they say. (Way to teach a kid to trust you, right.) But we have never done this to our kids. If we promise our kids something, we make sure we can fulfill our word. So Gilbert was pretty upset by the teacher's deceit.

After praying and discussing, we decided we would not make him go back. There were many good things about school- he got to be with other kids, learn more kiswahili, play and have fun with others in a structured morning. It was good for the time being. But now we are back to homeschooling! It fits his personality better. It's just a lot more work for mama and papa!

Force will continue to go preschool. he loves it. And what kid wouldn't? They sing songs, play games, watch ESL movies...:) His best friends are Ali, Ikram, and Chales. He's learned Swenglish. It's all good! I think it's good for him to get some time that is his own, with out his bossy older brother!
Such decisions about our kids are not easy. We don't want them to give up on something just because it's hard or they're not having fun. We pray for wisdom each day to raise our children with love in the way of the Lord. Different kids have different needs, and we try as best we can to be sensitive to that, and help each of them grow and develop in their weaknesses and strengths. O Lord, for wisdom, and grace to carry it through!

~Rachael

Eid on the island

Sunday was Eid, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. It's definitely the biggest holiday here, somewhat akin to our Christmas. After a month of fasting, it's definitely time to celebrate! Everyone gets new clothes, the kids get new toys, and it's a very jolly time with feasting, family gatherings, making cookies (that's the boys' favorite part of Siku Kuu, I'm pretty sure!) visiting friends, beach outings, and the like. 

At night many people go to town, where little fairs are set up with food, toys to buy, and play places for the kids. People from all over the island turn out by the thousands, dressed in their holiday best (think crowds of glittering peacocks in every color of the rainbow). It is THE thing do to on Siku Kuu. 

 And it is CRAZY!

 We are not into big crowds. But last year we braved Forodhani, going with friends for the evening.

 Craziness, I tell ya. Zogo.

 Met up with some friends (impossible not too- pretty much everyone is there)!

After eating we decided to go to the play place. As we were walking there, the press of people was so great that I lost hold of Force's hand. And he was lost from my sight! We looked for him for over an hour, walking all over the park searching for him. We went to the on-duty police men for help, and they were pretty much like, pole sana, leave your number and we'll give you a call if we see him. 

I knew he would be hard to find, because he's a friendly little guy and would not cry to be with strangers. If it were Gilbert, he would be screaming bloody murder, but not Force!

Finally I found him, sitting on the wayside with a family, eating happily! When he saw me, he said, "Mama, I got gum!!" with a huge smile. Yep, he was not bothered at all that we had the daylights scared out of us while he was missing for so long!

Well, needless to say, we did NOT go to town this year, and I don't think we will until the boys are all much taller!

Siku Kuu was not so jovial this year- it was a very rainy day. And the group against the Union was planning to cause trouble again on that day... people say the rain was His way of frustrating their plans. Perhaps so! :)

Yet another ferry disaster

Two weeks ago, a  ferry travelling from the mainland sank as it was nearing our island. There was very high winds that day, and when a larger ferry passed too closely by the smaller one, it was overturned in the wake.  Around three hundred people were trapped inside, and died. About one hundred and fifty people were saved alive.
Rescue vessels did not arrive at the accident until two hours after it happened, despite it being very near- even within sight- of the harbor. Fishing boats and other small vessels were among the first responders, who were able to rescue many survivors.

It is another disaster, due to carelessness and greed, much like the ferry that sank last year in September. That accident was even worse, with over two thousand people drowning en route to a neighboring island. It was overloaded to the max, and not able to navigate the strong current that day.

This recent accident involved a ferry which was very old- it had been retired as unseaworthy from Washington state, sold, transported to Tanzania, modified with another deck so as to carry more people/cargo, and used for several years to ferry people from the mainland to the island.

And there is no compensation to the survivors or relatives of the victims from the owners of the ferries. There is no consequences to the port authorities, or the captains, or the ferry owners. Other than a few officials stepped down from their posts. ouch, right? It is sickening, literally.

 Bob went with a good friend of his to the place where the corpses were brought, to try find two of his relatives. They were never found. After a few days, they had a funeral for them.
The bodies of many little children were there. No one could even identify many of them. But this I know, that Jesus knows them perfectly, and He welcomed them into His arms that day.

This is another reminder to us of the urgency of our message. No one knows which day will be his last, for we all must go the way of all the earth. But that each man would go in peace, and in assurance, of his final destination!- and not live in fear, and uncertainty, as do so many of our neighbors. Lord, may the Good News go forth, throughout this island, and be received by many accepting hearts!