Real Life Sets In

But if you're looking for a sad story, this isn't it. :) Len's boss here graciously gave us the month of April to get settled, attend to the business of getting a driver's license, bank account, and other legal matters, and just get oriented. It was a great gift, and the timing has been perfect as Len has been easing into projects, and also because it takes many weeks and multiple visits to the bank to open an account here, and there is also the bonus random closings of businesses that we have yet to figure out.

The good news is that we were able to maximize our time being productive and also spending time as a family. Those of you who know me well know that I was pretty anxious about the latter since Len and I didn't really spend a lot of time together in the states. As it turns out, we really do enjoy living together!

Preschool was not on our radar as there wasn't one near us when I looked into it several months ago, but one has just opened very close to our home and Ruby and Henry are there two mornings a week, enjoying it very much. There is a tortoise and several other animals outside that they interact with, as well as working on colors, letters, etc. and most importantly, playing with new friends!! We are very thankful for this surprise blessing.

House family (employees who work within our walls) are also falling into place very nicely, with Barnabas being our key hire, who cleans, does laundry, organizes everything, and keeps the plants from dying. He has been infinitely valuable to us as he is proficient in English and fluent in Swahili, and has kept me from crying many times when I needed to interact with someone who only spoke Swahili. Language lessons are also informally administered; he will write down a list of Swahili words and their English equivalents, and after there are five or six on the list, he'll say something like, "That's plenty for today." Sadly, those few words are often too much for me to master in one day.

We have also hired a woman, Zena, to work two days a week washing and prepping produce (everything must be washed and many things must be peeled here before consuming) and helping with the kids as there is a never-ending parade of workers in and out to connect internet, check broken things, etc.

Having things fixed is tricky because you never really know when someone is coming. Yesterday, the electrician was supposed to visit at 10 AM to look at a few items, but never showed up. However, he did arrive today (on a holiday) but we weren't able to have him check everything as we had to leave and Barnabas has the holiday off. Kind of random and similar to the businesses closing at random. Also in this vein, we had been referred to a good butchery but it has not been open any times we stopped by. I am told to go to the butchery first thing in the morning to get the meat fresh, before it has hung in the hot window all day. Probably will take that advice.

We try to buy locally, which includes eggs from some squatters living near us in an unfinished house. We get 30 fresh (as in, less than 24 hours old) eggs for 6,000 shillings, which is just under $5.00. Not bad. The yolks are firm and yellow, and we wash them before putting them in the fridge. There are several dukas within walking distance that sell various fruits and vegetables, and they might have something one day but not the next. Menu planning is a little tricky because of this but we're learning to adapt recipes and be flexible. Len is currently out meeting with a man to look at a generator for our house, and he is also searching for ground beef as we cannot find any today. There is a supermarket about 20-90 minutes away depending on traffic, which may be the only place that has it today. But since we don't have time to get there and back, sloppy joes might have to wait until another day.

Intentionally living with one vehicle, we are learning to plan better than before and again to be flexible. Since Len works just a couple of miles away from our house (and right across the road from the ocean!) it has been pretty easy to manage.

More about recent road and air trips soon...trying to catch up a lot of life in one post here. :)

Happy Henry Day!

"WHAT am I going to do with a BOY?!"

My first words upon meeting oxygen-breathing Henry for the first time were not the most eloquent perhaps, but I have found myself thinking them, "WHAT am I going to do with this boy?!" many times since that day three years ago.

His name means "ruler of the house" and my thirty pound powerhouse doesn't realize that a preschooler is not meant to rule the house. So, my job for the time being is to help him learn patience. And obedience. And teach him kindness and love and faith. And that we are little and God is big. Yet to Henry, everyone else is little and he is big. So we have some distance to go.

