we made it!

Well, after making our way through 4 airports, 3 layovers, and 24 hours of almost continuous air travel, we arrived in Dar Es Salaam last night at 9:00pm.  And now, just ten hours into our life here in Africa, I’m not quite sure what to say (the massive sleep-deprivation may have something to do with that, but I suspect that it’s also just all too big to articulate just yet).  

We are feeling good--relieved, so grateful, and excited to have arrived safely and to begin this new chapter.  I am especially thankful for four incredible kids who made a rather exhausting journey seem almost easy.  Truly, the older three kids amazed Chris and me with their enjoyment of the flights and the layovers, their ability to entertain themselves and one another, and their willingness to help or to wait or to just sit when those things were asked of them.  They did enjoy some fun movies and video games on the planes, but they also paused and rested when requested.  And now, as Chris and I (having enjoyed about 3-4 hours of decent sleep) try and process all of this newness, they are sleeping soundly in their mosquito-netted beds, cooled by an unexpected and lovely room air conditioner, oblivious to the sounds of the scooters and buses and roosters and daily life in this bustling port city.  “Jet lag?” they say.  “What jet lag?”

And that sweet baby Jacob.  Oh my.  He was a champ from takeoff to landing on all four legs of our trip.  I, of course, had my many concerns--about the air pressure changes and his potential ear discomfort and nursing on a crowded plane and whether he would sleep and how the diaper changes would go and how we’d keep him entertained, and on and on.  And once again, my sweet little one reminds me to just relax, to lean into the experience and enjoy the journey...and know that all will be well.  And it was.  Jacob played happily, nursed every few hours, and slept so very well once he got into a comfy bassinet on our longest stretch, from Zurich to Dar Es Salaam.  He too, slept (and is still sleeping) so comfortably last night.  Thank God.

The toughest part of our journey was, as anticipated, the very beginning.  After having relished one entire month with my parents and sisters at home in Louisiana, separating from them was not easy.  At all.  My kids had received gourmet Indian food, undivided attention, and the chance to play many games and basketball and tennis and to enjoy bike rides and day trips and so much fun with people who love them like crazy...and that made this particular leaving especially hard.  I had had more support and help and laughter and connection and silliness than I’ve enjoyed in a long time, so my goodbyes were difficult as well.  But even as we all hugged and wept and finally spoke those things that people only say at departure points, we all (well, the adults anyway) were so reassured with the truth that the challenge of this separation is only a small part of a much larger, and very good, whole.  Chris and I have received support from so many friends and loved ones, but the whole-hearted joy that I see in my family of origin gives this entire experience a great sense of peace and goodness and contentment.  Thank you so much, Mom, Dad, Maggie and Michelle.

And so when my sweet, tender-hearted children, especially my girls, cried in New Orleans and again in Zurich and then once more in Dar Es Salaam, sharing with me their homesickness and how much they miss Amma and Appa’s presence and home and food, and how they loved sharing Kiki and Shell’s rooms with them, and how this new phase is so, well, new, I do my best to reassure them...and myself.  I remind them, and myself, that we have been called to this journey, and that God has promised to go before us, and watch over us, and stay close to us.  And I remind them, and myself, that while there is great work to be done in and through us, there is also a great adventure ahead of us.  I remind them, and myself, that just the fact that the six of us are together makes this whole experience so amazing--and that I know that there are incredible joys and fun times and fabulous days ahead.  And then I remind them, and myself, that having so much love poured out over you that it hurts to be away from it, is not such a bad problem to have.  And so it’s okay to miss the good and the familiar, and mourn the end of the extraordinary time we had these past few weeks, and we will rest in the knowledge that with the gift of time, those things that are so strange and new right now will become familiar and good and extraordinary as well.    

So now we are giving ourselves a few days to get oriented, catch up on our sleep, and become acquainted with our new surroundings.  We will be in Dar Es Salaam for about a week, and then next Friday we will travel to Arusha (near Mount Kilimanjaro) for three weeks of language classes beginning on February 4th.  And as we head towards Arusha, the majority of our stuff will be heading to Ndanda.  We all know that one of the most pleasant parts of walking out of an airport into an unfamiliar city is finding a friendly face to greet you.  We had just such an experience when, after all that travel and then visa and customs proceedings that kept us in the airport until close to 11pm, we walked out of the airport into the warm Tanzanian night to find the very friendly face of Charles, our hospital administrator waiting to welcome us.  He had traveled the 500 kilometer journey from Ndanda to receive us last night, and today he has packed up his van with 9 pieces of our luggage to take back and keep at our home in Ndanda, awaiting our arrival there in late February.  He was most supportive and patient with our many questions about our eventual home in Ndanda, and he too reassured us that, indeed, all will be well.

And so, the adventure begins :)

                     

 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10