Hello Again!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

        Long time, no blog!
        As I thought about writing my blog this week after a nearly two month break, I felt overwhelmed trying to decide where to begin and what to include, as so much has happened.  First, I hope that you had a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season and that the start to your 2021 has been full of those things as well.  Second, Joseph and I are married! 
        After spending Christmas in Zanzibar, we met my mom, dad, sister Lauren, and cousin Christine in Dar es Salaam and then travelled to Bukoba.  It was the first time for my parents and Joseph to meet in person and it’s hard to describe the incredible joy it brought us to finally all be together.  We had a few days to just relax together before the chaos of wedding preparation began.  We shared meals and told stories and laughed and laughed and laughed.  Joseph quickly adjusted to my mom’s sense of humor and my parents were struck by how gentle and kind he was.  Lauren took hundreds of pictures of Daisy and the puppies, and Christine took an interest in the many Tanzanian and East African history books left by former missionary teachers.  
        When the day before the wedding arrived, things started to get crazy.  Our friends from Morogoro (a 40 passenger bus full) arrived mid-morning after traveling for 24 hours.  The campus which had been nearly deserted for the past month was suddenly full of life again.  Being reunited with our dear friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen in over a year, was wonderful.  Some of the staff from KEMPS worked to prepare breakfast for them while they got settled in one of the dormitories.  In the early evening the second bus of guests arrived, this time Joseph’s family from Mwanza.  We could hear them singing long before we saw the bus turn into the driveway, and they continued as they exited the bus, greeting everyone with hugs and kisses and cheers.  It was a bit surreal to watch as Joseph’s mother and father embraced my own parents and tried their best to communicate with what little words both knew of the other’s language.  As the sun set, preparations for the next day began.  The decorator arrived and furniture started getting arranged.  We met with the assistant to the bishop who would be presiding over the service, and he walked us through what the service would entail and which parts of the service my mom would be leading.  All eighty of our guests shared a feast of rice and beans, and roast beef and vegetables, before breaking into a song and dance circle in the middle of the campus.  I wanted to stay there dancing with these dear friends all night, but at around nine I headed to the hotel with my family to rest and get ready for the big day.  Mom, Lauren, Christine and I painted our nails and did mud masks, talking about the events of the day and what we were expecting from the next.  My mom, who had jokingly been asking Joseph and me over and over again if we were sure we wanted to get married, asked me one more time, to which I told her again, “yes”.  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.  
        The wedding service was to start at 10:30, which meant we needed to be up and getting ready early. Of course, when my alarm went off at 6:00, it was raining.  Although I hoped it would just be one of those short morning showers, I knew it probably wasn’t.  Christine and Lauren did my hair and we all had breakfast together before getting ready.  I did my own makeup and the girls helped me into my dress, handmade by a local tailor.  At 10:00, right on time, Joseph arrived at the hotel and mom brought him upstairs so we could see each other.  It was such a happy moment, full of excitement for what we had been waiting for, for what seemed like forever.  It was still raining pretty heaving as we made our way down to the car and drove back to KEMPS.  The car was quickly surrounded by friends and family members cheering and singing, all snapping pictures with their phones.  The photographer and videographer were also there, using large flashes to document everything.  I tried to decide where we should go to wait for the ceremony to start and decided it made the most sense to go to my house.  What I didn’t expect was that everyone followed us, pouring into my small living room, continuing to take photo after photo.  After what seemed like a half hour, the pastor appeared in the doorway and told us it was time to start.  He handed us special programs for the service and we made our way to the dining hall.  It was decorated beautifully.  The ceremony was supposed to take place outside facing Lake Victoria, but because of the rain which continued to pour, we decided to have everything take place in the dining hall.  After some additional set up to prepare for the service in the new location, it was finally time to begin.  
        The choir from a local church and a six piece band lead us into the dining hall where the nearly 150 guests, 40 of them students from my fifth and sixth grade classes, stood clapping and cheering.  The service was pretty similar to a U.S. wedding, following the Lutheran liturgy.  My mom gave the message and the assistant to the Bishop translated from English into Swahili.  After the vows, she also gave the official pronouncement of our marriage.  We had communion and closed with a hymn before the Bishop, who was in attendance, gave the final benediction.  It really was a beautiful service.  The rain had finally lightened up so we made our way down to the original site for the ceremony to take pictures before getting in cars to parade down into town and take pictures by the lake.  The car Joseph and I were to ride in was an open backed sort of Jeep.  We were supposed to stand up on the back seats so that we could be seen above the car.  We took our places, my train fanned out over the back of the car, but as we waited for the other guests to get into their cars, we saw rain clouds returning.  All of the drivers hopped into their cars and tried to encourage people to hurry so we would miss the rain.  
