We knew that it would not be easy to endure these weeks
of separation, while Paul is carrying on work in Addis, and I (Rebecca) am back
in Arusha with our kids in school. It was just harder to anticipate exactly
what would be difficult. I’m just starting to name the real hardship:
struggling to be present where I am. When my husband and best friend and colleague
with whom I job-share is thousands of miles and a (and a frustrating 3-second
WhatsApp delay!) away, I’m constantly living in tension. Do I give Paul a call
after dinner to see how his evening has been? Or do I play Munchkin with David,
or make sure that Oren is attending to his art homework? (or do I spend the
time just trying to get the kitchen back to zero?) I want to do all of it, all
of it is good, and yet I end up having to make choices to give time and
attention to one person I love and not another. It makes it even harder during
this time to maintain phone calls with our parents.
staying present to the present
evidence of campus tree-trimming
Our time in Addis coincided with the kids’ half-term
break, and they were due to resume classes the day after we returned. On short
notice, the school let us know that kids would be moving to online school for a
week. Apparently, the mandatory process of tree trimming had not been
completed, and they needed another week to work on the trees in order for the
kids to be safe on campus. It was one of the more ingenious ways that I can
think of to make sure that any kids who might have traveled during the holidays
had a week to “cool off” at home. At least I didn’t need to struggle with the
question of how long to keep my kids out of classes and have them fall behind.
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| dough creations including dog, rabbit and mom |
There was
some recreational painting, as well as Oren’s school art homework. And there
was lots and lots of Monopoly. Sadly, I just couldn’t stop winning. So much
winning I was tired of winning. I guess that was my divine reward for giving so
many hours to monopoly as a parent, but it made it a little less fun for the
kids. 
homework
After a week of being cooped up, we were so glad to have
a chance to spend time with our friends the Taylors at Rivertrees, a local
safari lodge that is particularly green and restful and very much outdoors. I
really valued getting to talk to adult friends about all the complicated
feelings of this moment. And the boys really enjoy being with their friends,
hanging out in the pool, throwing a frisbee, playing cards, etc.
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| Rivertrees is a sweet place |
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| Arusha green beauty |
On the personal side, however, I do feel a lot of grief.
I am not going to sugar coat it. We have worked hard to build a community here,
and to be connected in our local church, and we have made some very dear
friends. While I trust that we will find new friends and a new sense of
community, that will not happen immediately or automatically. It will take time
and work. And the friends we have made cannot just be replaced. As I have mentioned
in past years in this blog, I am very tired of moving around and leaving
friends and making new ones. It is a weary prospect to think of having to do
that again. And I greive in advance, especially for Oren, who will need to
leave friends here, and then leave a new set of friends in Addis after just two
years when he graduates from high school. It’s hard for a kid to bear this.
Contrasting colors at Gymkana
I spent at least a full week being back in Arusha
grieving the impending loss of other things that really give me life and a deeper
sense of connection with God. Addis is vibrant and interesting, with
interesting entertainment options, but it is not clean or green or quiet. After
the kids were back in school, I also returned to savoring a bit of solitude, as
well as a few walks around the coffee plantations that surround the kids’
school. Even 7-minute walks in the morning before driving to school, in the
quiet, fragrant, green serenity of our compound, do more than I can say to help
my heart praise my God. It will be hard to leave the beauty of nature here.
I need to go on faith that God will provide other ways
for me to feel connected to Him and refreshed in my spirit. I also need to consider
that peace, calm, and well-being are gifts, and not entitlements for us as
Christians. Suffering is also often required of those who serve the Lord, as much
as I don’t want to contemplate that. A helpful scripture: “Unless a grain of
wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it
dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 7:24). I don’t like that Jesus says this, be
he only asks that we follow in the way that He leads.
Coffee cherries
In the midst of keeping up with my split screen work life
in Ethiopia, I have also need to continue to shepherd through a few
administrative details of the closure of the TZ office. One concerns the
National Social Security Fund, which collects mandatory pension contributions
from every employee and then disburses them, upon request, when that employment
is complete. But in the midst of working on simple employee payments, I get to
learn about sad justice issues that impact ordinary people here.
We had a Maasai guard who formerly worked for our last
country director. He was let go in August after she moved. He went home to his
village out of town. Since September, he has been striving to reclaim his
money. First, they told him that he could not collect his money unless he
opened a bank account for it to be deposited into. He lives hand to mouth, so
it was hard for him to spend the money to open an account, but he did it. When
he brought his bank information back to the NSSF, they noted that his name on
the bank account didn’t match his NSSF account or his ID card. The poor guy can’t
read or write and so he had never realized this. He had to hire a lawyer to
prove he was the same person. Every futile trip to town cost him money he did
not have. Finally two weeks ago, the NSSF started asking for his employer to provide
receipts documenting things from 2011. Finally a call came to me (I had no idea
he was still struggling with this), and I was able to go into their office with
the papers, faithfully filed and findable by our former Adminstrator, and sort
out the thing. God willing, by the end of this week, he might finally get his
money. But it’s incredibly difficult for illiterate or poor people to navigate
a system, which in theory is supposed to benefit them. In the end, I think many
people might give up, leaving money in the bank for the nation to invest…
My Split-screen tension was worse in last week because we had another round of online MCC leadership training over 3 evenings. This time I had to enlist the help of a taxi to pick the kids up and bring them home because the start time of the training was exactly when the kids were ready to be picked up.
They were even more resourceful about helping out and making
dinner and getting to their homework – I guess they are getting used to this
kind of drill. But it really makes me sad and tired when I just don’t have any
evening time to spend with them. And it’s pretty hard to keep concentrating on
work discussion up to 8 pm, when I need to get up at 5 am every day to get us
out of the house on time.
David's burritos
Paul has been working very, very hard there in Ethiopia,
and has a huge head start in fully understanding the partners and projects
there. I’m glad I have at least a small inkling of what our work will look like
in the future, but for now, it’s also been really hard to keep up while I’m far
from the center of action. We are in the midst of a recruitment process for a
new Ethiopian team member. Due to unavoidable delays, Paul needed to stay a
week longer in Addis so he could conduct in-person interviews (I was online of
course).
My work buddy Tramp
He was finally supposed to be flying back and arriving
this evening—right now! Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon, his CV test for travel
came back positive. It was absolutely devastating news. We are so weary of
being apart. So weary. We are definitely a couple that is better together. And
it’s scary to contemplate the possibility that he could get sick and be alone
in a different country. Thankfully, up until now, he remains symptom-free. Would
you please pray that he remains healthy and that he will be able to return to
us as soon as possible?
That’s all for now.
BONUS PHOTOS:
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| View from our commute to school -- lovely but I've done too much driving (2hrs / day). |
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| Yours truly, with camera-shy Oren |
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| An enormous mango, and it was tasty! |
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| visiting the neighbor cats |
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| Playing after school |
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| Dance practice for "Matilda" |
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| aloes by our house |
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