Coming in 2012...

As the new year approaches we are thinking about what is coming to our life and work in Geita. Here is a preview of 2012.

Mbegu Films- Carson is more energized than ever to get started on the filming, editing, and training of Mbegu Films. During this furlough we have purchased the equipment necessary to start this project off right. We've raised most of the support needed, but are still fundraising to pay off a loan that was given. We have two fundraisers going on in January and appreciate any other donations toward Mbegu Films. We also received some donated equipment from Small HD which we are really excited about.  Carson has been practicing with the equipment and working on concepts for the first films. He's ready to get to work when we return in February.

Workshop- Carson's workshop is almost complete! He'll be able to use this facility to teach a variety of skills. The details are still in the works.

Discovery Bible Study- Carson has been planting seeds for a long time in preparation for our first Discovery Bible Study. Right before our furlough he met with a group who is wanting to study and began talking with the leader of the group.

Cooking Class- I plan to host the first cooking class as soon as possible. Last year, Carson built the oven and we tested lots of recipes. I'm still working on getting the recipes into Swahili and some other logistics of the class.

Silas!- We'll be welcoming our second child in May, or maybe even April if it's up to me!

Interns- The Geita Team will be hosting our first summer interns this year.

There are various other projects in the works, but those are the biggies for our family. We are looking forward to this year and seeing how God continues to work in Geita. 

Skype and Rain: Two Links

I hope you don't mind me sharing some good links with you while we are on furlough. Today I've got two for you.

I love when others put into words something I just haven't been able to and that's just what this missionary in Thailand has done.  Check out this post: When Skype Falls Woefully Short. If you're related to us, you might want to grab a box of tissue first!

We get lots of questions about weather in Geita. For a glimpse into rainy season check out Where There is No Road, a post by Jonathan Sims. Jonathan and his wife Brooklynn are currently apprenticing with the Geita team.

Time: a Link

The Kellis family is part of a team working in the south of Tanzania and Heather just put up a great post on time in Tanzania. Go check it out here.

Project 52: Grandparents

Grandparents are pretty much the best thing that ever happened to parenting. Jude absolutely adores them and wants to help out with anything they are working on. He is also quick to order them around if he thinks they should get in the floor to play or come to another room with him! And Carson and I love having extra help with baths, mealtimes, and even getting up with him so we can sleep in! We miss them when we are in TZ and I suspect Jude is REALLY going to miss them after this furlough, but we'll soak up all the grandparent time we can while we are here and turn to Skype when we're not. Here's a shot of Jude helping my mom make pumpkin bread.

Project 52: Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with family this year.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from the day, Jude with Uncle Brian looking at Aunt Carole's tree.

Neema House Update

A few weeks ago the Neema House intern, Craig, posted an update on Neema House progress over on his blog. Like everything it involves some cultural things and he did a good job explaining them so I thought I'd share his post. You can find it here.

Project 52: GiGi

Jude loves to help out and lately he has really enjoyed helping GiGi (his great-grandmother) anytime she is in the kitchen!

We have had a wonderful time on the farm and with lots of Carson's family. Now we are in Gallatin for a couple of weeks with my family. It is such a blessing to see Jude enjoying time with family.

Support Mbegu Films

*Update: the hours of the Craft Fair are:
Thursday night Sneak Peek- 6-9pm ($5 admission fee)
Friday and Saturday- 10am-8pm (no admission fee)

*We will also have some photography taken in the Serengeti and at the coast in Dar es Salaam available for a donation to Mbegu Films.




This weekend there is a fun way for you to be a part of our work in Geita. Shopping! We will be at the Warren County Arts and Craft Fair this weekend selling all sorts of things made from African fabric. All proceeds go to our newest project, Mbegu Films. To learn more about Mbegu Films visit us at:
facebook.com/mbegufilms

I can't find the exact hours of the Craft Fair, but I'll update once I've got them. There is a sneak peek Thursday night that you must buy a ticket to, but all day Friday and Saturday are free admittance. We will be in the upstairs area.

