Star performer

Friday morning was the first school assembly led by Caleb's reception class. It turns out that Caleb has something of a flair for performance! Part of the assembly involved singing three songs (The Lion Sleeps Tonight - in parts, Jesus I Love You Deep Down in My Heart, and another song with silly words and sillier actions). Caleb's teacher had made a 'Michael Jackson Memorial Award for the best singer and dancer', and asked two of the older girls to judge it. Caleb turned out to be the only contender, attacking each of the songs and actions with gusto, and a complete lack of self-consciousness. His 'awimbawe's were clearly audible above everyone elses - partly because they were mostly shouted rather than sung, and partly because he didn't always get the timing exactly right. But he was hugely entertaining. He was also the most enthusiastic in the part of the third song where they had to 'thumbs up, elbows out, legs apart, knees bent, tongue out, tummy out, turn around', and sing la la la la la.

They also did a little play, in which Caleb had one of the starring roles (as 'the flea', as it happens). He also announced 'Now we will announce the house points' (I know this because he just came and gave me a rendition).

Proud would be an understatement :) I am exceedingly glad that I didn't miss this one!

Hopefully we will be able to get hold of some photos from some friends who had the foresight to take a camera with them.

We are slightly nonplussed as to where this trait has arisen - it doesn't seem to be genetic. However, as Libby says, being silly in front of an audience is what Caleb likes doing best, so perhaps we should have seen it coming!

Currently

Currently watching: House season 3, obviously the first choice for someone who worries about medical issues in a place ill-equipment to deal with basic medical problems, never mind the kind of illnesses house diagnoses.

Currently reading: 'The winner' by David Baldacci (Libby) 'When A Crocodile Eats The Sun by Peter Godwin (Daniel). Definitely worth a read if you are interested in Zimbabwe. Everything and anything (Joshua) Particular Calvin and Hobbes.

Currently enjoying: Swimming again, now the pool has had it's annual repair and the temperature has really cranked up in the afternoon.

The increased choice of things to do in Dodoma. Still pitiful compared to most other capitals but for us very exciting. I now have a weekly bike ride finishing with a Cappuccino written into my diary. The pizzeria is always fun on a Sunday for mini golf and the adventure play ground. Our only problem there is stopping our small white people ordering their own food and drinks by themselves.

The new Ikea chair we found in the MAF store, that one of the leaving families didn't want, it is so much more comfortable than the MAF sofas.

Currently anticipating: The new Kiwi Physio in town is offering foot massages and body massages very cheaply. You can also get pedicures done very cheaply here too, with fancy nail painting which costs £1 and lasts for 6 weeks. You really have to look after your feet here or else they fall apart. The dust and dryness makes them all cracked and if you are not careful you can easily get infections.

Currently not enjoying: The increase in humidity at night.

Currently working on projects: Setting up some kind of home church with a new American family. This will hopefully start in November.

Currently praying for: These are the words of a song I learnt last week and really express my current pray:

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fear to fly
Whose every promise is enough
For every step I take
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

Currently wishing for: what more could you want when it is summer everyday!!

Some ramblings

It’s that time of year again, everything looks dusty. There is almost no grass and what little there is, is dust coloured. Everywhere there are huge swathes of dust. When you are driving you literally can’t see the car in front for dust. That is because they are repairing the roads again so the main road into town is shut off with random tyres and large stones and everyone creates their own diversion along the dust track. It is quite dangerous and I have had a few near misses with cyclists. God definitely watches over my driving. A few seconds and millimetres in the wrong direction and it could have been a whole different story.

Lots of people seem to be ill here at the moment, sore throats, aches, malaria. Maybe swine flu has reached Dodoma! However, we are all well. Bethany had another front tooth fall out this week, of which she is very proud. I now have two very gappy children. Caleb is thrilled because his girlfriend next door has arrived back from Sweden, which means he gets to go out to lunch at her house and vice versa and he gets to fight with Ruben next door about who is going to marry Elizabeth. It is very serious. Daniel says he is getting a bit tired of the love triangle!!

Joshua has his actual 8th birthday tomorrow. He had his party when my mum was here but tomorrow he gets his presents. He seems to be really thriving in school this year with his new teacher and loves to go. He got full marks on his test on the Romans this week. I was quite surprised that he actually knew some stuff. He has become a bookworm like his parents; we just need to wait for the other two to catch up and then it will be a very quiet house!!

