Sunday, May 27, 2012

Saturday Fun


This morning we went for a hike up a hill of rocks. There are lots of these in Musoma. Lyndy one of the kids’ teachers joined us for the hike, she knew how to climb it and we didn’t. She was a great tour guide. At the top we had an awesome view of Musoma and Lake Victoria.
Luke, Lyndy and Nikki

In the afternoon we hung out with two ladies that were with us at language school. Luke enjoyed having someone else to play Wii with.

Then we went to visit the kids at a local orphanage. They are babies up to age 2. They are a little shy but after a while warm up to us.

Some like to play ball but I don’t think they have a chance to do it much. It also seems like they aren’t used horsing around like what we did with our kids, although Keith found Angel who likes to be turned upside down. They usually enjoy a snack of fruit while we are there. It is clear they are well taken care of and loved at this orphanage. Once they are 1-2 they return to the village where they came from and a family member will care for them.
Lots of rocks everywhere

It's so heavy

They are so precious but it is hard to get them to smile

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Who's in your corner?

I have had a bad couple weeks and to be honest was upset with God for calling us to TZ. I was struggling with everything that goes along with moving to and adjusting to a new culture. Then I found this last week or maybe I should say it found me. I’ve been reading ‘Grace for the Moment Daily Bible’ by Max Lucado. Below is an excerpt from an entry last week. Hopefully this will be of help to others that are struggling with something or going through a rough time. Unfortunately the praying and waiting can be so tough when you want answers yesterday. But we have God fighting for us. Who else would we want in our corner?

God, Our defender

He is my defender, I will not be defeated. Ps 62:6

Here is a big question. What is God doing when you are in a bind? When the lifeboat springs a leak? When the rip cord snaps? When the last penny is gone before the last bill is paid?...

I know what we are doing. Nibbling on nails like corn on the cob. Pacing floors. Taking pills…

But what does God do?...

He fights for us. He steps into the ring and points us to our corner and takes over. “Remain calm; the Lord will fight for you” Ex. 14:14

His job is to fight. Our job is to trust.

Just trust. Not direct. Or question… Our job is to pray and wait.

From When God Whispers Your Name

--Max Lucado

We like to call our friends or family before going to God. But they can’t help us like God can. And I did email some friends and vent to them. Their words were encouraging but when I read this and realized God is fighting for me that was better than anything a friend could do or say.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Hand washing vs. machine

I’m beginning to think hand washing our clothes would be a lot simpler. I thought buying a washing machine in Dar before arriving in Musoma was a good thing. We didn’t get a big one. I figured we would do lots of smaller loads. When talking with other moms it was pointed out to me that you don’t know what the water pressure will be like and if it isn’t good it will take a long time for the washer to fill.

There is this very small filter in the washer where the water hose connects to the machine. I have no idea if all machines have this. Having come from America where the water is clean, I wasn’t aware of this filter.

Our water comes from Lake Victoria and I have no idea if there is any filtering system it goes through before reaching our house. We have two filters the water goes through before entering the house so we thought that would be enough for the washer. Well it appears it is not. The tiny filter I mentioned earlier gets dirty very quickly and when it is dirty there is not much water that enters the washer. When this happens I bring in a bucket of water that has been filtered through our sand filter (I explain this more later) and dump it into the washer. If I don’t do this the wash cycle could take up to 3 hours to do or it will stop all together as the water coming into the washer stops because the filter is so dirty.

So until we come up with a solution which might be putting a filter on the water line coming into the washer I must clean this tiny filter before every wash and at times dump in water to fill the washer faster.

The sand filter I mentioned is what we run all the water through that we plan on using to drink or cook with. After the water goes through the sand filter we put the water through another filter to kill any remaining bacteria.

I’m not complaining, I just wanted to share a piece of my life right now. But yes I have started to think hand washing our clothes would be easier. I have done some hand washing and it really isn’t bad. I just have a hard time ringing the water out of the heavier items.