One hundred to One

A little more than a week ago, Carter was bitten by a large centipede.  We had always heard that these bites were worse than a scorpion, but we really didn't know how bad it could be!  Within five minutes, there was a dark blue spot the size of a quarter around the bite.  It progressively grew, as did the swelling in his foot.  About half an hour later, he vomited quite suddenly. 

 By the next morning his foot was extremely swollen and bruised. 

After talking to my dad, we realized that the situation was actually more serious than we thought, as the swelling in his foot could also cause compartment syndrome, where a part of the foot is cut off from blood supply, and dies. This would mean the loss of function of his foot--permanently. This got us praying quite a bit more than we had been! Our doctor friend is back in the States, and we didn't have anyone who would be able to check out the foot whom we could really trust. We DID have three nurses on hand that day, which was a special blessing!

SO, it's been 8 days now and he still can't walk on it. He doesn't have much pain, except if his foot or ankle is pushed on. He is getting around on some great crutches we had at Mavuno (another HUGE praise). He has missed out on some things, but is keeping his chin up.

I'm so thankful that we can trust our great GOD with this and ALL that happens to us, knowing that He has a great plan and that He is sovereign over ALL things, even the beasts of the fields!

Ingenious Engineering

I love the children of Tanzania. They have so little, for the most part, but they are sweet and happy and survive against so many odds. They are also CREATIVE, with the little they have. This little guy, Emma, came over a couple of days ago. He brought this car he had made—drove it all the way here. Lots of kids make these cars, or others like them, from whatever they have on hand, but I never get tired of watching what they come up with. Emma’s car has been fashioned in such a way that the little stick in the middle clicks on that revolving wooden “barrel” when you push it forward. He puts little treasures in the plastic container that he attaches there towards the top. I thought you might enjoy this little work of genius in a place far away from most toys and entertainment.

 

Thankful

We got a head start on Thanksgiving last Sunday, when many friends gathered at our home to celebrate. For the third year in a row, we had an honorary German, and this year we also had a couple Kenyans along with our Tanzanian Mavuno kids. While we tried to stick to mostly traditional Thanksgiving food, I still haven’t figured out the local poultry. I figured I would make four chickens, and since someone else was making chicken as well, it should have been enough. However, four foreign fowl do not equal large amounts of meat, and Dave and I had a good laugh at how “nicely” all the parts from the quartet fit into one small pan. Five years here, and I’m still clawing at the learning curve.

The kids had practiced a play for the big day.

That very morning they had been cramming lines into their heads, getting their war paint on,
and propping up cardboard trees.

The play was a tremendous hit, and all our non-Americans learned a little more
about why we celebrate this day.

Wednesday we headed out for Kigoma, on the shores of Lake Tanganika.

 After crossing a section of Lake Victoria on a ferry at 6:30 am, we headed down on mostly dirt road

and ARRIVED, after the closest call we have ever had with a bus. Evidently we weren’t the only ones wanting to get somewhere, as this driver most definitely was trying to break some kind of record. Thankfully there was a ditch to drive into instead of a cliff or the side of the road (or worse, a pedestrian). There were several moments of silence in the car as we contemplated how close we came to being creamed. And then big sighs of relief and “Thank you, Jesus.” We felt grateful to still have breath and life! And reminded again of how God protects us every time we drive!

We arrived at the Ramsey’s house that afternoon. Len and Cindy Ramsey are from Bozeman as well, and we have gotten to know them over the years here in Tanzania. They have a medical ministry for the villages on the edges of Lake Tanganika, where there is very little to no medical care whatsoever. Incredibly, someone several years back donated a helicopter to use for this endeavor, so Len got his license and flies in and out of these remote places.

The day after we arrived, he needed to take back a young girl who had been in Kigoma healing from an infection in her bone. She is only 16 and had been there for many weeks waiting to heal. Dave, Jake and I were able to go up with Len to take Leonia back to her home. As they pulled the helicopter out of the hangar, I asked her if she was nervous to go up in it. No, she said with a smile, she had already done it once! As we came over her village about half an hour later, people ran out from their homes and the school to welcome her back.

 She was BEAMING as she stepped out of the chopper, gave Len a great big hug, and ran to see her family.

After dropping her off, Len took us further out to some of the very remote villages that they visit.

They have done traditional birth attendant trainings in these villages, with great success, and the local ladies are able to call Len if they have a woman in trouble. Many women and babies are alive today because of that work.

It was incredible to see everything from the air.

 Most amazing to us was the vast forest in all directions, something we just don’t see up here near Lake Victoria. Many of the villages were unreachable by vehicle.

