What's been goin' on.

The past 10 days…scratch that, 3 months (since I’ve blogged) have literally been all over the place. I had the wonderful experience of traveling in Italy with Matt to visit a family that is very dear to my heart and to see a little more of the world. For the most part, we both enjoyed the cold weather despite our lack of winter clothes. I was only back in Tanzania for a week when my parents came to visit. During their two week visit we went on safari, traveled to Zanzibar, my mom did her amazing mom-thing in the volunteer apartment (cooking and cleaning and loving), my dad used his fix-it skills around Cradle and taught the toddlers how to do somersaults, and we experienced the miracle of baptism. Seeing the way the children responded to my parents was great. Hope and Lazaro are twins that are probably our most mature kids here. I told them that my mommy and daddy were coming. When they first saw them Lazaro came running as fast as he could with arms wide open and shouted, “Mommy, Mommy! Daddy!!” My mom scooped him up into her arms (she didn’t really have a choice) and they laughed together. My heart was so full!! It took me a week or two to gain the trust of those twins so the fact that they were excited to meet strangers just because they belong with ME really meant a lot.

My patience is being tested so much this year…I spend three hours every morning teaching the director’s daughter first grade. I think I’m learning about just as much as she is! Of course there are good and bad days. It’s an interesting experience, teaching one-on-one. Both student and teacher view time in a totally more relaxed way. The biggest struggle for me is that those three hours tend to go so slow-ow-ow and I don’t know how to get things movin’. We’ve come a long way, though. She’s counting by tens, learning the differences between plains and deserts, memorizing Bible verses, and the hugest one of all: she is reading! I am so proud of her.

The preschoolers are rockin’ it right now! The class consists of Hope, Lazaro, Anya, Nina, Tessa, Jackson, and Mariah. Anya, Nina, and Tessa are triplets and yowza, quite the handful. Sometimes intense sister-fights break out when one steals the other’s blocks but for the most part they are doing really well! The preschoolers are learning the names of animals and the sounds they make, how to count in English and Swahili, and that crayons go on the paper and not in their mouths. Most of them can do puzzles on their own, and that is huge! We’re going to add James to our class within the week. I’m bracing myself for that transition… ;)

Knowing that I only have three and a half months left in Usa River I have been going all around the mulberry bush with my feelings. I don’t want to leave this life here. I don’t want the changes I’ve been experiencing to come to an end. I want the growth to continue despite the change in circumstances. I want to bring at least 5 children home with me, a few nannies, and our taxi driver. But I have 105 left here to soak it all up, take it all to heart, and appreciate it too.

My favorite picture from our time in Italy.