Three years ago today, I drove myself to the hospital (at my insistence - it didn't make sense to me to make Len and Ruby get up in the night so that they could sit somewhere and wait) and checked in, eager to meet face-to-face the lively baby growing inside me. After 12 hours or so of labor, out he screamed. Henry has had opinions from the beginning. (After spending some time with Ruby that morning, Len did come to the hospital...I don't want anyone thinking he wasn't attentive. But let's face it...there isn't much for the man to do in the birthing process.)

Hard as it is to believe that the little ruddy body laying on my chest that night has grown into a strong, tall young boy, he was parading his spunk all day today. Playing with new friends here, running along the surf with his friend Gabriel on the beach at lunch, hunting sand crabs and dodging the water, eating nachos and cake for dinner, ordering each bite. Maybe it's the heat, or the stress of moving, but he has been napping more here than he ever did in Indianapolis, and I will confess that his curly hair falling across my legs on the sofa makes my heart melt in 18 directions. Such a little boy, but wanting to rule over all.

Happy Henry Day, and may we enjoy many more together!

THIS is the Rainy Season

In a previous post, I referred to the rainy season as we had experienced it thus far, with short downpours each day. For four days now, however, it has barely stopped raining. So this is what they meant....

One main benefit to the rainy season is that it cools things off. 80 degrees never felt so cool! With a breeze, it's downright nice. The man who works in our house has asked for extra tea and coffee this week because he is cold, and the guard wears an insulated coat at night, with heavy boots. I try not to laugh at them, because I do find it quite funny to be 'cold' when it is still 80 degrees.

That said, I do miss the sunshine. Among the many benefits to the tropical heat here are that you don't have to defrost everything. Food can come out of the freezer for 10-20 minutes and be completely defrosted. On a normal sunny day, it is too hot for mosquitos and most other bugs to be active between dawn and dusk. With the rain, however, they are more active, and our yard is very wet right now and full of fun creatures, including a massive (5 inch) beetle I will post a picture of when I have the opportunity.

Henry and I went creature hunting today, but didn't find too much. I'm told the fun ones come out mostly at night and I haven't wanted to douse myself in bug spray any night this week. Len doesn't find it attractive. :)

Len was almost a casualty of the rain this week. He dropped off a friend and was running through the pedestrian gate (everyone here has two gates in their wall, one for a car and one for people) in the downpour with his head down against the rain, and it turns out the gate is a little short. He cut the top of his head and had a nasty bump, but is thankfully ok. With some antibiotic ointment and calendula, he'll be rescalped in no time.

Another casualty of the rain is the roads. While going to the market yesterday, I made it around a fallen tree near a bridge but had to turn back at a place where the water was very high and few trucks were making it through. Len drove through that place in the truck today and one that was deeper and made it, though. He said the water was up to the doors, although it didn't come in. On Tuesday I took our friend home and drove through one intersection where I actually started to feel seasick; all the road was covered with rushing water going the opposite direction of us, and when I returned through that intersection after dropping her off, part of the road had begun to wash out.

Doesn't seem to phase Africans too much, though. They just keep going on about life. When the tree was across the road, there were locals cutting it up and taking it away...it was cleared very quickly. No waiting for the city trucks to come and do it for them. Of course, I don't know if there are city trucks to come. But I do love the innovative spirits of the Africans I've met.

The rain is starting again. I'm sure we'll miss it when the dry season comes, but until then, I'll covet whatever sunshine God can throw this way.

Toaster Blackout Love

Len is a very helpful guy, and offered to take the kids to buy a refrigerator and a few other things while I organized a bit during our first week. There is a South African store in the city that sells AND delivers new appliances, so he decided to go there for the ease of delivery (otherwise we would have to find and hire someone with a truck to do it, and since we don't speak Swahili very well yet, this would be very difficult).

"The guy will be calling you for directions to our house, " he called after the purchase was made.

"Where do we live?" I asked from inside our house. I really had no idea where I was, other than the northern part of a large African city. Our house is about 100 yards up one of hundreds of unlabeled dirt roads I've seen here, and is surrounded by other similar houses.

