Blogs from Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States, North America

We arrived home safely on the evening of Dec 1st. Are acclimating to the 5F temp of this morning. Olivia went off to school this morning. It is difficult to express what this journey has meant to us. If you have ever watched "StarTrek: Next Generation" it's like the episode where the Enterprise comes upon a probe in space and Capt. Picard is zapped and experiences a whole life on another planet--he has a family, he plays the flute, he's a scientist, he grows old and when he awakens he's back where he was, but he's disoriented, because he had this whole other life. I am back in MN, but I do not want to forget this other life. I want to remember it, all of it, and I am afraid I will start forgetting. Thirty ... read more

I have been n Tanzania for a total of four days. I thought that I wouldn't like it here, but I actually have grown to like it a lot more than I thought. I really like seeing the kids every day. They are so cute and loveable. I already have a favorite her name is Violet. She just started walking, but she needs some more practice she still falls over every nice and a while. Last night we went to this very nice restaurant. I t was a volunteers last day here at the orphanage. The apartments that we are going to live in are well on their way. For the time being we are living in these cottages and they are very nice. Yesterday a baby died. Her name was Queen and no one ... read more

Yesterday Tom and Olivia took our two mini dachshunds, Alice and Angelina, over to Susan K's house who is watching them while we are gone. What a gift to have her do this for us! Everything went well with their new friend, Rosie the bearded collie. A dose of children's benadryl before they went eased the transition. We will miss them a lot. Yesterday I sold my car. I was kind of sitting on the fence about it, then we decided on Saturday to sell it. We've been following an Iona Prayer Book and yesterday's reading included Luke 18: 18-29 about selling possessions. Then when I came home from selling it, the afternoon reading inluded "In our own day, Christ is constantly calling us to move away from many of the things which we feel are ... read more

We leave this week in three days! All will be soon be well when we are on the plane and can exhale! I looked at the Cradle of Love website Sept 13th and was astounded at the work that has been done on the volunteer apartment. They are working at a record breaking pace to complete it. If you would like to see pictures go to the website at www.cradleoflove.com. The baby home recently received four new children, so is very full with 34. We were also acknowledged during the service at our church today and it was wonderful to have family and friends present with us. We are going to Tanzania, and the Bishop of the Diocese of George in South Africa was at our church today. The world truly is a magical place and ... read more

We are exactly one week from our departure day!!! We are feeling some anxiety about leaving and somewhat overcome with details of preparation. Olivia's school and teachers have been in contact with us regarding maintaining her education using a similar curriculum. They have been so helpful. Especially her English teacher from last year. He is creating a curriculum for creative writing that would give her credit for the elective provided she turn in reccomended assignments and maintain a daily blog. Also, we just found out that her science textbook is on CD format so that is one less big item to take. Our fundraising continues however Anne and Tom made a decision to refocus their energy from the fundraising to packing and preparation. We can always continue once we get there. We have reached 150% of ... read more