Back to the best spot in Zanzibar for Renewal

It's the last day of March, which means the last day of the MCC fiscal year (with all those work deadlines), while also high time to get one more blog written -- we have a personal commitment of putting something down twice a month at a minimum. 

Papa Dave playing with the grandsons

Looking back a bit, I realized that we didn't have much of a record of my dad's visit to us this month. He actually passed through twice, arriving at the end of the week when we hosted our annual MCC partner gathering. Paul was fully engaged in that work assignment, so didn't get much time with my dad. I, on the other hand, was very glad to enjoy a day and a half of quiet time with him. Oren was also home on a Friday because he had finished taking all his mock exams by that point and wasn't expected in school. It was quite rainy the whole time he was here, so we didn't try to go out and do any activities. Instead, the three of us just had time to talk and share, take a slow walk around the neighborhood, and give him a glimpse of everyday life for us on a quiet day. In the afternoon, we caught a taxi to our kids' school.  

Introducing the school tortoise

Oren gave Papa Dave a tour of the place where the kids spend most of their time. There were glimpses of David playing volleyball in the gym with his Under14 team, the community choir in the chapel as we prepare our concert of show tunes, and lots of other corners of the school. I arranged a ride back for us in one of the school mini-bus taxis that David usually uses to get back from after-school sports. It was not nearly as comfortable as I imagined, and very full of soaking wet, sweaty 14-year-olds who had just finished a football (soccer) practice in the rain. We definitely missed getting Papa Dave the business class ticket back home ;-). There was some time to play a couple of rounds of Rummikub with both kids along with a very funny game of Scattergories. We then took him to the airport on Saturday morning to continue on his way to Nepal. 

The following Sunday morning, my dad arrived back in Addis, to attend meetings with the Africa CDC on Monday and Tuesday. I had to preach that morning, so it was too complicated to try to get him from the airport, but it gave him a chance to catch a little nap before we picked him up at his hotel at 11 am. 

We drove to the nearby Friendship park, quite a photogenic new place built on part of the grounds of what was once the imperial palace. The flowers are now well-established, setting off cityscapes nicely. We strolled around, and talked some more, but noted that the park was totally jam-packed with people who were gathered to celebrate World Downs Syndrome Day -- no place at all to sit for lunch! So we went across the street to the Sheraton Hotel, a spot that is normally too upscale for our family to frequent. It turned out to be a lovely place to sit, in the garden by the pool, and we had more chances to talk with both Oren and Bereket about their upcoming options and choices for college. Then we dropped my dad off at his hotel again and ran home to wrap up work and pack for our long-awaited trip to Zanzibar!

Paul and David walking the steps while we stroll

While we lived in Tanzania, we were able to visit Zanzibar quite a few times, benefiting from a cheap 1-hour domestic flight and resident rates at hotels. We had two MCC team retreats there, staying at different kinds of places, and at least 2 family holidays. After looking around, our absolute favorite location turned out to be Ras Michamvi (now Pearl Beach by Sansi), where we stayed with the family of Paul's brother Jonathan for a week in 2019. It is located on the tip of a long skinny peninsula, mostly facing directly East onto the Indian Ocean, but with a sheltered bay on the backside. The restaurant sits atop a bluff with epic views of the ocean, and the place has 2 pools, a good swimming beach on the back side, and great access to free snorkeling on the ocean side. Also, very few beach vendors and tour operators make their way to the end of the peninsula so it is much quieter on the beach to walk and just enjoy. When we compared around, this spot was the absolute best!

Pearl Beach view out to the Indian Ocean

And yet, when we tried to return to this hotel another year, we found it had changed management. Our contacts didn't work. No one would return our emails. We were very sad. In January 2021, we had one last chance to use our TZ resident status for a visit to Zanzibar, staying elsewhere. And from there, we made a spontaneous day trip to Pearl Beach, just to see if it was still any good. They let us in, gave us access to the pool and beach, and we enjoyed quite an amazing seafood dinner. We got a better email that time but didn't know when we might use it. 

