missionary stress and 95º living rooms

I’m a relatively laid back person.  I don’t generally have high stress levels.  I think I adapt easily and quickly to any number of factors that may change in either my surroundings or my responsibilities.  

But it’s been a rough couple of days.

brett’s morning blend (02feb12)

Today’s (pre-morning blend) Headlines:

• Harrison family still waiting for Harper Mae.  Christie has appointment with the doctor today.
• Brett struggles to accomplish anything in the 90+ degree temperatures (98+% humidity) of Dar es Salaam.  Wishes air conditioning were more accessible / affordable in the house the Harrison family rented.*
• New study shows people addicted to coffee (and the caffeine contained within) continue to drink the stuff no matter how hot their surroundings.  Good news for all coffee lovers going to hell.
• Morning blend makes its return as a weekly feature at aliens and strangers.

wanaogopa mvua

Earlier this week I enjoyed my favorite morning run in Africa ever.

The first and last 1 1/2 miles of nearly every one of my runs is spent getting out of town — yeah, it’s a small town.  But from that point on, I can run on trails through our national forest and see only a handful of people, carrying firewood on their bicycles.  [Yes, they cut down trees in the national forest for firewood.  And, yes, that's illegal but done every day, all the same.]  So any run over 3 miles rewards me with both a relaxing run and a great quiet time for praying.

But on this particular day of running, it began to rain.  Just a sprinkle at first… but it steadily grew into a strong and cold rain.  And I loved it.  For two reasons:

1. This was the coolest run I’ve experienced in Africa to date.  [And a welcome change from running in Dar es Salaam-- where I regularly left a trail of sweat and melted shoe rubber in my wake.]
2. The roads and trails were empty.  Completely.  Even in that first and last mile and a half.  You see, Tanzanians don’t much care for the rain.  When storm clouds move in, people scramble for shelter.  And the people of Geita are no different.

I recently learned a new adage of sorts:

Watanzania hawaogopi magari; hawaogopi UKIMWI.
Wanaagopa mvua.

Translated, it means:

Tanzanians aren’t afraid of cars; they aren’t afraid of AIDS.
They are afraid of rain.

Fear is funny like that, isn’t it?  It’s not always so logical.

Me, I’m afraid of baby dolls and monkeys.  BUT, I was attacked by the latter — so I have every right.  [Though my wife did sort of feed the same monkeys (or some nearby ones) the next year, giving her (she believes) every right to tell others about how "horribly dangerous" these monkeys were that calmly ate bananas out of her hand, while they smiled and said "thank you" in three languages.  I'm only telling you this because, although my wife NEVER posts on my blog, she surely would have in this one instance.  So I'm cutting her off at the turn.  Husbands, you've got to do that with your wives...]

The baby dolls — well, I’ll admit… that fear is completely irrational.  [If you don't count the whole Chucky series, that is.  Or the creepy old woman baby doll in the restroom at Miller's Grocery in Christiana, Tennessee.]

Of what are you afraid and shouldn’t be?  Or of what are you not afraid, yet should be?

OR what was your favorite run this year?

* I can’t believe I made it through this entire post without mentioning Toto’s “Africa” — now that’ll be stuck in my head the rest of the day.

my recent absence and four lies

I got an email this morning.  It was from someone I’ve never met in person — but we read one another’s blogs.  I hadn’t posted in a while, and he was just sending a quick email to check and see that all was okay with our family.  This email was the seventh of that type in the last week.  Which means two things:

1. I have neglected my blog for far too long.
2. My readers are incredibly thoughtful and encouraging people.

I’ll address the second idea first.  I just want to say thank you to all of you who are actively praying for my wife and I in our work here in Tanzania.  And I am flattered to death that some of you actually miss my blog posts when they’re not around.  You guys are great.

