Today marks 3 years since we set foot in Tanzania. The day was ironically a very fitting summation of what the past several years have been like....
I wake up and go in the kitchen to get Zoe some milk, and as I pass by the guest bathroom, I hear a very disturbing familiar noise--the water pump is on the fritz again. I return to the bedroom and let Nate know; he responds with a long sigh (one that I've heard many times since we arrived--I know exactly what all is wrapped in that sigh). He pulls himself out the bed, gets on some clothes, and grabs his tools. The dogs follow him around to the side of the house. He has his long wool socks on--with his ugly as sin sandals which he got in the local market--to keep the mosquitoes off his ankles (if you are picturing a grandpa, you're about right). A few minutes later, he comes back inside, defeated. He will have to call the fundi (repairman).
No rest for the weary, he has an appointment with the embassy to pick-up our passports. You see, we dropped them off last week and paid 82 bucks a piece to have them TAPE in extra pages. That's robbery, my fellow american citizens. As he gets ready to head out the door, the fan slows to a stop. Yep, the power is out. A problem we have dealt with since we stepped foot in this country. A problem that can make an ordinary morning turn into a miserable attempt to get through the next several hours. A problem that can make an ordinary wife and mother turn into a sweaty, grumpy, mess of a woman. Nate leaves, we open all the curtains and windows to feel the slightest breeze, but there is none. It's just hot. I strip Zoe down to her diaper, but the sweat is dripping from her beautiful little curls within 5 minutes. Luckily, it doesn't take too much longer for the power to switch back on (Zoe and I do our usual song and dance in praise to God!) and Nate gets home at about the same time.
Zoe goes down for a nap and Nate tells me the fundi will be here around 3 to (hopefully) fix the water pump. I decide I'm going to the beach for some quiet time. We have been taking turns going to the beach in an attempt to spend some good alone time with the Lord and enjoy His creation. So I pack my lunch (Nate forbade me from eating at the beach, because last time he went and ate there, he came home with a nasty bug) and head off. The entire way to the beach, I'm considering turning back because it's getting pretty cloudy...but there is still a patch of blue sky in the general area of the beach that I am clinging to. I finally pull in and now there is no turning back (after all, I've paid my 5000 shillings...something like $3). The guards who take my money are smiling and laughing as they look at the dark sky overhead. It doesn't matter...I'm committed now. I grab the beach bag and head to the lounge chairs on the sand. Just me out there. That should have been my first clue. No need to take my cover-up off, there is no hint of the sun. What I can see is storms and rain all across the water. Guess what? It's headed my way. But I just watch as it approaches, thinking perhaps the weather will miraculously change course. I'm wrong...it starts to pour not 5 minutes after I sit down and I make a run for the car. I'm starving by this point, so I pull out my egg salad sandwich and pout (all the while texting Nate about how grumpy I am...I never suffer silently). When I finish, I put the car in reverse and pull out of my spot. I'm about to pull out the gate and accept the mocking laughs from the guards that admitted me 15 minutes prior, but I see a break in the clouds. I pull back into my parking spot. It's still pouring, but I might as well wait for a bit. Ten minutes later and it's still pouring. I think to myself, "there is no sense in sitting here all day, I could be doing something else." So again, I back out of my spot. That little patch of blue is a wee bit bigger and I REALLY wanted some beach time. So, yes, I pull back into the spot. And yes, the guards are watching me. And yes, I am embarrassed. Finally, the rain stops and I go back to the beach and sit on my chair. I pull out my ipod and just relax for a bit. To make a loooong story short, the sun came out (for a little over an hour), and then it got super cloudy again, so at that point--I left.
But as I sat and pondered the past three years...I realized that it was the perfect illustration of our time here so far. Sometimes it really, really sucks. The water and the power go out. It rains on your day at the beach and you end up eating your lunch alone in the car. But then wait, the sun peeks out from behind the clouds for a bit and you realize things aren't really that bad. The rain was actually kind of pretty and definitely cooled things off. So all that to say, I had a really nice time with the Lord today. He blessed me through my grumpy-ness (as He always does), and I remembered that there's always a reason to praise--rain or shine.
If that was the end of the story...it would be nicely wrapped up. Right? But I can't conclude before I tell you what happened at home while I was gone. Actually, Nate can tell you much better. Driving home from the beach, Nate texted me. This is exactly how his text read:
"October 9...the day it all went horribly wrong (I feel the need to insert...that's a joke!)...
The BMT guys pulled up to get all the limbs out of the yard, then the fundi showed up, the dogs are both going crazy. It's 3, so Zoe needs to wake up, but as soon as I open the hallway door, I smell poop. She has messed herself and apparently her diaper came off in her nightgown, poop everywhere. I'm trying to get her cleaned up, water is not working, she's screaming, and everyone else is trying to get me to come outside for something or another. It was a madhouse. I'm glad I had my quiet time before all this happened. Lol."
One of the many reasons I love my husband...he can laugh through it all! And you certainly can't say the Lord doesn't have a sense of humor. Happy Anniversary to us! I'll leave you with a picture of us 3 years ago...about to get on the plane...young and naive.
