What every missionary fears

There are many fears that a missionary has when leaving their home country and one of them is the sudden death of a loved one.

Wednesday morning, Nicole received the news that her father was killed in a motorcycle accident.  Obviously this was a great shock to her and the whole family.

Several months ago, her grandmother died very suddenly of a heart attack.   Nicole decided at that time that they should stay here in Gesses.  This time however, she felt strongly that needed to go home.

The Lord has worked out many details and given the Schwenks strength to be able to leave so quickly.  The left Thursday morning for the US knowing that they would stay on to have their home assignment.  It was previously planned for May-September.  So they were packing up knowing they would likely not return for 8 months.

In the midst of grieving and in a state of shock, they managed to pack up and hand over all the station projects to us.  As well, Nicole handed over all homeschooling to me.  Her organization of the school year will be a big help for me as I begin teaching the kids on Monday.

The Lord enabled them to get airtickets for tomorrow (Friday night) and they will arrive in Arizona on Saturday.  The funeral for her dad will be held on Monday.  Do pray for their family. 

And we also appreciate prayer for wisdom in handling all the extra responsibilities.

While every missionary fears hearing such difficult news, we are reminded again that this world is not our home.  May we use our days wisely and in such a way that in the end we have brought glory to His name.

Back in Gesses

We had a safe trip back to Gesses.  PTL!  We never take our safety for granted especially when we see so many vehicles that have not fared so well.

We were surprised by cooler weather than is normal for this time of year.  Daytime temp is mid 30's C (90's F) and it still cools off to mid 20's C (70's F) at night which allows us to get rest at night. 

We have some rat issues which is normal considering we were gone for almost 3 weeks.   Rats on our back porch (one caught last night) and either a mouse family or rat family is enjoying the home school room.  Nicole had a small rodent run over her foot during class yesterday and Ariana’s water bottle has teethmarks all around the top.   

Rolf fixed the dehydrator (which has been used in the past but was broken when we arrived).   He fixed it as I was cutting up bananas and other fruit and vegetables to dehydrate.  It worked fabulously and in one day, everything was dried and ready to put into bags.  We are entering a time when there will be no fruit and vegetables available so we brought some extra with us from Addis but don’t have a fridge to store them in.

I dipped some of the sliced bananas in a diluted lemon juice dip (1 Tablespoon lemon juice in one cup water) and others in a diluted honey dip.  They both worked very well (keeps them from browning) though the ones dipped in honey stuck more to the plastic mesh that they were placed on.  Next time I would just do the lemon juice dip.  The strawberries and plums worked very well although I only did a small number.   I steam blanched some carrot slices and dehydrated them as well.    Next time, I will certainly bring more veggies and fruit so that I can dehydrate a larger number because these won’t last long.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I will do some preschool teacher training and next week they will register children for the program.

Our satellite internet connection is presently not working so communication is a challenge.  Today, Barry is driving to a town 1.5 hours away to do some errands and can send some emails from there.

I appreciate all who are praying for my language learning ... I am getting lots of practice, still feeling frustrated but have been able to jump back in.  

Pray also for the Gumuz men and women desiring baptism to step forward in faith. 

Pray for perseverance.

Sodere Part 3: All Ends Well

After a good night's sleep, I was feeling significantly better and was able to care for the kids while Rolf shared his testimony and took in the last session.  We would have loved to participate more fully in the conference but I believe our expectations were met.  It was good to catch up with missionaries who serve around Ethiopia (some whom we will not see again until the next conference in 2 years).

 

The children enjoyed friendships and swimming and lots of craft time.  We left Friday after lunch for Babagayu Lake (a lake en route back to Addis).

Babagayu: Family time

Babagayu is the SIM retreat centre about 1.5 hours outside of Addis.  It used to function more fully as a guesthouse where meals were served but presently there are no managers living there.  It could certainly use some extra love and attention but we still were blessed by our 3 nights there.   

We were able to stay in the largest cabin ... actually it is bigger than our house in Gesses.  It had 3 bedrooms and a large living room and kitchen so we could prepare our meals in our cabin.  This is the only cabin that has a kitchen so all other guests would have to prepare their meals at the main kitchen.

I had prepared all meals ahead of time so it really felt like a relaxing weekend.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and settled in.

Saturday, we spent most of the day at the lakeside.  It is a crater lake so is deep and cold but the oldest 4 children all bravely jumped in (with lifejackets!).  Rolf took the kids canoeing as well while I spent most of the time with Sonia on the grass watching.

Our friends, Petros & Blain joined us for 2 nights with their son Bereket.  They stayed in our cabin with us and we were able to catch up on their lives and make some memories.  Bereket was so happy to get a canoe ride also!