And now on to an explanation of my recent internet absence.  I didn’t intend to go radio silent when we first left our home in Geita; it was merely bad luck and busy scheduling that kept me from having part of my mornings to write.  Then it was a teething baby waking at 4:00 am.  And then it was a hotel without working internet.  And then it was — well, let’s make this a game.  I’ll post a list of things which I’ve experienced in the last few weeks, and you try and pick out the four happenings that are false.  Ready, go:

• Christie, Baylor, and I drove to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and back to meet for a few days with our missionary mentors for marriage, family, and missionary counseling.  We respect and appreciate Fielden and Janet Allison a great deal, and are thankful for their willingness to spend time with us.
• Because we were already in Dar, we spent three nights at the beach in Zanzibar, a short boat trip away.  A boat ticket that costs Tanzanian residents (that’s us) $16 will cost visiting tourists $70 — just one of the many perks of living in Tanzania.  Other perks include having a great deal of patience and paying $4.50+ for every gallon of diesel pumped.
• I ordered some calamari one day while at the beach.  The guys went out and speared a squid while I was waiting, and then showed it to me for my approval.  But, while cooking it, a big crow swooped down and flew away with the whole thing.  I ate fish for lunch that day.
• I dropped our computer on the floor and the glass display screen broke, but the computer still seems to work fine.  We spent one morning trying to find out where and how we could get the computer fixed.  It, however, has not yet been repaired.
• We went to Spur, an over-rated South African restaurant chain, and Baylor was given her first restaurant balloon ever.  Then we realized it was actually the first time she’d ever seen a balloon.  We need to get this girl out of the house more often.  Baylor also was able to play on a couple of different playgrounds; she prefers slides, but enjoys climbing up them more than sliding down.
• Our brakes went out while we were driving in a parking lot, yet we drove another 30-40 miles that day to accomplish that which was on our list.  [A clutch works fine to stop a truck, by the way, provided you know far enough ahead of time that you'll need to stop.]
• We spent three different mornings getting our truck worked on.  And Dar is still Africa.  While I was able to have my alignment done with a 3D computer system at one shop, another guy repaired our rear axle with a gasket made out of a piece of paper and some silicone.  He used to live and work in Geita.
• We did a lot of shopping while in Dar, picking up some items we can’t get in Geita, Mwanza, or even Kigali — or that are much cheaper on the coast.  Examples: garden sprayers, a drill, spices, and oatmeal.
• We watched a few movies in a theater, finding that once Baylor goes to sleep at 8 pm, she does just fine in a noisy and crowded public area.
• We went bowling, and I beat Christie by double her score.  Poor Baylor never even had a chance.  The girl’s a miserable bowler.  Too weak an arm.
• At one restaurant on the beach, I ate a 64-ounce steak, 12 jumbo shrimp, and two sides to receive my entire dinner free of charge and get my picture on the wall.  And you know what?  By far the most difficult thing to finish was the baked potato.  I hate baked potatoes.
• I was pulled over by a female police officer.  She was supposed to accompany me to the police station in order to actually give me a ticket, and so, she kept mentioning how far away the station was and how long it would take to process a ticket.  She simply wanted to forgive me, she said.  Then she asked for half the amount of the ticket.  I told her I really appreciated her forgiveness, but that I couldn’t pay any money out without an official receipt — that my organization frowns on that, as it might be seen as offering a bribe to a police officer.  She let me go without any ticket or money paid.
• Christie got a staph infection that actually probably started more than a month before.  So we ended up staying an extra six days and seeing two doctors in four visits before that was resolved enough to return home.
• Christie had to take a pretty strong antibiotic which required that Baylor stop nursing.  So Baylor is now officially and completely weaned — and did so cold turkey.  The girl now eats like a daughter of Groen.*
• I slew four giant, fire-breathing dragons with only one ninja star and my bare hands.
• We ordered the construction of some canvas folding chairs, but they weren’t ready on the day upon which we’d agreed — or the next day, which was the day we actually needed them.  When they finally did come, they weren’t built nearly as well as the display model, and three of them broke while in the selling area.  I refused to take them and it took me six hours and a wealthy Tanzanian family buying an entire living room suite to get my deposit back.
• I stepped on three sea urchins the day I was learning to windsurf.  I rubbed an unripe papaya on them.  It didn’t seem to help at all.
• I ran my second barefoot / minimalist shoe race.  It was a half-marathon (again called a marathon), and I finished in 1:53, a time with which I was quite disappointed.  But the sun in Dar es Salaam is just sooo hot; I was completely zapped by mile 10.  And my foot was still a little sore from the whole sea urchin experience….
• I saw former Tanzanian president, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, in person.  At 85 years old he walked the 9k race and finished ahead of a whole lot of middle and high school students.
• A friend of ours ran the 9k race and was the first female finisher and third overall.  She got a 100,000 shilling gift certificate to a nice restaurant.  She didn’t take us out to dinner, though.
• Another friend of ours (who grew up with Christie in Richmond) broke six Tanzanian national swimming records while we were staying with he and his wife — and he is now quite officially and appropriately dubbed “The Fastest Swimmer in Tanzania.”
• During the 15 1/2 hour return drive to Geita, Baylor sat quietly in her car seat, never letting out even a single, short whimper.

