Year 2; Day 1...

It's hard to believe that's it's only a year since we first set foot in Tanzania - and it's hard to believe it's been a year already.

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Then it was all fresh and new, and strange. Now it's just 'normal'. We're used to the fact that it's never cold; that we hardly ever go out after dark; that we sleep under mosquito nets; that I cycle to work and come home for lunch; that we go swimming in an unheated outdoor pool every day of the week (at least some of us :)).

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I can still remember when we first arrived, walking down the runway and being met by all the MAF people. What I can't do is match them up with the people that we know so well now - even though I know they are the same people. It's the same with everything really; I can remember all my first impressions, but they are totally divorced from my current reality. Weird.

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Still not quite used to the inability to obtain just about anything except the bare essentials of life. At least, it doesn't feel like we're used to it - but I bet when we go back to the UK in June, it will totally freak us out how easy it is to get everything.

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I have just calculated (I can't help it, sorry) that by 13 September this year, Caleb will have lived half his life in Tanzania. That is also extremely weird. Having said that, it's not hard to believe when you look at him - he's a bit of an African wild child, and brown as a berry. But we're glad - I think it's the kind of childhood that every parent (or lots, at least; or maybe just some) dreams of for their children.

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To get a bit spiritual for a moment, we're glad that God has given us the opportunity to come here, and pray that what we are doing is actually making a difference. I guess everyone has moments of doubt - but I guess at the end of the day that's God's problem - he stuck us here :)

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[I wish those emoticons worked properly]

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Anyway, happy our anniversary everybody. Have a good evening, we're going to sleep now.

Currently...(again)

Currently enjoying:
Only having my house ladies in three days a week, so I get the house to myself for 2 days a week. They're still on full pay, so I think they get a good deal.

Speaking a little bit more Swahili, so that I can know have reasonable conversations with people. Still a long way to go though.

Caleb being able to talk and coming out with bizzare sentences, like in the bath the other day he said (and I quote) "What's my father's name again?"

Bethany's funny questions and comments - "Mummy, what's hypnosis"?, "What's advertising"? "Mummy, you know those things that aren't good for you, like sweets (she's quite into which foods are good and bad for you at the moment), well I'd like some more of them!!"

Being able to watch movies with the older two that I actually enjoy too!

Currently not enjoying:
Getting a little bit tired of being called wazungu all the time (white person) can't wait to have a month of almost total anonymity.
The lack of mince.
Caleb's terrible two stage!

Currently reading:
Friska my friend, Patricia St John (to Joshua and Bethany)
Getting in God's Face, Dutch Sheets
Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
The Old Girl Network, Catherine Alliot

Currently watching:
ER series 10 - what series are we up to now?

Currently preferred food:
Bit difficult this one. Our diet is definitely healthier now, as in the absence of beef we are eating more fish and vegetarian food, but I can't say I'm loving it. We went out for lunch today to a friends house and we served the luxurious items of minced beef and broccoli. The nearest broccoli and mince are a 7 hour drive away in Dar.

Currently working on projects:
Should really be working on getting photos and film together to bring home to the UK, but keep putting if off in favour of DVDs.

Currently praying about: Sean and Bec's baby Tom who was born at only 23 weeks; Pam Sinkinson (the wife of the MAF program manager in Sudan, who was diagnosed with a rather agressive tumour on her brain, which is basically untreatable; church again!

Currently wishing for: Good shoe shops again! Caleb's sandals broke last week and I've been unable to find a replacement; a hairdressers. I cut Boos hair again this week. Sometimes it goes quite well, other times it does not. Lets just say that it is now a lot shorter than I was anticipating!! Since we've been here I've cut my own hair, that also turned out to be more than just a trim and Daniel has also had a go.

Church (again...)

Sorry for the delayed post - sometimes we just don't get a grip!

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We had another struggly Sunday this week - trying to decide where we should go for church. We've kind of narrowed it down to the Tanzanian AOG church (where we have been going) and the Anglican church. The problem is this:

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TAOG

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Cons - starts at 7.30 (ouch); kids don't really like the Sunday school; although the service is translated into English, the English is almost unintelligible, and trying to concentrate on both languages at once means we frequently understand neither.

