Baby Explorer

Nearing the ripe old age of one, Baylor has a strong hatred for staying still.  She is constantly wanting to move and explore.  She tires easily of not only toys, but also of rooms and even our entire house.  If we don't go somewhere every couple of days she transforms into Grumpy Baylor and our happy lives become much less so.

This past Sunday we went out to a village for the day.  Baylor loves going to to the village.  There are chickens and goats to chase, yummy food to eat, and lots of new people to play with.  We assume she's going to come  home dirty no matter what we do, so we just put her in old clothes and let her roam-supervised, of course.

After worship under a mango tree we were just sitting around and so I let Baylor go off to play in the fields with some kids.  A little while later I went to check on her and found her giggling loudly, happily playing with a big old chunk of cow poop.  Fantastic.  It was at least mostly old and dried out. And she also had her pacifier in her mouth so the exciting new toy stayed on her hands.

There are just some things I wish she would be content not to explore.

What Are They Thinking?

Recently our night guard, Oscar, had his home broken into (ironic, I know) and everything was stolen except for his family's clothes and shoes.  Everything.

In Tanzania, theft is common.   Anyone who can afford it puts some kind of fence or wall around their house and bars on the windows.  I would never leave my bike in town, even chained up, knowing it probably wouldn't be there when I came back.  Nor do I walk around town with my bag unzipped.  I don't walk around afraid I'll be stolen from, I just don't see a reason to not do what I can to prevent it.

The odd thing about theft being so common here is that the punishment for thieves is harsh.  Harsh is actually putting it lightly.  If a thief is caught, he is immediately mobbed by those around.  Hearing the mob, more people usually join in, making the mob larger and more uncontrollable.  The thief, if he is lucky, will only be beaten to within an inch of his life.  If he isn't lucky, he will not survive the beating, or worse, will be burned alive.  The police rarely arrive in time to prevent this from happening.  There is no sympathy.  I have been told stories of other missionaries who stepped in to prevent mobs from killing children, guilty of pick-pocketing.  Tanzanians do not typically step in to save someone, though I have known some to.

So why on earth would anyone continue to steal?  It's something I don't know if I will ever understand.

I've thought about why the reaction to theft is so harsh here, because other crimes are not so treated.  My conclusion is this:  Tanzania is a culture of giving.  If you need something, you ask and someone will help you.  Most people don't have enough money for everything all the time, so you help each other out. "I know that if I help pay for your children's school fees now, later you will help me pay for my son's wedding."  If people show up at your door, you feed them and give them a place to stay, indefinitely.  It's never ok to ask a guest to leave, they may stay as long as they desire.  So for someone to steal is a complete rejection of the way of life here.  It's as if they are saying, "I don't care about any of you.  I only care about myself.  I don't want to ask you for help because I don't want to be held responsible for helping you later."  Greed and selfishness are some of the worst traits you can possess.  If you have, you share.  If you don't have, you will be taken care of.

I don't know if I'm right, but it seems the most logical conclusion.

As for Oscar and his thief; the man was later caught.  It turns out he was part of a larger crime ring that had been stealing all over Geita district for some time.  When he was caught, he confessed and gave up his partners and their hideout.  Upon confessing, he was burned to death.  Soon after, police raided the house where the other thieves were, shot and killed them all, then burned their hideout to the ground (before removing all the stolen goods).

The whole thing makes me sad.  What makes these people take such a risk just for things?  And where is the mercy for their mistakes?

Halloween--Not So Scary In Tanzania

Never has Halloween passed by with so little fanfare as this year.  I saw not one costume, no candy, no orange and black decorations or clothing, no ghosts, goblins, or witches.  Only normal people going about their normal day as if there were no anticipation of jack-o-lanterns and kids hyped up on sugar.  Last year we happened to be in Mwanza for Halloween and there was at least a costume party for kids.  But in Geita, hamna (there wasn't anything).  

