Year 2 compared to Year 1...

We are happy to be back in Dar es Salaam, serving at HOPAC! It's hard to explain the difference between our first month in TZ last year compared to now but I wanted to touch on it as best I can. We are thankful for the parts that felt like we were coming "back home" as we landed in Dar on August 9 this year, although it can be hard to reconcile that with how much we miss our families and the comfort of being in our own culture in the US.

So, here's a small picture to compare Year 1 to Year 2 - Wesley's birthday celebration: 2018 vs 2019. 

2018

When we first arrived in Tanzania last year, it was August 15th. Honestly, our heads were spinning and we were trying to find ways to keep bits of "regular life" for the kids, and for us (despite no McDonald's or Goldfish crackers here). Wesley's 7th birthday was on August 22nd and Chris had started new-hire orientation a few days before so he was at school all day (which equaled a more emotional mom at home as we were unpacking). So, it was just me and the kids at home - adjusting to this new place, not sure how to get around, no car, not knowing many people yet, and feeling waves of homesickness. But, we celebrated our sweet Wesley!

A new friend helped me arrange a car to the grocery store where there's a coffee shop next door along with a playground. I got cupcakes for the kids (iced coffee for me!) and Wesley got to pick out a present at the store (a toy car which he still loves!). I honestly don't remember much else of the day except that Wes had such a good attitude even though we weren't with family, we're in this completely new culture, we don't know how to communicate. I was asking him about all this last night and he reminded me that we made pancakes for his birthday dinner - he always remembers pancakes!

So, it was a rather simple birthday coupled with jet lag and uncertainty of what was ahead, while grasping for "normalcy" in this new life, but still the kids were smiling. Thank you, Lord!

2019

Jumping ahead... this year we arrived in Dar on August 9th, picked up at the airport by a dear friend (and 2 of her boys) in her van that was stocked with snacks for us as well as dinner for that night! Our kids played happily in the long car ride back to our house. Again, going to our house in TZ it was that weird mix of feeling like coming home but also not totally feeling rooted here as our worlds constantly feel like they are shifting. Which I guess they are. 

(Side note: One sweet blessing as we got to our house - Anna was walking in the front door and she said "I just love this house, momma". Thank you, Lord. Here are a couple pictures from the day we got home to Dar.)

Wesley's birthday (still on August 22nd :) was far different this year, except one similarity was that Chris was at work. We invited one of Wesley's best buddies over for the day to play and hang out. A year ago at this time, I couldn't comprehend driving 45 minutes into town (Peninsula area), on my own, on the left side of the road, dodging motorbikes and cows, to pick up a kid for a playdate - but now it's something we do often and the route is familiar. The kids had a great time and we enjoyed cupcakes to celebrate Wesley's birthday at lunch. 

Dinnertime: we now have some favorite places to go as compared to last year where we had no idea where to go! So we went out to Wesley's favorite spot - an Indian restaurant (the real reason he loves it is because they have a huge play area with a climbing wall and really good kids' pizza. But Chris and I sure enjoy the good food!). 

That day felt good. A sort of accomplishment to celebrate a birthday together knowing a bit more about how to do life here, knowing some spots that we enjoy and feel comfortable, because truthfully we often do still feel unsettled and out of place living in such a different culture from our own.

We are thankful for how God has opened our eyes to see the ways He is helping us adjust.

The Lord put this passage on my heart as I was writing....
"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." -Psalm 139

Catch Up!

Hello from TZ! Well, it's mid-May, halfway through our 3rd (and final) school term of the year, and it's been 3 months since our last blog post (sorry). So, it's a catch-up post of mostly pictures and some snippets of info.

FAMILY VISITS!

Chris' parents (Rollie and Sandi) visited for over 3 weeks. We LOVED showing them around HOPAC and Dar - and you can only imagine how excited the kids were to have Nana and Papa here! Uncle Jonny came for a couple weeks too - super special.

Bet you can imagine the tears of joy from our side when we got to see and finally hug Nana and Papa!!!

Family dinner!

Sandi read to Laura's kindergarten class while she was here

And they got to encounter a good ol' power outage (8+ hours)

Wesley with Nana and Papa after his Grade 1 assembly

Uncle Jonny doing the mile run with Wes and his buddies

Out and about with Uncle Jonny - we adored having him!

On safari!!

Service Emphasis Week (SEW)

Service Emphasis Week is when the whole school, grades K-12, get involved with service projects in the community!

