My children have come...

(This picture is compliments of Missy Murray)
My children have come. I can’t tell you how exciting it is that their beds are full and that laughter now fills the halls of the long empty children’s home. It’s so fun to see their smiling faces every morning when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep. They are beautiful each and everyone one in their own way. Their stories are heart wrenching yet some so exciting. They are resilient these kids.
Saturday was full of business, pain and joy. It was so exciting to have our kids, but unfortunately the need is so great that we had to turn some away. I wish we had the resources to take each and every one!
I am so excited to see these kids grow, have new experiences and learn things they never thought they would have the opportunity to have. Some have dreams of going to America to become doctors and nurses, others want to be village leaders in order to make a difference. I hope I can make their dreams come true. They are already changing the land you know, children from different clans sleeping in the same rooms, playing soccer together and sharing meals. They are the catalyst for change in the area. They are the ones that are bringing hope. These wonderful children are the beacon of light in a place that has been full of darkness for far too long. I am just happy to be a part of their lives, for I know they will always be a huge part of mine.

Dust on my feet

This place has a way of getting to you…a way of making you never want to leave. I heard once that when you get the dust of Africa on your feet, you will never get it off. I never knew how true that was until now. The people here are so beautiful. The way they give, even when they don’t have. One day I went out into the village, we were looking for orphans to bring into our children’s’ home. This one lady had next to nothing, but she was so excited to see us that she gave us each a bunch of bananas. That’s probably all she had to eat for that day, but she insisted, that we, her guests, take them. I’ve also seen some hard things, some things I wish had never happened.
Amongst the pain and poverty, there is much beauty though. The smiles on the children’s faces, they way the people worship at church and the sunsets as I sit on the water tower and watch the stars. It’s everywhere really; sometimes you just have to look for it.
This Saturday our kids come to live in their new home. There has been so much work, but now we see our end in sight. This is what it is all for. We are expecting about 300 people. We are killing a cow, having plenty of rice, soda etc. These things are such treats for most of the people around here. Though I eat rice almost every day, for most people it’s kept for holidays. This place is busy…it’s dark and 8 o clock and the workers are still building. We have to be ready for the kids.
Soon the generator will go off, the skies will release and the rain will fall on the tin roof and I will fall asleep knowing all is well. That I am supposed to be here, and that the God I serve loves Africa like I do…and even more.

"Muzungu, Muzungu"

Everywhere I go I hear the words muzungu, muzungu…which just means "white person". People would ask me if I was Obama’s sister or if I would stay and live with them. It’s funny to get all this attention…but at the same time I get tired of being the foreigner.

Here is a small Swahili lesson:
Jambo-hello
Karubi- welcome
Habari- how are you?
Pole pole- slowly
Mzuri-good
I am trying to speak as much Swahili as I can…but it’s kind of a difficult language to learn. I will keep working at it though.

The internet here is sooo slow…it’s kind of hard to communicate with the outside world. That’s kind of good- but kind of bad. It helps me to really be here…but then I’m not sure what’s going on outside of my little village of Ntagacha.

This week I have been helping get things ready for the kids. Everything from helping build bunk beds, processing children and organizing kids clothes. There is a lot to be done…and only a few weeks to do it all. Yesterday I was able to go in town to Tarime with Lucy, a local woman here. We had so much fun. We went to the butcher, the meat market, the vegetable stand and bought eggs, bread and milk. It was cool to see where everything came from. However, when I saw that fish market…it made me not want to eat fish. It smelled horrible in there and there was fish juice and scales flying everywhere. We also went over the border to Kenya to buy a few things that we can’t get here in Tanzania. Here it is so easy just to hop from country to country…I didn’t even have to show ID. That would never happen in the states!

I have been doing a lot of cooking here. I like it a lot…but it’s a little tougher. We have to haul in our water, and we don’t have the conveniences like a microwave etc. Things are simpler here, and it makes you all the more appreciative.
The other night our generator broke, and we realized how much we rely on it. We couldn’t use our power tools, our computers ran out of battery and had to do everything by candlelight. It made for a long evening, because it gets dark at seven.

