Letters from Tanzania

My friend Gail is a remarkable woman of astonishing generosity. After raising four children of her own she is now on her own and has undertaken some truly amazing adventures. She writes email from various parts of the world which are so full of life and joy about each new adventure that I have asked her to let me share parts of them here.

Recently she left for Tanzania where she is working as a volunteer in an orphanage for children who have AIDs and are either orphaned or abandoned by families that cannot care for them. Gail began studying Swahili last fall for this adventure and she left on February 10th to spend 10 weeks there. The following is exerpts from the letter she sent yesterday:

Forgive me for not writing often but I am occupied each moment of the day and exhaustion hits us all each nite. Also the lack of electricity negates computer performance. We do live without electricity, fans, whatever modern. The expenditure of energy in this heat and with our work does cause each one of us volunteers to be very, very tired each day. My orphans are just the most beautiful 'wtoto's' in the world. There are 34 little ones, and thus far i have changed about 300 nappies, bathed the 34 daily, assisted in the feeding of these tots and babes, peeled potatoes and carrots, washed the floors, and crawled back to the compound utterly exhausted! i have never been so happy in my life, other than when my own were babes and tots. one cannot even think of home due to the constant activites and the classes we attend. i will just have to wait to get home to explain all because i just might lose you even now if the electricity goes off suddenly. i am now sitting at katie's hotel, where i am staying with her for the weekend. we are going to visit a tanzanian family in an hour to share lunch with them. he is a worker here at the hotel and i will be so pleased to use my swahili. i do speak it very well (smile) if I do say so myself...........they are so appreciative if one tries, as in any country. i do pray for you all each nite, and hold you near and dear to my heart. i attend a lutheran service each moring at the hospiti before walking up the hill to the orpanage. yesterday they asked me to read the english version of the gospel, and thank god it was already translated!!!!! i do again love it here, have adjusted I believe to the heat, the lack of what we Americans take for granted, and am learning the ways of the third world countries. yes, yes, yes, i have totally thrown away my makeup, no time for it, and who cares right!!!!! i try to stay very humble and gentle and smile all the time (perhaps that also adds to the exhaustion).......i am learning well my friends. i luv u all and shall write in a week or so, where there is electricity in my village hopefully, and i have a few minutes to gather my thoughts to write. I love hearing from you so please write when you have a minute. you are all so special to me, you are my angels. sending hugs of tanzanian warmth............MaMa Gail

Thanks for reading.