Tag: FAQ’s About Missionary Life and Tanzania Page 2 of 3

Do You Live With Wild Animals?

On February 9, 2009

Only kids ask us this question. But maybe you have wondered too.

No. We do not live with wild animals (unless you count two toddlers). There are 5 million people in this city so I’m guessing the wild animals probably got scared off.

On a daily basis, I see our two dogs. I also see cows, goats, and lots of chickens milling about our neighborhood.

Daily there are geckos on the walls in my house, but they eat the mosquitoes, so I don’t mind. There is currently a yellow tree frog living in our toilet that we can’t manage to catch. Sometimes I see large cockroaches, which then receive a very large dosage of insect spray. Sometimes we see other large, interesting bugs, but not in my house. Occasionally we see snakes in our yard, but the dogs always kill them. Probably the craziest thing I have seen in my yard was a 4 foot long monitor lizard.

However, Tanzania is home to multiple game reserves which are amazingly awesome to visit. We have been to five of them; the closest is about a four hour drive from here. The Serengeti is in Tanzania, which is probably the most well-known game reserve, and home of The Lion King.

Come visit us and we’ll take you there!

What Does Your Average Day/Week Look Like?

By Amy Medina

On February 5, 2009

In Other

Every day: Grace and Josiah (do I need to describe that? Probably very similar to how it would look anywhere in the world: books, crayons, balls, puzzles, “No, we don’t lick the table,” picking up toys over and over and over…you know what I mean.)

Every day: Cook meals. Except for Tuesdays when Gil and I go out. Sometimes Fridays before youth group we also will go out and get a pizza, or mishkaki (meat) and chips at the hole-in-the-wall nearby. I also bake a couple times a week: cookies for youth group, breakfast food (banana bread, muffins, etc.) Cereal costs a small fortune here so we rarely buy it.

Wednesdays: Grocery shopping

Usually at least one other day per week is used for running errands: paying bills, tracking down social workers, etc. Sometimes this feels like a part-time job.

Monday and Thursday mornings: walk to school, teach sixth grade Bible. Esta takes care of the kids.

Tuesday mornings: teach chapel for elementary kids. My kids come with me.

Monday afternoons: our mission prayer meeting

Friday nights: Youth group

Saturdays: often go to the pool at a nearby hotel

Sundays: church and nap!

Other: Families, friends, students here for dinner…sometimes a friend of mine will come for lunch. Friday mornings I try to get Grace and Josiah to a playgroup if we don’t have other errands to run. Host students for a few days at a time when their parents are away. Host people who are visiting Tanzania. Watch students’ soccer or basketball games. Visit HOPAC’s library with Grace. Attend other HOPAC events. Tonight, in fact, my husband is doing a seminar for parents on the media’s impact on young people.

During nap time and sometimes in the evenings: organize the after-school program each term, write emails, do our financial reports for the mission each month, work on my MA classes, write prayer updates and prayer letters, blog.

Remember: I don’t do any of my own cleaning or laundry. That frees up a lot of time!

Do You Like It There?

By Amy Medina

On January 30, 2009

In Other

I get this question a lot. It’s usually asked with a degree of uncertainty, as if the person were saying, “Is it possible for an American to like living in Africa?”

Do I like living in Tanzania? Well, I would certainly hope so. My life would be pretty miserable if I didn’t.

There are a million things I love about Tanzania. Purple and pink and white bougainvillea, the sparkling Indian ocean with the temperature of bath water, delicious vegetables and tropical fruit, the friendliness and openness of Tanzanians, the richness of the African and Indian cultures present in the city, the smell of the rain. I feel less pressure here to look a certain way or buy certain things. I like being away from television. I like being away from consumerism. I like that living here makes us appreciate the little things of life more.

More significant is that Gil and I absolutely love working at HOPAC. As I said before, it is a perfect fit for us. For me personally, ministry at HOPAC has been exhilarating. I love kids; I love teaching; I love education as a field. During these last 4 years, I haven’t been teaching full time, and my role at HOPAC has lessened as our family has grown. But HOPAC is a young school (about 15 years old), which means that a lot of things are still “a work in progress” and Gil and I have had the fabulous opportunity to really be instrumental in getting a lot of things going. It is so fulfilling to not just be a part of the school, but to be a part of making it even better. For example, during the last four years, I’ve had a part in getting a staff/parents association going, providing opportunities for parents to support staff, getting an after-school program up and running, tutoring ESL kids, helping with the recruitment program, writing a handbook for new teachers, establishing a counseling policy, teaching elementary chapel once a week, assisting with drama, starting a service emphasis week, helping with a service learning class, starting a schoolwide memory verse program, and chaperoning field trips. Gil’s list would be even longer. Among many other things, Gil has set the Bible curriculum for the entire jr. high and high school. I love this! Not only do I love the vision of HOPAC, but I love that we are able to really be a part of building the school’s foundation.

Of course this doesn’t mean that I love everything here. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that we do face different kinds of challenges that we would in the States. But the hardest part, by far, is being so far away from family and friends. I tell new missionaries all the time, “You’ll get used to the way of life in about 6-9 months, but you never get used to missing the people you love.” But we definitely have it better than missionaries a generation ago, with the advent of the internet and cheaper air travel. And is there really anywhere in the world where life is perfect?

