Yea! A note from Corbin..........

Hello Mom, Dad, Kay, Cal, and Jen

How are you all doing? How is the cough? I didn't wake up last night with a cough, which was great! And this morning my throat wasn't as dry. :)

The first night we arrived here at the Bentons, Uncle Mike found a scorpion in the house!! It was about an inch and a half long and see-through white with some black in it's middle!
Zach has taken me to the catfish pond a few times. We haven't got any fish, but did kill and eat 5 crabs the first day we went there!! The weather is quite warm, but I like it. It makes swimming in freezing cold water not so bad.
I am the water boy and so try to keep the filters full of tap water. It is hard to keep them full as we go through a lot of water each day!!
There are three boys, Kendy, Kevvy, and Danny who are Zack and my pals. Kendy and Kevvy are Leddy's (their cook) boys. Danny is 12, Kendy 10, and Kevvy 8. Danny is the nicest kid. He knows a little bit of English and teaches me some Swahili.

Love You All
I hope to write again soon.
Corbin

Standing on the rock that is higher than I

As we go through this sickness issue, I wrote my cousin Steve, who Jordan and Corbin will be staying with in a month, to give me some words. The following was my note to him which is then followed by his reply.

Steve, I need your teaching/preaching words as I go through dealing with why.... and what I should have done different. I do trust God and I know that that statement doesn't fit with the question why, It is more a heaviness that stops the fountain inside because I am grieving for my children. They planned for so long, all their funding went into this and they wanted to serve and bless and give ........ my mind swirls and I want to get it on the rock that is higher then me, please walk me through that. I know that you walked there many times your first year and I just need a little ministering.......... thanks.

Hey Shannon, my heart is breaking for you all. I can’t imagine how disappointed/confused/discouraged/frustrated/sad you must be feeling. You have put so much work and time and money and effort into this trip and to feel like it is being wasted by sickness must be really hard. I am afraid preaching and teaching won’t really be the best. I wish I could just give you a hug and pray with you and just cry together. But, you did ask for some words from scripture and our experience and so I want to honor you with that.

We have had some discouraging days recently with sickness as well, flu and cold and lingering cough and stuff has made us low. So, I can feel just a little bit of your trauma. Our first year here was very hard, like this. Humbling and hard and discouraging and painful and confusing in many ways. Obviously, we know that trials are to be considered joy because they test our faith and stretch us much like someone who is training for a marathon. You can do tomorrow what you can’t do today because you are bit by bit stretched by testing of your body. I think perseverance which is the result in that classic James passage happens only when our body is stretched by trials. Perseverance which enables us to run marathons with lots of training is also the thing which enables to do for God what he wants us to do. Perseverance is the key to putting us into a position to serve God faithfully, skillfully and joyfully. So, we turn to God and we find joy because we know that God is in control and won’t waste experiences. He is executing his plan. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. And so that is the only thing I can offer you now, in that we came to Africa to change Africa, but God used our time in Africa to change us, to break us, to humble us and to give us perseverance to do tomorrow what we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. Perhaps, that is more important to God’s plan, worth all the money and the time and the effort, for your children. I used to always teach during mission trips to not have many expectations because God’s plan is not yours, and he may use sickness, flat tires, difficult scary moments and lots of other things to teach you what you would not be able to learn otherwise… He is the author and perfector of our salvation. He is the story writer. For some difficult painful reason this is the story he is choosing to write for your kids. You didn’t do anything wrong. It is not your fault. I believe that their more Africa in their future, and perhaps he is giving them a taste of how difficult it is here. Perhaps he is growing them as they have to rely only on God and not have you and Chad. Perhaps he is using this time to humble them. I don’t know. I wish I did. His story is only a quarter way through. But I do know that God has used the suffering of last year to help me this year and I am sure what we are going through now will affect next year. If the goal is to glorify God, let Him decide what glorifies Him. (eph 2:10) The suffering may be more valuable to Him than your children playing with orphans and ministering to Africans. And the best thing you can do it surrender your expectations and your disappointment into the glorious, loving hands of their father and yours. It is not easy but so crucial to growing in the faith which builds your perseverance. . This mission trip to Africa is not all about them. He has some things to teach your family as well and he will not waste his experiences…

We are with you in spirit, truth, love, joy and pain…

Please keep us updated…

Steve

There is a saying that you will be no better next year from this minus the good books you read and the rich charactered people that you are around......... I thank God that my children are going to come home greater people for having the opportunity to be around these godly saints.

