Through the Seasons

So this whole wedding thing with our new friend here has been interesting.  We asked when the wedding was going to be held and he said hopefully this month and that he was still negotiating the price with the girl’s father.  Oh.  Price.  The father asked for 320,000 shillings (equivalent to a little less than $320).  That’s a huge sum for him but he already had 100,000 shillings and he said if he had the goat now he could add that to the money and have enough to go ahead and get married.  That doesn’t mean the goat costs (or is worth) 220,000 shillings.  The culture here is that the groom-to-be struggles to get the dowry amount but never gets the whole thing.  Usually if he pays around half of it he’ll be allowed to go ahead and get married to the man’s daughter and will just “owe” the remaining.  The way it was told to us, he will pay it when Jesus returns.  It is a sign of disrespect if he pays the whole thing up front.  He’s basically saying he could pay more and what you’re asking for your daughter is nothing.  They like to see the man struggle to pay because it signifies that he is serious about their daughter.  (Maybe we should have this dowry thing in the States?  …smile…)  So, we went ahead and bought him a goat.  Therefore, they were free to set the wedding date.  We think it’s this Saturday but haven’t heard that confirmed yet.  We don’t know what we’re supposed to wear either.  Or where to go.  Or how to get there.  But.  All those details will come…  We’re really excited.  He is a very nice guy and we’re so honored to have been invited to his wedding and to be able to help him get enough to buy his bride.  We hope to be able to take pictures and share them.

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Jonathan and I have finally reached a decision on where to have the baby. A final decision. We’re coming back to the States. That’s right. Believe it or not the cost for us to go to Kenya (the only viable option for birthing our first child in East Africa) is the same as going to the States. So. Here we come!

Now that we’ve settled on this and have begun making plans I’m really excited. We get to be there from the end of January to the end of April. My due date is March 1st. I even get to go to my friend’s wedding in April. Bonus!

Of course the cost for this is unbelievable to me. (Who knew!?!) But what was even more unfathomable was the thought of spending that kind of money on going to Kenya. If we’re going to spend the same money either way, I’d rather go home. And by doing this we’re solving a lot of logistical problems we were having earlier. We can bring the baby items and the dogs back with us on the plane instead of shipping them all separately and trying to time it to coordinate the birth of our child and when we would finally get out of Kenya – all impossible to predict accurately. Also, we’ll be surrounded by friends and family instead of those we know in Kenya – um – nobody.

We can’t wait to see you all. We’ll keep you updated and we hope to visit as many people as we can. As far as the baby registry items, there’s no need to ship them to Africa now! Hopefully this will be easier on anyone wanting to bless Baby Boy McCall on his arrival. We’ll simply take the items with us on the plane on the way back.

See you soon…

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Sometimes it’s so easy to get wrapped up in learning perfect Swahili grammer, pleasing the teachers, and making sure we get everything right.  Lately though, now that we know so much more of the language, as we’ve greeted people, made friends, and are generally able to communicate better with Tanzanians we remember the real reason we’re going to class every day.  We’re not trying to be top of the class or get a degree in Swahili.  We just want to communicate with those around us so that we build relationships and end up being able to be a blessing to people we come in contact with.  Of course, we don’t want to butcher the language either and we aren’t careless learners.  We could probably just relax a bit (well, I could – Jonathan’s pretty relaxed) and stop being perfectionists.  If I don’t think I’m going to say the sentence just right, I won’t say it.  Jonathan dives in whether he knows for sure he’s getting the grammer 100% correct and for that he has really opened doors into the lives of the Tanzanian people he’s come in contact with.  My personality is such that I like to “be sure” and I don’t like to make mistakes.  But I just need to feel the fear and do it anyway.  I spoke to some people in town today even if I wasn’t sure I’d be understood – and I ended up being understood.

Step One. 

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I had a really hard experience today.  I passed by a young boy on the street who was dirty and asking for money and help.  I had no money at all to give him and it broke my heart to keep walking. 

We have to be really careful here in giving money away and things like that.  People will see that we’re “wazungu” (Westerners) and take advantage of us so not everyone asking for money should get money.  We’re getting smarter in being able to tell one from the other. 