This year, as we were plowing through non-stop work in January and February, and as tensions in this country were really starting to affect us, we thought -- we really need some snorkeling to recover. Many thanks to MCC for supporting our lodging costs throught the Required Renewal Leave policy. We made an effort to reach Pearl Beach and Paul actually scored the WhatsApp number of the reservations manager -- now that's the way to get things done in East Africa! He called and inquired, and the guys said, "if you book today, I'll throw in half-board for free." Paul decided to go for it. When he had paid the money, the guy said, "If you want it, you could stay at the Private Beach villa for the same price." Paul had no idea of the specifics, but he said, "Sure, why not?" 

Private beach villa with plunge pool

So, we arrived on Monday afternoon, back to that same spectacular restaurant at the top of the cliff. Things looked good, the gardens were maintained, and stuff seemed to work -- honestly, it's rare to find a hotel in the same good condition for several years in a row. Entropy is real in the tropics. And then two hotel staff grabbed our bags and started to walk us to our rooms. We walked past all the rooms in the main hotel area, then down the hill past all the new bungalows around that sandy beach area. And we walked and walked and walked, through some shrubby forest, Oren complaining all the while about how far it was. 

The view from our door

Suddenly we came to a separate little compound containing a charming white-washed villa. There was a tiny two-level plunge pool right in front of the house as we came around the corner. Six rope chairs with colorful cushions lined up on a covered veranda. Two separate spacious rooms were well appointed with beautifully carved Swahili-style beds and furnishings, hibiscus flowers accenting everything. And two meters from the door, a set of six steps led down to a sandy part of the beach, perfect for swimming, with the ocean waves gently rolling in. We were absolutely stunned. This beautiful, quiet place was definitely worth the long walk!

David always finds the creatures

We took a dip in the ocean and tested out the little plunge pool. David and I swam around in the water as it got shallower with low tide, looking for cool shells. It was just amazing to be back in that spot again. Then we headed up to the restaurant for dinner. When we arrived, the manager greeted us with a handful of blue wristbands. Apparently, as returning guests, they had decided to honor us with the all-inclusive treatment! It was just really too good to be true, grace upon grace. No need to nickel and dime the kids about ordering a cheap lunch, or skimping on drinks. Pearl Beach was really trying to make a good impression -- and they lived up to it! The buffet was actually quite good for a hotel buffet and even included a fair bit of seafood, along with nice vegetables and salads. 

David is ready to snorkel

The only major negative change we noted was that most of the sand had left the formerly sandy beach on the protected bay. The beach volleyball net was standing on old coral rock and looked pretty uncomfortable. Meanwhile, it seemed like our villa end of the bay had collected all the sand. Paul learned that the climate effects of La Niña include a lot of droughts and also somehow, carry sand away from the shores. Someone official had declared that this past La Niña actually finished on March 8, and that El Niño had just begun. Maybe El Niño will bring some sand back to that beach to make it a bit more charming for the non-snorkeling beach guests. 

On the boat to snorkel

In the morning, Paul and I had a chance to do some lap swimming in the larger deeper pool. And then we got ourselves all organized to take a boat out to do some proper snorkeling. We were joined by four middle-aged French tourists, friends who were enjoying an African adventure. It took us nearly half an hour to reach the good snorkeling spot, but it was just so wonderful to be back in the water, with that slow snorkel breathing, the world coming alive under the surface with fish and coral, and sea plants. OK, after Djibouti, all other snorkeling spots look a bit depleted and washed out -- one can really see the change in coral reef quality over the past 10 years, and I'm sure climate change and tourist visits don't help. But still, it was marvelous to snorkel and chase fish and explore various grottos that aren't visible unless you are underwater. Besides, this time we had a GoPro, with a wrist strap and a floating tripod rod, so the kids had a great time taking footage of the fish.

Most footage was video; 
I'm not sure what these are!

And then it started to rain. "Well," I thought, "what's the difference? I'm already wet!" And then it started to rain really heavily. The water was stirred up and visibility went down some, but still, it was just fine for snorkeling. We weren't really having much trouble -- not those of us in the water. The poor captain and his mate, however, were struggling! I realized at some point they were bailing the little motorboat like crazy. They had tied up our bags under the plastic shade over the boat, but they themselves were soaking. We went back to ask, but they said, no stay in the water -- it's warmer than out here in the air, and we can't see anything anyway! 

