Back Home and Pictures of the Trip

I am back home, since four days ago. Last night I went to bed before 8 p.m. and slept like a log until 12 midnight. Then I dozed off and on until 5:30 a.m. I hope to be back to normal soon.

Tuesday, I saw my client who is due next. She and her family are doing well. In the meantime, I'm studying my plane ticket to Lebanon for February 5. Maybe I should enjoy Christmas first.

This Christmas, we're doing without gifts. It will be the first time in our lives to do this. But with the economy the way it is, and with three children in college, we just don't have money to get gifts. None of us does. I am for one really looking forward to celebrating Christmas this way. It's a little hard on the kids, but I truly believe that it will be good for them, too.

Emily wants us to have doughnuts for Christmas morning, since we won't be busy doing anything else. She offered to help. Okay, doughnuts it is.

But back to international births. I have summarized my thoughts on those. There are two very important things for an international birth. #1. Good prenatal health. It helps if the mother is taking natural prenatal vitamins. Also helpful is prenatal care, either by a local doctor or a midwife. #2. A midwife who is willing to do things differently, and willing to try things she has not tried before. I will not go into details with this one, but suffice it to say that I thought long and hard about things I might have to do in Zanzibar, even though I didn't have to do any of them. It was very sobering.

Following are some pictures that I couldn't share while I was on the island, but I will now.

This is the first glimpse I had on the island.

Gilbert wearing Baba's (Daddy's) hat.
Moanaheri grating fresh coconut. After it is grated, water is added. Then the mixture is strained. The resulting cream of coconut is used to cook with. It is delicious, especially with cassava and sweet potato greens!"Jambo" means hello. Here it is on Bob's cappuccino!
Me at the local beach, about a quarter-mile from Bob and Rachael's house.

The north beach. It was beautiful.

The first picture of Wilberforce Ivan Gwassa!
Rachael and Wilberforce

The Deal

After the Spice Tour two days ago, I was talking to Bob. I said, "When I come back, I want to see you climb a coconut tree." I knew from previous conversations with Rachael that he used to climb coconut trees.

"When you come back??" he responded. "I tell you what. If you come back, I will climb a coconut tree! I will begin to prepare now."

So that's the deal. If I come back, Bob will climb a coconut tree. Good incentive, as if I needed one.

So Long, Zanzibar!

Well, this is my last full day on the island! Part of me is very sad, as it has been a wonderful visit. It is a beautiful island, and Bob and Rachael have been so easy to be with.

Yesterday I went to the beach early by myself. It was low tide, and the mangrove trees were out of the water. There were many shells, and I nabbed all the good ones that I saw. A woman was on the beach when I got there, and after some time, she sidled up close to me. She had been watching me, and as I made eye contact with her, she handed me a couple of shells. I asked her if she spoke English, and she said, "Some small." So we walked and talked and picked up shells and coral. She has two children, a girl and a boy, 3 and 5 years of age, she works in housekeeping at the nearby hotel, and she's Muslim. And her name is Aisha. And she's beautiful. I took our picture on the beach. She left me after we both left the beach. I loved the encounter.

Then Bob took me and Zawadi and Gilbert to a private spice farm. Oh, the spices! I got to see so many different species of flora, it was incredible! And we actually didn't cover that much ground. The tour leader spoke excellent English, and this was the way he led the tour: he described what we were seeing, and then waited to see if we knew the plant. It was so much fun! At the end of the tour he asked me if I was a farmer! I laughed. I can hear Beth laughing, too. No, not a farmer. But I do love the good plants of this Earth. I got to see (big breath; are you ready?) castor, cilantro, aloe, cardamom, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, vanilla, cocoa, coffee, jack fruit, giant passionfruit, soursop, starfruit, cucumber fruit, bush chili, neem, turmeric, mangosteen, and a man who climbed the coconut tree to throw down some coconuts for us! I will post that video when I get home. Film at eleven.

After the tour, we sat down to eat a meal, included in the priced of the tour. We had rice pilau, two kinds of sauce for it, red and yellow, and barracuda, and cardamom tea. I was hardly hungry, since on the tour, we had jack fruit, soursop, starfruit, and coconut milk and coconut. It was so amazing!

After the meal, I was able to purchase some spices at very reasonable prices. And just when Jackie didn't think I could enjoy anything more on the island....