Elizabeti came back to work this week. She will now work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I wasn’t sure how it would be having her back because every time I saw her it just reminded me of the whole Sarah thing. Anyway I really prayed about it and it has been great. I am really beginning to feel that I am getting over what happened to Sarah, not that we don’t miss her but I can think about it all without feeling nauseous. For those of you who don’t know she had HIV, an all too common reality here. People die like flies here of various minor aliments or nothing. I suspect that more often than not it is HIV linked. So much stigma surrounds Aids here that people do not want to talk about it. I only know about Sarah because I went to speak to the doctor at the hospital the day after she died. The family still don’t know what happened and haven’t asked. Limited medical knowledge and a kind of fatalistic acceptance, means that people don’t really ask any questions. Elizabeti, bless her went to take a test to prove to me that she didn’t have HIV. I said she didn’t have to but I think she wanted to. To be honest it’s nice to know. With the initial shock I did feel terrible that I had let someone with HIV look after my children, but I think I have worked through those feelings now. However out of control things can sometimes feel here, I have to trust that God is in control and that he knew what he was doing when Sarah started working for our family. I look forward to seeing her again one day under very different circumstances!!

TIA This is Africa

School-some photos

Joshua's 8th birthday party

Guest blog #5: Katie Jones

Just before you land in Dar es Salaam, the routine is to fill in a form for immigration, who you are, where you're going, how long you'll be in the country etc and with a visa stamp already in my passport, it should have been a relatively quick process through customs, but I'd forgotten about swine flu. As we made our way downstairs, we were met by officials wearing face masks, brandishing clip boards and each person was handed a form on which to declare their state of health, (at least I hadn't sneezed on the plane, which was a miracle in itself!) A cursory glance at my form and I was waved through, then a passport check and I was free to collect my luggage and leave the airport, (approx UK time 4:30, Tz time 6:30). Libby had arranged for a taxi to pick me up and take me to the bus station a little distance away and by the time we reached it, I still had an hour to wait for the bus.

I was already feeling a little strange travelling on my own, so to be the only mzungu (white person) going to Dodoma, added to the experience. It doesn't help, when you don't speak the language either, but it was fine. There was a comfort stop in Morogoro (about half way) and we finally arrived in Dodoma about 4:15pm, where Libby and three small people were waiting to pick me up. Conveniently, Libby and Daniel's neighbours have been away the whole time I've been here, so I've been able to stay in their house.

I arrived in the aftermath of house lady Sarah's untimely death and the delicate situation of helping the remaining family members without creating a dependence culture. All seem to be doing well and the five younger children are attending their school regularly, including one who had dropped out, returning. Libby helps in the background, but is acting via other Tanzanian Christians.

Having given her other house lady extra time off, in addition to her annual two weeks' holiday, Libby and I did the house lady chores ourselves, in some ways Libby needed the space; all very time consuming, when in addition you have to do the school run once a day, (school is the other side of town) shop, cook, child mind etc, which is why I'm glad she'll be getting some help next week, when Elizabeti returns. You might be thinking, you do those sorts of things anyway, but you probably don't get your milk direct from a local cow, so don't have to boil it for ten minutes or so. Neither will you have to wash and soak your fruit and veg for a requisite number of minutes, in a special solution to kill off bugs. You'll have mindboggling choices in your local supermarket, whilst the 3 local shops (not supermarkets) here have limited stock and you have to decide whether you can justify the cost in relation to the local economy.

Highlights have included: seeing the children off on the school bus every day; being part of the bedtime routine, going into school on occasions to help a Year 2 reading group and a Year 4 child, who speaks Russian and Swahili, but isn't so good at English; being delayed on the school bus run, by a government entourage coming through the town, accompanying officials, who'd just flown in from Dar; waving off a MAF family relocating to Uganda, (another family makes the same trip in October); going to watch Joshua's class do an assembly on the Romans, which is their current topic; having a Chinese meal at the Dodoma Hotel; a pancake and a cappucino at a new travel cafe, (very exciting for the ex-pats, as it increases the number of places to go, to three!) There are more places you could eat out, but it would be risky to try, as there are enough nasties to catch, without openly inviting them; pizza at a pizzeria (one of the three), which also opened this year, has crazy golf, a very nice children's playground and a tiny shop selling local crafts.

I've also appreciated the sunshine, if this is winter, temperatures of 24c to 28c are fine by me, but it has been "cold" in the mornings, (the children leave for school at 7:20) and you see babies and some adults wearing woollen bobble hats! I've had the use of an excellent mosquito net, but there are very few mosquitoes around in Dodoma currently, although I've been warned that it's different in Dar.

Of course the main highlight of being here has been to spend time with the family and that has been very special, catching up with what they and the children are doing; seeing Daniel and Libby in situ and appreciating the joys and sorrows of living in Africa, the worries connected with the health of their children and the limited medical facilities, the not always easy cultural interactions with colleagues and local people, with the ever present potential for misunderstandings, the need for good friendships and fellowship, the need for wisdom and discernment in sensitive situations, the need for encouragement, prayer and affirmation that they are in the right place at the right time and God is pleased with what they are doing.

It's been a good time; tomorrow I start my journey home.