Click on the flyer below for a closer look at some of the products we'll have available.

Project 52: Healthy Baby...

Boy! It's a boy! We didn't expect to find out this early, but at my appointment yesterday they did an ultrasound, I think because I've been so sick. I said, "I don't guess you can really tell the gender this early." to which she replied, "There is something there!" Of course the most important thing we found out is that he is healthy, measuring the right size and with a good heart rate. I wasn't terribly worried because I was pretty sick with Jude as well and he was healthy, but it is really good to know that everything is as it should be. Here's a fuzzy ultrasound pic that looks like outerspace, but that's my boy!

And of course you'd like to know his name, right? It's Silas Andrew. Silas is a name that we really love and even considered for Jude. It means wood or of the woods which we think is fitting since Carson is a woodworker. Andrew is a family name. My granddaddy was George Andrew and went by Andy. One of Carson's cousins is also named Andrew. I love that we have great Andrews from both sides of the family!

I'll try to throw in as many posts as possible, but the Project 52 posts may be the bulk of it for a while now. We are enjoying our time with family and the fact that I am eating so well these days.

Project 52: Hyperemesis Gravidarum

These project 52 posts are supposed to give you a glimpse into motherhood and I try to include things that also give you a glimpse into our life here in Tanzania. This week I’m showing you a glimpse of my hospital room at Bugando Hospital in Mwanza last week.

This isn't what all the rooms at Bugando look like. I was fortunate to get in a VIP room rather than on a ward, which enabled me to have some privacy and Carson to come and go any time.

I was in the hospital due to Hyperemesis Gravidarum which is basically when you are pregnant and your body tries to kill you! Ok, that’s not what the dictionary says, but, hey, that is how it feels at times! It’s a severe form of morning sickness, and Wikipedia says this of the actual term,”Hyperemesis gravidarum is from the Greek hyper-, meaning excessive, and emesis, meaning vomiting, as well as the Latin gravida, meaning pregnant.”  You’ve probably heard a variety of techniques for dealing with morning sickness and maybe even had the occasion to try some out for yourself. It might seem that severe morning sickness would just require a bit more or the “cures”. Unfortunately, not so much. Sunday night my body stopped accepting food, water, medicine. Wednesday night I was admitted to the hospital and started on fluids and meds to stop the vomiting. I didn’t stop vomiting for a couple more days and continued to have a variety of symptoms, but by Monday I was able to leave. We decided to change our tickets and come home a month earlier than expected so that we could recover surrounded by family and familiarity and be in the states in case I needed further medical care. So, we're back in Tennessee. I did really well on the flights (so did Jude) and we are relaxing. I'm still on three different medications that are helping me to keep down wonderful food like Pop-Tarts! 

We really couldn't have survived this without the help of other missionaries in Mwanza who spent lots of time watching Jude and housing and feeding both Jude and Carson. We are also very thankful for the American doctor who treated me. We are so blessed with good friends in Tanzania as well as all of our friends in the States who were praying for my recovery and our travels.

I hate that Hypermesis Gravidarum is a part of my motherhood experience. I was really sick with my first pregnancy as well and most likely had the same thing, though I was never diagnosed and never had to be in the hospital. It makes for a rough start to the motherhood journey, but I'm trying to remember how well it ends, with the arrival of sweet baby!

Project 52: Breakfast

The "experts" who decided that kids shouldn't watch TV before the age of two were obviously never pregnant with a child under two. Or else, they were those people who think pregnancy is this beautiful, natural, thing because they didn't have a single pregnancy symptom. Let me assure you that it is the most definitely supernatural and I dare you to look up the symptoms and come back and tell me it's not an illness! Anyway, back to the TV issue. Here is what breakfast looks like these days:

Yep, eating in front of the TV. Mornings are sometimes rough for me and putting him in front of the TV is the only way to insure that he's going to eat long enough for me to eat. I'm sure letting kids eat in front of the TV is linked to obesity, but in our case it's linked to getting the kid to gain enough weight that he's in at least the 5th percentile! We've got a lanky one!