 We packed up Tuesday morning and headed back to Addis.  A quick stop for some ice cream cones and groceries and then back to the CMF compound where we are staying until Friday.

Brrr ... it is still cold here but we do have electricity and enjoyed a lovely visit with our dear friend Sandra and a visiting friend of hers as well.   They arrived to our apartment shortly after we did and had pizza and salad.  (My first salad in 2 months!!!)

Each morning, we could see the tilapia fish at the surface of the lake.  For some reason though they were difficult to catch with a fishing rod.  (Though Joel did try).  So instead we bought several kilos of fish from a local fisherman at $3 a kilo.  It made for a delicious supper. 

It is always fun birdwatching at Babagayu especially watching the kingfisher, herons, and pelicans diving for fish.  Lots of tiny colorful birds as well though I can't name them all.

I asked each of the kids to choose a special spot to pose at and here is what they came up with.  Of course Kalia and Ariana wanted to pose with Sonia as well. And then I decided I should take 1 year old pictures of Sonia as well.

The kids enjoyed canoeing with their dad and several of them jumped out of the canoe and swam to the dock. 

Packing Again...

It seems like we are always packing.  I guess that is just part of living in our context.  Living in a rural location has many benefits but convenience isn't one of them.  So this evening we are packing fresh vegetables and fruit and staple items that we cannot easily get like oats, white flour, pasta, rice and milk powder.  

 

I have to admit that when the electricity went off at dusk, I had to keep calm by quoting "Do everything without complaining or arguing for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  We ate dinner by candlelight and started making plans to delay our departure. 

 

The lights actually came on again at 8pm and so instead I will be staying up late so all the packing is done by morning.  Rolf needs to do a couple of errands in the morning so we need to be packed before he leaves.  We hope to leave by 10am and drive to Injebara where we can spend the night with SIM missionaries (it will be a 7 hour drive).

Sodere Spiritual Life Conference - Adjusting

Here we are in our final day at Sodere.  I didn't realize we had internet access until yesterday or I would have added some entries.  It has been a mostly enjoyable experience.  There are aspects that can be quite overwhelming.  We are used to speaking English to 4 other adults in Gesses.  Our children are used to speaking to 2 other children and 2 toddlers. 

 

The first comment our children made when we arrived in Sodere was: we didn't know there would be so many people.  Kalia and Joel were in the kids program together and were somewhat apprehensive.  After the first evening, the most challenging thing they found was the screaming and yelling that they were "required" to do.  You don't scream in Gesses.  If you do, people will come running because it means that there is either a snake or an accident.

 

One of the areas that Kalia struggles with the most is being pointed out in a group.  So if someone says, "Kalia you need to yell louder" she wilts.  In the end, I decided to talk to one of the leaders of the group.  They come out especially from the States and don't realize the different places we come from.  I think after that they put less "pressure" on the kids and Kalia thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the program.

 

(I am not criticizing the teams that come out but rather highlighting the challenge it is for some downcountry kids to suddenly be placed into highly organized events).

 

Joel had a blast ... he is a very social kid ... and made friends with a bunch of other boys (several of them being Korean boys that he got to know at Bingham Academy in September).

 

Ariana is a very confident kid (in our home) and loves to serve but she was not interested in the age 2-5 kids program.  I was amazed at how confident many of the children were in the group.  Some of it is exposure but a lot of it is personality.  So in the end, Rolf and I tag teamed so that each of us had the opportunity to be part of a session or two.

 

I, on the other hand, enjoy the opportunity to catch up with other missionary women (especially since some of them I only see once a year or less!)

Sodore part 2: Why are we so tired?

After only day two, we were all really tired.  I felt like I was dragging my feet.  Was it the numerous stairs that we had to ascend and descend to the different areas?  Was it the change in diet? (lots of meat and lots of oil)  Was it all the conversations and sessions?  Was it the late nights?  (Our children go to bed at 7ish in Gesses and now the programs were going until 8:45 pm).  Well I believe it was a combination.
Two nights in a row, I hardly got any sleep ... not because of kids but I felt really achy and tired.  Well yesterday morning, I woke up and I knew ... STREP THROAT.  I had a fever, my entire body ached, my tonsils were touching each other, my lymph nodes were swollen.  What was I to do?  In an hour, I was to share my testimony.  I decided to apply the biblical verses on fasting to my situation.  The point is not to draw focus to your weak body but rather wash your face, get dressed and face the day.  So that was what I did. 

I made it through and though my testimony may not have been presented with as much emotion as I would have liked, I was able to share.

