Having Tehur with us for the last 6 weeks in Tanzania was a huge gift to our family.
After mornings of school, the creative stuff flowed. I loved seeing Tehur and Heather writing fairy tales, reading poetry, knitting, making up dance routines, playing the piano and talking about great books they've read.
We had some lovely adventures with our Te and we are very happy that Africa was a big blessing to her in the midst of them all. I loved watching her unwind from some of the stress of her last 6 years and embrace all kinds of new things.
Tehur, our European city-girl, hiked for hours in buffalo and elephant country. She camped away off yonder where there are no city lights and where we could hear hyena, baboon and zebra at night. She rode on the roof of the car and got dustier than she probably ever imagined was possible. She bathed in the stream, ate new foods, drank tea with Maasai friends, and was touched by the faith and joy of Tanzanian women. Tehur drove the big Land Cruiser over bush roads like she was Kathryn Hepburn. Go, Te!
I think my favorite part of Tehur's adventures was the confidence and joy I saw emerging as her new experiences showed her that there are whole parts of herself that are yet to be discovered. I loved hearing her declare herself "The New Tehur." I loved that the simple lives of Josephine and Eva, (the women who work the fruit drying business out of our kitchen) changed Te's perspective on just about everything and showed her again that joy comes from something quite other than where most people think it comes from.
I love that Josephine and Eva taught without teaching and that they cried when Tehur left. And I loved all our evenings together; laughter, tea, mosquitos, power cuts and all.
So... THANK YOU to all of you who participated in getting Tehur to Africa. You blessed us deeply. And THANK YOU, Tehur, for boarding that plane and sharing yourself with us.
We love you.
4 comments:
What a blessing to see the smile on Tehur's face, evidence of the great time she had with you. You will miss each other. I want to meet her soon.
Mum
I just keep thinking that gorgeous Tehur is also a beautiful sign of a whole host of other bright young Europeans who will venture down to Africa to learn from her and get rejuvenated. I can't wait.
sweet, sweet, the gifts of asking, sharing, laughing, opening up each others lives,...beautiful and rich!!!
Thank you for being my family for six weeks and for everything you shared with me. I am glad I had this chance and I sure hope other people will want to have a great African Adventure too. No one should die without really living and Africa is Life! I heart is glad for all it saw,heard, smelled and touched.
I will always have Africa!
My dear,dear Bordens I truly, madly, deeply love you all, more than words can say. And thank you to everyone else who helped, you are appreciated.Te
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