Friends from afar

This last week we have had two good friends (and supporters!) from the UK visit us. It was Rosie and Chris’ first experience of Africa so it was fun to hear what they thought of many things, as well as to be reminded of how much Tanzania has now become home for us and how much ‘wisdom’ we could impart to them about life here. It was interesting to hear their questions, such as, “Does the power go out every time it rains?!”. Many ‘why’ questions we were unable to find a satisfactory answer for as there are often no logical explanations here – it’s just the way it is! It was also interesting for us to hear from Rosie about the similarities she saw between Tanzania and Peru, where she lived for four months. We were pleased to see Mbeya through fresh eyes. The Priddys thought the scenery was stunning and the people very welcoming. We agree wholeheartedly but it is amazing how easy it is to start to take these things for granted after being ‘in country’ many months. It was great to have some of our supporters see our lives and work, with all the joys and challenges, firsthand and to understand to a greater depth what these things involve. We hope they go back and spread the word about what they’ve seen so others are better informed!

Another positive thing was for our Tanzanian colleagues to meet some of the people who help us to live and work here. It really is an eye-opener for them in many ways. We were blessed by our guests’ laidback natures and willingness to try anything and everything as well as adapting to the flexibility needed to live in Africa. In fact the only negative factor I can see in having such lovely guests is that you miss them, and all friends and family, all the more when they are gone. We are lucky to be heading home to see our nearest and dearest in just a few weeks!

We were fortunate enough to be able to take a few days out of work to show them some of our favourite places, to give them a flavour of ‘everyday Tanzania’ and to just spend time catching up with friends. They were also able to accompany Matt on a day trip to the Nyiha language area giving them an idea of another aspect of our work here. It was a lovely time for us, to share our lives with good friends. It was a massive blessing to have space to host them and to have our guest room well and truly ‘broken in’!

To see pictures of their visit click here. It would be interesting to hear a few of the Priddys’ thoughts on their return to the UK and so we may encourage them to put a few on paper (metaphorically speaking of course!) and maybe post them here. Watch this space…