A(nother) First

Today was the first time I have ever had an inkling of feeling unsafe in this country.

Please don't panic.

I do not live in fear, and neither should you.  Fear is not from God.  We are safe.  

But today, as we drove up the mountain a little ways for a hash, we encountered a bit of a harry situation.

Re-Entry (ish) Revelations

A lot of things have been happening lately that we weren't expecting.
Our family trip in July/August.
Some {new} friends arriving in Tz for a visit and bringing with them a Target bag full of goodies and surprises for our whole family.
A four-day whirlwind missions/meet-up trip.(pts. 1, 2 and 3 here)
An on-the-edge couple of months about our futures here in Moshi (don't worry, it's all working out, I hope to be able to write in detail about it all soon!)
Anyway.  Among all those things, one thing I really never expected, was dealing with re-entry after my latest international excursion.
I didn't really think I'd have issues in South Africa, but I did.  And once I processed those and was good with them, I thought I was in the clear.  But then I got back home.  And my brain, well, it just refused to brain.

On Moving, Arachnids, Culture Shock and Accents {part 3}

{this is part 3 of my three part blog on #takingSAagain, for part 2 click here, and part 1 here}
I had a lot of anticipation about Sunday morning. When we were here as a family back in July we got the {rare} opportunity to attend an Acts service on a Friday night, and it was absolutely incredible. So I knew Sunday was going to be nothing short of amazing.

What I didn't expect, was to feel God's presence the way it fell during worship.

On Moving, Arachnids, Culture Shock and Accents {part 2}

{this is part 2 of my three-part blog on #takingSAagain - for part 1 click here}

After getting into our rooms at the lodge, I was chatting with my new roommate and Dawn & Brian in my room when Alison came in with a concerned look.  "I don't want anyone to worry but..." she started.  I was intrigued.
She continued to tell us that a very large, very harry spider was just found (and killed) in one of the other rooms.  "It was this big!" she said, holding up her hands about the size of a baseball.
"Oh, that's probably a baboon spider or something similar from the tarantula family.  They're no problem, you might get tingly or have a little pain if they bite you, but you won't die." I say.

The Seventh Time - In an Airport (part 1)

When we discovered we'd be missing each other's trips to South Africa by only a couple months, we were bummed.  But accepted the reality of it.

But as the time drew nearer, my missions coordinator and I began wishing and dreaming about a South African meet-up.  After all, she was going to be on the same continent - so close, yet so far away.

Then one day, she said, "Come on. What do we have to do to make this happen?"
So I started looking at airline tickets.  "About $250 and permission to take time off." I replied casually.

Then she said it, "Okay, buy the tickets.  They're paid for."

30 Signs We've Adapted to Life Overseas

1) We can tell by the brightness of our lights and the speed of our fans if the power is operating at the full 220v, closer to 240v or closer to 110v.

2) Every time we walk in the house we listen for the hum of the fridge, if we don't hear it we flick the kitchen light switch on and praise Jesus eleven times when it's actually ON.

3) We can de-bone a chicken faster that you can say "throw away the neck first!"

From Six to Seven

Six Times.
Six times in two weeks.

(1) In a house that was not my own.

On Roots

The other day while texting with our missions coordinator back in the states, I was filling her in on all the amazing things happening lately (the couch story & the great ex-pat sale among them!)
Then I told her that we have a chance to buy a vehicle for a really good price.  An SUV with 4WD that's great for driving on these crazy Tanzanian roads.  A diesel engine, a good history, and only a 3 year old engine in it.  And that's when she said:

"Putting down roots..."

I hadn't ever thought of it that way.

Proof is in the Pudding.... er... Home Furnishings?

Today I'm reminded of pudding.  And roots.  But first: the pudding.
Let me back up...
When we first found this house, there was a man that offered to sell us his very nice couch for the low price of only $75. A great deal for the completely upholstered piece - a rarity in these parts. We jumped on it (though, not literally) and were thrilled with our new couch!

SO thrilled, that we (apparently) forgot to take a photo of it IN our actual living room- so here's the best one we have.  Bonus for the cute jam session happening.