Thanks for following,
Shannon

Update

Hi Shannon,

Jordan and Corbin will be going on antibiotics so that they will not be giving whooping cough to the people around them - mostly the Tanzanian children that play at our house every day and your relatives in Zambia. We have been limiting their exposure to Tanzanians because many Tanzanians haven't had the chance to be immunized and the chances of them taking it home to a baby are good, and it's very dangerous for little ones. We are not in a panic but are concerned about the village because a lot of people have typhoid and malaria dormant in their bodies so their immune systems are already weak.

Jordan started coughing a few days ago but it isn't as bad as Corbin's yet but seems to be getting worse. We thought Corbin was getting better but then he woke up last night gasping, retching, and coughing. Mike got up a couple of times to make sure he was ok. He's a good sport and doesn't complain or make a big deal of it, though.

On a brighter side, Jordan has been sewing some things that are helping me soo much and Corbin is such a helpful young man, always asking what he can do. They are such a blessing.

Terese

A note from Uncle Mike

Hi Chad and Shannon,

I just want you guys to know that your kids are great and we are really enjoying them. Jordan did some sewing for Terese today and Terese was thrilled. I am mostly around Zach and Corbin and I am very happy with how helpful Corbin is and his great attitude. His spirits are always up and he never complains, even with a cough. He seems to love it here and works hard at learning the language. Today I had Corbin and Zach put some hinge springs on one of our doors. They did a good job and Corbin stayed at it until it was finished, asking permission to come late for lunch so he could finish.

Your kids are a blessing to us.

Love,
Mike


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A note from Aunt Terese......

Your kids are wonderful Shannon. Please don't worry about Corbin. I do think he is getting better. He does cough up some in the morning but I think it's good to get it out. We have been trying warm water with lemon and honey. The lemons are from the garden and the honey is from Ted's hives here so it's good. I think it's helping. i don't want to put him on antibiotics for a cough. There's no fever and I think he will be better off to fight it. We were laughing so hard because in the evening we were all sitting around talking about health food and Corbin was telling us about all the great healthy things he likes and then went into a coughing spell and Mike said, "I see how that's working for you," We all laughed so hard. They love the rice and beans here - I knew they would. I'm so glad to be having it again. The kids are all bonding well - lots of talking and laughter. My kids really have been going through a lot with emotions about Erin being gone but I think your kids are a Godsend for them. Thanks for sharing such precious people with us. Battery is yelling at me. Much love, Terese

Yea! A little news from abroad!!

Jordan's sent the following news....

On the morning of the 25th, Savy came over to visit for awhile. Savy and I kept Danae and Leah company as they worked at getting their rooms put back together after being gone for 3 months. We had a delicious lunch of rice, beans and greens. Later in the evening we headed up to the Rabenold's house to have a long walk.

On the 26th, we celebrated Savy's birthday. We girls, swam in the afternoon in the Rabenold's pool. The cold water feels so good after being hot all day. It is sometimes 100 in the shade! For dinner, all of us youth, including the boys, ate at the table. The interesting part was that the food was just dumped on the tablecloth and we ate with our fingers! No shortage of fun and laughter! Savy's suckling pig broke it's leg, so she had it baked whole. It was great! When we were almost done eating, we began to dare each other to eat the brains, ears and eyes! (She didn't say who ate what!) Also, we enjoyed listening to Uncle Ted tell us his hunting stories.

It is time to head out swimming, so I will tell you all about Sunday later.

