Kids at the Beach

My favorite picture of the kids at the beach.

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Our Favorite Picnic Spot

Sometimes we like to go out as a family and explore new areas around where we live. One day on one of our exploring trips, we found this place. It is not too far of a drive past the road where you turn onto to go to the church building. This river is the Ruaha River, which is said to be about 300 miles long. In the less populated areas of the River there are crocodiles and hippos. This particular section didn't have these types of animals, but it did have some interesting birds.

 

The water from this river is often used by many people for their everyday water needs.
While we were on our picnic we saw several people coming to the river to collect water in their buckets. Most of these were kids whose daily chore was to collect the water from the river and bring the Heavy buckets back home. They take the water back to their homes for cooking, bathing, washing clothes, etc.








We have only been here once, but I want to go again soon. It even has a perfect sitting rock that we spread our blanket on.

 

A little back from the river was some really large, and smooth rocks. These were perfect for the kids to climb on. This was almost as good as a McDonald's playground. Okay maybe not, but the kids had a blast.

 This particular picnic day was filled with the warm sun and perfect breeze. It had the sound of running water, kids laughing and playing, and the feeling of family fun.

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Aubrie and the Bat

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Confessions of a Missionary Mom... Part 1

 
... I feel Guilty !

I think that all moms go through guilt trips during their parenting years. Some feel guilty because they don't spend enough time with the kids, some may feel guilty because there kids eat too much fast food. Take your pick. I think that as women, it is in us to apply self guilt and try to make ourselves feel bad. Well as a mom in the mission field you still feel guilty but in different ways. For example...

~ I feel bad because my kids don't eat the crust on their toast, and I know that there are probably some kids in the neighborhood that may only get one meal a day. But I don't want to force my kids to eat the crust, since I don't like to eat it. And I don't want to just eat it because of guilt.

~ I feel guilty because my kids play with toys that we have bought from the local market that are usually half broken, or torn, or stuffed with trash. The toys are usually Goodwill rejects that are sent here from the U.S. or UK.  But then I feel worse because their rooms are filled with toys and they have so much more than other children here.

~ I feel bad because my kids get so excited to eat yogurt, raisins, crackers, or cereal. We usually just have these as a special treat. They don't eat a lot of candy or cookies. I would love more "junk food" but it has to be imported and it is just too expensive.

~ I fell guilty that I am exposing my kids to more health risk factors, and get so stressed out when one of them starts running a fever. I hate having to take them to the clinic for a finger prick to see if they have malaria. I just wish that I could say, "Oh it's just a virus". Instead I have to wonder... malaria, typhoid, polio, bacteria, or virus. ??? The list goes on for stomach problems.

~ I feel bad that I have to be careful with the kids and the water. I have to make sure they are not drinking the bath water or brushing their teeth from the faucet.

BUT THEN...

I remind myself that we are not completely Tanzanian, but we don't live in America either. There is a balance, and it's finding that balance that keeps you going.

~ Yes, there are hungry kids in Tanzania, but we help just about every one of them that we see that truly needs help.

~ We do give away lots of toys. If the kids get a new toy then they have to give at least 1 toy away.

~ I remind myself that not having junk food is a good thing. Even if I really miss it. And that it is a good thing that they appreciate little things like crackers and cereal.

~ I think back at the times when the kids have been sick and remember that the sickest they have ever been, was when we were visiting America. And I read other parents facebook post and see that their kids seem to get sick more often than mine do.

~ And when it comes to the drinking water... I guess I don't mind so much that my kids see clean drinking water a luxury. It helps them to think outside of the box, and shows them how many people in the world actually live.