Last week I went out to the village to interview children. There were some heartbreaking stories. There was one boy who has living with his 80 year old grandmother. She was so thin and feeble and could hardly walk. His dad died of cancer and his mom left right after that. He was abandoned and his grandmother can hardly support him. I like to go out to see these children, but it is so hard for me not to bring them all home with me. There are also children as young as eight left alone to care for their siblings all day. It is too much responsibility for a young child. You almost feel helpless, there is no way our small orphanage can help every needy child in the area. That is the hardest thing of all!

Raining....again

The rainy season is upon us here in Tanzania…and it is very evident. Today we had a flash flood…the whole garage was full of water and the water came half way up the tires in the van. It ran through the fields and make waterfalls down the banks. It makes a mess! It also hailed for a while…just imagine that under a tin roof. It’s almost more than your ears can handle. Every afternoon you can see the dark clouds floating in ready to bring a downpour.
This week I have been doing some odd jobs again. I helped organize the storage room that holds all of the orphans clothes, sheets, toothbrushes etc. That was quite a task, but I got it accomplished. I also helped fix the bunk beds, put grout around the tiles and did my best to assist in fixing the generator. Tomorrow I will be going out to a town called Borega to meet some children. We are in our final stages of interviews and are searching for the right children to bring into the City of Hope on opening day. The time is coming near and we have lots to do. I am sure I will be busy in the upcoming days.
I have greatly enjoyed playing with the kids that live right beside my house. They are so cute and even though they speak Swahili, and I English, we have so much fun playing together. Their favorite game is chakula, simba…which means food, lion. It’s a game of tag- and they spend hours playing it.
I also like the evenings with the team. After dinner we often play games and then sit around and tell stories. It is so interesting to hear different experiences from people in all walks of life. It really is a sense of community here and I love it.
Even in this short week Tanzania has begun to feel like home. There are things I miss about my life in the states, but because things are so different here and there are always new experiences, I don’t think about the things I miss. The people here are so friendly and welcoming. I am lucky to live with those that I do.
Food… The food here is simple but good. We often have rice and beans, tomatoes and sometimes beef or chicken. I actually enjoy the food a lot more than I thought I might, which is good.

Life in Tanzania

It has been raining about everyday which makes the evenings cool, but the afternoons get pretty hot, especially under the tin roof. The local people have been fighting. Cows and land are being stolen and so they go to “war” with their bows and arrows. That, more than anything, makes me realize I’m not at home. I’m not worried because they are glad to have us in their village and have nothing against us, but it is still strange.
I love the food here- though we have some American staples; we eat a lot of rice, vegetables and fruit. Every afternoon we eat mango, it is so..o..o delicious and usually we have pineapple or bananas for breakfast as well.
In the mornings I have been helping Hannah feed the animals. We have dogs, a pig and chickens and roosters. I have been enjoying just doing the little things to help around the house. I have also been helping put up tile this week- we need to get everything ready for when the kids come. The tile makes a mess and there is dust everywhere. It’s a little harder to clean here. We take advantage of our vacuum cleaners, outdoor hoses and just things that don’t easily clog.

This weekend Mwita and I stayed back with the kids while the rest of the team headed off to a town called Mwanza. I had fun being a mother of three . :) We played lots of games, ate candy and watched movies on our laptops. I really like spending time with the kids. They are so much fun and have such imaginations. What a childhood they must be having! They get to have new experiences every day.

This week I will begin to help get the place ready for the kids. We need to get their rooms ready, and make profiles for them so they can be sponsored. I am so looking forward to meeting these children and to help give them hope of a future. What an opportunity I have right now. I am experiencing new things everyday in a wonderful place with beautiful people. I am so happy to be in Tanzania!!!!