Then last night we had some company come. They were Hussein and Inez. Hussein is Tanzanian, Inez is from Vienna, Austria. Inez has been living with Hussein on the island for the past five months, volunteering her time at the local hospital. She's an occupational therapist. She left today to go back to Austria, and will be there for at least a year. But of course she is now tied to the island, and said she will return. I was able to pray for her last night. And she is a wonderful person, having given five months of volunteer work to work with disabled children on the island. I really enjoyed meeting her.

I weighed Wilberforce just an hour or so ago. And he's already gained one or two ounces, even though he's just five days old!! He's thriving. Just wanted especially Grandpa and Grandma to know that.

I will leave tomorrow at 2:45 pm. I will fly to Nairobi, Kenya, arriving there about 4 pm. I have a long layover there, not leaving until 10 pm. Then I will arrive in Amsterdam the following morning about 8 am, and will leave there at 12 pm. I will arrive in Dallas on Sunday, Dec 14, at 2 pm, after about 30 hours of travel. Jackie and Emily will meet me to take me home. I know I will be tired, but very glad to see them.

Thank you all for sort of going on this trip with me through the blog. It has been so heartwarming and good. God is good. Please keep praying for Bob and Rachael. Their work is already good. And their God is faithful.

Spice

Well, Jan should be getting to DFW in about 2 hours. She's probably not looking forward to cold weather. She really enjoyed this hot island.

Today we really didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Wilberforce got milk and slept more than he had the previous 12-15 hours. I'm finding that his cord is not drying out as fast in this hot humid weather as I'm used to. But everything is damp here. I love it! My hair doesn't stick straight up in the morning when I get up! Everyone who has seen me as soon as I get up knows how funny I look. And my lips don't get chapped. I've used my chapstick once since I got here 9 days ago. My husband is saying to himself, "Wow!"

Today I just did laundry and helped around the house. I made sure Rachael rested. She's feeling much better today, but is still sleep deprived. So she's gone on to bed already at 9 pm.

Tomorrow Bob has made arrangements for us to take the Spice Tour (not Rachael). Many spices grow on Zanzibar, and I will see some of that. When we went to the north beach on Saturday I noticed a bunch of "something" drying on the road. When I asked Rachael what it was, she said it was cloves! Just out on sacks on the side of the road, drying. Hopefully I will bring some fresh spices home. After the tour, we will try to join a cooking class and then eat our cooking. I'll report later. Anyway, I know I will enjoy it. Bob is a wonderful host. Even with a new baby, and before that, a very pregnant wife, he has tried to make our stay enjoyable. And it has been. Thanks, Bob.

I'm coming home in three days. I am really ready to come home. It has been a nice visit, and I've enjoyed what I do immensely, and still am, but I miss Jackie and Natalie and Emily and Timothy. And all my friends. And I'm wondering how my client due in January is doing.

On to the next thing!

Thoughts

I woke up this morning early and didn't want to wake Jan, so I put the MP3 earphones in my ears and settled down to listen to some music. And on the second song, I began to weep. It's a song called simply "Jesus..." by Rich Mullins. Oh, it touched me so deeply. If you get a chance, find it somewhere and listen. You will be blessed. The heart's deepest desire is to be a part of Jesus' story, and to have Him whisper to us our part in His story, and to know we are His. After this beginning, all the rest of this day can be terrible, and it will still be okay. But it won't be terrible.

Bibi and Zawadi came for a few days. They arrived yesterday on the ferry from Dar es Salaam. "Bibi" is Swahili for grandmother, and she's Florence, Bob's mother. Zawadi is Bob's niece. Her name means "gift." She truly is. She's 8 years old, and she helps out tremendously with Gilbert. She plays with him and entertains him and watches him, a truly priceless gift. She also likes to play with my hair. I'm tickled at feeling a little hand in my hair, on my neck, even in my ears. Jan gave Zawadi a lock of her hair before she left. Bibi is also a precious gift, bringing helping hands with dishes and cooking, and helping to discipline Gilbert.

We said good-bye to Jan several hours ago, as she got on the airplane that was to take her back to Nairobi, Kenya, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Dallas. She loved her time here, and is taking back many pictures and videos of her time in Zanzibar for "my friend Connie." Pray for her to have a safe journey. She was a great assistant at Wilberforce's birth. She found out what Ashlea already knows, that you work hard as a midwife's assistant. And I truly am thankful for our time together. And I think that she encouraged Bob and Rachael with her presence and her laughter and her love.

