Coming to an end

Saturday

We woke up a little late and went to breakfast. Sister Grace saw that we weren’t drinking tea and ran out of the house. She returned through a different door to say that they forgot to boil us water, “pole sana” (very sorry). Soon after she left, Sister Regina came in, also apologizing profusely, and brought us water. I told her we were sad that we had to leave so soon. She said that they were all sad to see us go, but now we “know the Sisters, and the place, and the kids” and the sister know us and they hope that we will visit again. Of course we said we would.

After breakfast we took the dala dala to Moshi and both read the whole way there. We went to the currency exchange, the ATM, the Nakumatt (grocery store), and Kicheko (internet cafe). Then we went to a stand and bought Maasai blankets, which are called shuka. Before heading to lunch we went to the bookstore (which is run by the convent) to leave our bags. Luckily, Sister Jackie was there and she handled it for us. At lunch, Natalie and I both had mango and banana smoothies which were delicious. After lunch we visited a few more stores and stands and I bought all the things. 

We had to rush back to the bookshop because we didn’t know what time it closed. Sister Eileen was there. I had not met her before but she usually works at the orphanage. She had been on a one month break, but she knew Natalie. She told us she was going to Ushirika wa Neema and we could go with her. Oh, I forgot to mention. Natalie and I were going to spend the night at the Lutheran Convent (called Ushirika wa Neema). Sister Eileen took us to the dala dala stop where we also ran into Sister Grace (from the orphanage). 

Ushirika means sharing or togetherness and Neema means grace. When we got there we sat in a reception room with Sister Eileen and Sister Ofu (not her full name, but we never quite caught it) to wait for Mother Superior, who never came. Sister Ofu took us to the guest house which is beautiful. It’s a round building and we had an entire floor to ourselves. When you walk in, to the left is a kitchen area and to the right are some bathroom stalls. Straight ahead is a little dining room with a table, four chairs, a tv, and some other little side tables. Off of the dining room (which is a circle in the middle of the building) are four bedrooms. Each bedroom had a double bed, a nightstand, two armoires, a table, a comfy chair, a sink, and a shower. I was impressed. 

Soon, Sister Agnes came to say she’d visit with us after dinner. Sister Ofu brought us dinner and ate with us. She asked if Mother Superior had visited, but we didn’t know if Sister Agnes was Mother Superior, so we said nothing. Sister Ofu said she was sure she would visit later. A little while later, Sister Agnes visited and asked if we needed any recommendation letters or references for home and then told us more about Mary (the special needs girl at the orphanage). When we tried to go to sleep there were a ton of dogs outside that barked all night. 

Sunday

Sister Ofu brought us breakfast at 8:30. She brought us so much food! A huge bowl of mandazi and a plate of oranges. We didn’t finish it all. After breakfast we went for a little walk. On our way back we ran into Sister Agnes and she told us what was going to happen that day. At church we accidentally sat on the side with all of the sisters instead of the side with the people who attend from outside the convent, oops. The Massawe (Stephen and Haikael, Chad’s friends) family also happened to be at church with some people that we didn’t know. After singing some hymns we all got introduced and Stephen and his friend made speeches. Then Natalie and I went up and Natalie said why we were in Tanzania and thanked them for letting us stay. Next was Mchungaji (pastor) Mlaki’s sermon which Stephen kindly translated for us.

After the service, Stephen told us that it was easy to see that we’d come back to Tanzania just by looking at our faces. Sister Annalise took us for a tour of Ushirika wa Neema, which was fun even though we’ve already done it. She showed us the cow feeding room which was really exciting. All the cows are trained to go to their special spots. Next was tea with Sister Agnes, Pastor Mlaki, the Massawe family, and their friends. We thought it was lunch, we were wrong, that came later. We then talked with Sister Agnes and Pastor Mlaki. They thanked us for all of our work and said they really appreciated it. Natalie and I both teared up in our responses thanking them for how wonderful they all are and for everything they have taught us. As I said, we thought the tea was lunch, but not 30 minutes later, we ate lunch. Sister Agnes escorted us to the gate after lunch and we took 3 different dala dalas back to Machame. At dinner that night, Sister Loema pretended to be an elephant because there were elephants on my shawl. 