One day a couple teenage boys asked me for money but unlike the boy I passed today they didn’t ask in Swahili.  They didn’t actually know English either.  They just memorized a few lines and used them over and over.  They said, “Sister.  Give me money.”  Yeah right.  I told them in Swahili that I don’t have any money and they laughed.  Young con-artists I tell you!

It’s funny here too because the people are obviously living at a much lower standard but you rarely see anyone looking desperate or discontent.  Outside of our banda, a few times a week, mothers come to the river to wash things – clothes, dishes, etc – and their kids swim while they work.  They’re all happy and greet us and let us go on our way.  Sometimes we give the kids candy.  Well, Jonathan does.  (He loves it.)  The kids are so good.  They only come when we call them close and tell them we have candy.  They haven’t turned into beggars and are just as happy to talk to us as to get anything from us. 

We do take opportunities to give to people who we see are in need.  Sometimes someone will do something extra and nice for us so we’ll give them a little something.  Other times we’ll see someone who could benefit from a little extra although they hadn’t asked for it.  Today at the market we bought bananas for the campsite (we were running an errand for them) and the lady selling bananas was lying down and we realized her hip and leg were bad.  Jonathan gave her a little money.  The sellers at the two adjoining fruit stands clapped and cheered that we helped this woman.  She was genuinely moved and grateful for the gift.

But the boy I passed by today I really think needed help too.  I pray he gets help.  I’d like to see him again and give him a little something but I know that only God can give him what he needs as He provides and has His eye on that boy.  Praise God for that!!

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I dreamt last night that I had the baby.  He was so pretty – big brown eyes and lots of dark hair.  He was a really good baby too and I was happy that they gave him to me right away instead of taking him away and doing with him whatever doctors do with newly born babies.  It was somewhat realistic in that he cried.  Of course I think that’s when I woke up.  Haha… 

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Jonathan and I have been invited to the wedding of one of the workers at Riverside campsite.  He is one of the drivers who take us to town when we need to go.  He and Jonathan have become friends.  Jonathan asked him recently if he had a wife and he said ‘no’ but that he was getting married in two weeks!  We congratulated him and then he asked if we wanted to come.  We didn’t really answer and then he said he’s really LIKE for us to come.  How wonderful!  We’re really excited about this step in building a relationship as well as the opportunity to experience the culture in such a way.

When you go to a wedding you have to bring a gift, right?  So we asked a different man at the campsite what a good gift would be and he listed a few things.  He said that a goat is a really good gift because it can feed many people.  So that’s what we decided to give him.  The only thing was finding out where to buy a goat.  It’s really not as hard as you’d think.  So we’re working out getting the goat right now.  I really hope it works out and we do indeed get to go to the wedding. 

I just keep picturing Jonathan and I arriving at a wedding with a goat…on a leash I guess.  That’s just a funny picture to me.  And I told him that it’s possible they serve that goat at the wedding so we’d end up having to eat it.  In fact we’ll be eating whatever they have there.  This is very scary to me but exciting too.  Jesus told the disciples to eat whatever was set before them when they went out and that’s what I intend to do.  And I’m really excited about being there for our new friend. 

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…the first time I felt the baby move and I was 90% sure it was him but not sure enough to tell anyone. 

Now the baby is moving a lot and I’m sure it’s him.  It can’t be anything else.  It’s a wonderful and crazy feeling!  I love it actually.  Jonathan’s started talking to my belly too.  Sweet. 

What joy!

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We have been registered for our baby’s needs at Babies R Us and Target.  We have registered for items we either can’t find at all here or can’t find in good quality.  We have friends who are going to send us a lot of baby clothes so there are very few of those type things registered for.  Our greatest needs are the ones on the lists.  You can find a list at each store and/or online at their websites:  www.babiesrus.com and www.target.com.  We are registered under “Jonathan and Dana McCall” and the state is “NC”.

