Monday Off

Since today is not primarily a ministry day, I think it is appropriate to focus on the ministry going on behind the scenes of ministry--life in the Howell home (I've asked Rob to read through this before I post it for appropriateness and accuracy).

It's Monday morning and the weather is almost exactly the same today as it has been very other day. The skies are partly cloudy, a gentle wind blows through the trees, and the temperature reaches a high of 77 degrees during the day, with a low of 68 at night. Frankly, the weather is about as close to perfect as can be imagined. There are no glass windows in the house, only screens. At night a fan keeps the air circulating and mutes some of the noise outside. We have experienced a couple overcast days, and on Sunday the sky spat rain onto the tin roof at church for about 45 seconds, but it is dry season and moisture is virtually non-existent this time of year.

Everyone sleeps in an extra thirty minutes or so on Monday. We awake around sevenish to the sound of Momma Stella watering the yard. Joyce, as she is also called, lives just a short walk from the Howell home and attends the church. She is a widow of forty with seven children in her house, which is only a small mud hut. Momma Stella's smile, which lights up her face, is absolutely contagious and the first sight that welcomed me to the Howell home when we arrived. She is responsible for taking care of the outside of both the homes on the property.

A word here is probably appropriate concerning hired help. Any westerner living in Tanzania is automatically wealthy, very wealthy. We drop a typical Tanzanian's monthly wage on a single nice meal in the States. It is considered rude for an American living in Tanzania not to contribute to the local economy. Providing employment is one of the best ways to do so, as well as hiring day laborers for skilled and unskilled jobs around the premises.

Peter, is a second Tanzanian who is a big help to Kara around the home. While Momma Stella minds the outside, he takes care of many of the inside tasks, including: dishes, sweeping, mopping, general cleaning, and some cooking. He has worked for western families in Tanzania since the early eighties and is a very pleasant man to be around. Just before I arrived, one of his former employers from many years ago dropped by to see him. The fact that she looked him up, and hired a taxi to come out to Mwanza and visit him, speaks well of his character.

One of the beautiful benefits of life here is the routine. Since there are no outside distractions, to include sports, shopping, entertainment, neighbors, etc, life is very simple and neatly packaged. There are three family meals a day, every day. Rob is home for just about every one; he makes breakfast everyday except Sunday. Though Rob's schedule may vary on a normal workday, the family gets up, has breakfast, does school, has lunch, does school some more or plays, has supper, plays, reads together, and heads to bed. There are little variations here and there: the kids may run over to a missionaries friend's home and play, another missionary may bring her children over for music lessons, on Monday evenings they share pizza with a neighboring family, Saturdays tend to be an all day play day, mom and dad may watch a little television after the kids are in bed, or Sundays are of course different, but these are the exceptions. Life is slow-paced and quiet. I have only heard the house phone ring once or twice (though Rob's cell is more frequently used).

Kara's time is spent managing the home and kids. She is a school administrator for the three girls as they work their way through home school curriculum. The kids actually start school today because they are eager to get going and beg to do so. This is Kaylee's first year and she is already humming along. Today she made a brilliant leap forward in kindergarten science, as she captured a butterfly with some new equipment sent from their home church. Kelsey and Kristen are self-motivated and sit in their own space of the house and study away. Each of the girls has her own TV and DVD player, so they can study separately. Kara also has to keep Robbie pre-occupied while the girls study. Today Rob and I took him to town in order to relieve some of the load.

Every Monday is market day. Kara makes a list of things for Rob to pick up at the central market in Mwanza. A typical list may be: pineapple, watermelon, mango, passion fruit, cucumbers, carrots, onions, potatoes, lettuce, and green peppers. In addition to this, Rob may stop at a small super market and purchase: salt, flour, sugar, juice, coffee, a cake mix, pringles, or some other more western need they may have. This store tends to be fairly pricey. A Nestle's Crunch bar ran me $1.20. There are really no decent restaurants in town, so home cooking is it. I must say that I have eaten like a king the last week. The fresh fruit and vegetables three times a day is especially enjoyable, and is much better than the typical fare we get in the States. We did stop at a small outside restuarant for coffee and a donut today. The coffee was instant and bad, the donut was plain and greasy. The attempts at western cuisine here leave much to be desired, though there is a new fast food place under construction for which they have high hopes.

Other random observations: We don't leave the house after about 6pm; nobody want's to be bitten by a mosquito. We sleep at night under mosquito nets. There is an ample supply of a bug spray named "Doom" in the house. The other night Rob and I are watching a soccer game on TV sipping coffee when he yells, "Cover!" We put our hands over our coffee cups to protect the contents and he shoots a cloud of Doom across the room at some pesky mosquito. The whole family takes a dose of malaria meds daily. Welcome to life in Malariaville.

Something has been eating away at my mouse cord at night. I mean biting right through to the wire. I sprayed my closets with Doom and haven't had a problem since. There are lizards around to help with the bugs as well. I notice one crawling across the living room wall for the first time the other night and point it out to Rob thinking he'll "get it." "They help eat the bugs," he says, and ignores it. Lizards are your friends.

Don't drink the water. Don't make ice cubes out of the water. Don't brush your teeth in the water. Don't wash your food in the water. Don't mess with the water. They have a filtration system and distiller to make drinkable water.

