Quick justice!

We had our home church today with a pot luck lunch and afterwards sat around telling scary stories and experinces of things that have happened to us in Africa and in other parts of the world. Two weeks ago there was a robbery at a winery about an hour from here. The would be robbers arrived equipped with machine guns (according to Elizabeti, the guns are smuggled down from the Congo!) However the police had been tipped off about the rade and got there first. When the 6 guys arrived the police just shot them all dead. The bodies were then put of display in Dodoma general hospital for 3 days so the public could view them. I guess to act as a kind of deterent to any other would be robbers. It's definitely a different world out here. Can't really say which is right or wrong, but justice here is definitely quicker and cheaper!

Be thankful

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

This week I have been reading a lot about being grateful and thankful for things. Here are some thoughts from something I read.

Researchers found that grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, more satisfaction with life, and more vitality and optimism. They also found grateful people show lower levels of depression and stress.

What's more, they found that people who write weekly about things they are thankful for are healthier. They exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, and feel better in general than people who journal about neutral or negative life events.

Finally, the research showed that people who daily count their blessings report higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, and energy.

Let me be clear, there are terrible things that happen to us that may not be the will of God, but us praising God and giving thanks in spite of them certainly is the will of God.

We can always find reason to give thanks.

John Milton wrote about every grey cloud having a silver lining. Deciding to give thanks, no matter the weather, will train us to look for it. Continuing in this manner day after day ensures that gratefulness will become a normal mode of operation.

No wonder those researchers found that people regularly counting their blessings grow happier, healthier, and more optimistic. After all, that research wasn't discovering anything new, but rather confirming the will and wisdom of God. God already knows how great it is for us to be grateful.


I lay in bed last night thinking about what I could be thankful for. Once you start thinking about it is easy, especially here. I was comparing myself to the people who live in the flats behind our compound, literally a few metres away. I was thankful that I had a nice bed to sleep in (some of them probably don't); I have a secure house with bars on the windows to help stop break ins, I have mosquito netting to stop mosquitoes, I have food in the fridge and in the freezer, I have electricity and even a generator if that fails, I have education, I have books to read, the list goes on. I have so much to be thankful for.

Talking about being grateful for stuff. We had a pilot for dinner this week from South Africa. We were asking about the security situation in south Africa. He told us the story of one evening when he felt the Lord saying to him, look at all the stuff you have, you know it is only just stuff, I have allowed you to have it but it is just stuff. The next few days he was away for a few days at an airshow and when he returned home he had been burgled and all the stuff had been taken, even the kettle! He was able to replace it on the insirance but still he said it was a good lesson for him.

4 crazy boys

 

Daniel

 

Bethany

 

Caleb

 

Bank holiday

 

Today was a sort of bank holiday. Well it was Eid again, but it all depends on the moon as to which day Eid falls. The school decided this time that they couldn't cope with the uncertainty so said Friday would be off anyway. As it turns out Eid is now tomorrow or so the Mullah says, so we got a bonus day. Here's a few pictures of how we spent it, with friends and a picnic at the pool. Daniel had been in Dar and arrived back at lunchtime having caught the 6am bus. After a long tiring bus journey he was happy to have the opportunity to relax.

St Martin

 

Joshua's assembly

 

Joshua's assembly on saints. He was Saint Martin and had to act out a little play with Raisha, Bethany's best friend.

Caleb

 

Caleb at Joshua's assembly last week. He had been sick for a couple of days, so I let him sleep late and took him in with me. The boy in the wheel chair is called Emanuel. He is a new pupil. He is severely physically handicapped, but quite bright and the rest of the kids love having him as part of the school community. The first day he was brought to school slung over someones shoulder! The school politely asked if he could return the next day in a wheel chair!

The MAFia

 

The MAFia or the MAF Mammas as people call us. I don't think we are really that scary!

 

Camping in the bush

 

Just some landscape pictures Daniel took. Just trying to keep up with Ben's blog!!

 

 

MAF Cessna 206 at sunset

Currently

Currently;
Very currently i have just cut Bethany's hair short because she is fed up of the tangles in the morning. Probably not the best haircut ever, but as everyone here cuts their own hair or gets their husbands and friends to cut their hair, bad hair style are the norm. You only realise how scruffy you are when someone arrives for a visit from the west with perfectly layered hair. Never mind, if they stay here long enough they eventually blend in.

Currently enjoying:
My new house lady who comes on Monday and Friday mornings. She is an older lady who worked for one of the families that left. She does cleaning and ironing which really helps, especially as it is so dusty at the moment.

A slightly quieter compound. Our neighbours left for Uganda last week, so there are now only two families with children on the compound so it is a bit more peaceful. Well that is until December when an American family moves in!

I sprained my back last week moving furniture around, which I seem slightly obsessed with. Probably because it the only thing I am able to control!! Anyway I enjoyed the fact that I got a physio appointment the next day, it only cost me £2:50 and the next day after my treatment I was fine. I asked her what type of injuries she treats amongst the Tanzanians. She said lots of chronic injuries. She said last week she had someone come who had hurt her foot 20 years ago and had just heard there was a new physio in Town!

Currently watching: High school musical 1 and 2 over and over again because we haven't quite learnt all the songs by heart, interspersed by Hannah Montana. We can't even escape her here! (Bethany)

Davy Crockett (Caleb), the old film version. Not sure if this is just encouraging him to fight with his brother.

'State of Play' (Daniel and Libby) A UK TV series we borrowed off friends.

Little House on the Prairie and Sliders (everybody)

Remember we have no TV so we have to rely in DVDs.

Currently reading:
Sophie's Adventure's (Bethany)
Everything (Joshua)
Kidnapped (I am reading this to Caleb, despite my suggestion that maybe it is a bit old for him, he says he likes it and refuses to take it back to the library and find something more suitable)
Libby, just finished,The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen Carter. I really liked this because it was really long (886 pages of small print) and lasted me at least 3 days! Am trying to resist the temptation to start another book quite yet, because I find it quite difficult to get anything else done whilst I am reading.
Daniel, Some David Baldacci book, not sure of the title.

Currently not enjoying: Caleb's behaviour which is quite bad at the moment. Last night he fell asleep on the sofa at 5 pm and didn't wake up until 7am, so maybe that will help with the behaviour!

What to do with Sarah's children. I offered to give them money either as a small amount each week or as a lump some to do somthing to the house. They said they wanted to build another room on the house and now they are saying they do not have enough food. I am making a decision for them to rent out one of the rooms they already have and use the money for food.

Currently working on projects:
Sorting out the house, this is kind of ongoing, but I am keen to reduce our belongings to not too many boxes so that it is not to difficult to move. Still it will proabably be more than I would like. Once you start emptying cupbioards you realise how much stuff you have. I would like to get it down to 20 boxes, but that may be wildly unrealistic.

Encouraging my children that the floor is not where everything lives and that I am not the only one in the family who is able to bend and pick things up!

Currently praying about:
Where to move next year. We are pretty sure we will leave Tanzania next summer, we just have to decide where to. It will probably be Kenya or Uganda.

7th Birthday

Some pictures below from Bethany's 7th Birthday party and a photo of Caleb with our swedish neighbour.