I'm nearing the end of the first trimester, but honestly I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I was MUCH sicker with the last pregnancy and it didn't disappear with the first trimester like all the books promised. It did let up quite a bit around that time, however. I just try to remember everyday that this is so much better than last time and when I have a rough day I listen to Christmas music!

We're also really looking forward to some R&R in the states. I get exhausted if I stand for long periods of time and there are lots of days when I just can't even think about fixing dinner, so Carson has had his hands full taking care of us! We are both TIRED and ready for fast food and babysitters!

Building

There has been, for some time, half of a building sitting in our yard. The plan is for it to house Carson's tools and be a place he can teach from. It's been on hold due to a lack of funds, but recently Carson has been able to start finishing it. The progress is going really well. Up until now his tools have been living in a small room in our house, but most he has to drag out in the yard and plug into an extension cord to use. We're excited to finally be getting this done. Here are a few pics of the progress. The bottom concrete section was already done and is actually made of sandbags that have been plastered over.

Last week- Some tools in the foreground and the building in the background. The brick section in the back will be a small tool shed and a bathroom. Next to them will be a house for the dogs to replace the current one which they break out of on a regular basis. It was intended to be temporary when we built it nearly 2 years ago!

This week-

Wooden framing for windows and roofing.

The dog house. They mostly just sleep in it.

The doors

On a separate note we get the most beautiful rainbows here. They are almost always complete arches, sometimes doubles even. Last week we were driving and were literally just feet from where the base of a rainbow was hitting the ground. Sadly, there was no pot of gold. Here's a picture of half of a rainbow, but it doesn't really do it justice.

Geita to Mwanza: Part 2

Here are the rest of the pictures. Make sure to scroll down and see part 1.

a truck waiting to get on the ferry

 vehicles loading onto the ferry

a goat hanging out by the lake

The building is a waiting area for people getting on the ferry. In front are all manner of dukas selling snacks and random other goods.

boats a the lake

getting closer

People and cars disembark the ferry simultaneously. This is NOT a good idea.

loaded and waiting to go

a dala dala, a major form of transportation and the reason I will never drive in Mwanza! They are crazy.

a gas station 

a futbol game (soccer- sorry guys the rest of the WORLD calls it football which makes sense if you think about it)

a cobblestone road. this isn't common. not really sure why it's there.

lawn ornaments for sale. forget gnomes and pink flamingos, we've got giraffes!

Lake Victoria

a gas station in town

downtown Mwanza

downtown Mwanza 

!e actually took this picture at a different time, but it is from downtown Mwanza and I had to include it. Check out those doors! I wonder why none of these people have any furniture on their back balcony!

Geita to Mwanza: Part 1

A couple of months ago (has it really been that long!) when my parents were here, my mom asked me to take a few pics of houses on our drive from Geita to Mwanza. I got a little carried away and took tons of pictures. I decided it might be a nice blog post, to show you the Tanzanian countryside and towns that we see when we make that drive. Even after carefully selecting which pictures to include, it's a lot, so I'm going to break this into two posts. Here's part one:

a house

witchdoctor huts

the concrete post is a mile marker

many buildings between Geita and Mwanza have been marked with red spray paint to be destroyed because they are too close to the road. Some now have a series of numbers on them. We're not entirely sure why.

laundry drying

bicycles are a major form of transportation

a mill

lumber yard

housing

cows and goats in the road

in the back there is a water hole where cows and goats are drinking

this sign indicates that you are leaving the town of Nyasenga

bicycles are used to haul EVERYTHING

this is the back of a truck we were passing

rock formations like this appear more and more as you approach Lake Victoria

the lake is visible in the back ground