Puppies and Halloween and Birthdays, Oh My!

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

What a whirlwind this past month has been.  And while I’d like to hope things will calm down soon, I have a feeling that now until the end of the year is going to be just as eventful.  But before we get into what has gone on the past couple weeks, I have an exciting announcement!

Keeping Kids in School: Tanzanian Student Scholarship Fundraiser 

For those of you who have been following me for some time, you may remember the fundraiser we had last year around this time for three students here in Tanzania.  These were students who I had sponsored myself during my first year here, but due to the nature of my volunteer position, I was unable to afford to continue supporting.  Within days, you, my incredible friends and family, had donated more than enough money to send those students to school, and with those extra funds we were able to ensure they had adequate uniforms as well as transportation.  It is that time of year again my friends.  School fees will be due come Christmas time, and, with your help, I would love to tell these sweet students and especially their parents, that once again they will be able to attend excellent schools, without fear of not having enough money to feed and clothe their family.  This year we are once again raising funds for Damas and Joseph Venance, sons of the bus driver Venance at the school where I taught in Morogoro, but also their youngest brother Eliya, who will be attending preschool in January.  The total needed for these three boys for the whole year is just $800.00.  Any donation, any amount, makes a difference in the lives of these boys and their family.  And this year, anyone who donates will receive a mask, made from African kitenge fabric by local artisan Thresia Ntezibwa, as a token of my gratitude for your support.  The link will be shared on Facebook this week, so keep your eyes out for that!

So, what’s been going on since we last talked? 

Internet Update

Tanzania held its presidential election on October 29th, but starting two days before, everyone in the country lost access to social media networking platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.  When it first happened, I assumed that it was due to our spotty connection here in the village just outside of town.  We stopped into our cell carrier’s office in town to question the outage and we were informed that the entire country had no service, and when we asked why we were told, “because of the election.  It’ll probably be back in a couple days.”  At the time, trying to imagine going a couple days without being able to communicate or use any social media seemed like an eternity.  But the days passed, the election came and went, the current president was reelected, articles from outside reporters questioned the legitimacy of the election and the amazement of taking away communication in the entire nation, the opposition party held protests into the week after the election, and we remained with no network.  Any time the subject came up with coworkers or people in town, the common remark was something along the lines of, “well, yes, we need to protect against interference in the election.  You know, people can post things and say things.”  to which I politely smiled and nodded.  Finally, Saturday morning, eleven days after it was initially cut, we regained access to social media.  I got by during the eleven days by purchasing daily international plans on my AT&T SIM card, rather than using my Tanzanian SIM card, which allowed me to use the internet normally, albeit sparingly.  To say we are thankful to have the internet back is a massive understatement.  

Daisy Update

We noticed a couple months back that our sweet dog Daisy was looking a bit plumper around the middle than usual.  A couple weeks after we first noticed, it started to become increasingly clear that she was indeed pregnant.  We’ve had our eye on her, knowing that it would be time for puppies any time, but with me being so sick I kept hoping that she would hold out a couple days or even a week longer.  Sure enough, last Monday evening after my first day back in the classroom, I went to give Daisy her food and found that there were already two tiny puppies with her in her house.  Joseph and I were able to move Daisy and the two babies into the living room and tried to keep her comfortable as she had two more puppies.  Daisy did great and all four baby girls were healthy.  After about five days in the guest room, we moved all five back to Daisy’s house where they are growing, both in size and in cuteness, by the day.  That brings our tally of animals to nine. (We had a turtle, but he ran away.  Apparently that's possible.)

Health Update

After taking new medications for my “amoeba” I had several days where I was feeling pretty much normal.  Last Friday I had the first day in nearly three weeks where I was able to eat three normal meals.  But last weekend brought with it more stomach problems and fatigue.  By Sunday afternoon, I was about to lose it.  I scheduled a TeleDoc appointment with a doctor from the US to get a third opinion on what might be going on.  Upon telling the doctor my diagnosis and my symptoms, he told me that if I were in the U.S., he would have me admitted to the hospital to do a full workup, give me IV fluids, and monitor my vitals over several days to try to identify exactly what was going on.  Frantically trying to figure out what to do, which hospital in which city I would need to go to in order to get that kind of care, how to arrange travel and when we could leave, I made a call to the ELCA country coordinator Daudi to get his advice.  He suggested that I make a call to Dr. Steve Swanson, a fellow ELCA missionary doctor working in Arusha near Kilimanjaro.  He and his family are from the States, but they have lived and worked in hospitals here for many years.  ‘Of course!’ I thought to myself, a swell of relief washing over me.  Steve would know exactly what to do.  I was able to speak with him about an hour later.  Just moments into me explaining my symptoms, he was able to re-diagnose me with Giardia (you can Google it if you want, it’s not very pleasant).  He gave me three different treatment plans and told me to keep him updated on how I was doing.  We were able to get the medicine Monday morning and I’ve finished my dose already.  This week is the best I’ve felt yet, but my stomach isn’t back to normal quite yet.  Dr. Steve told me that it’s possible to have slight improvement with treatment, but not always clear the infection with one dose, so I’m continuing to monitor my symptoms.  I can’t express the hope and relief I felt after talking with Dr. Steve.  Being sick for over three weeks, not knowing which medical advice to trust or if the medicine I received would help, and really just wanting to be home, hearing him tell me “you’re going to be fine” brought me some much needed peace.  I can’t thank him enough for that.  

