Wasps

I've always been uncomfortable around bees and wasps, probably because I'd never been stung before the other day.
Since the sting I've discovered that my fear of flying things with stingers has escalated to a state of being petrified.
Smaller wasps I can control myself around, though I do freak out a little more now.
However, we have these huge wasps. They're almost the size of dragonflies. They're black and big and they love flying around offices and kitchens (the places I most often spend my time). I've never actually seen one outside.
I have been afraid of these since I saw the first one in my kitchen. I would just calmly leave the room/building if one showed up. Now, however, I absolutely cannot stand to be anywhere near them. I completely freak out and start shaking and whimpering. I look so silly, I'm sure, but I can't control myself! I am absolutely and completely petrified of these things.
I've never been afraid of anything in this manner.

Davona thinks it's funny.

Kiddies at Pool

Davona, Rakal, Hella, and I took the two Marias and Martin to the pool today. Loads of fun!

Both Marias with me (1 is standing, 2 is sitting)

Maria1 and me

Maria2

Sabbath Was Made for Man

I'm tired so this is going to be a short post. I had to tell my story, though, of how God works in wonderful ways.

I usually ride to church with Max and Davona Church, but they didn't go this week. I really wanted to go anyhow, so I decided to bravely ride the bus as far as I could and walk the rest of the way.

I tried to take Salima with me, but she was so scared I had to turn back. I decided to take Rachel with me instead. She would go to the end of the earth with me.

The dala-dala driver and attendant both assured me that they would take me all the way up the hill to the University of Arusha (the Adventist university). From there I would only have to walk half a mile to church. Well either they lied or they don't know English, because they dropped me off at the bottom of the hill and kept right on going. I stood there with my baby in my arms for a second, then decided to walk. A dala-dala might come along (I knew even as I thought this that it wasn't likely). As I started up the road I saw a sign for the university. It read: "University of Arusha: 6.3 kilometers." That's almost four miles! Uphill! On a dirt road! And I was carrying a child and a large (though not heavy) bag!

I started walking anyway.

After just a couple minutes, a dala-dala-looking van passed. I tried to flag it down, but it just flashed its lights at me and kept going. I'm still trying to figure out what it means when they flash their lights here. Sometimes they do it before they stop, sometimes they do it if they're not going to stop. Sometimes they do it to say hello. I just can't figure it out.

A 4-door sedan passed next. I ignored it. Then I saw a RAV4-like car coming up the road. For some reason, I flagged it down. And he stopped! As he pulled up next to me I realized it was a gentleman, maybe in his late twenties. I'm sure that what was going through my head is exactly what is going through your head: "Oh my...I'm hitchhiking in Africa, by myself (well, with a baby), and I'm being picked up by a single man. I am so stupid." But! Let me reassure you. Hitchhiking in Africa is not like hitchhiking in America. Yes, there is always the possibility of getting robbed (the most valuable thing in my purse was a bottle of hand sanitizer). But in East Africa it is common for people to hitchhike, and very rare for it to go awry. People just don't hurt hitchhikers here. Plus, the locals have a certain respect for white people. We bring money to their economy. Why would they endanger that by hurting one of us?

So, I asked him if he could take me to the university. He said yes, and I hopped in. The very first thing he asked me was, "Are you going to church?" I was taken aback. "Yes," I responded, and then he told me he was an Adventist! An Adventist! He told me he was also going to the university to pick someone up and bring them back to town. I thought that was nice of him, but then he told me he was a taxi driver. "Oh no," I groaned to myself, "Now he is going to expect me to pay him!" (though this did make me more comfortable regarding my safety). "How much are you going to charge me?" I asked, half joking and half scared. He looked at me and said, "Oh no. Nothing. Today is the Sabbath. I do not work on Sabbath, so you cannot pay me. Today I am just helping you."

What a blessing! God led me to flag down that specific car, where I found a taxi driver who was also an Adventist and who dropped me off at the door of the church and didn't charge me a penny! We even found out we had a couple friends in common! (Driver: "Do you know Max Church?" Katie: "Are you kidding me? I work for his wife!")

God is good.



Disclaimer: Please don't think I am behaving in an unsafe way. I am, in fact, very safe here in Tanzania.

