Time for a Break

Being a full-time language learner can be a pretty exhausting task. We were really excited when we saw that Selah had a week-long break in October. We knew right away that would be a perfect time to step away and rest (well, as much as you can with 3 little kids).

Planning a vacation is much more complicated in a foreign country. And it gets even more complicated when you don’t have a vehicle. Oh yeah, and add a foreign language on top of that! You definitely feel a little more limited in where you can go and what you can do. We talked about lots of places, but Morogoro kept coming to mind. We actually were there earlier this year for a language workshop. There is a camp called Highlands located in Morogoro and it is right at the foothills of a mountain range. The camp is used for retreats and conferences. They have rooms that are available for families and are equipped with a small fridge and hot water kettles. It is a safe environment where we knew our kids would have fun and we could breath a little more freely. Oh and there is a pool too!

It just so happened that our team was in the process of planning a team retreat, which happened to fall over part of Selah’s school break. You’ll never guess where!?! Yup, Morogoro! It was cool to watch the Lord work out the details of getting us out to Morogoro, giving us special time with our team, and then time as a family.

So here is a peek into our week away!

Each day we would take walks around the camp. We loved taking in the sights and enjoying God’s creation. This included a herd of sheep!

During our team retreat we enjoyed sharing meals together, a time of worship (which included communion – something we have not gotten to partake of in quite some time) a bond fire and a super fun game of kickball!

Can’t forget smores – what a treat!!!

I don’t know if you can see them, but the herd of sheep is grazing in the distance, just beyond our communion table. What a sobering picture thinking about the perfect lamb, Jesus, who died in our place, taking away the sins of the world. Thankful for the time we had to reflect on Him and to also to worship in our heart language.

We had SO much fun playing kick ball. The kids loved joining in too!

After our team headed back to the city, we enjoyed some family time. We also were able to celebrate my birthday (the 19th) and Chandler’s birthday (the 20th).

One of my favorite things (besides being able to wear jeans!!!) was roasting roasting hot dogs over our little charcoal stove. That was actually how we cooked most of our meals and I absolutely loved it. It was like we were camping, but with the comfort of real beds!

Another blessing was being able to hire a taxi to come and take us back home again. Gervas (pictured below) was our taxi driver for our first 6 months here. He was happy for the chance to get out of the city and come and get us in Morogoro.

So now we’re back to real life. School started back for the kids and language sessions for Chandler and I. Although it’s a little hard getting back into the swing of things, we are SO thankful for our time away!