So yes, I feel guilty as times, but there is a balance. There can be two views to one situation, and I like to try to choose the positive side of things. I think this is important for all moms. Sometimes this guilt helps us to strive to be a better mom, or it keeps us from being insensitive to the need of others. The trick is to channel our thoughts. When we let our negative thoughts bring us down, we are not doing ourselves, or our families any good. We all need to stay positive.
A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine. Proverbs 17:22

P.S.
There is something that I do feel guilty about that I just can't get over. Maybe you can help....
This week I was being brave and tasting a Tanzanian delicacy....roasted grasshoppers. Well, it was dinner time and the kids were hungry.... and before I knew it, they had their hand in the bowl... chowing down... by the hand full. They just kept eating them like chips. Now if I was an American mom, I would be totally grossed out, and accuse myself of child abuse... but if I was a Tanzanian mom, I would be proud that I could share such a special treat with my kids... Soooo, I am not sure yet how I should handle this one. :-) Any Ideas ?

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Kids Are Kids

Have you ever noticed that kids are just kids. They can have fun with just about anything. Some of the greatest memories of my childhood are the things that I did, just being silly. I want my children to grow up with similar memories, of just having fun and playing outdoors. I remember catching fireflies, making mud pies, swimming, playing in the woods, and jumping on the trampoline. No matter where we live in the world, I want my kids to just grow up just being kids.

So for those of you who may be curious as to how our kids can be kids in Tanzania, here are some pictures.

 

Riding the neighborhood Donkey

Making Mud Pies

Playing Ball

                

                                                       Rock Climbing

Face Painting

Catching Grasshoppers

 Splashing in Mud Puddles

Playing in the Rain on a Warm Day

Playing with Sticks

Picking Wild Berries, and Eating Them

And Just Having the Chance to Run Around and Be Kids

I encourage mom's everywhere to not let your kids grow up to fast. Don't let others pressure you into thinking that your young children should be acting "grown up" by a certain age. There is a time for school, and there is a time for chores, but there is also a time to
Have fun and Make Memories !!!

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Water Well

 This is one of the water well foot pumps in our neighborhood. The kids wanted to try it one day when we were out on one of our neighborhood walks. It reminded me of a stair stepper exercise machine. All of the buckets around belong to the other people that were there to collect water. There are may who don't have running water in their homes.

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Turkey Day !!!

Today is Thanksgiving Day and what Thanksgiving is complete without a Turkey. Well, you may wonder what this American Mom of 4 little ones did today?


Well since the hubby is traveling and I am alone on this holiday... awww poor me... not really. :-) This is what we did.

We went on a Turkey Hunt.

And We Found One !!!

Okay so it really wasn't that hard. We knew of someone in the neighborhood that had some turkeys, so we just went to their house. Of, course we had to make it more exciting for the kids. They had their binoculars, and a big bag to put the turkey in in case they let us buy one.

Ryan took his plastic 1980's model Nintendo gun that we found at the market here. Here are some pictures.

Ayden was pretty unsure of this huge Gobbling Turkey.

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Trashy Toys

Toys in Tanzania...

There are many toy options for children in Tanzania. Most Tanzanian children make their own toys from trash found along the road. You will often see that their soccor balls are made from wadded up trash.

The toys that are avaliable for sale are usally stuffed dolls. These dolls are shipped from second hand stores in America, like Goodwill, to Tanzania. They are often dirty and broken but sometimes you can find some cute things. I don't mind buying second, second, hand things so I thought I would stop buy one of these side street places and buy some "new" dolls for the kids. When examining them I noticed that they were all crunchy. Yes crunchy ! I ended up buying three stuffed animal type of dolls, a dinosaur, a horse and a dolphin. They cost about a dollar for each one. When I got home I gave the kids each their "new toy". They loved them! But it wasn't long until one of them busted open with plastic trash coming out. I looked at the dolls closer and noticed that they had been cut, re-stuffed, and re-sewn. I then realized that the guy selling them was cutting the backs of them open, taking out the soft stuffing, and refilling it with plastic trash, and sewing it back up. To him, the soft stuffing was pretty valuable. He could resell the stuffing to someone who makes pillows or things.

So I guess that I bought my kids some pretty trashy toys. :-)

Well, you may wonder if I trashed the trashy toys... Nope, I sewed them back up and let my kids still play with them. After all this is Africa...and my kids are happy with what they have, especially when they see so many who have no toys at all.

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