This morning we all had a time of worship together, something I've been looking forward to, but what with the move, and swimming, and cooking, and the birth, we haven't done. So it was precious. We all shared, we sang some, and we prayed, and we read the Scripture. We shared our hearts, especially Bob and Rachael. It was good.

I just examined Wilberforce and he looks good. He has no signs of jaundice. I took his footprints and rejoiced that I don't have to do a newborn screen on him. This is what used to be called the PKU. It requires a heel stick, and I usually don't like to do it at all. So since we are not in the US, and it's not required, I am glad that I don't have to hurt him. Small blessings. Sigh of contentment.

Welcome, Baby!!!!

Baby Wilberforce Ivan Gwassa arrived very quietly at 7:21 pm in MBwene, Zanzibar Island, Tanzania!!

We rejoice with his coming. Thank you, Lord, for a normal birth. Rachael began her labor this morning at about 10 am. She pushed for 17 minutes, and he was born in the water, all 7 pounds, 13 ounces of him! He is 20 and 1/4 inches long. He has less hair than Gilbert did, and his face is rounder. Gilbert came into the room as soon as his brother was born, and very quietly admired him.

Rachael is recovering now. Please pray for a speedy recovery. We are admiring him as he sucks his thumb. Bob has gone for something to eat, Jan is holding and rocking the baby, and I'm through....

Praise the Lord!!! He is good.

I have tried to post a picture, but am not able. I will try to post a picture on my facebook.

White sands, and maybe later

Yesterday I didn't blog because we spent the day at the beach and on the road, and came in late. I was tired because of little sleep the night before (jet lag), and as soon as the dishes were done I went to bed.



In the morning we went to a beach on the northwestern side of the island. It was very different from the local beach just a quarter of a mile away. We pulled up to the private beach, and a nice man showed us where the restrooms, the bar, the showers, and the beach was. All you have to do to swim there is to buy a drink or some food. We bought both, and enjoyed ourselves. They brought up chaise longues covered with towels and put them under some shades. We went into the slightly cool water with water shoes on because the bottom is both sandy and rocky. It was lovely. Of course it was lovely. I spoke with Jackie last night and he said that it was 25 or 26 degrees in Texas. I'm so sorry. I'm sweating over here. And we enjoyed God's creation of the sand, the sun, the seashells, and the surf yesterday. I really do absorb the beauty and worship the Creator.



I used some sunscreen but still managed to get a little sunburned. But the sea glass, seashells, and coral that I picked up more than made up for it. Let other girls go to the malls. I love the beach.



It was so beautiful to watch Rachael and Gilbert, knowing that soon, perhaps in a day or so, there would be one more in the equation. Happysad.



We showered off on the beach, then headed up to the car. We saw some small monkeys in the trees as we waited for Bob to settle up the bill. I'm not sure if they were watching us more or we were watching them more. We all enjoyed it.



We headed further north, going all the way to the north end of the island. We got stopped by policemen about five times, Bob talking all the time. I think they think he's a guide without the permit. You know, because he's native and we're not. So he's met quite a few of the local policemen.



We stopped several times on the trek, once to see a family with a little 4-year-old girl who was paralyzed shortly after birth by malaria. The mother held her, and Bob asked me my opinion about what might be best for her health, from nutrition to physical therapy. Hmmm. In the meantime, Jan is playing with the group of children that has gathered, and there are happy squeals and dancing and laughter beside us.



We also stop to buy about 20 pineapples. And we eat one in two sittings and make juice out of another one for lunch today. All in all, we stay out all day. It's really hard to believe that you can do that on the island, but I get the feeling we didn't do half of what there is to be done here.



Oh, and Mom, they have okra here. I thought I recognized the plants but was unbelieving of my own eyes until I asked Rachael. And sure enough, it grows here. We had a papaya from the back yard papaya tree for breakfast today. And Bob planted a mango seed today, after we ate the delicious mango.



This morning I head out for a walk by myself. It's the first time I've been out of the house by myself, and I get pictures of the flame tree and the anglican church that's about two blocks away. I'm not afraid, and I really enjoy myself.



When I come in, I meet Rachael. She looks a little...different. She keeps working through the morning and makes us lunch, but right now she's taking a little nap. She may be working real hard later on today. I'll keep you posted.

I tried to upload a picture, and it sure messed with this computer's mind, so I don't know what I'm going to do when I need to show you all a picture of the little one! I'll try to figure it out...

