Author: John and Asmara Anyan

The time had come – hot season was at its peak, oppressive clouds in the sky teased with the coming rainy season, everything was covered in several layers of dust, the mangoes were growing ripe on the trees – yes! Definitely time to decorate for Christmas! Celebrating Christmas in tropical, rural Africa means a lot […]

Living overseas feels a bit like having a secret identity. Kind of like a superhero! But, disappointingly, without the superpowers. Tanzanian by day – Mzungu by night! (Mzungu is a word you will learn quickly if you ever come to Tanzania, as it will be your new label, meaning “Westerner” or “white person”) Tanzanian me […]

Elias. He’s our mover. Tree-climber. Animal whisperer. Most-likely-to-break-a-bone adventurer. Storyteller. Boundary pusher. Gymnast. Belly-laugher. Early riser. Lego engineer. I-can-do-it-myself independent. Doubter. Caretaker. Helper. Attention lover. Bug catcher. Arguer. Name forgetter. Book lover. Middle child. We just can’t imagine life without our wild Elias Michael! For his 7th birthday, he not only drew his birthday gift […]

In German, we have the word “Heimat,” which is hard to translate into English. The closest English word is home, but any German will tell you that a simple translation like that does not carry the full weight of its meaning.   Heimat is a place where you fit in. Where you know how to […]

Oh, hot season. When we arrived in Tanzania the first time, it was during hot season. For some reason, our first hot season in Africa didn’t seem all that bad. Mainly, I think, because we were expecting Africa to be super duper hot! Because it’s Africa. Duh. Oh, and having an apartment with air conditioning […]

How is our firstborn 8 years old already?!? Happy birthday, Judah Johannes!!! This last year Judah has learned quite a bit. He’s learned to ride a bike, whistle, and blow bubblegum bubbles (he was really excited about that one). He’s learned to read by himself and to do sums in his head. He’s learned about […]

What comes to mind when you think of the perks of the missionary life? Going to the beach for our day off? Not having a traditional 9-5 job? Having the opportunity to learn another language? Over the years, we have found that one of the greatest privileges of the missionary life is being granted the […]

“Mama,” Judah declared from the back seat as we were driving home from a speaking engagement at a church, “I want to go back to Tanzania!” John and I exchanged a quick look and smiled, a little surprised and a whole lot relieved. Simple words, yet deeply meaningful to our family. You see, a couple […]

I vividly remember the day that I found out I was pregnant with Mathayo. After over 4 childless years since Elias, we were not expecting to have another baby. Especially not one that was going to be born in Africa. But there they were, those two pink lines that would be the beginning of yet […]

Our Judah is 7 years old! He’s grown up quite a bit this last year. He’s started to develop a sense of humor that has us laughing out loud often. He carries around his baby brother (something that surprises many Americans but is very common in Tanzania), feeds him baby food and plays with him. […]