Please send shipments to us at:
Jonathan and Dana McCall
c/o SIL-UTB
PO Box 60368
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

It may help to cut down on shipping costs if groups of people send things together.  (Not necessary but merely a suggestion.)  Let us know via email if you have any problems with shipping.  Items that arrive in Tanzania before February 5th are duty free for us so getting things before then will help us out tremendously.  Please allow 4 weeks for delivery (no matter what the U.S. Post Office estimate is).  And just a reminder, if we haven’t mentioned it, our due date is March 1st.
As you will see on the registration lists, there are very few big items.  Those things, such as stroller, car seat, crib, etc, are going to be sent to us from a friend.  This is a huge blessing but with it comes a big need.  The cost of shipping these items will be approximately $1,500.  If you would like to contribute to this need, please send a contribution into Wycliffe by mailing a check made payable to:  Wycliffe Bible Translators.  Their mailing address is:  Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862-8200.  Please include a separate note saying, “For the ministry of Jonathan and Dana McCall”.  Any “one-time” gifts we see come through in the near future we will tag for “baby needs”.  You can also email us to let us know what you plan to send in so we will know to be expecting it.

In summary, there are 2 main ways you can help us:
- If you’d like to bless us with needed items for our new arrival, we are registered at Babies R Us and Target.
- If you’d like to help us ship the big items being given to us, please send a contribution into Wycliffe specifying that it is for “Jonathan and Dana McCall”.

Thank you all for your love and concern for us.  We appreciate all the help you’ve given us as we’ve transitioned to life in Africa.  We love you all!

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Happy Birthday Mom!  

Eat an extra cake for me!  (Yes, I said cake.) 

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I’m sure you can guess but if you don’t already know it, I’m an introvert and Jonathan is an extrovert.  Jonathan will talk to anyone and not just greet them but talk to them for as long as they’re willing.  I may say hello but that’s usually the end of it and I pass by many strangers throughout my day who I never acknowledge.  I’m not sure Jonathan has ever met a stranger.  I’ve never really thought much of our differences in this area until our trip to Dar. 

I was so excited that we’d be using our Swahili in real life situations.  The practice is very beneficial.  So who do you think benefited most from our activities there?  Hmph.  Jonathan, by far. 

First of all, there’s the extrovert thing.  During every taxi ride there was hardly a quiet moment.  He would chat and chat and chat.  We ended up using the same taxi driver the whole time we were there.  (And since they were such good friends – yeah right – the driver wanted us to help him get to America.  Sigh.)  He made friends with our bus driver and talked to the couple next to us on the bus.  Chatty, chatty, chatty. 

Second of all, Jonathan takes care of me extensively in all situations.  He arranged our taxi rides and got us where we needed to go.  He arranged my doctor appointments, talked to the receptionists, and paid the bill.  He got our movie tickets and took charge while we were shopping.  And as usual, I did speak…when it was necessary.  I spoke with the nurses during the process of my appointment.  I greeted the taxi driver and spoke to him a little bit.  And at the movies I got our popcorn while he was getting our tickets.  The only conversing I did outside of that was to say ‘thank you’ a lot.  It’s not like I’m a pampered brat or anything though.  At the doctor and in the taxi (the majority of the time) I was quite ill…something about the heat and the movement.  I threw up in many cars over our the weekend.  So there was a real reason for him to take charge and take care of me…and I’m so grateful to have a husband that is so thoughtful and involved. 

And I guess there is a third reason he has gotten so much practice.  He has confidence and doesn’t worry about making mistakes.  This is probably my weakest point.  There were many times he would ask me “what does this Swahili word mean” or “what is the Swahili word for this English word” and I would know them.  So it’s in my head.  It just doesn’t come out of my mouth much, so when I am in a situation to speak it, my nerves get the best of me and I really stumble over what I’m trying to say.  If they could only read my mind it would go much better.   

So, my goal, I guess, should be to gain confidence.  I’m not sure how to go about doing that but it really will help because one day Jonathan will be working while I shop, take the baby to the doctor, and all the other things that go along with life.  And I know in my heart I can do this.  It’s just a matter of actually doing it.  Feel the fear and do it anyway, right?

As I close this post I can hear Jonathan outside the banda…chatting and joking around with the staff…in Swahili…  He’s so good. 

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