Ouch

Until about 15 minutes ago, I'd never been stung by a bee.
Well...
Our water has been off for 2 days. I got desperate and tried to climb onto the water tank to see if the water was being routed to our apartment or not (it works downstairs....). By the way, our water tank is on top of the roof. There was a bee on the ladder so I batted it away with a stick. Gently.
But that bee/wasp/ugly-black-flying-thing-with-a-stinger came back with a vengeance.
I screamed and hopped around like a typical girl, but he got me. On my arm. Ouch!
It hurt a lot!
Over the next minute or two this warm sensation coursed through my arm (intermittent with shots of pain). I tried to mix baking soda with water, but alas, we had no water. I finally found a teaspoon of water in the bottom of our otherwise empty tea kettle and mixed up a little baking soda paste.
It doesn't hurt anymore.
The nannies asked if I took out the stinger. Um...no... :S It didn't look like there was one.
Anyway, I've officially had my first bee sting. Hope I did everything right.

Katie + Rachel + Market = Fun Times

Today I decided to take Rachel into the market with me! The market is about a mile away (on Thursdays and Sundays) but it's easy to catch a dala-dala there for 150 shillings (about 12 cents).

It was my day off so my roommates and I sat at a local lodge and drank soda and played cards (we wanted to swim in the pool but the manager decided today that he wanted to charge us). I left the "party" early and headed back to Cradle of Love. I donned my African dress, which was a gift to myself for my 2-month anniversary of being in Africa. The locals loved seeing a mzungu in a traditional dress! I got many compliments and one ADRA worker told me I just needed to draw all over my body with a black marker and then I would truly be an "African lady!"

Before I begin, let me clarify...Rachel isn't really a baby...she's 2 years old. We as the volunteers just tend to call them all babies.

I must admit, Rachel is probably my favorite baby. I chose to take her to the market because 1) she's my favorite (and I'm her favorite), and 2) she's the least likely to cry. Since these kids rarely leave the compound, going to the market is a big deal. In fact, I don't think a volunteer has ever taken a child to the market. Sometimes they will take them to the pool or to church, but to the bustling market? I'm brave. :)

Rachel was her usual quiet self. Maybe stoic is a better word. I'm slowly getting her to talk a little. She's perfectly capable (I've heard it!) but she is moody and stubborn and just won't talk most of the time. My latest accomplishment: about half the time she says "up" when she wants me to pick her up instead of just crying. Yay!

I even got a couple smiles out of her during our hour-long adventure. Mostly she just clung to me and looked around, quietly taking in her surroundings. The dala-dala unnerved her at first (it would unnerve anyone! I'm a little surprised she didn't cry), but I kept my hand on her at all times and she was okay.

I loved it! A good number of the locals at the market commented on the mzungu with the African baby. Some of them asked me in Swahili, "How is your baby?" instead of asking me, "How are you?" One lady was even kind enough to teach me how to respond in Swahili!

This is Rachel's typical expression. But as you see in the picture at the top, she does smile!

Havilah Fun Day

Lyte pauses from playing in the pool to snap a picture with me. What a sweet girl!

Dorcas blows up a balloon. The kids loved them!

All the Havilah kids playing in the little bit of water we put into Davona's pool.

I'm not sure who the kid on my right is, but he and Dorcas and I had fun shooting this picture.

On Sunday, Nov. 16, we invited the 20 kids and 4 staff from Havilah Village down for a fun day in the sun. Havilah Village is an orphanage just a handful of kilometers up the road. It is located near the University of Arusha, the Adventist University here in Tanzania. Havilah Village is run by Global Vessels and takes kids as young as 3. Currently their oldest children are 9, but they keep kids until they are 18. Two student missionaries from Andrews University are serving there. I get to socialize with them on Sabbath after church sometimes.

I was in charge of games, so I organized Simon Says, Duck Duck Goose, a water balloon toss, and tossing a bean bag through holes in a board. We split the kids into groups and rotated through the games. We stopped for a yummy lunch of beans, rice, cooked kale, caramel popcorn and cake (the cake made by me!), as well as some slightly stale but much-appreciated chips donated by a local grocery store. At the end all the kids got a prize toy.

It was a great day with wonderful weather!