Love to all,
Jordan

Safe in Mbeya

Jordan's email

We had our first experience with the African children, they are very sweet. They love to feel our skin and some of the girls braided our hair, well, at least those of us that have hair to braid, no boys got their hair braided! One girl named Betai let me carry her around and a couple of the girls attached themselves to me even though I couldn't communicate with them very much verbally. I guess there is much more that we say with our actions than with our words.

Savy, the missionary youth that lives next to the Bentons is a very sweet girl. Danae, Leah, Savy and I went swimming in Savy's pool which was a lot of fun. It was so refreshing, even though the water was freezing.

Hope to send more details later, but the Internet time is extremely limited. Love to all and thanks for following! :-)

No pictures, they are living in the bush.....

Well, Jordan now knows how difficult computers can be when in Africa. They are
downright temper-mental or maybe it is the connection that is temper-mental. Whatever
the case, no pictures for now. We hope to be able to get some when they get to Zambia in
about a month. I do think that when we see them again, they may be a shade darker... :-)
Jordan may try to post from the valley but most likely I will post after we talk on the phone.
Either way, please keep checking back and do leave a comment for them to enjoy when
they get to a place that they are able to connect.
In Him,
Mom Ruseler

The last day in Mbeya

Wow, breakfast was great. Bananas and pineapple that can't be explained!!! I will never be able to fully enjoy an American banana again. Our tummies are still doing fine, thank God. Another shopping day but this time we were not able to carry our own money, it is not safe. We also could not take the camera to town. It was interesting to see the booth that had shoes for sale. The shoe laces where tied together and they were just hanging from the ceiling. They were also displayed by being nailed through the soul into the wall..... hummm, I wonder if they leaked? I, Jordan, found that a woman was very interested in my hair when she started to feel it.... all the little kids just stare giving us the biggest smiles. There is an odd smell, not bad, but different. I believe it is the little fish that seem to be abundant. They are about the size of sardines and dried. The Bentons use these to make their dog food. I am not sure what everyone else uses them for, probably to eat. Again, it is very, very dirty. The ground is covered with wet cardboard that we had to walk on sometimes, yuk. This is the second largest city in Tanzania so, again, there are masses of people. It was a sight to see them scramble to get on the city buses. In the morning we leave Mbeya, going through Mbozi and Tunduma. In between Tunduma and Sumawanga we will take a road to the Rukwa Valley. You could try to follow us on google.

A note from Jordan

Today, the 21st, we went shopping in Iringa for baskets. They sure do a beautiful job! Right next to the basket building was a coop full of chickens. My, you could smell them when the wind blew. There seems to be no thought as to the organization of placement of houses, shops, animals.......After shopping, we went to where the Massai tribe sells their articles. On the way there, we passed a huge stuffed garbage can. Things are not kept clean here at all! There is garbage everywhere, even in the more desolate places. If you pass by a house, there will be garbage thrown out by the road. If you think America has a littering problem, think again! The Massai have lots of jewelery and some daggers to sell. They are a very colorful people. Some of the Massai still make the big holes in their ears and then hang several earrings from each ear. Maybe that is where Ameria's new ornaments got their start?? While in Mbeya, we are staying in the same compound that the Bentons lived in when they first moved here! It is great to be able to see all that we have heard so much about. We will be leaving for the Rukwa Valley, our last destination with the Bentons, tomorrow!! Again, thanks for following......

The road trip starts........

A call to Jordan this morning, for her it is evening, gave me some details into their day. Starting out at 12:30 pm their time, they headed to Iringa. On the way they went to a game park and got to see impala, elephants, giraffe, zebra with babies, eland, wildebeest, cape buffalo, baboon and a brand new baboon baby. The drive was very bumpy and there was much road construction. It is very sad to see the mentally and physically handicapped wandering around since there is no care facilities for them. I did ask the average speed of travel and for your schooling today, the answer was 100-120 kilometers. They use their blinkers to signal to others as to when passing is safe, so, blinkers are being used often. There were wild fires all over, in the mountains, valleys and right by the road. There were also some burning next to homes, no managed fire burns going on there, just natures timing. All for now.......