How Could You Take Your Kids There?

By Amy Medina

On January 25, 2009

In Other

I don’t hear this question. Probably because my kids are…uh, Tanzanian.

Ironic, isn’t it? Why should it matter?

But my parents heard this question when my family went overseas, and other missionary friends hear it about their kids. Before we had kids, people would tell me, “I could never do what you do…but then, I have kids.”

How can missionaries take their kids to the ends of the earth where there isn’t indoor plumbing, there’s bats and spiders and giant cockroaches and strange diseases, where they will be ‘deprived’ of American culture, and the cannibals are restless at night?

Hmmm. Well, if you put it that way, it does sound pretty scary.

In all honesty, it possibly is more dangerous here than the States. We have a much greater probability of being robbed, getting into a car accident, catching a scary disease, and not receiving the same standard of medical care as we would in the States. Tanzania is a stable country but it is true that African countries have a tendency to break out in war—my family was evacuated from two countries when I was a kid. Before we came out here, we could find only one…one!…agency that would give us life insurance. And that’s with two agents checking every agency they could think of. That was a little unnerving.

So. Here are my thoughts on this issue.

I agree that there are many Christians who have sacrificed their children on the altar of work or ministry. But I also do think that it is possible for Christians to elevate their children to idol status. Did Scripture ever say, “Make all your decisions to benefit your children?” Does it ever say, or even imply, to make your children your highest priority in life? Hmmm…. If you think so, I would appreciate discussion.

But Scripture does say this: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

Now of course, we know what Jesus is not saying here. He is obviously using hyperbole. But what he is saying is that nothing, nothing, not even your beloved family comes before obedience to Him.

Thus, may I venture to conclude that our children are not our highest priority as believers. Glorifying God through obedience is our highest priority, and therefore trusting Him with our children for whatever He asks us to do.

There is indeed a delicate balance here. Of course, I believe that children are a gift from God and that they need to know through our words, actions, and time that they are incredibly and indispensably valuable, and that there is very little that will ever be more important than them. And I can think of quite a few situations regarding our children that could cause us to return to the States (serious illness or emotional trauma, significant learning disabilities–to name a few). But I am not the ultimate protector of my children—God is. And if He desires us to live in Tanzania, then I entrust Him with the additional dangers.

That said, I also assure you that being an MK is one of the best things that can happen to a kid. Our kids are growing up with friends from all over the world and a deep appreciation for other cultures. They will have a first-hand understanding of poverty and therefore an appreciation for what they have. MK’s in general tend to be extremely creative, very adventurous, mature in conversation with adults, more knowledgeable about the world, and less shallow than many American kids. I love the fact that my kids are growing up in Africa—no matter what nationality they are!

And finally, “there is no safer place than the will of God.” Commonly said; very true.

How Were You “Called” to be a Missionary?

By Amy Medina

On January 23, 2009

In Other

The Christian use of the word “called” is elusive. Christians use it to explain why they don’t do something: “I wasn’t called to do that,” or they use it to justify a choice that they’ve made.

But what does it really mean to be called? I think a lot of people assume it is a feeling, a “peace,” or even more dramatic like a dream or vision. But in Scripture, that happens only very rarely.

Gil and I did not become missionaries because of a dream, vision, sign, or a feeling of peace. In fact, I would venture to say that we have felt a lot of rather “unpeaceful” feelings in our journey. Obeying God does not always bring feelings of peace.

Our “call” started with:
1. A commitment and love and passion for the Great Commission—to see all peoples in all nations come to know Christ, and a willingness to go wherever God leads.
2. A desire for God to use our unique gifts, talents, and place in life in the most strategic way possible for His kingdom.

That’s it. All there is to it. Basically, the way every Christian everywhere should live. I’m not saying, of course, that God “calls” every Christian to live overseas. But God “calls” every Christian to the two statements above.

During our first two years in Tanzania (2001-2003), we had no idea where we would spend our lives. God had given me a love for Africa (I spent 6 formative years in Liberia and Ethiopia as a child), and Gil a love of other cultures, especially in the third world. But that’s all the direction we had.

During those two years, I was teaching 5th and 6th grade at HOPAC. Gil was involved in another ministry, but filled in as a Bible teacher for a couple classes when there was a need. He discovered that not only did he love teaching the Bible more than he loved anything else, but also that he was incredibly good at it. The school’s director started recruiting Gil to come back and be the chaplain at HOPAC. We went back to the States, Gil got his MA in theology, and the rest is history.

How do we know God called us here?

1. HOPAC’s ministry is strategic in the kind of kids it is reaching and the kind of families it is helping.
2. There was a big need at HOPAC for a chaplain and full-time Bible teacher, both of which the school had never had before we came.
3. The ministry perfectly fit with our gifts, talents, vision, desires, etc.
4. Our vision was totally in agreement with the leadership of the school.

Does this sound overly logical and not very “feely?” Well, it is. There have been many times when we wrestled with God over this. It is not always easy; it is not always fun; there is a lot of heartache involved. But isn’t that the case with any calling in life? However, there is immense joy that comes from knowing we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing, and that we are in a place and situation in life where we fit perfectly. Doesn’t get much better than that.