One can get just about anything in Mwanza, if you can find it and if you can pay for it. Mail is important. E-mail is read. Packages are gold. Things break and things run out. You learn to live with less or without because you can’t find it in Mwanza, and even if you do, you may not be able to afford it.

We enjoyed homemade pizza tonight at the home of Steve and Robin Sanders. They are a couple in their early forties who arrived in Mwanza within the last year to help with the work. Their primary focus right now is learning Swahili. They have two older sons at home in the States gearing up for college, and two younger daughters (10 & 15) here. Though both families live adjacent to another, and see each other almost every day, they do a very good job of respecting one another's privacy and allowing "space."

That's it for now. Let me know if all of this has raised any other questions. I tend to be a bit myopic at times and may miss something entirely that you, dear reader, consider important.  I also posted an album of local flora.

Comments

[Doug]

RE: "One can get just about anything in Mwanza..."

Like any American on a trip to another country, has any other type of "bug", "hit" you, yet? Or, would you rather not go there?

[jon]

Healthy as a horse to this point, deo volente.

[Doug]

Good!

Taking your chloroquine phosphate every day? You know, when you get back to the States, you may have to take primaquine phosphate once a week for 8 weeks. Also, no giving of blood for the next 5 years!

So, you're asking me, "How do you know about malaria medications?" Good question! While I was in the Marine Corps, I did a 3 month tour in Honduras! Malaria is as rampant in Honduras as it is in other parts of the world! Our Navy corpsmen made sure we swallowed our "pill" every morning before we went to our respective jobs.

[jon]

I am taking a medication called mefloquine (larium) once a week. This is a chloriquine resistant area. The best stuff would be malarone, but it is quite expensive. I have had no bad side effects from the meds at all.

[Doug]

How soon will you be able to stop taking your medication once you return to the US? We had an 8 week supply of medication we had to take once we returned.

[Connie]

I wish every Senior Pastor could go on the trip you are on. I know the folks at NHBC will be better informed and it would be beneficial for more Pastors to walk in Rob's shoes for a short time. You have done a great job in sharing it, thanks!

[jon]

3 weeks.

[Lori]

Jon, I have really enjoyed reading your blog. As my family and I prepare to move there to help with Tumaini, you have made me more excited than ever to get there! I feel like I'm there when I read your entries. Thank you for sharing!

[Scott M]

Have you gained a new appreciation for family life from being around the Howells? As I was reading this it occurred to me how important family relationships would be in a foreign environment. In America, everyone's so busy that families can live under the same roof and rarely see each other. Your description of the quiet, simple, family life in Mwanza actually sounds quite enjoyable to me. (I must be getting old). The trick, I guess, is trying to have that kind of family haven in our crazy, busy western world.

[jon]

Connie, As I told Rob on our trip from Nairobi, "I am privileged." I continue to think that way; this is a rich experience. I trust others will follow along.

Lori, Happy to be of service. I know the Howells and Sanders are looking forward to your family's arrival. Kara looked at some of my pics the other day and said, "It looks so glamorous." I'll post on the other side of life before I leave. As you know, visiting is fun, but living here will be work. Btw, we bought your fridge and stove the other day! Be assured of our prayers.

Scott, Have I ever. Imagine no clubs, sports activities, school events, youth group stuff, fast food joints, etc...and then imagine your kids still managing to be happy. Seems impossible, eh? Far from it. The kids are best of friends (they have their share of spats), play creatively, and are just normal kids. They still watch cartoons on Saturday morning and love to have company over, but a lot of the noise is out of their lives.

[Paula]

Jon, you made me 'homesick' for White Mountain AK. Except for the geography, it's a simple life there too. Pastor's kids actually play and school the same way. Food has to be flown in because they are so remote and buying there is expensive. I had no problems with their water but had to 'readjust' to mine when I got home. Strange. thanks again for your detailed posts.

[Bet]

There is an article somewhere in your posts, Jon. You ought to consider writing about your experiences or about the concept of supporting a missionary in the way your church does and submitting it to some of the Christian publications around. You'll have all the info at your fingertips to make a great article!

[Scott M]

I agree, Bet. Pastor Trainer is becoming a regular Bill Bryson! (best-selling travel writer... for those of you not familiar)

Hey... that gives me a good idea... a travel magazine from a Christian perspective! Anyone have a few thousand bucks lying around that they'd like to contribute to my entrepreneurial adventure? Bet, I could use an editor-in-chief. What do you say?

[Bet]

I love it, Scott! Find the financing and I'm with you. :)

[hew]

I'm enjoying your updates, Pastor Trainer! Thanks for your very detailed reports!

[joy]

<rant> jon, will you stop it! if you keep on taking these fabulous photos, i am going to have absolutely nothing original to add when i visit. seriously! who is going to top these? what am i going to be able to contribute? teach them some halting latin? how to write haiku or make bruschette? between talented, diligent workers and their unreasonably gifted-in-photography, journaling guests... my life no longer has purpose. </rant>

=}

p.s. that being said, i do want to keif some of your images for the howells' benefit. rob hasn't sent me any, and you have so many delectable ones from which to choose that, copyrights notwithstanding, i'm going to start robbing you.

[jon]

Oh, Joy, I would feel sorry for you, but I've read you blog and I've got your creative writing number. Feel free to scarf my pics...I left Rob a few hundred on cd's before I left. I'm sure he can spare a few!