"Just give him the main intersection at the roundabout." and we lost connection.

Well, I did know that we live near a roundabout. I didn't know that there are at least three roundabouts in this area of town. The names of the roads snaking from the roundabout were a complete mystery to me, as very few roads have signs or visible labels.

Soon the phone rang again. "LWIEEJHOEIMZOENWEUMDIDSDN?" said the delivery driver in Swahili. Now, I'm sure this gentleman speaks very eloquent Swahili, but I am still working on basic greetings and how to ask for prices three weeks later, and on this fresh-from-the-boat day, I couldn't even think of a proper greeting. It sounded like he was yelling the above phrase at me, and although I knew who he was and what he wanted, the conversation was going badly before I even spoke.

"Yes, asante," I started. You can't go wrong with thank you, right?

"MZURIEEBREE NGDOZEE" (note: these are not actual Swahili words, just what it sounded like he was saying)

"Are you the delivery driver? Do you have a refrigerator?"

End of call. He hung up.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again. Same conversation. Same ending. This happened two more times.

Finally, I found our house family guy, who speaks decent English and great Swahili. Approaching tears, I pushed the phone into his hand and asked him to answer it. I didn't understand anything he said, but about five minutes later a truck pulled in the gate and several men brought in our refrigerator. Thank you, Lord. Asante sana.

Another item Len purchased was a toaster. I am not a toast-loving person, in fact, I don't know that we have ever owned a toaster. Apparently, Len has been longing for one and so we kept it and set it up next to the electric kettle he also bought. A less overwhelmed person might have remembered that water takes forever to boil at sea level. I quickly came to love the kettle.

We were eager to test our neat little plastic appliances plugged neatly into a twin socket, and promptly filled the kettle with water and dropped a slice of bread into the toaster. Water boiled in less than a minute! When I pushed the lever on the toaster, however, the power went out.

Blackouts, we were told, are a common part of living in Dar. They happen frequently and without warning or a schedule. So we accepted that this was simply part of our new arrangement and proceeded to the next task on our list, and the next and the next, not really thinking about the blackout until we returned to a dark home hours later. Headlamps were distributed and I felt very rustic and local. We have no generator yet, and just assumed that everyplace we had been that day had a generator or weren't affected by the outage. Someone had even mentioned a blackout in our area. Anyway, we didn't realize until bedtime that we had just blown a fuse when the toaster started...Len figured this out and re-set the fusebox. He is become quite handy.

The defective toaster was returned to the store later that week. The woman behind the counter said, "It's not broken. I can fix it." and she pulled out a screwdriver and tools and took it apart on the spot, made some quick adjustments, and handed it back to Len. "It will work now."

When the toaster returned home, I was a little disappointed as I had secretly hoped Len would see the light and not get another one. He explained the lady's deft fixing and we plugged it in to give it a spin. Behold, it was healed. And as I turned it over to examine the settings, I noticed two small post-it notes from the counter lady:

"Want u 2b ma friend call me" and a name and phone number. We laughed for a long time.

I love that toaster now for providing us with so many laughs and I kept the post-its in my journal to provide additional laughter when I think of the day. Good medicine for the soul, it is.

Bits and Pieces

April 6, 2010

Here are a few fun bits from our first days here. I hope they make you smile:

Despite our understanding that rainy season was over, it is not. Almost every day since we arrived, there has been a torrential downpour for 10-90 minutes, usually early in the day. The day we went to unpack at our house, the downpour came at the exact moment Len was trying to open our gate with one of 20 or so keys we have for the house. It took him about 10 minutes to get the gate unlocked (keys can be fickle here) and at that moment, the rain stopped. Benefit of torrential downpour: it cools things off a bit. And we needed showers anyway.

The next day, as Len explored our vehicle (which, like the house, has also exceeded our expectations), he opened the back gate-style door and a good-sized (over a foot) lizard scuttled out, jumped over Len's feet (from the truck), and ran into the backyard. We are so not in Kansas anymore.

