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| Renew Conference participants |
Happy New Year, everyone! And Melkam Gena to all those who
celebrated Orthodox Christmas this year on January 7! We are now en route back
to Addis Ababa, following an active and restful holiday in Arusha and Nairobi. The
flights between points in East Africa are a bit too short to finish a blog
entry, but I’ll give it a go. (note, Wednesday night -- I totally failed. Flight too short!!)
Our first stop was the Brackenhurst Conference Center, in the
tea fields outside of Nairobi. We met a fellow traveler at the airport, Rohan,
who was just in from the UK to lead the teens' group at the Renew Conference. It
was super to have a chance to get to know him right away on the hour's drive out
of town. He’s still in Uni and just a few years older than Oren, also kind of a
Third Culture Adult, with Indian origins, growing up in a highly diverse
neighborhood in South London. He and Oren had lots to talk about and it was delightful
to hear more about his background, and his excitement about being in Africa for
the first time.
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Brackenhurst grounds, kids connecting
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When we arrived at Brackenhurst, everyone hit the ground
running. Oren and David immediately found their best buddies from Arusha, Harry
and Sam, and started playing spikeball with a group of teens. Paul had lots of
old friends to greet and I needed to meet with the Renew planning committee (to
finish planning!) before the conference started. We were a small committee,
just 5 on the ground this year, so there was a lot for each of us to do to keep
things running and hopefully prevent other people from noticing how homegrown
the conference really is.
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| Winning youth trivia team |
My dear friend Katie did an amazing job of coordinating the kids’
team and keeping them on track, though that kept her out of the main sessions
too much. The fact that we had a kids’ team at all this year was really a
miracle and an answer to prayer. As we were planning the conference throughout 2023, we had good leads for teams that kept falling through. By
October, we still had no team at all, and only 20 people registered for the
conference. We were on the verge of canceling the conference completely but
decided to give it two more weeks. During that time, we prayed for (and worked
at) at least 70 registrations and a team on board.
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| Renew conference youth |
By the beginning of November, it all happened. In fact, I was
able to recruit 4 short-term MCC volunteers based in Kenya, and Rohan came from
the UK. But they weren’t self-funded which gave us quite a bit of stress to
figure out how to cover food, lodging and airfare. We are starting NOW to
work on identifying a self-funded kids’ team for 2024, a team with experience
running a Christian discipleship program for kids and teens. It is really a
unique mission opportunity to serve families in mission and Christian service, with
international kids who may not have much good input on their unique identity in
Christ and who need to begin to build their own faith experience separate from
their Christian parents. If you have a
lead for us on this, please do be in touch!
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| Watchnight service worship |
My main responsibility during the conference was to make
sure we had good times of worship that connected well with such a diverse
community. It was a lovely challenge. I was especially thankful for teens who
joined me in the mornings: three Taylor kids playing instruments, sometimes
David singing with his friend Sam, and Oren or Paul clicking PowerPoint slides. Katie, Mike, and another Rebecca also joined in during various sessions. I had a
quite unique experience of feeling carried by the Holy Spirit this time so
that people received rest and encouragement through the worship. I don't take that for granted or take credit for that. Any gifts we may use are not for ourselves.
We also had good times for recreation and fellowship. One
afternoon, we took our annual walk through the tea fields to an old English colonial
homestead, still offering tea tours and actual afternoon tea. I’m always glad
for the time to walk alongside a new person for a while and have a good long
conversation, as I did with Michele and Nicola that day. In the evening, Paul
hosted a folk dance, which is always a fun time to build cooperation and have a
lot of laughs. Our New Year’s Eve Day included lots of special events, with an
afternoon of games, challenges and relays. In the evening we had a DIY talent
show. Paul had a chance to share his month-long pursuit of bluegrass banjo, as
we sang “Rainbow Connection.” David sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,”
astonishing everyone with his low voice. And then we closed out 2023 with a
Watchnight service and then a midnight bonfire.