It's true, the rain was coming down in absolute sheets and there was no way the captain could see his way around the coral outcroppings through to the channel. So, we just kept snorkeling for a while until we had to give up and try to get home. There was a lot of shivering in that boat, some measure of ridiculous singing and dancing to keep warm, and some nervous laughter, especially as we started moving, and the wind blew against us. It was definitely an adventure!

For the days after that, we just did our own free snorkeling excursions, walking out across the flats at low tide and then swimming around to find and explore different nearby coral rocks. There was nothing as varied as on the first day, but we had a lot of fun exploring. We have our own gear, including fins, which makes it a lot safer to be out as the tide is coming in and the water gets deeper. You have a lot more power as a swimmer in case of currents. And we all even have packs where can carry our water shoes when we swap them for fins. 

morning walk around tidepools

We had some very excellent moray eel sightings in and around the shore. Oren was particularly fascinated with those guys, although he's not as much a fan of snorkeling as David is. There is always one or two lionfish lurking around in a crevice under a rock, not aggressive but looking quite ominous. Sprinkled here and there were anemones with various famous residents of the Nemo variety, along with black white-spotted little fish, and then a warm golden fish about the size of a clownfish. I'm not so good with my fish ID's, so experts, please we beg your pardon. 

One absolutely gorgeous morning
what a place for quiet time

On a few mornings, I was able to take my swim for exercise right in the ocean. I just grabbed my snorkel, waded in chest-deep, and swam back and forth a few times across the bay in front of our villa. It was slightly more exciting than the pool, that's for sure. You have to keep your eyes open for things moving that are more than just vegetation being swirled by the waves -- I think I startled at least five moray eels while swimming. In fact, I saw more eels than regular fish! And the pull and push of the waves make it interesting. Going one way, you have to swim hard to make any progress at all. Going back, you feel like you are just flying through teh water, pushed by waves. 

Five Crowns game after lunch

We arrived in Zanzibar right at the beginning of the rainy season. We enjoyed one day with sunny, beautiful weather. But on the other days, we had to negotiate heavy rain at some point in each day. We had brought a whole lot of portable board games so we found our way up to the Swahili lounge above the restaurant and lounged on cushions to play. But on one morning, the rain was blowing in so hard, that it was impossible to keep the table or our cards dry. We ended up opening our umbrellas indoors to protect ourselves from the spray. Sadly, the lovely carpets on one side of the lounge were completely sodden -- I'm not sure how they deal with this kind of weather event if it happens a lot!

Playing in the pool

The staff was always eager to involve us in various potential activities. One afternoon, the boys and I participated in a Swahili cooking lesson, watching and assisting with the preparation of samosas. Another afternoon, Paul learned how to make fresh tamarind juice, which is a lovely, tangy beverage we enjoyed at breakfast -- just don't be put off by its cloudy brown color. 

I have to say a word about language here. We were decently conversant in Swahili by the time we left in 2021, and fortunately, we keep having opportunities to practice every few months. Amharic is going more smoothly these days, though, so I was worried... but within a few hours of being in Zanzibar, all that Swahili came flooding back. And it was so fun and delightful to speak with the staff at the hotel, who, unlike Kenyans, are proud of their language and enjoy using Swahili with guests. Somehow, I believe that you take on a persona together with a foreign language, or maybe the language itself has a persona. Anyway, speaking Swahili, I felt myself become more relaxed and playful, kind of like the way the culture is there: "Hakuna matata!" I felt more free and able to express myself well in Swahili than I do yet in Amharic, and I've missed that sense of being at home in a foreign language. 

Ironically, most of our fellow guests were French, so we also had the chance to practice some French conversation. I'm a lot rustier than Paul, but we were really flexing all our language muscles for a few days, which was actually refreshing in an unexpected way. The only problem -- coming back to Addis, my Amharic has been a lot more halting. I'll need to immerse myself more...