Swimming

Hi all! This morning Rachael wanted exercise...so we walked a quarter of a mile to the beach!!! Gilbert had new flipflops that kept falling off his feet, so Jan finally took them off him and carried him. Fun!

There were two fishermen sitting in their canoe mending their nets. That is age-old, I thought. I took a picture of myself like the teenagers do, just holding the camera out at arm's length and clicking. Not bad, really.

There really is no surf on the west side of the island. The water is warm. Rachael takes off, swimming. I recall how she was a lifeguard for several years as an adolescent. She's already working on teaching Gilbert how to swim. He loves to splash anyone, but has the most fun splashing his Baba, his Daddy.

Jan has fun videotaping the several children that congregate and are playing on the beach. We find two starfish that are already dead and on the sand. I do my usual, looking for seashells, however plain they may be. They are mementos. I love seashells, and take some from every beach I visit. I love the beach. I love the beach.

We see a little jellyfish. And we have to warn Gilbert not to touch it. I'm grateful it doesn't touch me!

Tomorrow Bob's mother and her adopted granddaughter will come from the mainland. It will be good for Gilbert to see his Bibi.

It has rained again today. I learn that we are in the rainy season. It definitely makes sense. It has rained every day we've been here.

I can access my emails now. I have a ticket for Lebanon!!!!! And I can read emails from people I haven't seen or heard from in several years -- James Thompson and Josh and Abigail Ransom. I feel that God loves me. He indeed is full of compassion and lovingkindness. I read this both in Psalm 86 and in Joel 2. That is my Word for today.

Moanaherri, the housegirl for the Gwassa's, has a bad burn on her foot. I take my St. John's Wort oil and put it on the burn. I hope it will help. Bob says he will tell her it is pork oil. Oh boy.

Gilbert said a new word today. He was sitting at the table eating lunch with us, and suddenly said, "Wow!" I know he learned it from me or Jan. That's what Rachael and Bob said. And I think it's probably from Jan...It was so cute.

Love to all.

Just another day

Today we saw some of Stonetown, where we are staying. We visited the Anglican church and saw the old Arab fort, went into a holding cell for slaves, saw the boats and the harbor, and then went out to eat.

I ordered kingfish and plantain, and then shared a dessert with Jan that was a date cake with a wonderful creamy sauce. And fresh pineapple juice. I am enjoying Rachael's cooking, too.

Today Bob went to the market for groceries, carrying home baskets of oranges, coconuts, sweet potato greens, carrots, onions, potatoes that were still damp from just being dug, fresh beef wrapped in newspaper, cabbage, and I'm probably forgetting something. Rachael fixed us cassava and sweet potato greens for lunch. It was so good. Gilbert ate a double portion.

Gilbert played in the water outside today. He got soaking wet, then put some water in a bucket and brought it inside to get the inside of the house wet, too!

Rachael washed all the baby clothes and diapers and wipes that we brought for her. Jan accused her of nesting, but Rachael denied it.

It rained again today. So far it has rained every day that we've been here.

Oh, by the way, if you are emailing me, I cannot seem to get to my email. The server times out. So I apologize, to all of you who are wondering why I'm not responding.

My facial skin is still burning. I don't know what I'm reacting to, but I think I will stop taking the antibiotic I brought against malaria. I may be having an allergic reaction to it.

Looking forward to the baby, but enjoying just being with Bob and Rachael...

Finished the Move

Bob finished moving today. He is tired.

I have had fun with Gilbert. I am learning Swahili. Paca is cat. Moto is hot, or fire. Habarigani means how are you? Mtoto is baby.

I also have developed some burning, stinging skin around my eyes, and have been sneezing and blowing my nose all day. Please pray that I will know what is going on...it may be a reaction to the malaria medicine, or a reaction to some bug spray that was used on the house, or something else.

Love all of you.

I'll check back in later!

We Are in Zanzibar

We got to the island today about 1 pm. It was a long trip, but all the luggage got here. I only had one bottle break on the way, my Rescue Remedy. Praise God!

Rachael didn't have the baby before we got here, either. We have had naps and we're helping them to finalize moving. Tonight is their first night in the new home.

I don't know how often I can blog because they still don't have internet connections at the new house. This time we're at the old house, connecting with you.

Got great pictures of the island on our descent! It's a lovely island, too...

God bless you all, and keep checking the blog!