I found the doctor at tea time and he only had to take a brief look at my tonsils to confirm my strep throat.  I was on amoxicillin within half an hour and made it through our lunch date.  (We had to pick names and sit with different people throughout the week).

After that I crashed for a few hours ... still had a fever and an achy body but I knew it would pass.  By 4 pm, I was able to go down to the pool so that I could care for our 3 youngest while Rolf was in the pool with the other two. 

That was the greatest challenge here at Sodere.  We needed some full time extra hands (that our kids would respond to). 

So this morning Rolf shares and I wonder what his night was like with the two children in his room ... time for breakfast.

Pictures are worth a thousand words

I realize you may not all be interested in the number of pictures that we are going to share with you.  The last couple of months our blog has been words only and so I am taking advantage of internet access to upload pictures from the past 2 months.  Enjoy!

Pictures of Christmas Preparations

Nicole made a gingerbread house from scratch with the kids.   The following day, they ate one and a week later the other one.  Yum!

Stocking hunt - a family tradition

We started a tradition about 6 years ago where we hide the children's stockings outside in a favorite spot.  We write a poem that gives a clue and then the children go and find their stocking.   Once all the stockings have been found, they can look inside.  The last two Christmases, we were in Canada but we continued the tradition ... indoors.

This year, Ariana's stocking was in the homeschool room, Joel's was on the top of an old cistern where the kids play, Kalia's was up in a mango tree, Nadia's was under the computer (since she loves watching a video while I do language study) and Sonia's was in her bed (for lack of a better spot).  

I made pillowcases for each of the kids and stuffed them into the stockings that I sewed 5 days before Christmas.  There were a few goodies inside as well.  Rolf made Ariana a dollhouse that needs to be completed and decorated.   He made Kalia a barn for her horses which also needs to be completed, Joel got some of Rolf's G.I. Joe's, Nadia got a walking stick carved by Rolf and I sewed a dress for her doll and Sonia got her first doll.

The kids also did a gift exchange with each other and it is neat to see them become creative with their giving.  Kalia sewed her first project and made a rag quilt purse for Ariana (with some help from me) while Joel made Kalia a wooden bunkbed for her playmobile people.  

We also did a gift exchange with the Schwenks and we managed to find something to give to everyone (even without a store to shop at!)  Obviously gift giving is still a valued tradition but it does take a little more creativity and time in this context (and a lot less money!)

Andrea Williamson shared an edible rice krispie cake wreath with us at our Christmas party.  A very pretty way of serving a familiar snack.

Unique Creatures in Gesses

I am always amazed at what the children discover in Gesses.  Leaf bugs may be the most unique insect I have ever seen.  

The locust is of course a familiar insect but some of them are the size of an adult hand.  I cannot imagine if we had a plague of such creatures.

Then there is the squeaky insect.  I didn't actually take this picture and I did not hear it squeak but the children all agreed that this is a squeaky insect.  I do not know what it is called.

Next is the headless snake.  We have several varieties of snakes which are venomous and we are very thankful not to have encountered any yet.  

Chicken chores

The Williamson's keep chickens but while they were in Addis for a month, our children took on the daily chores of feeding them and collecting eggs.  It was a chore they thoroughly enjoyed especially when they got to pick up the baby chicks.

Front Porch Addition

Rolf and Barry enjoy keeping busy and in their spare time (which is rare) they work on building projects such as this one.  This is a before picture.  Our treacherous front steps did not injure anyone despite the fact that the door swings out instead of in.

First the cement had to be chipped away, then the prefab metal tube flooring (which Rolf put together in Addis several months ago) was put in place and cemented into the ground.  Next the plywood sheeting was screwed in.  This took time since the drill batteries had to be recharged.  Then they discovered the plywood sheets were not all the same (out by a few mm) and so after they had all been laid, they had to take them up again and make some adjustments.  

Since our back porch is very sunny each morning and is generally used for hanging laundry, the front porch will be a good place for visiting with people and treating the sick that come to our door.
Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the finished porch.  The guys managed to glue down tile and find a large rock to step down onto from the porch (since it is slightly raised.)

1/3 of the porch will become a room for 2 of the girls.  Barry and Rolf had hoped to complete it by Christmas but maybe it will be done by Easter instead.  :)

American Thanksgiving

These pictures are a month old but I thought I would share them anyways.  Rolf arrived back from Addis on American Thanksgiving and he was saved a plate of food.  We postponed the Thanksgiving music performance so that he could hear it.  The children performed about 6 songs that we had practiced for a month using different instruments.  The favorite number was called the Dinosaur chant.  Each of the kids had memorized different parts and they did a great job.  After the performance, they got a special snack of cold pop and a chocolate bar.