Sorry its been a few days! Sometimes I feel so exhausted by my fantastic life and then I read the blogs of people with four, five, six kids and I think hmm I need to pull it together! But then again, I live in Africa. J I can play that card, right? But seriously…my favorite internet café (favorite because it’s the only one under $5 an hour that actually works) has been closed down for some reason. I am desperately trying to figure out how to get internet at my house, but its so expensive! I think Vincent might have found me a deal, so if it works out, communication will become a whole lot easier for me. In addition, my car windows have an ongoing condition where they keep getting stuck. Either I roll them down and they get stuck which is not so good in Arusha during Christmas time where thieves are rampant! Not to mention the short rains are here. If you came to my house, you may find my car covered in a big green and white striped shower curtain covering it from consistent downpour. Then if they get stuck while they are up in the middle of the day, I think im seriously going to suffocate. Yeah the air conditioner definitely doesn’t work. Poor Neema and Pray the other day, I looked in the back seat and they both had sweat dripping down their faces. Bless ‘em. So ill be making my THIRD trip to the garage today where I must try my level best to explain in Swahili that they are STILL broken! So that will consume my whole afternoon. Not exciting. In between trips to the garage, I have been on an endless wild goose hunts for whatever my bushmen guards are currently in need of. I love them but man oh man are they needy! “Mama, natakasucari, mafuta, mboga, dawa, etc.” (Mama, I want sugar, oil, vegetables, medicine, etc.) Always something! But they literally never leave the house unprotected, so it’s the least I can do. The fact that I am often buying the same things for Mama Kimaro at the TAWV house has helped because now I have been trying to just do one BIG shop once a month….ill get it down eventually.

This week I took Jumanne, Rehema, Miriam, and Fabien to the school they will be attending in January…HOPE NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL! It is very close to their house and it’s an up and coming private school in the area. It is not as big and showy as some of the other schools I visited, but the Headmaster really won me over. He seems to have a sincere interest in the well-being of the children. I visited a couple of the classes with him and I could tell that he interacted with the classes on a regular basis. The children were extremely responsive when I spoke to them, and even 1^st and 2^nd grade were speaking English exceptionally. Im so excited for my kiddos! I wish they could start TOMORROW! But for now they are enjoying their Holiday, playing football (soccer) outside, helping ‘Bibi’ (Mama K) cook, and waiting for my blue Suzuki to pull up in hopes they will get to come on some outing! J

Recently there was an Islamic Holiday here known as Ed, there are 2 Eds a year, and this one was to celebrate the lives of those of have already passed away. As three of my four babies come from Muslim families, they wanted to celebrate Ed. So Bibi made them a traditional celebration dish known as pilau (spiced rice with meat) and they got to each have a soda. (A Fanta orange in a bottle - Always a special treat!) Then that afternoon, I thought it might be nice to take them home to surprise their families and let them celebrate the Holiday with their siblings and neighbors where they got to eat again with some of the village elders. They were tickled pink!

I of course would never deny them a celebration of a Holiday they have grown up celebrating but it is so important to us that they hear the good news of Jesus Christ! The other day I went for a visit and Jumanne had gone to prayer time with Bibi – I love that! He just wanted to go. He really loves church and at 8 years old I think he is beginning to ‘get it.’ Its so fun to see the scales literally like falling off his little eyes. J I can’t wait until they learn English! Or until my brain expands and I can finally become fluent, and we can talk about how GOOD He really is!