Not that I find Halloween to be the best holiday ever -- that would be my birthday ( and yes, I do consider it a holiday), but still, I loved dressing up as a kid and going trick or treating.  I also know that Baylor would have no idea what was going if I were to dress her up as a tiny ghost and take her from house to house to get candy that she would not be allowed to eat.  But still, I assume in the future it will make me a little sad that she won't get to experience that here.  Fortunately, we've decided that our furloughs will generally be in the fall, so at least some years she'll get to participate.  

So on Halloween we took our recovering from and still somewhat sick from a bad cold family to the gold mine for lunch and a short swim.  Not exactly typical of October 31st, but not too shabby either.  We put Baylor in her Halloween pajamas (which glow in the dark) for a photo shoot that she did not in the least enjoy to commemorate her first Halloween.    

Chase Tyler

I am more than happy to announce the arrival of my new nephew, Chase Tyler Bruns, born yesterday at 8:44am.  He weighs 7lb 13oz and is 19 inches long.  He has dark brown hair like his daddy.  Thus far he enjoys both sleeping and eating.  Mom (my sister Amy) and baby are both happy and healthy.  

Here is big brother Kaleb, who turns 3 next week, holding his little brother for the first time.  He seemed to enjoy it briefly, but then decided Chase was heavy and gave him away to someone else so he could  play with cars.

Happy birthday Chase!

Nyerere Day

Last Thursday was Nyerere Day.  Julius Nyerere was the first president of Tanzania, serving from 1964 until 1985.  He was and is still well-loved by the people here.  He was a teacher by profession and so that is what the country called him; not Mr. President, but Teacher.  In honor of his life and service to Tanzania, October 14th is a holiday.

To celebrate this holiday Brett and I went to a traditional music and dance performance.  The Sukuma are known throughout Tanzania for their drumming and dancing, particularly with snakes, though thankfully they left them at home last week.  The dancing was really good, much different than what you see driving by the discos here.  I'm sure you would love to see pictures of this event, but as I forgot my camera, you will just have to imagine the long grass and feathery skirts worn by all.

Breakfast

I thought you might be interested in what Baylor had for breakfast today.  I don't usually think what she eats for breakfast is blogworthy, but today was a bit unusual.

She started with half an egg mixed with tomatoes.  Then moved on to a big chunck of papaya.  If you've never had papaya, it tastes like feet.  Then a few bites of chapati, an Indian flat bread.  From there she devoured several slices each of carrots and zucchini.  And then it got more interesting.  She ate a fish finger.  Yes, a fish finger--minus the breading.  To end the meal she had 3/4 of a banana. And it wasn't one of those teeny African bananas, either; it was a big one.

We were not dining at home.  No fish fingers for breakfast at the Harrison house.  Or any other meal for that matter, yucky fish.

Our daughter does indeed love to eat.

A Visit

The first two weeks of September were made wonderful by the presence of Scott and Cheryl McFaddin. Cheryl is one of my best friends from college and I was more than excited that they were coming to visit.  They actually came also to check out the Geita situation to see if maybe God was leading them there as well.  You never know where He's going to take you.  They spent a lot of time getting to know our team and the work that's currently being done as well as the work planned for the future.  My English students especially loved having new people to practice with.  Cheryl opted for the full Africa experience and got her hair braided in the market by two of my friends.  It was entertaining for everyone involved.  

As you can see, Cheryl is currently pregnant with their third little boy and I applaud her adventurousness (I do realize that's not a real word) in coming to the middle of nowhere Tanzania while growing a tiny person inside her.  It's not the easiest thing in the world; there are lots of bumpy roads,  uncomfortable mattresses and no sonic blue coconut slushes.  Of course, that's sad for all of us.  Well, maybe just me.

Anyway, it was great visit.  Brett and I were were happy that Scott enjoys Trivial Pursuit as much as we do.  We look forward to the next showdown.