Watching the smoke rise over the trees from cooking fires and charcoal making reminded me of David Livingstone’s “smoke of 1000 villages” that he wanted to reach with the Gospel. What a tremendous ministry the Ramsey’s have, and what a privilege to see it first-hand!

This was Livingstone territory, and after we met up with our friends, the Howells, we took a little trip to see the place where Henry Morton Stanley came upon Livingstone with the famous, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” I’m not big on monuments, but it was just COOL to stand in that very place and think back to what was going on 140 years ago in that spot.

The museum is “being developed,” so it was just the right amount of pictures and information for ten kids to take in, in about 15 minutes. And Henry and Dave didn’t even notice the big pack of rowdy youngsters standing around them.

Aside from the memorial, most of our time was spent swimming,

jumping off large rocks (that's Hannah in black, mid-air),

snorkeling, and just hanging out. Lake Tanganika is the second deepest lake in the world, and its waters are crystal clear most of the time. The kids just stood in the shallows and caught little aquarium fish by the dozen, then let them go again. Jake managed to use one to pick up this fellow, which he later fried and ate.

Carter also found a clam, cooked it, and started eating it, but decided it wasn’t his favorite, even with a lot of salt.

The last night there, we were eating on the lookout point, watching the sun set behind the mountains of the Congo right across the lake, and we were treated to a great view of the Liemba, a boat we had been waiting to catch a glimpse of. It is the oldest passenger boat in the WORLD.

Isn’t it scarey that it is still running, and in a 3rd world country?! Really, though, it has been refurbished and has a very interesting history.  Read all about it here. According to Dr. Ramsey, it isn’t a boat that you really want to ride on if you don’t have to, and he has stories to prove it! It doesn’t ever dock, it just goes up and down the lake and the little fishing boats come out to it to take or pick up passengers. Even in the middle of the night. With no entrance/exits signs, and no protocol. And no one to notice if you happen to fall off in transit. Which is just one of the reasons we didn’t make a big effort to ride on it. But it was great to see it nonetheless.

So, home again now, with a big wedding tomorrow, a team coming from Bozeman on Monday, a couple more guests and then we’re off to Nairobi for Christmas and on to the States around the new year. We are looking at a busy and great next couple of weeks! And with fresh thoughts of thanksgiving in our hearts—for family, and friends, life, breath and health, and most of all, HOPE because Emmanuel is still with US!

Celebration and Sadness

Grand celebrations seem few and far between here in the village, but this last weekend was the setting for a terrific wedding for us to enjoy and be a part of.

Saturday I headed with Lauren and the Millers to the local Catholic church. On the way we passed by the house of the groom’s parents, where the reception would take place later. They were preparing the food for the afternoon and invited us to come in. We tried not to stare at the basin they were standing around.

Did you see that?  How about closer…

These were the entrails of some animal—probably a goat—that we were meant to eat later at the reception.  We tried to refocus our energies on getting to the wedding on not thinking about this particular delicacy which would await us. J

We arrived at the church an hour late (the only weddings we have attended haven’t even begun until 2 hours after the scheduled beginning) and were LATE wazungus (white people). This title isn’t easy to come by in this land of “Pole pole ndio mwendo” (Slowly, slowly is still motion)!

Hastily peering in one of the mud-block windows, we caught a glimpse of the priest uttering the final marriage pronouncements. We were surrounded by other late-comers in their Sunday best. One of them, a Mama whom I have gotten to know a little bit, insisted on ushering us INSIDE, which meant shoving past people who were literally jammed into the doorway and the back of the church, and we were kept wondering where we would be able to squeeze. There is nothing like a crowded African church as an argument for small hips! My friend, Mama Euni, shoved some people off of their seats so that we could sit there. Humbling. And not the first time this has happened.

We thought we had come to the end of the service (after all, the bride and groom were married), but the service lasted at least another hour. The Catholics have the best singing around, hands-down, and it was amazing to hear their many voices and harmony sung at the top of their lungs. There was lots of dancing up and down the isle, two offerings were taken, and the priest had people bring up their grain for him to bless it towards the end. Evidently this was a multi-purpose meeting.  Here is the grain people had put outside the door of the church (I thought it was a pile of presents).

Finally, when we thought we might be dangerously close to dehydration due to profuse sweating, the people started dancing towards the front in what looked like the end of the service.  We watched from the back, enjoying the unreserved joy and elation of the moment.  I was taken by surprise when  another older lady came back, grabbed my arm and pulled me up the isle where everyone around me had their hands in the air, singing like crazy, dancing ecstatically.  Really, evangelical or not, there was no option but to dance along. J  They were filled with joy at this happy event.

