First Few Days in Arusha

 

We know that many people have been praying over our move to Tanzania, here is an update on how its gone so far.

The last two weeks in England were punctuated by trips to London for Luke to have some medical tests to try to get to the bottom of a problem with his vision. Eye scans at Moorfields Eye Hospital and an MRI scan at University College Hospital showed no problems but we were still waiting on the final blood tests when we left for Heathrow. We got a call while waiting to check-in our luggage and thankfully there was no reason to delay our departure, although Luke will need another blood test here to re-check one unusual result. Our flights went very smoothly and we landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning. We were met by the MAF Tanzania program manager, Stewart, who drove us to our accommodation.

We woke up to see the beautiful location of the property that MAF had arranged for us to live for our first month here. It overlooks miles of countryside and has a lush garden which we have enjoyed sitting in to eat lunch and listen to Swahili podcasts. There was food provided for us in the house - we appreciated not having to leave the house on our first day as we recovered from the late night.

On our second day we drove the MAF vehicle to the office to swap it for the more rugged land cruiser that was better suited to the rough road that leads to our temporary house. Driving here is a lot less stressful than Chad, with fewer motorbikes on the road (but more lorries) and more patient drivers!

On Friday we went to see the house that we will be living in (hopefully from the start of September). There is lots of work going on, inside and outside, to get it ready for us. It has a large garden, garage, barn and an outside room with en-suite, which guests will be able to stay in. Bethan is already eyeing up the barn as a place to keep a horse and was thrilled when the landlord thought it was an excellent idea! The house is very close to the children’s school and the route is suitable for walking/cycling which is what we hoped for.

 

Front of our permanent house

On Saturday we went for a team meal at an Ethiopian restaurant in town. All the MAF Tanzania team who are currently in-country were there and we had a lovely meal together. Stewart remarked that a team meal in 2021 would have consisted of only his family! Having 4 pilots and 5 families in program now shows considerable growth in the last few years. On Sunday morning we went to the church that the other MAF families go to and felt very welcomed by everyone we met.

Team meal at a restaurant in Arusha

In our free time at home we have been studying basic Swahili and Becki has begun studying for her exams, which is her biggest priority now as she cannot start work, buy a car, or receive our possessions from Chad until she has passed them. On Monday the children start school and we will have our first Swahili lesson.

Overall we have had a really good first few days in Arusha and are feeling very positive about everything that we have seen so far. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as the children start school and Becki re-learns all the theory that she learnt to become a commercial pilot in 2008.

Mount Meru