Tag: Medina Life Page 2 of 7

The Longest Friends

On October 20, 2019

Last week was mid-term break (it’s not called “Fall Break” around here; we don’t have “Fall”) and we went to our favorite beach for four days with our friends Tim, Emily, Caleb, and Imani. For all six of us Medinas, they are some of our longest friends in Tanzania.

We met Tim and Emily in 2002, just a few months after Gil and I had arrived in Tanzania. But what really brought us together was that Tim and Emily adopted Caleb just months before we adopted Grace. Then, Tim and Emily adopted Imani just months before we adopted Josiah. Caleb and Imani were Grace and Josiah’s first friends, and now, their longest friends.

Tim and Emily don’t live in Dar es Salaam, so we don’t see them often–usually just a couple of times a year. They live in a remote part of Tanzania doing incredibly cool things. But for many years, whenever they were in town, they would stay with us, which meant that their kids and our kids did a lot of life together. In fact, for a few years, Caleb and Imani would join our kids at HOPAC whenever they visited.

Getting my children together with Caleb and Imani is always an amazing delight. Their personalities mesh perfectly; they enjoy each other; they bring out the best in each other. And their shared life stories make their relationships particularly special. And of course, Gil and I think their parents are pretty awesome too.

So last week was a magical four days with perfect weather, moonlit games of Capture the Flag, beach bonfires, giant succulent fish dinners, and laughter. Oh, so much laughter. It was Tim and Emily who first introduced us to this perfect beach many years ago, so it was fitting that we got to spend these days with them there–during what might be our last trip to this beach.

Reading Stronger Than Death

And since I’m feeling pretty nostalgic these days, knowing that these kind of times are coming to an end for us, I’ll take you on a trip down Memory Lane with the Medina kids’ friendship with Caleb and Imani.

13, 11, 9, 7

By Amy Medina

On January 9, 2019

In Other

Josiah calls me into his room and points out a mass of mutilated millipede in the corner.

“I killed it,” he says proudly.

“Um, great?” I say, as I watch millipede juice seep into the wood floor. “How did you kill it?”

“With the hammer,” he says matter-of-factly.

“With the hammer?” I sputter.

“Yeah, I went and got it from the storeroom. And don’t worry, Mom. I washed it off afterwards.”

This is the kid who used to scream as if a velociraptor was in the bathtub when he saw an ant floating around in there. So I guess this is a step in the right direction. Um, congratulations, Josiah, on your first kill. As Aslan told Peter after he took down the Wolf, Never forget to wipe your sword. No problem; Josiah’s already got that part covered.

Parenting is all about baby steps, People. Can I get an Amen? Baby steps.

I sure like these kids a whole lot. Here they are at ages 13, 11, 9, and 7.

Medina Life, August to November 2018

By Amy Medina

On December 2, 2018

In Other

Lily’s Broken Tooth

She’s smiling here, but she sure wasn’t when it happened in August. Lily fell smack on her face, bashing in her two front teeth. The dentist was able to push them back into place, and we’ll find out in January whether they will need root canals. For now, she’s sporting the chipped-tooth look.

Grace is a Beast in Basketball and Soccer

Grace continued her participation on HOPAC’s Jr. NBA basketball team, living up to her nickname as “Mini-Beast” on the court. She is a force to be reckoned with!

Grace (as a 7th grader) was bumped up to the U15 (like JV) team. Her team won the league tournament yesterday, and she played all four games without being subbed!

Johnny Turned Seven

This is what happens when you put the icing on a cake that hasn’t cooled yet: Yes, I know it looks like it’s bleeding.

Josiah Turned Eleven

Since Josiah’s party was the day after we returned from Anja’s wedding, I ordered a cake for the first time ever. As you can see the results were much better than Johnny’s bleeding cake.

Pamoja Week at HOPAC: Color Explosion Day!

Meanwhile, Johnny Began His Taekwondo Career

And Lily Had Her First Speaking Part as the Goddess Demeter

We All Celebrated Zawadi’s Adoption

Medina Life, April through July

By Amy Medina

On August 6, 2018

In Other

It was Track Season…..

Johnny running the 1K with his buddies

Lily running the 5K with her “Aunt” Lauren who ran the whole thing with her.

Johnny on Sports Day

Josiah on Sports Day….my super speedy boy!

Gil chaperoned Josiah’s trip to Bagamoyo–learning about the place where slaves were shipped from East Africa to the Middle East

Ah….these people! They are my favorite! This was the Primary (Elementary) School staff at HOPAC this year.

Celebrating the last day of school!

Our friend Amanda Kay visited us for a couple of weeks (she goes all the way back to our college days!), so of course, we needed to take her on safari.

We had a fun visit with Hannah, who was a very special person in Johnny’s life around the time we brought him home from Forever Angels.

Then my parents visited for a couple of weeks, so we took them to Morogoro, where we chased waterfalls upstream and hunted for glittering river stones.

This sweet girl, Bethany (who we even knew in utero!), made it over to visit us during her internship in Dar this summer.

We Went to South Africa

By Amy Medina

On April 26, 2018

In Other

Our mission organization has an all-Africa conference every couple of years. In the past, it’s always been held in either Kenya or Tanzania, so this year, it was a very special treat to be held in South Africa.

Since we figured this might be our only chance to visit South Africa as a family, we arrived a couple of days before the conference and stayed a day longer.

This was how we spent a good portion of the conference, which was wonderful and soul-filling.

But we weren’t always super spiritual, like when we put Oreos on our foreheads.

The kids got their own program with their own helpers. They had to do homework every day, since this trip happened during school time, but they still had a blast.

Many, many hours were spent right here. The kids also got to go on their own safari.

The hotel where we stayed had its own petting zoo, which included tiger cubs. Which, FYI, are Indian, not African. But hey, who’s asking? Still super cool.

The kids insisted we go to McDonalds. Still blech, even in South Africa.

The grown-ups, however, went out for amazing steak. South Africans know their meat. (And wearing sweaters was almost as equally exciting.)

We went to the Lion Park, which is kind of like a zoo and kind of like a safari park. The animals are in large enclosures you can drive through. Yes, we were this close.

Mostly they all looked like this.

Until feeding time, when they became like this.

This was all very thrilling until later we found out that the lions in this park have actually killed a number of visitors who dared to do things like roll down their windows. Yikes.

Look, Mom! No Fences!

We went to an adventure course where my children proved that they are much braver than their mother.

While Gil had fun taking pictures of my misery.

We also visited an amusement park….

….and a gold mine.

But perhaps most meaningful was taking our children to historical sites in South Africa. We had talked about South African history before the trip, and watched some documentaries as well as (edited versions) of “Sarafina” and “Invictus.”

We visited Soweto, the site of the youth riots of 1976 (and basis of “Sarafina”).

The memorial of Hector Pieterson, a 13-year-old killed by police who became a symbol of the apartheid resistance.

The Mandela home in Soweto

Hoping for a better future for our children in Africa.