* Our teammates in Geita, the Groens, have three daughters with whom I am very, very proud to share a table.  They can’t out-eat me, but they eat Carson under the table at every meal.  Of course Carson does lots of things like a little girl.

and number 8 in the category of dirty…

My daughter was born in the eighth filthiest city in the world!

NYC Partnership Consulting recently published their list of the 30 dirtiest cities on earth, and Dar es Salaam made the top ten!  In all fairness, though, the study compared only 245 of the world’s largest cities, so I wouldn’t dare call it thorough.  And not one Chinese city made the top 30?!  Come on… I lived there, and I don’t buy that.  Not for a second.  Have they seen the Yangtze River?!

Cities were ranked based on air pollution, potable water, waste, waste processing, infectious diseases, and quality of medical care available.  The regional commissioner for Dar es Salaam was quoted saying, “It is true and I accept that the city of Dar es Salaam is dirty, but I can’t say anything about international standards. I don’t know the criteria they used in their rating and therefore I’m not in a position to comment on that.”  I’m with this guy.  Dar es Salaam is dirty.  But any study that fails to award Wuhan, China, with a big, fat “dirty city ribbon” is not employing the proper criteria.

The 10 dirtiest cities follow, in order:

1. Baku, Azerbaijan
   
2. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
   
3. Mexico City, Mexico
   
4. Buenos Aires, Argentina
   
5. Antananarivo, Madagascar
   
6. Dacca, Bangladesh
7. Katmandu, Nepal
8. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
9. Bangui, Central African Republic
10. Lome,Togo

In similar news, I heard Knoxville is thinking about naming a sewage treatment plant after Lane Kiffin….

asterisks overboard

I’m writing you all today from the port city of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  In Swahili the words “Dar Es Salaam” mean* “hotter than any place you can imagine north of the fires of Tartarus.”  It is really hot here.  All the same, I’m excited to be here… because we’re going to have a baby soon!  Christie and I went to her doctor in Mwanza last Friday, and  both of my girls are healthy.  Dr. Beatrice put her money** on Baylor Adelaide’s early arrival two weeks from that date.  Anyway, as much as Christie would love to jifungua*** sooner than later, we’ll be happy whenever Baylor decides to grace our presence.  And I’ll be happy when I can cut the hair and shave this beard****; Dar is not the place to wear a sweater on your face (just in case you’re looking for places to do that)…

So… we arrived in Dar on Tuesday to await the stork.  We are blessed to have friends here who offered us a room in their house for free while we wait — which is nice, because it cost us over $350 in diesel***** just to get here.  We spent part of yesterday at Aga Khan Hospital, getting a tour and attempting to pre-register Christie.  The tour was fine, but they only pre-register pregnancies on Mondays and Fridays.  So we have to go back tomorrow to register.  The only drawback to the hospital is that there exist only two private rooms in the maternity ward, and they are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.  So unless Christie gets one of those two rooms, I will be limited to 6-7 am, 11-12 am, and 4-6 pm visiting hours.  I don’t like to pray selfish prayers, but in this case I have already begun, and am asking you guys to do the same.