A day of shopping in the capitol of Tanzania

I was able to talk with Corbin today for 30 minutes before the phone quit. This was his account of their day in Dar es Salaam. Buses are stuffed full to overflowing as you can see people hanging out the door. Cars take priority on the roads and people only cross when cars happen to stop from being backed up. Again, he mentioned how crazy the traffic is with no regulations there is a go-for-it attitude which both Jordan and Corbin think is fun. Twice, they have been driving along only to see someone coming head on in their lane..... someone just moves over... we hope! He said that no amount of movies, reading or stories can give you the true reality of what it is like to be there.... so, pack your bags! He mentioned that he likes it there and when I asked why, he shared.... the warmth, the feeling of safety, not for your items, but for children. There are children running around and there is no issue of them being kidnapped. He also mentioned that there is no loud music coming from cars and that it is nice to shop without music in the background. The modesty is a nice change as the African ladies all wear skirts and while most ladies here (in the US) are immodest, most of the ladies there (in Africa) are dressed nicely. I am sure that this can make shopping much more enjoyable for a guy. They see about 20 white people a day and those, are dressed American style. It was fun to souvenir shop which they did at a place called (I forgot). There was a huge tent, like a circus tent and all these little booths under it. There was almost everything you could think of and all at great prices. Most of the Africans could speak English but you could only understand it to different degrees depending on their pronunciation. It was great to watch and listen to the Bentons barter for them in Swahili, which they did for every item. Afterward, they went to an Indian restaurant, there are many Indians there. It was as nice as Olive Garden and they could watch them fry the flat bread. Then they order a topping such as chicken or lamb with a sauce, which was hot, hot, hot. They don't use a teaspoon or tablespoon of spices, it is more like cupfuls! Corbin's favorite was the shrimp and shrimp sauce.... new news to me :-) They are right by the ocean and have enjoyed seeing it each day. There are gigantic ships and dugout canoes, the contrast is everywhere. Again, it was a joy to hear his voice. They will be leaving in the morning to start their journey to the Bentons and we really aren't sure when we will be hearing from them again. Keep them in your prayers. Thanks for following!

a couple of more things......

Corbin mentioned that it is dirty. There was no obvious garbage containment to be see, the garbage was just laying around. He also said that any water they saw was filthy! When driving around, there is always someone trying to sell you something. They have to be careful not to make eye contact or that would cause the seller to try harder to make a sale. And, the children that are around, are begging. It is hard to see so many disabled too, they are thinking that with lack of money that they have no where to go. So, they are seeing some realities along with the adventure of another culture. Yes, Corbin is tall over there! He is also somewhat famous, as the following story will tell. When Zack and Corbin where at the ocean, a Chinese man asked them where they were from. When they said America, the man got very excited, gave a thumbs up and got his friend. Then the men asked if they could take their picture with Zack and Corbin. So, they were the highlight of someones day :-)

A day of wonder........

