Up in the Woods

I (M) had the chance to get up into some indigenous forest near the top of the Uluguru Mountains this week together with some friends and spend time in prayer for the Luguru people of the Morogoro region. The people here are farmers, in the mountains. It truly is amazing, how many people are able to make producing fields for crops on 60 degree inclines in seemingly unreachable places. We are veeeeery blessed to have many of the freshest crops in all of Tanzania right at our doorstep. Being up in the forest/jungle really pulled at my heart though. It's sad to see all of that chopped down in order to farm, and yet I still do love the fresh onions, peppers, tomatoes, pineapples, mangoes, and much more. At least there's not high rise apartments and mountain resorts

In addition to a great time of prayer and reflection, sleeping without the neighboring chickens, cows, and dogs was quite peaceful. Nothing to listen to but a gentle waterfall all night.

Dangerous, half-eroded mountain roads: the perfect place to pack 30 people into a van (dalla-dalla, public transport) and drive as fast at the wheels will turn!

Swahili for "to climb a mountain" is kupanda mlima.

Oreo and kids

Our friends/neighbors' dog Oreo just had puppies. Count 'em, 6. Double Stuff, Snickerdoodle, Grasshopper, Samoa, Twinkie, and tbd (all are subject to change). Ah, new life is in the air. Hopefully we can keep our count below 6 though...

Swahili for dog is mbwa.

Take a good look

Because she's about to change!!!!

Body's a little different, lots of stomach gurgling (probably a combo of being new residents in Africa and having a new resident in tummy), tired, motherly instincts beginning to take shape, all is well!

Isn't it amazing how God made us to do this incredible thing?


Baby/child in Swahili is mtoto.

Wedding Fun

These are two of our little friends in Tanzania. We were all at a wedding together this month. These two are always a bundle of joy and are among the most excited here about our little newcomer. Shortly after this picture was taken, the little boy wanted to know if he could marry the little girl. We told him that first he must ask her dad, so he did! Dad gave permission, so he returned to pop the question, and at the ripe age of 4, these two are now engaged to be married. :)

Are we ready for this??

So what do you think? Will we have an ever-confident young man as our first child? Or a sweet little girl?

Swahili word(s) for the day:
A man marries: oa
A woman is married: olewa
A couple marries one another: oana

Roosters, Hens, and Chicks

One day this week Joe Joe was sitting at home, Michael had just left, and as with any typical warm day in Tanzania, most of the windows and doors were open. The groaning cows were bellowing as usual in their afternoon neighborly state, and the smell of our everyday unremarkable segment of the animal kingdom wafted through the house. The chickens on this day seemed unusually loud though. It's not uncommon for them to run laps around the house, maybe getting in shape for the night's prom or just strutting their stuff as practice for the fashion show runway, but this day, they seemed almost too close to be outside our walls. Then Joe Joe looked up from her engrossing book and found nothing other than a living room full of chickens. So this is indeed our living room. And after a party last week, we know that it can hold over 30 people and at least 10 chickens.

Swahili word for the day is kuku, which means chicken.

new digs

Our water comes in jugs on the back of a bicycle, our neighbors are cows, chickens, and dogs, and our living room is sweeeeet (though slightly bare at the moment).

What a month!

We moved. Rain stopped. Got sick. Went to doctor. We're going to have a baby!

Could someone in Lexington Please give Billy G our number? We're guessing he'll want to start the recruiting process soon.