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| New Years Day games for littles |
Renew Conference wrapped up after lunch on New Year’s Day –
we were sad to have to say goodbye once again to new and old friends. The teens
especially had really bonded with each other. But we moved on to make a brief
but restful overnight visit to the Chege home. Wawa and Kristen, our
supervisors, live quite close to Brackenhurst and so they made it so easy to
come and spend the afternoon with them. We played some fun frisbee and lawn games
in their yard, ate a delicious Mexican meal that we cooked together, and then
played “hot seat” in the evening. They are a great family to hang out with, and
what a privilege to feel that way about one’s supervisors! In the morning, Wawa
even drove us to catch our shuttle bus at the airport!
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| Chege family hospitality |
So, yes, we got on a coaster bus to make the trip south
across the border to Arusha. What an easy trip this year, with extra seats in
the back to spread out with our luggage (2 large instruments in tow). And when
we arrived and the bus terminal, our former colleague Lucia was there to meet
us in our old car. She’d bought it, and we were renting it for the week, in
exchange for making some repairs. It was still running well enough! It makes
such a difference to have a set of wheels to get around easily in Arusha,
spread out as it is. We started our time with a delicious lunch at George’s,
the kids’ favorite restaurant. Then we dropped off our stuff back at our old
place at the Joshua Foundation. To be accurate, we rented the little 2-bedroom
apartment that’s attached to our former home, but it really felt like coming
home.
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| MCC Tanzania reunion |
That evening we met Lucia, her daughters, and our former colleague Chrispin
for dinner at another favorite place, Andrews. The local barbeque nyama choma
is always excellent and it was so good to see these former colleagues again.
The kids have all grown, with Lucia’s oldest in boarding school already. We had
a lot to catch up on, with family changes, remembering old work situations, and
hearing about the work they are currently involved in running with an MCC
partner.
On Wednesday, we needed a quiet morning to rest, take a nice
run down the country road, do laundry, and I particularly enjoyed the chance to
take some quiet walks around the compound with Oren, to talk about life. That
was one of my favorite parts of living in Arusha, which we’ve found hard to
replicate in Addis. It looked stormy in the afternoon, but we still headed out
to Kilimanjaro Golf Club to meet the Taylors again.
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On the green,
impala and gazelle not pictured |
Paul, David, and Mike golfed,
while the other kids played games, and Katie and I took a long walk. It’s such a
perfect place to feel at ease and to have a good chance to connect; the storm
never hit. And we all converged back at the clubhouse for dinner, along with another
family we’ve gotten to know at the Renew conference, with 4 boys. David really
hit it off with their two oldest and all the kids played Spike ball non-stop on
the lawn until it was too dark to see. This kind of relaxed time in a gracious
outdoor setting is really what made us enjoy such a high quality of life in
northern Tanzania.
On Thursday morning, I caught up with an old neighbor for a
bit, and then we made a family outing to the west side of town. First, we took
an hour to revisit the art gallery at Cultural Heritage Center. It’s such an
interesting space, architecturally, and full of all kinds of artistic work,
some of it quite brilliant. Engaging with art is another way to really open the
mind and unclench – I’m glad Paul suggested it. We got some lunch nearby and
then had to deal with the practicalities of a big shopping trip. We needed to
finish buying Christmas gifts for our Ethiopian staff (the Christmas party is this
coming Saturday). We also did a huge grocery shop for a seemingly endless list
of things that are either not available in Addis or else way too expensive.
High on that list: cheese, butter, cured pork products, olive oil, nuts and
seeds, and rice noodles. Chocolate obviously. We prefer not to eat brown candle
wax. In the evening, we met other Joshua Compound neighbors for residents’
dinner, another good catch-up with folks.