Mango Allergy

Just thought I'd post a couple pics of the babies. One is Rahma, whose smile brightens my days. This girl is ADORABLE. She giggles so much! She's the baby who will laugh when someone else is being tickled! I love her and often carry her around or hold her while I'm doing office work. I just can't get enough of her...except maybe when she's occasionally cranky. :) The other picture is of Grace and Jackson. I haven't quite figured out Grace yet. Sometimes she cries and I'm not sure why. Jackson is just a normal little baby...cute like all our babies at Cradle of Love!

I titled this post "Mango Allergy" because, well, I've had a run-in with mangoes. I love mango! Back home I've often reacted to the skin of the mango, but I wasn't sure if it was actually the fruit or the pesticides on it, since it was only the outside. Unfortunately I made an unwise decision here and assumed it was pesticides and that I wouldn't react to Tanzanian mango. Boy, was I wrong! I've had the worst mango reaction I've ever had! My lips and chin broke out into a very itchy rash the next day. Over the next week the rash moved across my chin to my jawline and onto my eyelids! Then on Sabbath it migrated to my forearms, my hands, and my feet! Not fun!

The good news is that I have researched mango allergies and discovered that it IS only the skin I'm allergic to. My allergy is caused by the sap from the tree, which gets onto the skin. The sap has an oil in it that is similar to poison oak. I've always been very allergic to poison oak!

My roommates have graciously offered to peel mangoes for me from now on. If they're not around, I do have a good supply of latex gloves. :)

The rash on my face is almost gone (it's been just over a week). My hands and feet are still definitely broken out. I'm expecting that to fade away by the end of the week.

In other news, 2 new volunteers from Norway arrived yesterday. They're fun and friendly and I'm excited about spending the next few months with them.

Babies Come, Babies Go

We've had some changes at the home lately!
Last week two families each brought us a preemie baby. Both are less than a month old. Amina (girl) and Lowasa (boy) are tiny, cute, precious bundles!
The very next day, someone found an abandoned baby by the side of a path. They took it to the hospital, and the hospital immediately sent the little girl to us. She still had birthing fluid on her little body. As Davona put it, she was "new, new, new!"
The nannies named the little girl Happiness. She weighed only 4 lbs. 5 oz with clothes on. What a tiny baby! She is doing well here.
Just yesterday, Ally and Zainabu, adorable little twins, transferred to another orphanage, where they will stay until they finish high school. I am sad to see them go, but I know it's for the best. I'm just grateful their mother let them go. She has been rather difficult.
Then in the afternoon we had the privilege of receiving ANOTHER baby! Little Joshua is 9 months old. His mother tried to get rid of him when he was first born, but a nun convinced her not to kill him. A friend has been taking care of him since he was only a month old. The mother is sick with HIV and is deciding what to do about his future. For now, he is here with us! He's a real cutie!
I don't have pictures yet, but Davona posted some on www.cradleoflove.com.
Also, I learned how to do one local hairstyle! I styled Rahma's hair. There is a picture of me with her on the CoL website.
Pray that funds flow in! I still need more money, and the baby home needs much more. We appreciate your prayers SO much! I know God has a plan, and it is comforting to me to know you are lifting us up to Him.

Election Day

This morning my apartment mates and I woke up around 5:30 and caught a dala-dala into town. The U.S. Embassy was hosting an election party at the AICC in Arusha. We arrived at about 10 after 7am, just in time to hear speeches from both McCain and Obama. Coca-Cola provided free beverages (a big deal here) so we stuffed 10 bottles in our purses on our way out! We stayed until about 8:30, then got bored of watching everything on TV and left. After walking around Arusha all morning getting vegetables and discovering new shops, we headed back.

Laura was scheduled to work this afternoon, so Emma and I walked down to Arumeru Lodge and splashed around in the pool. I finally used the underwater feature on my camera! It was a blast!

Shortly after we got back to CoL (Cradle of Love), the skies filled with dark clouds and it started to get stormy. Good thing we swam when we did!

Notice the size of that beetle in the smallest picture. I hope you can see by comparison to my foot that the bug is BIG! I hope I never run into one of those again.

Tomorrow Ally and Zainabu, 22-month-old twins, are moving to a long-term care facility. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm glad that their mother is letting them be transferred to a place where they can grow up happily and healthfully.