The GORGEOUS bride

Who said the getaway car was only for the newlyweds?!

After lunch and a nap back home, Amy and I returned to the reception.  A big, dark storm had thundered in, but we all waited out the rain under the edges of the small mud huts and the tarps that had set up especially for the day.  After it cleared, we sat out in the muggy courtyard where they had set up HUGE loudspeakers, a stereo and a microphone.  More dancing, the emcee talking through every bit of it, including compliments for the bride and groom, encouraging things like, “He looks good.  He looks like Obama!”  We ended up missing the rest of it (and those inevitable intestines) as we bowed out early and headed home to make dinner.  I couldn’t help but PRAY that someday many of these people will dance and sing  and celebrate their freedom and forgiveness found in Christ! 

There is no short-cut to good village relations, and weddings and funerals seem to be the main route to get us there. We had another opportunity yesterday, as one of John’s church members passed away in the morning. Only 16 years old, she had died of elephantitis, a rather gruesome and painful disease that had affected her leg. She had been in for treatment, but the leg had burst open shortly before she died yesterday. Because she had been sick, they wanted to bury her right away. The hole was dug, her body buried before the afternoon was over. There were about 300 people at her funeral, and Pastor Pele (a pastor who preaches at the church we go to and the same who helped John get this church going) was able to give a clear salvation message to all of them. This was an incredible opportunity!

Dave and I came up to the house after 5, walked past the freshly dug grave with beautiful flowers arranged on top of it. We entered through the thorn bush fence and were greeted by four bibis (grandmas) sitting on the dirt. They seemed to be most of the funeral party who was left. We said our Pole’s (very sorry) to them, and they greeted with the customary, “Tumeshapoa”—“We have already cooled off (recovered).” This always takes me by surprise, but it is the culturally appropriate response after the body has been buried. We sat with the ladies and the grandfather of Joyce, the girl who had died, and just chatted with them. Joyce and her grandpa had been baptized about a month ago. Her grandpa was so sweet and had life and light in his eyes, even though he was obviously sad. After a time, two motorcycles came up the path with some women, one of whom was wailing loudly. When they arrived, she ran from one little mud room to another, as if searching for Joyce, who we found out was her biological daughter. She had come from Mwanza and hadn’t been able to make it in time for the funeral. It was painful to watch and listen to her as she wailed at the grave, then sat down in the courtyard opposite us, surrounded by others.

The death of young people is so common here. It sometimes seems like if it isn’t one thing--lack of clean water, poor hygiene, inadequate nutrition--, it’s another—poor medical care, lack of basic knowledge of disease, superstition and fear of the spirits. While we get used to hearing about it, we are always grieved to see the reality of another life taken so early. In Joyce’s case, we have reason to rejoice for her. As John said, “Imagine being a Christian for only three months and then getting to meet Jesus.” And for Grandpa, there is also HOPE.

We pray that Isaiah 9:2 would also be true of Kitongo, Tanzania:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”

May we be messengers of LIGHT and HOPE!

Polls and People

It is election day in Tanzania tomorrow. We don’t get involved too much in politics, but we hear things about the current president vs. his opponents. Some things about elections are similar the world over—big promises, big crowds, tension in the air. Some things take different shapes over here, like yesterday, when the currently-in-power CCM party was handing out brand new 1,000 Tanzanian shilling bills to everyone in the village who came and was going to “vote for CCM.” Don’t get too excited—1,000 Tsh is only about 65 cents, but it is still the equivalent of two hours’ wage. An interesting way to get votes!  For us, election day means lying low and waiting for the results that “we will hear unofficially on Monday, and officially, Tuesday,” according to one of our staff.

Time goes by so quickly that I haven’t had time to write about our friend Jacob, who came out for three weeks. He is from Montana and came to visit our off-campus families and do whatever he could to help. We put him to work!

One of our off-campus homes (the incredible family of Martin and David—you can read their stories on the Mavuno website here).

Enjoying the sunset while he sets up solar panels!

“Crazy face” picture that Jacob wisely skipped out on “in case that goes on the blog.” :)

While he was here, we also celebrated Hannah's birthday.  We now have a 14-year-old on the premises!  We celebrated the gift of having Hannah another year.
Launa and Hannah (perhaps not your typical teenage girls) with the sword
that Launa made her for her birthday.

Not too sharp, because they want to duel and don't have proper chain mail. :)

 
 

It's a Girl!