On another lizard-related note, there are little gecko lizards everywhere, including inside our house. They don't show up inside that often though. The first time we spotted one inside was on the wall of our bedroom after the first few hot, sweaty days here and we were exhausted. After a quick executive meeting, we decided the lizard might eat the other bugs we see from time to time, and left it alone. Live long and prosper, lizard.

School is almost over here for the season, and many expats are coming and going. At a recent garage sale, some children were looking through a box of books and found the biggest spider I've ever seen. It had a hairy brown body and long hairy legs (not a tarantula though). It looked good enough to eat. So I ate it. Just kidding. The kids seemed amazed at it for a few minutes, then moved back to the books. A good reminder that if I've ever wanted to be more tidy and organized, now is the time, so we can discourage such beasts from moving in with us.

Despite these bug stories, our home is not especially 'bugg-y' and for that we are very thankful. Hopefully frequent cleaning and keeping things tidy and closed up will continue this trend.

When we left church the other day (which is held outside in a large banda), there was a man selling a live monkey for tsh 30,000 (about $22). Kind of cute, but no takers. There are dozens of new, unusual events like this that happen daily.

Our friends the Stantons from the UK came over for dinner one night that first week, and the eating utensils we thought were waiting here for us are nowhere to be found. So we ate using random cooking utensils. One of us used a silicone spatula, someone else used a salad server, someone had tongs...it was quite fun and really fit in with all of the fun newness of the place. Good times.

My first really frustrating moment took place that same night, when I was baking some brownies and realized that the teachers who told me the metric system is not useful and we don't need to learn it were all liars and fools. To preheat the oven to 350 degrees, something I did almost daily and without thought in the US, I had to dig out my cookbook with the formula for converting degrees F to degrees C. It is overwhelming at times to not know how to do anything. But we are laughing a lot, learning a lot, and moving forward each day. :)

Smells Like Africa Out There

Monday April 5, 2010



Slept well in our friends' guest room - they do hospitality very, very well. Woke up excited to get going but quickly realized we're in Africa, where nothing happens in a hurry. As a goat ran by my window I heard Ruby's little voice beside me, "It smells a little bit like Africa out there." And it is a hot smell, although not stinky most of the time.



Sitting on the porch as it rained an hour later, we watched hundreds of termites fky up out of the earth, creating a carnival effect as birds came en masse to dive for them. Birdwatching that rivals the best Yellowwood Forest bird day. Ruby observed the 'little beaches' that formed spontaneously as torrential rain saturated the drive and lawn for about an hour before stopping as though on a timer. The sun came out over the Indian Ocean (in view of our friends' porch) and began its baking for the day.

Just before lunch we did visit our new house. It greatly exceeded our expectations. Not large, but plenty of room for us, and even a space for a playroom. Our landlord's attention to western detail is notable with crown moulding and nicer light fixtures, and the floorplan is open. All of these things help in little ways with lessening the culture shock. If it had a second floor, I think we could see the ocean as we are less than a mile from it! But one floor is good as it makes the children feel comfortable and close. Tropical flowers and foilage line the house and there is a mini-jungle of new insects, lizards, bats, birds, spiders and frogs living among it. There are a few banana plants (trees?) and much sunshine. We plan to return tomorrow to unpack.

Our friend brought lunch by and took us to the local duka (storefront) and vegetable duka (fresh produce stand). Ruby was delighted and dismayed by the chickens and peepeeps running underfoot as she helped select fruit for morning. The local bakery is also a short tuktuk (three-wheeled scooter with a backseat and roof) ride away. I'll be sure to include photos as I can.

Friends were having an Easter egg hunt at their house for their house family and their children, and ours joined in. What fun! The African children had never had an egg hunt, and one of the ladies translated instructions for them. They seemed confused by the concept until they started opening the eggs and finding little treasures inside. The uncharted wonder on their faces was priceless.

