Hey
everyone!
In the last blog I wrote, mum and dad were on their way and
now sadly after a fab time together they are back in the UK. I had hoped for a
stress free trip for them both but as I stood waiting outside arrivals with no
sign of them and the doors being shut and then receiving a call from dad to say
their luggage had not made it to Mwanza but was still sat in Nairobi I knew
this wasn’t going to be stress free! After lots of phone calls that night
trying to get the cases on the next flight in the morning, lots more phone
calls trying to get the cases put on a bus to Musoma the next day and then a
late night adventure chasing down buses, the suitcases arrived safely! It was
great fun unpacking and seeing what treats had been brought out! I am pleased
to say that the luggage problem was the only problem we had! We had a very busy
few days to begin with, as I took them round the different markets and went
material shopping so mum could get some clothes made at Rehema. I did allow
them a bit of time to relax at Tembo beach where dad was especially happy to be
able to use the wifi!
It was great to just be able to show mum and dad my life
here in Tanzania. Now when I talk to them about places and people they are able
to picture it. We had a lovely drive out to Kyamajoje on Saturday afternoon
where we spent time with Mtani. He loved testing mum on her Swahili and she did
very well, when she remembered the word for congratulations she surprised us
all! We then moved on to the church that I helped build on my first Go MAD team
in Jan 2013 and it was amazing to be stood there with them which I would never
have imagined would happen! Flora, the woman at Rehema who manages the workshop
with me, invited us to her house for lunch. She also wanted to learn how to
knit so mum took along her needles and sat teaching Flora to knit! It was so
special to watch mum and Flora sit together knitting! Of course we went to
Rehema a few times! It was amazing for me that my parents could meet the
incredible women I work with and the women were very happy to meet them! The
children’s home was another place I loved showing mum. The children loved playing
with her and dad. It is another place that they have heard so much about and
for us to actually be there together was just unreal! We had lots of fun having
dinner and games night with the Vink kids (if you know my dad, ask him where
the Great Wall of China is...the pressure of playing games got to him and he
seems to think it is in Australia!), Thursday night darts at the Vink’s house
and dinner at Eagle Lodge with the 25 Go Madders! The hospitality shown by everyone
was amazing and mum and dad felt truly welcome. Sarabi was a little less
welcoming at first but after a few days mum and dad saw the lovely dog that is
hidden beneath all her craziness!
Experiencing my everyday life together was very special but
we also had an incredible time when we went on a day safari. This was my third
safari but it was just as amazing the third time as it was the first! We saw
loads of animals and had a great day. My four highlights from the day were...
We went to the bit where there are always lots of hippos.
For me it was a standard bit we had to do although I find that after a while of
staring at hippos not doing much it can get boring but i thought it would be
good for mum to see them. There was nothing boring about the hippos that day!
We saw a dead hippo in the water and one behind it, possibly it’s baby, nudging
it with its head. This was sad (but also really cool!). After a little bit we
saw a crocodile come up behind it and try and get close. The other hippo
managed to scare it off and it went up on the shore. It was fantastic to see a
croc out of the water. After gathering its courage the croc reenterd the water
and headed back to the dead hippo. A second croc then joined it! They took
turns trying to bite the hippo. For some reason they were going for its foot
and not having much success but it was still quite sad to see them one end of
the hippo and the other sad hippo at the other end. It was definitely unexpected
and quite fascinating to witness! It wasn’t quite so exciting when our driver
was trying to get us at a better angle as we weren’t convinced our brakes were
working properly!
Almost as amazing as looking at animals was watching mum
when she saw her first animal, a giraffe! It is hard to explain how incredible
a safari is to someone and I am not sure mum knew what to expect, and so to see
her amazement when a giraffe was stood just a few metres away was something
very special.
Everyone wants to see lions when they go on safari and we
were not disappointed! 3 lionesses were chilling out in a tree! We drove right
under the tree and it was amazing to see them so close up! We were quite happy
being so close while they looked like they were sleeping but as soon as one
opened his eyes and started moving we thought we should move away a little. The
only problem was that the truck was slightly dodgy at starting as well as
stopping so it took a little longer to get moving than we were comfortable
with!
The time with mum and dad here went super fast. Last days
are always hard but we had a lovely lunch together at the beach and watched the
sunset up eagle rock. Packing the suitcases was sad and made even harder by the
fact that I started packing up some things from my room to send home with mum
and dad. It was a sad ride to Mwanza and
saying goodbye but visiting the bakery, supermarket and pizza place with Josie helped
me not feel so sad!
I now have about 8 weeks left here in Tanzania. This is a really sad
and scary thought so I would really value your prayers during these next few
weeks. Please pray that I won’t be so sad and focused on leaving that I don’t
make good use of these last couple of months and also pray that when I come to
leave I will feel ready to go and to move on to what God has planned for me
during my time at All Nations.