Chris helped lead a group of Grade 11-12 guys who taught a football camp for boys from neighborhood schools

Laura's kindergarten class helped host a neighborhood preschool 

Connection with a new friend

We loved getting connected with a new friend...our good friend in IL connected us with Emma who was coming to Dar for 8 weeks for research work. We adored having Miss Emma!

Anna loved her Miss Emma, who Anna will quickly tell you is a nurse! :)

Swahili lessons continue

Ahh, Swahili lessons. Have to say learning a language is not one of my gifts, and I know I don't study enough, but it's been helpful and fun and mind-stretching. Here's a picture of my two dear friends (Mandy on left and Allison on right) who I've been studying with, along with our very patient teacher Eli. 

Grade 1 and 2 Basketball after-school activity

Chris is doing an amazing job leading a basketball FASA (fun after school activity) on Tuesdays for Grade 1 & 2 kids (he probably has around 20-25 each week). The kids LOVE it and seem to really have a blast doing the drills and games he's teaching them. And, the girls and I sit and watch while eating a frozen juice (or Laura is off catching grasshoppers, more likely).

Ahh, rainy season. So it does exist.

We started to wonder about this rainy season that everyone has been talking about. At first we heard it'll be end of February/beginning of March - but nothing. Then we heard late March. Nothing. Then April. Again, nothing. And now it's finally here. I'm not a fan of the huge rains, which equates to very muddy roads and extra mosquitos, but we are all enjoying the cooler weather!!

Waiting at the stoplight by school

This is the view on our dirt road - we had to find another way around for a few mornings until this dried up more

Wish this picture did justice for this crazy downpour

We're looking forward to sharing more with you as we wrap up our third and final term of the school year. Lots to do in the next 5 weeks!
Much love,
Lindstroms

A weekend in Nairobi vs. A weekend in Dar es Salaam

The other weekend we did life in different locations - Chris in Kenya and the four of us at home in Dar...and here's how it went! 

Feb 14-18...Chris went to Nairobi, Kenya with the HOPAC U-18 boys and girls basketball teams for a big tournament called ICSA (International Christian Schools of Africa). Chris helped organize HOPAC's participation in the tournament and oversaw the trip. There were 20 students from HOPAC - 10 boys and 10 girls - and they competed against 5 other Christian international schools from around Africa. 

Group picture of the basketball teams from all of the schools. HOPAC players are in orange jerseys.

It was held at Rosslyn Academy and Chris said it was a really great weekend. During the tournament, chapel services were held twice a day for all teams involved. The focus was on who Christ is and the choice we each have to make to either say "Yes" or say "No" to following Him. The HOPAC teams played well and had a blast - both the girls and boys finished in 3rd place!! As much as Chris doesn't like to be away from our family, he values these times as he gets to connect more with the students and build those relationships. Even though he doesn't coach those specific teams, it's still a unique opportunity to spend time together.

Chris said that Rosslyn Academy divided up all their students and assigned them one of the visiting schools to cheer for. So each school had a banner made for them and a built-in cheering section! What an awesome way to encourage each other! Here's the "GO HOPAC" sign that was there for our teams.

All the teams at the end of the tournament - what a fun group and weekend!

Now back to Dar es Salaam...while Chris was gone those 4 nights I was at home with the kids (which doesn't seem too long, but I've determined that spouses-traveling while living in a foreign country multiplies the amount of time away :). So here's what our weekend looked like....Thursday was a regular school day and after school we went to the playground at our grocery store with friends (which included picking up fried chicken for dinner - easy meal!). Then Friday came and the kids were off of school...a friend (who is also new to Tanzania) invited us to a waterpark. Neither of us knew that here, you don't go to a waterpark before 1pm. They say the park is open at 9:30am, but nothing is running or going on. We got there at 11am and we were the only people there in this huge park. Eventually an hour later a few slides came on and the kids had a BLAST!

Can you spot Wesley and Laura? Anna stuck close by my side so you won't see her in the pictures.

Wes and Laura and their friend at the top of the slide where Wes hit his chin. This picture makes the slide look bigger than it actually is!

Then the fun ended as Wes ended up cracking his chin open which meant it was time for stitches. However, I was so grateful. Grateful for my friend at the waterpark to help when it happened; another friend close-by to watch my girls while I took Wes to the clinic; recommendations for a specific clinic so I knew right where to go. Very thankful! And Wes was so brave with the stitches! 

Right before the nurse removed our make-shift bandage to clean him up for the procedure. This clinic was amazing!

Can you see the stitches under his chin?

After all that, Saturday and Sunday were more low-key...we invited a couple kids over to play, watched a movie that night and pretty much enjoyed Sunday at home. Very happy to have Daddy return on Monday afternoon!