        We took off following the truck full of band members, all of us weaving back and forth down the road, honking constantly.  People walking down the road stopped and waved, some took pictures and cheered.  As we started driving down the hill into town, the rain started again.  Joseph pulled out an umbrella and tried to hold it firmly above us, but the wind picked up and turned the umbrella inside out.  I was trying to hold on tight as to not lose my balance and my face was being pelted with rain.  I looked at Joseph who was still trying to wrestle the umbrella and thought to myself, “why are we doing this?”.  With the rain we wouldn’t even be able to take pictures in front of the lake.  We should’ve just stayed at school.  I slowly sunk down in the seat, trying to duck my head under the front seat roof to keep from ruining my hair and makeup.  When we finally made it to the hotel in town where we were supposed to take photos, the rain continued to pour.  Most guests waited in their cars, hoping the storm would blow over quickly, but the wedding party made their way to our car, helping us out and into the lobby.  My whole family could sense my frustration and tried to make light of the situation.  After about thirty minutes the storm had subsided to a sprinkle and we slowly walked outside to the hotel garden to take pictures.  (I should add that during all of this, Joseph stayed totally calm and positive, because that’s just who he is.)
By the time we started the drive back to KEMPS it was close to 2:00 and the weight of the morning’s events had started to hit me.  If it was up to me, we could’ve ended the festivities there, (I mean, we were married and that’s the most important part, right?) but I knew the day was far from over.  After arriving on campus and more pictures, we were directed into the dining hall to start the meal.  There was a huge spread of chicken, beef, fish, bananas, rice, beans, vegetables, and fruit, as well as all kinds of soda.  Every person left the line with a plate overflowing with food and a big smile on their face.  Once everyone had finished eating it was time to cut the cake.  One of the teachers from KEMPS was the MC for the reception and he instructed us as to how to cut and feed each other.  There were four cakes total and after we cut ours, we then ceremoniously gave the other three cakes to the three groups present – Bukoba/KEMPS, Joseph’s family, and our friends from Morogoro.  Once the cakes were distributed, they were immediately packaged up to be distributed later.  After cake, it was time for the champagne toast.  Again, each group received a bottle of champagne to distribute, and, after Joseph and I served each other, everyone processed up to “cheers” us with their soda or water, giving us hugs and handshakes.  
Then it was time for entertainment.  There was a group of five hip hop dancers who did flips as they danced and performed a comedy skit.  Then there was a traditional Haya drumming group who drummed, sang, and danced, and our friends from Bukoba couldn’t help but to join in with their tribal steps.  Six of our Maasai friends from Morogoro performed one of their tribal dances as well.  Lastly, our students from KEMPS danced and gave a sweet toast to Joseph and me.  The DJ did a great job of mixing in popular music between performances so that everyone could dance together.  At one point Joseph’s mom came and took my mom’s hand and brought her down to the dance floor to dance with her.  Minutes later, his dad followed, bringing my dad down to the dance floor by the hand, and the four of them danced together.  
The giving of gifts was also a very ceremonious event.  Each group had various gifts to present to us.  When it was their turn, the entire group processed forward, carrying the gifts above their heads, and showed them to us before collecting them all up front.  We received pots and pans and traditional artwork and lots and lots of fabric to have matching clothing made.  This was also the time when our parents offered words of wisdom and blessing.  When it was Joseph’s father’s turn, he announced that he was giving us a plot of land in his family’s village close to the Tanzanian/Kenyan border, as well as a cow! 
As the celebration came to a close, a representative from each group was invited to come forward and give some final words of thanks and blessing.  As I looked around the room and listened to words of gratitude and love from some of our dearest friends, I squeezed Joseph’s hand tight, totally overwhelmed at how God brought all of this together.  The reception ended at around six o’clock and was followed by more last minute pictures outside, where the weather had finally cleared up and the sky was turning a beautiful pinky purple.  We walked back to my house and changed into comfier clothes before having some time with the four of our parents where they exchanged gifts with each other and offered words of thanksgiving to God and to one another.  It was close to nine when my family finally took the car back to the hotel.  Joseph and I stayed back to make sure that the leftover food and drink were being distributed so that no one was hungry.  I had forgotten completely that it was New Year’s Eve and most of the guests would be staying up singing and dancing until midnight.  Once we were sure everyone was okay, Joseph and I went to the hotel where we immediately crashed.  