Dinner was with friends at an oceanside restaurant with delicious fresh seafood. The peninsula alight in the distance as the sun set behind us was a wonderful end to our day of new beginnings.

To The Skies!

April 4, 2010

The last four days either solidified or shattered our relationship with the friends whose guest house we've been borrowing. Despite living in their backyard for the last eight months, we saw them more in the 72 hours preceeding our departure than in the rest of it combined. Without their help, and the help of so many others, we could not have left on time. Clearing out a life takes more work than I had budgeted, so thank you, beloved friends!

Saturday, I took the kids to the Children's Museum one last time before heading to the airport. The emotional dimension of these last weeks is hard to describe; add that to getting three hours of sleep in the last two nights and you understand why I started crying when we walked down the ramp and through the lobby one last time before leaving. Fortunately, I got it under control before security stopped us. This place has been a blessing to us in so many ways; as a home for playdates, a weekly destination, special 'firsts' like stage musicals. I hope there are places in Africa where their faces will reflect joy and awe like they do when riding the carousel at the museum. One more time in the pretend ice cream shoppe, one more turn at the ball machine in Scienceworks, one more walk through the hall of mirrors and Barbie. Then it was time to go home to pick up Len and get to the airport.

There were nine adults at the airport to help us and we needed every hand. Unloading the bags, playing with the kids, watching the cars, helping with the desk and checking in took quite a bit of time and we were thankful for the help. It was like God parted the sea for us the entire way: as we approached the desk and security checkpoint, there were no lines. When we walked out, there were long lines. And this was not due to our sluggishness! Ruby kept us moving through the security area; she has the entire process down to an art. Ruby is the person you want to be behind in the security line. She knows what to do, and she will set you straight if you aren't moving fast enough or forget to put something in a bin.

Harry and Izzy's is a restaurant just past the checkpoint at the Indianapolis Airport; we had time to stop there for a good meal and wine before heading to the gate. St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail was a nice way to say goodbye to Indy.

The trip really couldn't have gone better. We flew Indy to Detroit to Amsterdam to Dar, and the transatlantic and longer Amsterdam to Dar flights even had enough empty seats to spread out and rest a little. The kids love to fly and were champs. One rough point for me was on the approach to Amsterdam when the steward said, 'For those of you returning to the United States...' and I realized we weren't, at least not for a while. But we had agreed to not get emotional in front of the kids, and our unplanned strategy of not sleeping was really working for us on that front; once you deaden enough brain cells from sleep deprivation, it is easy to move your family to the other side of the world without thinking too much about it. Or maybe we just can't handle thinking about it at this point.

A shout -out here to KLM Dutch Royal Airlines...they do a wonderful job with children, special meals and overall service. Everytime I thought about asking for something, the steward was there holding it before I said anything. Now that I think about it, it was almost creepy how intuitive they were. But it made for a very nice flight.

We landed in Dar a few minutes ahead of schedule and barely broke stride through customs. I think they were all tired. We made it out of the airport so quickly that our ride was not there yet! Len pulled out his US cell phone to call him and as he turned it on, the battery died. So there were a few anxious moments of sitting on the curb with our bags, painfully foreign. Thankfully, it was literally only seconds until we heard our friend's banter on his phone as he got out of his car - he had arrived just on time! Ruby and Henry fell asleep on me in the back seat of his truck as we drove to their house for the night. It was just before midnight when we settled into bed, eager to meet our new home in the morning.

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes for sweet Ruby, who spent her entire fifth birthday on airplanes and in airports. Fortunately, she doesn't want to turn five yet, so we told her to let us know when she's ready and we will celebrate then. And if you see her, don't bring it up. Mentioning her birthday has brought anxious shouts of, "I don't WANT to be FIVE! I want to stay FOUR until I'm FOURTEEN!"

Very well, child.