Mavuno welcomed our fifth girl last week.  Bianca joined us from Forever Angels in Mwanza.  She is five, the same age as Mariam, and has already adjusted so quickly to her new home, her siblings, and her new mama and baba.  Bianca gets along with all the kids and  Milka told me today that "she just wants to obey and do what's right!"  We feel so blessed to have her in our village. :)

I thought you might enjoy some other pictures I took today at Bible club of the kids.  These four of the sisters (before Esther came home from school).  Aika, Bianca, Mariam and Helena.

Lauren tackles Sato after having rolled around in the sand (thus the amazing hair).  This is the Sato that I previously wrote about.  We are in the process of finding her a good family to live with and a new school to attend.  Please keep her in your prayers as she adjusts to a new life and family.

Esther, Michael and Jona share a laugh watching the skit.

One of the local village girls that comes to Bible club.

Michael and his mama.

Two older boys who come to Bible club and also play soccer with us every weeknight.

Discussions of Geographically Opinionated Individuals

As the two girls sat at the table this morning during art, I overheard a congenial, if not somewhat opinionated discussion that caught my attention.

Lauren (forgetting Megan has a combined total of 10 months of American living under her belt): Megan, do you like Tanzania or America better?

Megan: I like Tanzania better because I like the dogs here.

Lauren (horrified): Megan, the dogs are skinny and disgusting!

Megan: I didn’t mean the village dogs, I meant our dogs. Which do you like better?

Lauren: Well, I like here better because of the cute babies...

 and the good weather.

Megan: Yeah, and the balloons (we had a birthday party for Hannah yesterday).

Lauren: They have balloons in America. Lots of them.

Megan: Oh.

Which just goes to show that the learning curve as we head for the States in January is going to be steep!

White girls in their African world

More Ramblings...

Michael, Mavuno child for close to two months now,

 when asked what he wants to be when he grows up:

 “A DADDY.”

YAY, yay, yay!!! Michael, who up until this point has NEVER had a daddy or known what a family is, understands now and wants to be like his daddy, John. What an awesome testimony to the power of GOD through the love of his family!

We are looking forward eagerly to accepting our 8th child into the Mbugua home next month. Bianca will join us on the 7th of October, coming from Forever Angel’s Baby Home in Mwanza (where both Michael and Aika came from as well). As Bianca is five, Milka and John have their hands full of preschool and kindergarten aged children! 

Last weekend most of the family (minus Kate, Megan and Mom) ran the 5K in the second annual Rock City marathon in Mwanza.  As this is the only event of most any kind in Mwanza, it is pretty exciting for us bush people.  Last year, after beating their previous 5K times by more than 5 minutes, we drove the route and found out that it was actually only 3.9 K.  This year, we are pretty sure that it was a pretty accurate 5K, but the African flavor of the race still lingered (which was most of the fun).  Starting time was 7 am, and they actually got the call for “Men in the front, women in the back…GO!” at 8:40.   

Lauren’s 2K was supposed to start at 8 but started right around 9:45, and after about 30 seconds of running, everyone had to stop and wait for the police escort to find out which route he was supposed to take.  I use the term “route” loosely, as there is nothing marked, and if you don’t see someone ahead of you, there is no way to know where to go.  No traffic is stopped, so there are instances where you are risking your life to run. J  In the end, though, everyone had a great time, received a t-shirt and hat (also unheard of here, and we were asked for ours by people hanging around before we could even leave the stadium), and are still stretching some sore muscles!

We had another fire last night. We smelled it during our reading before bed, then by 10:30 the small blaze made by the local fisherman had turned into quite an inferno, burning up a huge section of Mavuno land. Thankfully, we had already burned near our house (before the other big fire) so this one came just about 30 feet from our bedroom window while we watched. It was quite a sight!

The most exciting thing that has happened in a LONG time is that there is a church going up! And that is just the building! John has been meeting with the local believers every Sunday now on a plot of land, out in the sun, and there have been at least 30 for the past month (not including children, who number at least 30). We are so excited about these new believers. They are so eager to learn, only one of them coming from a different church in the area. John is getting to answer questions like, “Who made God?” They are new to almost everything about Christianity, and John is faithfully walking them through the basics of our faith. Bible-teaching and Christ-honoring churches seem to be few and far between, and Jesus Christ is building His church in Kitongo!

While most of you head into winter soon, we head into our rainy season. We continue to pray that not only will Mavuno be a place of harvesting crops, but we will truly be planting seeds of discipleship and faithfulness in the children we receive (as well as our own!). Please pray that we will persevere in a way that would honor Jesus and bless those around us—our families, our teammates, and our village.