So, we had days of much time in the water, time to play and sleep and read and enjoy strategy games and enjoy food that someone else cooked, while someone else cleaned the dishes. I didn't look at work email the whole week, since I didn't even bring my computer, and the app on my phone stopped working -- another provision of grace! We enjoyed several long morning walks up the beach to the north. 

Every morning I could wake up and enjoy a different mood of the ocean, sitting on those rope chairs for a time of prayer and journaling. We could hear hightide come in every night, crashing right up against the steps of our villa. It was an absolutely magical place to be for a week.  We arrived in Zanzibar depleted and tired and grumpy and returned a lot more refreshed and ready to face the very intense week of work that is coming to a close. 

Back here in Addis, it has been cold, wet, and dreary, but we just needed to buckle down and spend hours in the office meeting year-end deadlines. Our poor accountant has stayed late every night this week doing her best to finish up everything in preparation for our audit. We still have a few more items of work to complete before April 1 hits.

Where will the open door lead?

And it's going to be a big week for decision-making for Oren. He has now been accepted into four good colleges, not accepted into two upper-tier schools, and we are still waiting on an answer from the last college. All of Oren's choices are good options so far, but it may be a question of choosing between career directions: chemistry or foreign service. We would really appreciate prayer for Oren and for us, that the Holy Spirit would give us all clarity about which of these good choices is the best choice for him at this time. And we also are praising God that Bereket has been accepted into 2 of the 3 colleges he has applied to -- he will probably get an answer from his top choice this weekend. He now has the paperwork he needs to apply for an expedited visa. And then it will be a question of finding the funding...

BONUS PHOTOS

Walkway past the beach bungalows and Baobar,
out to our private villa

Swahili lounge

David's favorite: spotting little creatures in tide pools

Another squall sweeping through

Sheltering in the Swahili lounge waiting for the storm to pass
so we could go out for more snorkeling

Paul's morning exercise in the rustic hotel gym

Lunch in StoneTown at the end of the week

Imagine being there, breathing deeply, hearing the water...
what a place for quiet time

Church Retreat, Bahir Dar Visit, All Partner Meeting, Oh My!

 

Pi day, the Ides of March, and St. Patty's, have all passed at this point and we have still not been able to get a blog up for the month. Again, not because there is nothing going on. In fact, this is precisely the season when too much it seems, is going on. Actually, I might begin by mentioning that I am listening to thunder at the moment. In the past ten day or so, we entered into the short rainy season, and for better or worse, it has been pouring here, almost every day and most nights! The mixed blessing is due to the ongoing need, but heavy rain on dry ground produces more floods than absorption. Even in Bolena, a zone in Southern Ethiopia that has had 5 years of drought is now being flooded. The rain is desperately needed, but the amount falling is almost wasted and is causing more devastation than help at the moment. 

In the past 3 weeks, it seems like we have had one event after another, beginning on the weekend after my return from Tigray, when we had our annual church retreat. I have been able to attend this for all three Februaries I have been here. The first one was prior to the arrival of the family. Last year we went together, and we were happy to find that our contribution of a folk and line dance evening was a huge hit. We were told that this year, there very was high demand that we offer this again. From what some said it was one of the highlights! 

The retreat happens next to Lake Babogaya, about an hour out of Addis. the SIM mission owns some property out there with cabins and bungalows on it along a fairly steep hill that runs up from the lake shore. (The contour of the lake and land around it resemble a crater, and that may have been how it was formed,) The lake is very cool with a dock and surrounding campsite on the property. The only hazard is that the water become quite deep within a few meters of shore. People usually bring boats and inflatables and launch them off the dock. The lake is small, about 1.5 kilometers across. It is perfect for our stand-up paddleboard. Rebecca and I also really enjoy taking turns paddling while the other swims. I will swim across the lake one way and she swims back. Our kids enjoyed playing with friends, we brought Beriket as well and he and Oren played chess, but both had exams to study for and spent a good part of the time studying for the next week.