We Cried So Hard We Laughed

Four more sleeps to Africa! Saturday night on the plane doesn't count, since it is unlikely we will get any sleep then. We'll call that bonus sleep if it comes.

We had a big trip planned this weekend to visit friends and deliver Len's dress clothes to their temporary home in our friends' closet. Since my head is still on the edge of exploding, we decided that it would be best for me to stay home and rest while Len took the kids on the overnight trip. After all, most of the trip was going to involve a series of visits where Ruby and Henry would have other children and/or adults to play with.

I did get a good night's sleep, and was a very productive packer. However, it does seem that our belongings are breeding in the night. Really, I just keep giving things away, sending them to friends and Annabelle's Thrift Store and anyone else who will take them, and when I wake up the next morning there are new items littering the floor where the old ones were. Is there a fogging spray for this? I have to believe we will get to the bottom of the pile if we just keep going....

When we finally all returned home last night, and the kids were in bed, Len told me about one visit on the trip that didn't go so well...with a friend we are trying to build a positive relationship with. And it is a good relationship we have, we just want to grow it along in a happy direction. Anyway, Len took the kids to meet with this person in their very nice office, and the person was quite kind, giving each of our kids a piece of cinnamon gum. Our kids don't get gum very often, which was evidenced in Ruby smelling it for a long time. Then each child took a bite, politely chewed it up, and swallowed it. Ruby nicely handed the wrapper back to the benefactor and asked them to discard it. Henry was very interested in a nice (and expensive looking) model airplane on display, and Len will probably have nightmares for weeks about Henry almost knocking it off of its stand.

As I was getting the rundown from the trip, this last part, along with stories of bittersweet goodbyes, made both of us teary eyed, as Len recounted the stress of trying to make a good impression and keep our kids on the straight and narrow, and pretty soon we were both crying and then doubled over laughing at our life right now.

Was it just last summer we were in our nice home, with the kids both going to bed by eight and sleeping all night in their own rooms?

As I write this, I am just outsisde of our bedroom that all four of us currently sleep in. Len went in around nine tonight to help the kids get to sleep, as Ruby especially is showing signs of stress from these weeks of 'lasts'. Last day of preschool. Last day at our church. Last visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Last time to see friends here for a long time.

So Len went in to lay down between the kids and help them get to sleep. However, for the last 45 minutes or so, I have only heard Henry's little falsetto voice trying to whisper to me, 'Mommy....Mommy!' As I walk in, he shushes me and squeaks, 'Don't talk. Daddy is sleeping!' Then he collapses into a ball of giggles and pillows.

Four more sleeps. hopefully we haven't scared off our friend with the cinnamon gum. Hopefully there is a lot of laughter in our future, as well as new friends and new mercies from God each day.

Tickets! Joy! Tears!

With much joy and a little bit of terror I share with you our anticipated date of departure: Saturday, April 3. Yes, the day before Easter. Yes, the day before Ruby's fifth anniversary. New beginnings all over the place like bugs on the grille of my minivan (which, by the way, is for sale).

We're mowing down new beginnings here on the farm.

With these dated plane tickets come a lot of realizations. Goodbyes are stinging more. We've been through so many states saying goodbyes these last months, and tears are starting to flow ever more freely as we mourn the comfort of knowing our friends and family here are just a call/flight/drive away. And yet, God-willing, in 25 days we will begin to find treasure God has for us on another continent, while thankfully employing technology to remain in relationships here.

One sigh of relief for me is that packing WILL come to an end. If we lived here in perpetuity, I am convinced that I would never stop pulling items out to replace them with others. Toothbrush holder or extra pillowcases? Belt or soap dish? Looking at every item and asking myself if it can be sewn or made in Dar, and do I like this enough to move it across the ocean? Do I like it too much to lose it? Sliding little comfort items like disposable diapers (yes, my cloth diapering comrades, I am taking a few!:) and sanitizing hand wipe packets down in the cracks between bins and tubs. Yes, I am looking forward to the end of packing!