Halloween

All last week I had been planning what to do to celebrate Halloween with the kids here at KEMPS.  Most of them were familiar with the holiday, having been taught by many other American English teachers over the years, but we spent time in English class reading and learning about the history of the Halloween and where the traditions come from (a good lesson for me as well).  Joseph and I went to town and bought goodies, making sure to have enough for all the kids, and I found free printable masks in all different animals and characters.  One of the teachers made individual bags of popcorn for all the kids, and I made sure to download a Halloween movie for them to watch at the end of the night.  When Halloween day came, my stomach bug was hitting me hard again.  Not able to keep much down or in, I felt tired and weak.  But after all of the preparations and the excitement around school, the show had to go on.  With a ton of help from Joseph and some of the older students, we spent all afternoon working with groups of students to color their mask of choice.  They punched holes and tied string to ensure the mask would fit tightly around their heads. After dinner, the students all gathered in the dining hall with their blankets, donning their beautiful masks.  I had given each of the dorm moms a different treat and instructed the kids where each of their five stops would be.  The only condition was that they had to say “trick or treat” and “thank you” at each stop.  They excitedly ran with their friends from place to place yelling “trick or treat!” and collecting sweets.  After trick or treating they came back to the dining hall and cuddled together on their blankets enjoying suckers, cookies, popcorn, and bubblegum as they watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”.  Though I was exhausted and a sweaty mess, the joy that celebrating Halloween brought these sweet kids was well worth it.  

Wedding Update

After the last update from our lawyer (we wouldn’t be hearing from Immigration until November or December) our November 21st wedding plans went out the window once again.  Joseph and I decided, with the help of our families, to have a church wedding here in Tanzania.  We wanted to have the wedding here at KEMPS and we knew we wanted to have our families, as well as our friends from Morogoro, here to celebrate with us.  Other than that, the details weren’t important to us.  But as soon as we asked the head teacher for permission and set the date (New Year’s Eve), it became incredibly clear that there was no getting around all the little details.  Madam Peace immediately made up a list of all the things we needed to start working on.  We had to print up cards to send to Mwanza and Morogoro and give to our friends here in Bukoba.  We met with the Assistant to the Bishop to cement the date and write out the formal announcement that would be made in the local churches the three Sundays leading up to the wedding.  We scheduled Joseph’s baptismal and communion training and set the date for his baptism.  We had a meeting with the staff of the school and assemble a committee to make sure that every detail was taken care of.  And all of this in a period of just a couple days.  Both of us are extremely overwhelmed, but we are trying our best to keep up and get everything taken care of.  Thankfully, we have a lot of friends to help us. 

 
Joseph’s Birthday

This past Friday, Joseph turned 33.  I had been struggling to figure out what to do to celebrate.  Since we live in such a small town, it’s hard to find foods to make a special meal, and since Joseph accompanies me any time I leave the school compound, going out to get him a gift without him knowing is pretty much impossible.  I decided to talk with Madam Peace and see if we could get a big cake so that we could celebrate with all the kids who love him almost as much as I do.  Thursday morning Joseph took us to town to try to find some fabrics for the wedding and we met with a tailor who knew someone who made cakes.  She made a quick call and a motorcycle came to meet us and show us where the baker lived.  We drove back through winding narrow streets to a small house where a young man, covered in flour, greeted us and told us that he would be glad to make the cake.  “It needs to be very big.  Very big.” Madam Peace reminded him before we left. After my classes Friday morning, Joseph and I spent his birthday working on wedding cards and running errands around town.  We stopped in a men’s shop where Joseph picked out some new jeans and a shirt.  Later in the evening, the baker arrived at school on the back of a motorcycle, holding the huge cake box.  “You said it needed to be big” he reminded us.  “I hope you enjoy!”  Madam Peace took the cake to the dining hall where all of the kids had gathered, and I grabbed some plates and candles from home.  I told Joseph that I was going to the dining hall to talk to Peace about the wedding layout.  After everything in the dining hall was ready, I asked a couple of sixth grade boys to go to tell Joseph that I had hurt myself in the dining hall and that he needed to come quickly.  Sure enough, moments later he walked in the door and the entire assembly cheered and broke into “Happy Birthday”.  He was so surprised.  We lit the sparkler candles and Joseph walked onto the stage, beaming with happiness.  We played music as he cut the cake and I served him a piece before he served everyone else (It’s traditional here to cut the cake into small pieces and the birthday boy or girl uses toothpicks to feed all the guests).  Class by class, the kids filed onto the stage to get their piece of cake from “Mister Joseph”.  Teacher Kalokola and the other dorm moms gathered and danced as they came on stage to get their piece of cake.  Joseph thanked everyone for helping him celebrate his special day, and for being part of his life.  Before finishing, we prayed for Joseph.  Thanking God for his life and asking Him to continue to bless and watch over him, for all of his days.  

With all that the past month has brought us, it’s been hard for me to stay focused on anything but what’s going wrong and the chaos and uncertainty that seems to surround us.  But again, that’s why writing this weekly blog is such a blessing to me.  Taking this hour or so each week to remember all of the good and the joy that can exist in the midst of sickness and loneliness and fear- signs from our creator that He can bring light to even the darkest places- it helps me to refocus.  I pray that you have an outlet in your life that helps you to refocus and remember the joy. 

Mungu akubariki,
Allee

If you would like to donate towards my work in Tanzania, you can send donations electronically using: 

Venmo: @Alison-Gomulka

Cash App: $AlisonGomulka

PayPal: PayPal.Me/AlisonRGomulka

Zelle: alisonrg24@gmail.com

If you would prefer to send a check, you can mail it to:

Alison Gomulka

15601 Shady Brook Lane

College Station, TX

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Happy Birthday Joseph!

Millie

Ruby

Lola

Penny