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| Jam session with Neil and Christy |
On Friday I met a good friend Jodi for morning coffee and shared
lots of news and perspectives, as women in our 50s with shifting family
dynamics. It was very interesting to hear about her kids’ experience at
boarding school and to consider what mission life looks like as an empty
nester. And then we all went on to enjoy lunch with Neil and Christy Miller.
They will be leaving Arusha this year, so it was our last time to see them in
Tanzania, as far as we know. We share so many common experiences as long-time
MCCers and Mennonites, and they are a very special couple to us. We even squeezed
in a 30-minute jam session, all songs in the key of G for Paul! Neil is amazing,
thinking up all these bluegrass tunes on the spot.
Our evening treat involved dropping our kids off at the Taylor
home to fend for themselves, while we took Mike and Katie out for dinner at the
Gran Melia hotel. More good time for sharing and considering life for all of us, in a
beautiful spot with good food. I know the kids also thrive in these times of
connection and game-playing. And so we sort of repeated it on Saturday,
spending the afternoon and evening together, cooking, playing games, talking, and praying. We appreciate these friends so much.
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| Childcare during the sermon |
On Sunday, we arrived at church early in order to fill out
the music team led by Neil. It’s always a delight to play music with him, along
with Megan on fiddle and Emmanuel Ndale on bass. Paul brought some percussion. And
the principle of the kids old school, St Cons, was there preaching. Oren found
himself unexpectedly the favorite adult of the unbearably adorable Ndale
sisters. Perhaps he might have won their favor by showing them dinosaurs on his phone during
music practice. He kept them mostly occupied during the sermon and communion. We
saw so many old friends – not enough time to really catch up, but at least we
could look each other in the eyes and give thanks that we are all still part of
a big family. We shared lunch with Erwin and the Ndale’s, giving Oren more time
to bond with those fun little girls.
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| ACC friends |
In the afternoon, we needed a little down time and a little family
time. Too many special people to manage see all of them as much as we would
have liked. And we were a little worn out from the emotion of reconnecting with
everyone so quickly. Some of our good family time during this visit also
included quite a few long drives around town, re-listening to one of our
favorite audio books, Ender’s Game. Somehow, this has become a soothing family tradition
to listen to something interesting all together.
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Finally a clear morning on the road
back up from "atomic" |
Monday was low-key. I managed one more jog down the road;
Paul was not feeling well, sadly, and couldn’t join me. We had to get the car
washed and returned; finish the packing; and wrap up our stay with Joshua
Foundation staff. And I took one more decent walk with Oren. And then we got in
the taxi and headed for the airport and back to Addis. There were so many
things for which to be grateful on this trip. One of the best reasons to get a
change of scenery is to gain some new perspectives and look at the same
challenges and problems we face, in a new light. On this trip, we were able to
do quite a lot of turning over life issues to see them from a new angle. And
now we are back in Addis, with too many emails to catch up on, too many meetings, and
all kinds of team celebrations coming up. But, the rest and the new perspective
were worth it, no matter the price we pay this week.
Bonus photos:
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| Seminar on kids living on another continent |
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| Merry Christmas from Ethiopia |
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| Rainbow connection |
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| ACC greetings |
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| Mix and match games |
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| Where in the world do you want to visit? |
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| teafield walk |
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| A gang of boyx |
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| Michelle and I |
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| American line dance |
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| Paul's trivia team |
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| David's team |
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| passion flower |
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| black and white colobus |
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| more games |
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| New year's eve volleyball |
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| New Year in Perth (at 7 pm for the littles) |
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| ukelele band |
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| David singing |
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| audience participation drama |
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| New Year bonfire |
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| Jan 1 early morning jog |
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| Report from the teens |
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| Arusha lunch at George's |
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| Games at Kili Golf |
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| David still loves golf |
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| Oren at cultural heritage |
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| Double date dinner out |
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| Oren and Harry |
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| Legos in the back room |
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| Our former pet Tramp, now with Taylors |
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| Finally, a clear view of Meru from our porch |
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