We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams with this opportunity. Len and I have prayed consistently over the years that God would not let us become complacent in our faith life, and He has been faithful to keep us from getting too comfortable, while blessing our socks off.

The amazing people we have the privilege to call 'friend' are beyond what we deserve - we know that! Please continue to let us know how we can pray for you, and we covet your prayers as well. Each of our stories has yet to be finished...let's continue to support and encourage each other!

After tickets, joy and tears there IS a little bit of terror in my mind as I think about having to turn in all my library books, hug my mom goodbye (for a year at least) and learn a new language at age 38. What if I didn't bring enough gluten free flour for Ruby? Will I know how to ask our new landlord questions without totally offending her? These thoughts and so many more are what cause me to strike deep stretching poses in awkward places throughout the day.

The joy is not going away; the tickets are hopefully good through April 4. The tears (of happiness as well as grief) and terror (in small doses) and time we have left here are going to rotate continuously for the forseeable future. Feel free to jump in with me. :)

It's Calendar Fish

The kids' big pocket calendar has fat, happy green fish dates in it. And yes, we are still here. Ruby checked the weather this morning and chose cloudy, cold, rainy, windy, sunny and snow for the weather pocket. I couldn't really correct her...all of those things were true here today. While we don't have tickets yet, March looks like the month we will begin life in beautiful Africa.

Calendar fish signify a later date than I thought we would be here, but really I am thankful to have experienced this snow; heck, we even managed to travel to Minnesota and Colorado this winter during their record snowfalls and low temperatures. When we dropped the kids off with our dear friends in Minneapolis after New Year's, it was -26 degrees there. I suspect we will look back on colder weather fondly in the next few months.

March 19 Len leaves his office here for the last time. We'll let you know when tickets are purchased. Hoping to spend Easter in Dar...a new beginning!

Through all the packing, moving, moving, packing, packing, unpacking, repacking, sorting and packing, one thing has been crystal clear: that this is what God wants us to be doing right now. To be honest, I'm a little freaked out right now. We've been planning this for so long that being confronted with the actual move is a little shocking. But God has brought us this far in His will, and I know he isn't going to leave us now.

Two questions I've often had for God are, 'Who are you?' and 'What do you want from me?'

Sometimes they are asked as you would ask someone breaking into your house, with force and fear. Today, I ask them with wonder and a patient heart. The journey through sailboat dates, autumn leaf dates (which in Dar will just be a memory), and snowman and heart dates will be challenging, but I am sure we will be better people and better God-followers a year from now because of it.

Packing, Praying and Parenting

I must apologize for the lack of recent posts. My time the last 45 days or so has been spent packing, parenting and praying.

Parenting is definitely the most entertaining of these three. Yesterday, Henry (who is 2) walked past me in the kitchen, carrying a large Mr. Potato Head in one hand and a length of plastic vacuum sweeper tubing in the other. As he sat the Potato Head on the floor, carefully turning it around to face him, he said, 'Mom, I'm going to fight the potato.' He said this very seriously.

He then proceeded to step back, adjust the angle of the potato again, and then began beating it with the tube a la the 'Office Space' scene where they take the printer out to the field and demolish it as Feels Good to be a Gangster rocks in the background. Henry is a fun kid. He also loves to help and is pretty good at organizing and cleaning up with a little instruction.

Ruby loves to draw and is very good at it. Our floor is littered with paper covered on both sides with monsters, families, Super Readers and anything else she thinks of. She is also starting to read and is interested in piloting her own plane. She is torn between being a pilot and an artist when she is an adult, but I assure her that since she is four years old, there is time to grow into who she will be. Much of my non-active parenting time has been spent reading books about Aspberger Syndrome, which seems to be where Ruby is right now.