All of the out of town guests left the following day, the campus hushed once again.  We spent a few days recovering from the wedding.  It was so good to have my family there to process everything, how different and wonderful it was.  Joseph brought all of his belongings from his house to mine, and my family helped us get everything settled.  After just over a week in Bukoba, we all headed to the airport to travel to Kilimanjaro.  We only had about 48 hours there, but we made the most of it.  We stayed at a beautiful German hotel situated in the rainforest, with a huge porch overlooking the most incredible view of Kilimanjaro.  Our one full day in the area was spent in the town of Moshi, hiking in the foothills of the mountain up to a waterfall that flowed from the icy top of the mountain range.  After a pretty exhausting hike, our guide took us to his family’s land where we were served lunch before he showed us their coffee farm.  After taking us down to see the coffee trees, he and several “coffee boys” showed us the process for harvesting the beans and making fresh coffee.  It was one of the coolest experiences, followed by hands down the best coffee I’ve ever had.  Obviously, we all left with several bags of the fresh beans.  That evening we were hosted by an ELCA missionary couple teaching seminary courses at a university in Arusha.  We ate delicious Mexican food and shared great conversation. The day we were to leave Kilimanjaro, Joseph’s cousin Moi who lives in the area invited us to his family’s home.  In true Tanzanian style, they had gone all out.  Every relative and friend within a twenty mile radius was there to greet us.  We were served water and fruit as an appetizer, followed by a huge lunch of fresh, goat and chicken roasted over the open fire, as well as rice, beans, and vegetables.  Before we left, Moi sat down with all of us and expressed his gratitude for making time to visit him as well as his thanksgiving to God for bringing our two families together.  
        From Kilimanjaro we flew to Zanzibar to spend three nights at a gorgeous, remote beach resort.  We spent the days wading in the clear turquoise Indian ocean waters, napping under beach cabanas, and sipping delicious cocktails from the swim up bar.  It was quite literally paradise, and to be there with the people I love the most in the world brought me more joy than I can put into words.  Our last day in Zanzibar we spent some time wandering through Stone Town, the main city on the island, before taking the short 20 minute flight back to Dar es Salaam. My parents and Lauren were flying back to the US that same night.  All at once, what originally seemed like all the time in the world, had come to an end.  After tearful goodbyes and the biggest hugs, we saw them off, and Joseph, Christine and I headed to a hotel in the city.  We had two days together before Christine’s flight back to Amsterdam.  After one last hard to say goodbye, Joseph and I stayed another night in Dar es Salaam, before catching a flight home early the next morning.  
        When we made it back to Bukoba, we jumped right into our new routine.  Boarding students had already returned to campus and the staff were busy preparing class schedules and lesson plans.  Also, Pastor Perucy Butiku, the relationship manager between our synod in Bukoba, and our partner synod in New York (my boss) was making her annual visit, and my good friend Madam Peace had been hospitalized for a UTI that has spread to her kidneys. After a week of trying to unpack, figure out what I was going to teach, meetings, and trips back and forth to the hospital we were both exhausted.  We saw Pastor Perucy off Saturday morning, and in the afternoon Madam Peace was well enough to be discharged from the hospital and return to school.  By the evening however, the sinus drainage I had been trying to ignore had turned into a pretty nasty cough.  I was able to get some medication Sunday and spent most of the day resting.  I did my best to be present for the first week of school, resting between class periods and drinking lots of fluids, but by Friday I was completely beat.  It was the time of year for me to get my annual bronchitis, and with our nonstop schedule for the past three weeks, my body had not gotten enough rest to heal itself.  I spent most of the weekend in bed, taking steroids to keep my asthma in check and Nyquil to keep my coughing at bay while I slept.  By last Wednesday I felt well enough to get back in the classroom and now I’m just about back to normal.
        In the wonderful chaos of all that the past month contained, it was nearly impossible to process anything in the moment.  But now, looking back on it all from the other side, I don’t feel stressed or overwhelmed.  I feel incredibly thankful and blessed.  Thankful for safety and health, for my work here at KEMPS, and for the ability to visit such incredible places, and blessed to have the most loving family and friends, and to officially be joined in holy marriage to the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.  

Mungu akubariki,
Allee