Hello, this is Mom Ruseler, I just got off a 45 minute phone conversation with Jordan and Corbin. I will try to share their eventful day as I heard it from them. First, Jordan and Mrs. Benton went bulk shopping. Corbin and Zack had to stay in the car so that nothing would get stolen while the girls did the shopping. Jordan said that it was like multiple firework stands, and someone was always attending to you. They would point at what they were interested in and then barter over the price. Later, they went swimming in the Indian Ocean which was warm and pleasant. There were not many sea shells but there were small crabs that Corbin and Zack hunted down with sand balls. So, Corbin has had his first African hunting adventure. Zack was able to be successful at catching two crabs. Small as they were, they got their picture taken and were released. They swam for about 5 hours. They both mentioned the traffic more than once. They were awed by the freedom to do as you please and go as fast as you would like. Corbin said that it was like a packed freeway without the divider where you would see a u-turn at any time. Motorcycles would crowd together with four in the space of a car and someone even decided to go on the wrong side of the road because he didn't want to wait any longer. Jordan mentioned that even though everything was so very different, it already felt normal......... hummm. They have enjoyed all the food, especially the fish! They have not had any tummy problems, praise the Lord! And they slept very little on the flights over. Jordan said that it seems as if Corbin has hardly slept at all and is more awake than any of them.... ready to go. It was 11 pm their time when we were talking at which time Corbin and Zack were playing cribbage as each of them had half their bodies out from under their mosquito nets with the board between the bunk beds. Ah, the fun of having no schedule..... Corbin mentioned the monkey that was just hanging around town and Jordan mentioned the goats (of course) that were tied up in fields. It was a joy to hear their voices and their awe and excitement in all that was going on around them. They look forward to a day of souvenir shopping tomorrow and then starting their travels to the valley. More when I hear. Thanks for following.

Our accomodations in Dar es Salaam

The 5 of us are staying close!

A note from Corbin

I have really been enjoying looking at all the new plants around here and trying to spot new birds. They have crows here but their heads and necks are grey instead of black. At one point I turned to look at a bird and saw with dissappointment that they looked like regular sparrows. You can hear Guinia hens and chickens all day. I didn't expect that there would be so many Palm trees. I saw a Banana tree, whose leaves are 6 feet long and a foot wide. Also, spotted a Papayia tree.


Love, Corbin

Our 1st day!

The flight was wonderful. Had quite a bit of turbulence on the second flight, but it was actually quite nice.
I will try to explain what it is like here, but I know that if you want the full picture you will have to come for a visit!! The smell was the first thing that I noticed when walking off the plane. It is very intense, but not necessarily a bad smell. The traffic is amazing. No speed limits, everyone just goes the pace that he can. Motorcycles riding on the yellow lines. Buses and cars getting as close as they possibly can to each other without touching. People walking amongst the cars when they are traveling at a snail's pace. When traffic is going fast, people are seen as just roadblocks and the people are the ones who have to stay out of the way. Lots of Muslims...heard the Muslim call to prayer during dinner. We are staying at Soma Biblia (read the bible) and it is very clean. Everything feels slightly grimy. Whether that is from the slight humidity or whether they can't get everything washed clean, I am not sure. Big black ants and microscopic ants climbing on the table and floor. We had a delicious dinner of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Fish with curry sauce on it......YUM!!! I could have eaten all the fish!!! Baked potatoes with butter on it. Avocados are very different tasting compared to ours. The Watermelon is very different looking compared to ours. It wasn't quite ripe, so I will have to see if it looks more like ours when it is fully ripe. African ice cream bars are the best!!! I think that they are better then American Ice cream bars!! Luggage piled high in our room. We have two rooms set aside for us. Aunt Terese and Uncle Mike are going to sleep in one room. All the luggage and the kids are going to sleep in the other room. I know that this barely scrapes all that we have seen and heard today, but I will try to fill you in more tomorrow.
We are enjoying the warmth!! We are heading to White Sands tomorrow. (Indian Ocean)
Then we are going souvenir shopping the next day. Sunday we are picking up a piece of
luggage that got left in London and then moving out towards the Rukwa valley. Jordan

Tonight Corbin and I are going to get on the plane headed for London at 10 p.m. We are doing well and still excited at how close it is getting to be leaving.

I thought that you might enjoy seeing some pictures of our day at the zoo yesterday.

Antelope on the alert!

Monkey posing for the camera.

Penguins were the main attraction this year.

Can you spot the frog?

Golden Pheasant.

A smiling Tapir! :-)

This Orangatan was completely hidden beneath this blanket. When we got closer we could see that the blanket was moving. In answer to our questions of if an Orangatan was actually hiding, beneath the blanket, this fellow happily obliged to show his face.

Corbin and Kayla actually got the squirrels to eat chips out of their hands. This one, put his little paw on Corbin's hand when he took the chip.