Packing is fun at times but not as much fun as parenting. Most of what we are taking is going in 18-gallon Rubbermaid totes, and the goal is to pack 20-28 of them full, weighing between 45-48 pounds apiece to stay within airline regulations for checked baggage. The cost of shipping this way comes out to $63 per cubic foot, but the big pro to this method is that everything is with us when we arrive, versus waiting on a ship to arrive months later. If we didn't have children, we might wait for the shipment. But settling in as soon as possible is important to the kids, or I'm thinking it will be. This will surely be the topic of future blogs once we're on the ground. :)

The packing process began with all our belongings piled in our living room. Think about moving everything in your house to the living area and you see where we are.

First, we sorted through and put everything we thought we wanted to keep in one pile. And when I say we I really mean I. After the keeper items were separated, the other items were sorted by where they were to go - recycle, resale, thrift store, trash.

Next, I went through the keeper pile and identified items that can be made or replaced easily in Africa. Children's drums, curtains and step stools went into this category. Also, I removed keepsakes like wedding gift vases, childhood memorabilia and the like and took those to live with family.

Speaking of family, Buddy Lee has been sent to live with Len's parents and I miss him terribly. This may cause tears or emotional outbursts without warning. Be warned.

Now I'm focused on finishing up packing totes, taking inventory of each one and labeling them to hopefully ease moving into our home in Dar, which has been rented as of February 1. It is a nice little ranch house with three bedrooms, and it's just sitting there waiting for us!

We're at 75% funding and at 90-95% we buy our plane tickets. Len and I have been praying and working on this, and God-willing, we will be in Dar in March! We are ready to get there and begin the transition...having been in transition since we moved here (to a friend's guest house) in August, we are ready to begin transition to a longer-term place before this feels too home-y.

We are praying fools and this year has brought unwarranted blessings and praises and also tragic requests and needs; thank you all who have trusted us to pray for your needs and also those who rejoice with us. Len and I were talking tonight about how God has blessed us with friends beyond our wildest dreams, dear friends with whom we share life. Thank you!

Just Back From Cross-Cultural Orientation

Wow. Wow. Wow. We're just back from CCO (Cross-Cultural Orientation) in Colorado Springs and I just want to get on the trampoline outside and spring myself right over to Dar. I feel like I could do it, but we still need a little time to finish raising support (we're at the 2/3 mark at the moment, but hopefully that rises quickly!) and deal with the diminishing stacks of stuff in our living area.

Len and I were thanking God yesterday for the gift of having to liquidate our assets. While we were in Colorado, the kids stayed with some dear friends in Minnesota who live very simply, on less than many pay in taxes each year, but they do it beautifully. Their home radiates peace, love, joy and when you go in you want to stay. They have learned discipline and patience through their lifestyle. And we want that. It isn't something you can buy from Pottery Barn. Living simply takes time and practice and patience; we have a long way to go. But simplifying our belongings is a start. And we wouldn't have de-stuffed our life if not for this call. So we are thankful. This is liberating stuff!

CCO was also a reminder of the rock stars of ministry we have the privilege to work beside in Africa. The Stantons, from the UK, met while spending a summer educating Africans about HIV/AIDS while traveling around living in tents. They are dynamic, hilarious, and deep. The dynamic Fuentes duo features Gustavo from Guatemala and Beatriz from Brazil; they have enjoyed life in the US for years but what they are really passionate about are the people of Mozambique. Beatriz is a masterful artist whose love of people makes her absolutely glow. They are wise and energized to get back to Mozambique after being here for training!

Of course, the Larmeys, who have pioneered YL in various African nations, are amazing and we are eager to join them in Dar. One of their great victories in Africa has been putting together a Senior African Leadership Team, men and women who love people, love their respective countries, and love Africa. The African staff and volunteers are some of the most well read, wise and warm people I have ever met or heard of. We have so much to learn from them, and I pray we are able to assist them adequately.

More stories to come soon; just wanted to update a little about our comings and goings recently, and thank everyone for support of every kind that has been offered this last month! :)