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Pros - it's a Tanzanian church, and there is at least Swahili 'on offer'; it's over nice and early; none of the MAF people who go there are English, so we socialise with people that we might not naturally socialise with otherwise; the MAF people who go there meet for coffee and cake afterwards :)

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Anglican

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Pros - the kids like the Sunday school (i.e. it's a 'proper' English Sunday school, where they are likely to learn something); it's 'safe', all in English, and mostly attended by Europeans

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Cons - it's 'safe', all in English, and mostly attended by Europeans (i.e. an admission of failure on our part in managing to integrate at all); it's 'Anglican' (in the worse sense of the word).

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[Those of you who may be of the Anglican persuasion may want to turn away at this point].

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The music is absolutely dire (particularly so this weekend). It felt like if the piano was played at the right speed, we could have been done in half the time. The 'preach', although reasonably coherent, was also delivered in the received sonorous Anglican vicar tones (also felt like could have been done in half the time). They also do the old 'religious Simon-says calisthenics' (stand up, sit down, kneel down, touch your toes, stand up...)

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And (worst crime of all) they do the liturgy thing - alright for some I suppose, but just makes me think of 'vain repetitions of the heathen'. What's the point? [that's not just rhetorical, if someone actually knows the point I'd be quite interested to hear it].

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My feeling was that I could cope with going there, if I got on the committee; sorted out the music, and tried to get them to cut back on the 'litter-g'. I don't think that many people who go there actually like the way it goes, but I think everyone's just too busy to get involved. The problem (as Libby says) is that it's supposed to be a Tanzanian church, and we can't just wade in and change everything to the way we like it. Not sure if I agree, but it's a point.

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One of the most depressing things is that they have a lively Swahili service both before and after the English service, and you can hear them bopping away as soon as we walk out the door.

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Anyway, please continue to pray for us on this one. I think it's just about the hardest thing we have to face. I kind of assumed (and probably even said it in our presentation) that we were going to be amazingly spiritually blessed, just by virtue of doing what we were told and living in Africa. I never really anticipated being spiritually desiccated through lack of decent church.

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:( Poor us...

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:)

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[PS sorry about all the dots; it seems to be the only way I can get this stupid thing to maintain any kind of formatting at all]

photos

Easter weekend

This long weekend has been like a social whirlwind (well, for Dodoma anyway!)

Friday was a fairly quiet day (except for a trip to the pool).

Saturday we had a 'party' on our Compound. We had an Easter egg hunt, and then had food - quite a lot of people came, which was nice and the kids enjoyed finding and matching the cardboard egg-halves (and the resulting chocolate footballs - the nearest we got to eggs!)

Sunday we had two families over for Sunday lunch - a proper roast job, with chicken, roast spuds (perfectly done) multiple veggies and stuffing. Followed by banoffee pie and chocolate pie. (Just so you don't think we're too hard done by!)

Today we climbed up 'Lion Rock' for the same two families (we're trying not to form an English clique, but it's quite nice to just be with English people sometimes - who think the same as you do).

Lion Rock is one of the local hills - some volcanic/tectonic remain which sticks up on the horizon (not much else does). It was probably the most exercise we've had in a long time, but the kids fared pretty well. Caleb walked half of it, and went up half the way on Libby's back in a carry thing (see above). He then walked half the way down and was carried half the way down by me. It was fairly hard going some of it, basically scrambling up rocks (on hands and knees for the kids) and ducking under low hanging branches.

Fun though - the kind of thing we feel like we should be doing while we're in Africa. Unfortunately it took a bit longer than we were expecting, so we all got a bit sunburned, which wasn't very clever. Never mind, it was bound to happen sooner or later - and the views were well worth it (except for Libby, who couldn't really look, because of the height!)

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I recently got given Adrian Plass' dictionary of Christian Life - so some of the funnier entries (lots too choose from) will appear on the blog in some of our less inspired moments. Sorry if they seem like heresy to you - I think that's the idea

e.g. (in honour of the season): "Easter Eggs: edible reminders of the resurrection, made of chocolate, filled with sweets and wrapped in shiny coloured paper, just as Our Lord was" :)

And my own entry:

"Adrian Plass: author of Christian books you actually want to read"!

Sports day

Tuesday was the whole school sports day from primary through to secondary. Joshua was in the green team. The small children did ball throwing, frisby throwing, high jump, long jump and running. Josh loved it. He didn't win, but I guess if he enjoyed it, that was the point. Caleb loved watching the running and was actually still for a while and shouting "Go, Go, Green"!!

Easter art exhibition.

It was the last day of school yesterday and the Easter art exhibition. Here are a few pictures. The reception class and the nursery sang a song together based on their art work about God's love being like a circle.