We want to use our time of waiting in Dar wisely, since we are currently unable to continue building relationships and a house in Geita.  So I’m spending a lot of time reading and studying.  I’m currently reading:

• The Bible, God (in English AND Swahili)
• A Biography of the Continent Africa, John Reader
• The Fullness of Christ, John Howard Yoder
• East African Agriculture, Ngugi, Karau, and Nguyo
• Beyond Gold – a History of Geita, Ahmed Merere
• and a couple of Swahili-English (and vice versa) dictionaries

I’m also waiting on the arrival of two more agriculture development books I’m really excited about (shout out to Casey and Susie Lowrance who picked them up and put them in the mail — no doubt they’ll have UGA football pictures scribbled throughout).  It’s been really nice having a lot of time to study.  And my Swahili is now getting to progress outside the realms of construction language, which is both great and necessary.  

We also thought it would be nice for us to have some “vacation” time while here.  We’ve already been to eat one meal out — pizza.  And I can’t imagine that we’ll wait too long before finding our way to a movie in a real theater.  Then of course there’s swimming in the Indian Ocean.  And we haven’t even mentioned the foods we can find in the supermarkets here — I had Honey Smacks cereal for breakfast today!

*this is not true

** this is only meant as a metaphor.  there is no gambling of any sort related to the birth of our baby — except those of you who are making wagers on whether her first word is mama or soccer or diet dr. pepper

*** Swahili word literally meaning “to open oneself,” which is (get this) the POLITE way to say giving birth

**** 37 1/2 weeks of beard growth, to match the belly growth of the wife

***** at an average price of $4.50 / gallon

 

---

Other News in Short

 

• We have a puppy named Gus.  Right now he’s staying with the Groens and Mcneals. Christie likes what she calls “old man names” for pets, and Katelyn Groen suggested Gus.  I was really enamored at the time****** with Gus Malzahn, so I lent my support to the name, and it was done.

• There are two family (and neighbors) Bible studies that we will be starting in December, when we get back to Geita.

• I ran the cheapest half-marathon ever about a month ago — $2.25.  But there was no t-shirt — oh, and the course was about 2 kilometers short.  I did, however, finish third in the “white people” category.*******

• Our house is getting pretty close to finished.  I think they are probably done with the paint inside the house by now — or at least close.  Next is light fixtures, switches, and outlets.  Then windows.  It should be done by the time we get back…

****** not that I dislike the guy now.  It’s just that Clark Kent is my hero these days — or Oliver Queen, not sure which.

******* this wasn’t really a category.  I made it up.  Though my finishing place is real.  I couldn’t decide whether to call it the “white people” category or the “I apparently wasn’t genetically built to run these long distances in short times” category.  I simply opted for the shorter — just like the race officials did when setting the course.

 

---

Thanksgiving

 

Our friends in Dar have to teach on Thanksgiving Day (it’s a British school — who knew the Brits weren’t thankful for anything?!), so it looks like we might be celebrating Thanksgiving on the following Saturday.  That will just be strange.  But Christie and I have so much to be thankful for these days!  God is really blessing us!  And because we’re likely to be really busy around the actual day of Thanksgiving (Baylor’s due on the 22nd), here are just a few of the things we are thankful for:

• Baby Baylor’s soon coming
• Free place to stay in Dar while waiting for Baylor
• Making new friends here in Dar
• Diet Dr. Pepper in Dar (Brett)
• An almost finished house in Geita
• Several recent sums of money donated to help with the cost of afore-mentioned house
• Thick Milkshakes and Slushies in Dar (Christie)
• A large group of people here with whom we can worship on Sundays IN ENGLISH
• Pizza
• God’s calling us to be in Tanzania, and his blessings on us to serve his purposes
• Cold showers in a hot city
• Trust in God (not ourselves) to empower us to raise a daughter we don’t want to rurn********

******** just a throwback word to my days in south Alabama where, by the way, I am currently missing the National Peanut Festival (even though a bunch of my friends are making the trip to be there with my family)

 

---

Prayer List

 

• Christie and Baylor’s health (and comfort)
• Safety and ease in delivery
• To have one of the private rooms in the maternity ward
• Wisdom in time usage while in Dar
  • Swahili language acquisition
  • Bible study
  • Agriculture
  • History / culture of Africa and Geita
  • “Vacation”
• Bible studies that will start in December
  
• Financial situation with delivery, hospital bills, and fuel costs
• Financial situation with a vehicle