Monday

After breakfast we went to the baby house to discover that they were all wearing onsies! Moses was in pink, Baraka in sea foam green, Elisha in dark/light blue stripes, Shangwe in grey (with red and blue stripes on the cuffs), Ema also in grey (with red and white stripes on the cuffs), Fadhili in yellow (with primary color stripes on the cuffs), and Angela was in pink with handprints (although she was later changed into dark blue after throwing up). At some point during the morning I was playing with Moses. I would run away from him and then chase him and catch him and tickle him or flip him upside down. Sister Regina asked me to put him in my suitcase on the way home. I told her I would if I could. I shouldn’t be tempted like that...

Midmorning we went to get juice and on the way back we found thousands of ants migrating. We watched for a little while and then I dropped a fairly large rock in their path to see what they would do. We became quite a spectacle and some of the college students came to see what we were looking at. Sister Regina told us to be careful because those ants are dangerous. 

When we had been back in the baby house for a little while, Johnson (the premature baby) began crying. I got to go and get him and cuddle with him for a little while. He’s so tiny and cute. He yawns almost constantly which is adorable. A little later Baraka posed in the fireplace for me to take a picture.

In the afternoon we went back to the baby house. They were outside on the mat, still dressed in onesies. We managed to get a picture of all of the babies (minus Johnson who doesn’t come outside) with Sister Regina and two college students. I had my phone out playing music because the kids really like it and Sister Regina asked to see it. She held it in her hand and started to rock out to some country music. At dinner I wore my Maasai shuka wrapped around me because it was really cold. I was approved as a Maasai by some of the sisters.

Tuesday

After breakfast I went to school. When I got there they were working on memorizing something. When they finished that, Sister Loema asked if I’d like to teach anything. In the second I couldn’t think of anything so I said I’d think about it and come back tomorrow. Of course as soon as she said that was fine I immediately thought of some things. The kids spent about half an hour practicing doing things quietly (such as picking up and putting down chairs, sitting nicely in a chair, etc). Then they just went and played.

After playing for a while I went back into the classroom and sat on the bench. Judica (the oldest boy, he’s 6) came up to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. He grinned and then turned his cheek to me, tapped it and said “ata mimi” (roughly translated that means “my turn” or “me now”). When the kids got their mats out for individual activities they each got a chalkboard and a letter. They spent the rest of the morning practicing letters. I helped Lulu. Because she’s a lefty, she tends to write all of her letters backwards. If she knows which way to start she gets it perfectly, but that takes some practice. When their chalkboards were all put away, they all sat nicely on their mats so that I could take a group picture.

After lunch we went for a walk up to Machame Hospital and back. It’s a lovely walk, especially because the way back is downhill. When we got back the kids were outside and Israeli ran up to me. I put Andy’s hat (which I “borrowed” to come here) on his head. He was so excited and he ran away to show other kids. I turned to go get a drink from my room and as he saw me walking away he ran back to return the hat.

The kids played all afternoon on the carousel thing. As it span around I transferred the hat from kid to kid. They all look adorable in it, but Joseph takes the cake. When the kids went inside we went to our suite and played cards until the sun went down and we couldn’t see anymore. 

Wednesday

After breakfast we went back to school. They were learning numbers in English. Then Sister Loema asked if I was ready and Natalie and I attempted to teach them “Jesus Loves Me.” They almost had the first verse when some loud banging started outside. The kids were all distracted so they just went to play. We were able to take individual pictures of them all in uniform and got a good group photo. 

A little later in the morning, Sister Anna asked Natalie and me to stay forever. We promised we’d come back. She said she didn’t believe us and came up with an alternative. Natalie will go home for a little while, while I stay in Tanzania. Then Natalie will come back while I go home for a little while. Then I will come back and we will both stay here forever.

