Coming Home

I wasn’t sure that coming to Tanzania would feel like coming home. In all honesty it was very hard to say goodbye to everyone and get on those plans to head back here. I got comfortable in my life back in America, 3 months is a long time, but when I walked out of that airport in DAR, I knew that I was home.

We took 3 flights to get back. The first flight Aiden did so well that nearly everyone on the plan commented on what a good baby he is. He slept most of it and when he wasn’t sleeping he was smiling and flirting. The second flight was a bit rougher. The first few hours he fussed pretty much the entire time. I tried walking, I tried standing, I tried laying him the bed they provided for him, I tried passing him off to his dad, feeding him, anything and everything but nothing worked. He eventually calmed down when it was time for everyone to sleep, thank you Jesus! Afterwards I was still told that he is such a good baby and I was doing a good job. (I must’ve looked a little frazzled.) The third flight was flawless again. Aiden just smiled or slept or ate or pooped; A nice way to enter the country. 

Bus Ride

SO many things to say about coming back! We stayed 2 nights in Dar and then caught a bus back to Njombe. We were both eager  to return and tired of traveling so we caught a taxi right away from Njombe to Uhekule. Again Aiden did so well on the bus ride. This picture pretty much says it all. 

The kids were beyond excited to meet the newest member of Sunrise. It was dark when we arrived so no pictures this time, but I can tell you they weren’t any less excited than the last time I returned. They all ran out to the road and were chasing after the taxi as we came in, all the people in the car were laughing. It was such a beautiful return.

The girls tend to steal Aiden the most and hide him away in their room. 

Tumpe

Leida, one of our staff

They are all so adorable with him! Sifeli’s family loves him as well, especially Sifeli’s sister. She is probably the only Tanzanian I would trust to watch Aiden. The differences are so vast between here and America. In America if a baby is sleeping you let the baby sleep, here if I am walking through the village and Aiden is asleep in the moby wrap, people will yell in his face and try to shake him awake. LUCKILY Aiden is a hard sleeper and sleeps right through. However the hardest battle is the cold/hot battle. Here, they dress their babies with at least 3-5 layers of clothes, I hat, and a thick blanket. This is not snowy weather, this is like 75-80 degree weather, with full sunshine. SO Aiden does not dress this way, and it is a constant battle every day. “Oh your child is so cold, where is his hat? Where is his blanket? Where is his sweater?” I finally just started saying that he is “nusu mzungu” which means “half whitey” so they laugh and leave me alone. However some people do not stop and I do tend to get frustrated and just insist that he is not cold. 

I used to be able to walk from the orphanage to the “town area” of the village in about 25-30 minutes. Now it takes like 45-1 hour. I stop every 5 feet, go through the greetings, everyone wants to look at Aiden, everyone wants to congratulate me, and everyone wants to say thank you. This one women told me congratulations about 100 times and after I said thank you about 10 of them I just smiled and nodded. I wasn’t sure how long we would be standing there having that same conversation! Everyone is now a relative of Sifeli’s and in turn a relative of mine and Aiden’s. “Oh I am Sifeli’s first cousin’s, brother’s, sister’s, uncle’s, wife’s, son’s, cousin. Now we are family!” 

Aiden is going to be a taxi driver.

 

Aiden likes to try and hold his own bottle now!

 

We have started to build the house! Hopefully it will be finished in 2 weeks. This house is something else. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and dining room. AND did I mention the porch?? Also room to have a garden. We are going to put water inside since the bathrooms are inside. Sifeli’s youngest brother is going to move in with us (he is 17). Unfortunately that makes the cost go up, it is now going to cost around 9-10 million, which is still only $5000-$6000. SO everyone is welcome to visit, we will have plenty of room!