Visiting Angel

No, we didn't have a visiting Angel. We went to visit Angel!

Angel on the right

Angel is the name of the lovely young woman who for the past two years has faithfully helped us in our home every weekday. She is kind and gentle person and a hard worker! She has a happy smile and a frequent laugh. Every day she pasturises our milk, she prepares breakfast for herself and the guard and later cooks their rice and beans for lunch (which is often our supper too!). She treats and bottles our drinking water. She washes and prepares fruit and vegetables. She helps with the dishes and hangs out and irons our laundry. She also makes very nice hot dog buns and banana muffins now!

When we first arrived in Tanzania, it took me while to get used to the idea of having someone else helping in the house. And when Angel started working here, a lot of effort in teaching her our strange and peculiar ways! For example the strange way we make a bed with duvet covers and pillowcases was all a bit much! Also our strange tastes which call for a lot less oil and salt than seems right to her! Talking to people back in England, I realise some think having house help is a luxury to be envious of. But really, Angel is a real life person who does the work that machines or stores would do in England. A machine would wash the dishes and vacuum the floor. In England, a store would sell milk ready-to-drink, tomatoes ready-chopped in a tin, spices ready-mixed and even sauces ready-made. Actually, even meals and biscuits ready-made! Rather than an impersonal store or inanimate machine to help me, how thankful I am for a real live person! And how much better for her too, so she can take home a salary to provide for her two precious daughters, Light and Happy!

Today was the first time that we had visited Angel at her home. I appreciate Angel all the more now that we have been to her house! At 7am every morning, with Happy strapped on her back she climbs down the steep rocky hillside to take her daughter, Light to preschool. I have no idea how many times she climbs and descends this long, steep hillside but I know I was puffing after one climb up! There is no path; just a lot of rocks and slippery patches of dirt between. It is just straight up scramble but 4 year old Light nimbly navigates the rocks. There are houses, so many houses, built into the rock all the way; they seem just perched precariously with front doors on drops.

An amazing view of Rock City and the Lake!

Coming out of Angel's house. It's straight down!

We had a lovely time with Angel and her two girls, Light (4) and Happy (2). Her husband, Isaac is a fisherman and often away. But we were joined by Angel's sister, Sarah and her friend and neighbour, Happiness and her two children, Elia and Isabella. We had lovely lunch and then when we had climbed back down together, we had some fun on the new "samaki bridge", a pedestrian bridge with a fish feature!

Heading back down

On the bridge with the PAG church and Bible College in the background

With Light on the bridge

Other news of the day was the rainstorm that passed through this morning. I was at the Mamas Group painting paper beads for school abacuses, and as we rely on natural light, things were a little dark in there with our big door shut! The water still managed to come in under the door, but we had a lovely time; we just made sure nothing was on the floor, and as we still don't have any chairs, we all sat on the table!

Painting red and blue beads for the abacuses

But more than this .... meanwhile at home, our guard Vedastus narrowly escaped with his life when a huge section of tree crashed to the ground right where he was standing. He heard the crack and ran for it and thankfully escaped unharmed! The washing line underneath the tree though, did not escape unscathed. And needless to say, I had to wash the clothes again!

The downed tree