Midmorning we went outside with the middle house. Frankie put Sister Narumeshwa’s working boots on. They covered his entire legs and he couldn’t move despite the sisters trying to help him walk. Epiphani also fell off the porch. Well, she rolled down the steps. Natalie was in the middle of taking a picture of the child sitting in front of her and in the background of one of the pictures is Epi mid roll. I looked at some maua (flowers) with Ester, just before she completely lost it. She continued to sob for quite some time while I tried to calm her down. Finally, Sister Grace took her to feed her. 

In the afternoon we went outside and sat with the babies on the mat and Robin, Briney, and Paula (the afternoon volunteers) until the older kids came outside. The kids mainly stayed on the playground, but I also played catch with Derick and gave Ema and Debora piggyback rides. Mary was also outside most of the time. When the older kids went back inside, we went back to the babies. 

Thursday

There was no breakfast so we went straight to the baby house. They had just woken up and I knelt on the floor next to Moses. He climbed on my lap and just lay with his head against me. I just cuddled with him for a few minutes. It was really nice because he’s usually so hyper. After he got off, Sister Regina came in. She ran up behind me and wrapped me in a bear hug. She looked at me and said “you know I love you.” I replied “ndio, and I love you.” She then walked to the closet saying “I will miss you both so much. From the bottom of my heart.” I could have cried.

Next we did some dancing with Moses, Baraka, and Shangwe. Baraka’s outfit was all matching today. When I was sitting against the wall, Shangwe brought me a stuffed penguin she was chewing on and put it on my lap. A few seconds later I found a spider on my leg (thanks, Shangwe). I yelped, brushed it off and jumped up. Baraka helped Natalie kill it for me. Then I gave Moses some piggy back rides. 

At about 10 we went to tea and I spilled my juice twice. I’m so coordinated. Back in the baby house, Shangwe, Elisha and I were hood triplets. I held Fadhili for a little because he had been crying. He let me put him down and I cuddled with Angela. She doesn’t get held much because she’s so content to just sit. After half an hour or so Fadhili started crying so I put Angela down and then she started crying. I managed to put Fadhili in the crook of my leg and had Angela lying on my chest. She ended up falling asleep for about half an hour. 

For lunch we went to the college with Sister Elly and Mama Ester. There was chicken, but it looked like pork so I didn’t take any. Sister Elly asked me if I was a vegetarian and I realized too late that I should have said yes. After lunch Sister Elly came with us to the local market (Kalali Market) because Thursday is market day. I couldn’t take pictures because there were a lot of people. It’s basically a dirt patch. Natalie estimates it’s between 1500 and 2000 square feet (I’m bad at estimating numbers). There are some buildings (well, shacks) around three of the sides and the fourth side borders the road. Throughout the market are some wooden stands. Some are made of plywood, but most are branches that were chopped off trees with machetes. Some people have stuff set up on these wooden stands. others have plastic bags or fabric on the ground with their goods laid out. People sell a huge assortment of things: radios, used clothing, vegetables, fabric, flip flops, kitchenware, machetes, and more. Natalie and I both bought fabric. I wanted to buy a machete, but I didn’t know if that would fly. 

After the market we played outside with the kids. We chased a chicken, Ema had a piggy back ride, Lulu and Happiness played hairdresser with my hair (it looked beautiful), Elisha went on the swing, chupa chups were handed out, and the small children went on the carousel. We then went to the mat with the babies who were with Paula, Robin, and Briney. We took pictures with them because it was their last day. A group of local Lutheran pastors came to visit too. After everyone had left we taught one of the staff members from the baby house (we’ve never learned her name, next task) how to sing “Jesus Loves Me.” She heard me singing it a few days before and wanted to learn it because she liked it. It only took her 2 minutes and I wrote the lyrics out for her too. 

After dinner Natalie managed to lock Sister Elly out of her room. We pass her room on the way to our suite and Sister Elly likes to lock the door to the hallway. Natalie thought she was in her room, but she was at evening prayer. Anyways, about 15 minutes later we hear “NATALIE! REBEKAH!” and both went running. Oh Natalie.