We played a lot of board games as well--one of the popular evening activities. On Sunday we had an early service by the water with Rebecca preaching, then followed that after breakfast with our Annual Meeting. We are aware that there has been a loss of some significant contributors to church leadership because they have had to leave. The Annual Meeting was an opportunity to let newer members know about the opportunities for service. After the meeting, we took one more quick dip in the lake and returned back to Addis. 

The week of our return was already fully booked with Solomon and planning to travel to Bahir Dar, this time with a Canadian back-donor to MCC called Run4Water. They have been sponsoring some of our WASH work here in Ethiopia, especially drilling wells. Two members of R4W, the director, Dean, and a photographer Dawson were coming, along with an MCC Canada person, Jet. Their mission was to get good publicity photos for their next fundraising event. They sponsor a big run each year that raises over $100,000 for charity. 

We all met up at the airport on Monday morning, (they flew in from Canada the night before) and took the 45-minute hop to Bahir Dar, a city on Lake Tana in Amhara region near the project sites. We were met by Shimeta, the director of our WASH partner called AEID who is responsible for drilling wells in this area of Ethiopia (Amhara region West Gojjam). He had arranged a vehicle for us as well as a hotel. We checked in, had breakfast then headed out to the field to begin seeing wells. On most of Monday we drove several hundred kilometers and visited 3 communities that had just received wells this past year. It is very gratifying to meet people there who were delighted to show us the well-functioning pump and tell stories about how drastically the well has changed their lives. Almost all mention a noticeable drop in the incidence of diarrhea among their children. 

It is not difficult to get very good photos of very pleased project participants at a new well site. We met several water committees, interviewed women about the change that the well has brought in their lives, and even met with local govt. officials from the zonal water department at the end of the day. Each place we visited we were asked to sit down and share food as well as t'allah, a local meade wine, and areke, a local moonshine. We also received heaping portions of enjera and shiro (chick pea stew). By the second site we had to do our best to politely taste, but decline the large portions they offered us. 

We returned back to the hotel in the evening and debriefed. The R4W visitors felt it was very important to have a contrasting picture, a community where a well has not yet been dug and is in need of one. Shimeta made some arrangements for the next day to visit a community that is anticipated to get a well in the future but does not yet have one. We set off the next morning and it was a long drive, much of it offroad over bad terrain. When we arrived a large crowd of people gathered carrying jerry cans. They came and sat down and were ready to talk about the need for a well.

I don't think any of us were prepared for how emotional and heart-wrenching such a meeting can be, especially if you are not used to seeing a community in so much need. Several elders, mena and women shared about the hardship of getting water to their village. Women walked several kilometers. They actually were currently drawing well from a large puddle in a seasonal river that was shared by livestock. It was very dirty. After hearing several stories we drove part-way then walked the rest of the way to the water hole and watched women filling jerry cans alongside cows tramping in it. 

It was very difficult for our guests to see this and they really wanted to find a way to help this community immediately. We told them that building a well takes a lot of planning in collaboration with the hydrologist and local govt water department. It was slated for digging in the following year, but for now, they would be in this situation. 

It was, in retrospect, good to see the contrast. Even I usually go out and see communities where wells are dug when we do monitoring visits. 

Our last stop was of the day was at a community where the AEID drill rig was set up and working. They had just hit water and it was beginning to flash after going through 30 meters of solid rock. They were beginning to lose hope that the site would work. Again the community there was out to watch and was happy to offer us some food. We drove back to the hotel after dark, worn out, physically and emotionally. 

The visits of the first 2 days were so successful that we decided on Wednesday, our last day to do some sightseeing and take a boat to some ancient monasteries on Lake Tana. (Our flight left that afternoon.) We set off after breakfast and the boat arrived at one of the islands in the lake after a 30-minute trip. We had a guide who took us to a monastery that dated back to the 15th century and even contained some writings from the 900s in its museum. We walked up to the Orthodox church at the top of a hill and were allowed to walk in and observe a very old and gigantic Tabot (a large box-the holiest of holy place that only a priest can enter.) It is set up like the Old Testament tabernacle. It was covered with paintings mainly scenes from the Bible, but also The Book of Mary which was written in the 15th century. 

I was most intrigued by a picture of a bug-eyed man who appeared to be eating human body parts. I asked and was told by a young monk it was story of Mary and the Cannibal from the Book of Mary. In it, a man sacrifices his child to a demon to gain favor. He prepares the child for the demon to eat but is tricked and ends up eating the child himself. He then becomes a cannibal and eats another 30-40 people in his life. Close to death, he meets a beggar on the street who asks the cannibal, in the name of the Blessed Virgin, if the man will give him a cup of water. The cannibal does so. He later dies and faces final judgment. Before Jesus, his sins and good deeds are weighed on a scale. The sins of cannibalism are very heavy compared to the single cup of water, his only good deed on the other side. But then, because it was done in her name, the Virgin Mary makes the water heavy and it outweighs his sins, and he is allowed to enter into heaven. An odd story, in my opinion, but does have some lesson about undeserved grace in it. 

We left the monastery and got back just on time for Solomon and I to get back, get our bags and get on the flight. (Our guests had a later flight.) We were fully loaded with about a gallon of honey each, gifts from some communities. We were back on Wednesday afternoon. It was good to be home. 

We had a busy weekend at church. We had youth group on Saturday at our house. Rebecca and I were responsible for the program. We used an old but very funny skit on the Lord's prayer and had Beriket and Oren perform it, then had discussions afterward. We had about 40 kids, so it is good we have a big yard! There were games and snacks as well. I also preached on one of the Sundays around the Bahir Dar trip but don't remember which one. 

Last week was another very busy week. We had our Annual All Partner meeting. This is an event where we bring all of our partners together for networking and usually involves some capacity-building training. This year we planned for a big week. We rented rooms at a conference center in Debre Zeit near lake Bishoftu and brought everyone out to it. Rebecca and I made the trip back and forth from Addis daily. We had two units of trainings. On Monday through Wednesday morning we did trainings on self-help groups. This is a micro-loan finance scheme that creates mutual savings groups that allows participants to access credit from each other as their account builds over time. The training, done by our FS Programs Manager Mesfin included a visit on Tuesday to a self help group in a nearby town that had been running for several decades. They had over $100,000 in mutual savings that members could access to for credit for their small businesses. 

Wednesday through Friday we had a special treat. Our former MCC FS Manager Sisay came from Zambia and did a training on Kobotoolbox a survey tool that allows data to be collected on a cell phone. He also did a training on database management in Microsoft Access. The technical teams of our food security partners really appreciated this as they need to collect quite a lot of data for Canadian Foodgrains Bank-funded projects. 

It was a long week, and somewhat of a nightmare for our logistics team who had to deal with nearly continuous changes to the number of participants each night and keep the Management Institute apprised. I think they were quite relieved when it was over, but the partners really appreciated the venue and program. 

This past week, I was in the office most days for the first time in a month, it seems. We actually had a guest the first 3 days, our regional IT Bafana, came to do needed maintenance on our computers. He is based in South Africa but came up for our partner meeting and stayed a few extra days. We did have several meetings at partner offices, but on the whole, I was able to catch up on some emails. Rebecca on the other hand was at meetings in Addis several days this week. We had helped support a gathering of 5000 pastors from an Evangelical Church network. The focus of the meeting was peacebuilding and reconciliation. A friend of ours from Rwanda was one of the keynote speakers, so she was there as the MCC Representative. She felt like the gathering had value especially since there is much ethnic division and partisanship within church denominations themselves. There need to be peacemakers in the church in order to bring about national reconciliation. There were some luminaries in attendance including the mayor of Addis and the Minister of Health. 

We have a much-needed bit of R and R next week. We will go to Zanzibar. We were also really happy that Rebecca's dad passed through Addis on the way to Nepal. He brought us a lot of stuff from the US that we were running out of. It was great to get a few morsels of American food, like cheese, and Cheerios. Also, a few electronics including a GoPro for underwater photography while snorkeling. Hopefully you will see some of those photos in the next entry. 

SHG training