First Day of School

Celebrating Grandpa

One of the wonderful benefits of marriage is gaining a whole new family. When I became a Hefft nine years ago, not only did I gain a husband, but I also gained new parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All of them welcomed me with open arms, a blessing I don't take for granted.

One of those new family members was Howard Eppler, Paul's maternal grandfather. I knew who Howard was for a long time before I started dating his grandson. He and Virgina attended my home church, always seated in the right center section of the auditorium every Sunday, three or four rows from the front. When Paul and I started dating, I got to know Grandpa and Grandma Eppler better. We had dinner at their house several times. We talked more at church. Their acceptance and love for me was instantaneous. Howard and Virgina became my grandparents, and I became their granddaughter.

On Saturday, July 17, at 9:45pm Grandpa graduated to his heavenly home after struggling with failing health for several years. Tomorrow, family and friends will be gathering in Kansas City, Missouri, to celebrate his life and lay his body to rest.

Unfortunately, we won't be physically present at the funeral (although one of our cousin's is working on setting up a Skype call so we can see and hear the service!), so I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the man we were blessed to call our grandfather.

Our first date. No, not for Paul and me, for me and Grandpa. The spring before Paul and I were married, Grandpa Eppler asked me if I would accompany him to a Calvary Bible College banquet, since Grandma Eppler was ill in the hospital. I thought it was sweet that he would ask me to join him. He even brought me a flower. Another sweet memory from that night: during the banquet he got a call from Grandma saying she wasn't feeling well. He quickly and politely ditched me, and sped to his wife's side. His love and concern for her was so evident.

The way he said my name. I'll never forget the way he would smile and greet me with a hearty, "Hi, Mel!" whenever I would arrive. He always seemed happy to see me.

Watching him with my kids. I'm so glad Josiah and Anna had the chance to get to know their great-grandfather. They always loved to go next door and "visit" Grandpa and Grandma Eppler whenever we were staying with Mom and Dad Hefft in Arizona.

Josiah in "Grandpa's bike"

Grandpa holding Anna for the first time

Kansas City Chiefs. Grandpa liked football, especially the Kansas City Chiefs. Even after he moved to Arizona, Grandpa still kept up with Chiefs' games. I'll never forget the day, I walked into his apartment and there he sat, eating a bag of chips and watching an old game from the early 90s. It made me smile.

Bonding with our brother-in-law, Ben, as they watched Chiefs stats being posted live on the internet while we celebrated Christmas at our house in Dallas in 2007.

His amazing memory. I'm fairly detail oriented, but Grandpa Eppler gave the term a whole new meaning. When he told a story, you always got dates, times, locations...everything.

Listening to him pray. Howard Eppler was a prayer warrior. Several times while I was in Arizona, I had the opportunity to "eavesdrop" on Grandpa and Grandma Eppler as they sat together after breakfast to read the Bible and pray. I heard him pray in detail for each of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Then, he went through recent missionary prayer letters and lifted up those requests to the Lord. Praise God they were on our prayer team. His prayers for us will be missed!

The last time we saw him. I'll never forget the last time we saw him on this earth. Our family gathered together in their little apartment in Arizona, and Grandpa prayed over us. Then we took a family picture, hugged, and said our goodbyes, not knowing if we would see each other again on this side of heaven. One month later, our family would get on an airplane and fly here to Tanzania, where we would begin assisting the work of Bible translation. A veteran missionary, Grandpa was passionate about world missions, and he had even spent 10 years serving in our particular organization, so I know he was excited about what we were going off to do.

Even though we wish we could be with family this weekend as they celebrate Grandpa Eppler's life, we know he would rather we stay here in Tanzania and continue the work of advancing the Gospel. We're proud to do what we can carry on his legacy of serving our Lord and Savior.

Thank you, Grandpa, for the example you set before us. We love you! You'll be missed!

Conference

On Monday, our family returned from our branch conference. Once a year, the members of our branch gather together in one place to reconnect, relax, worship, and conduct branch business. Here are a few snapshots from our time at Turtle Bay:

CONFERENCE WAS...

• Stepping back into the West, but with East African flair. Because of the size of our branch, we get an amazing deal on accommodations at an all-inclusive seaside resort on the Kenyan Coast. Even though we sat in a lot of meetings, it still felt like vacation.

• Putting faces with names. Since this was our first conference, we enjoyed getting to meet colleagues from all over Tanzania and Uganda.

• Worshiping in our mother tongue! Paul loved getting the opportunity to use his guitar to help lead a few sessions.

• A week-long VBS program for our kids. A team from a member's supporting church came to Kenya to put on a kid's program for the children in our branch. Since Sunday School is rare where we live and work, this was a HUGE treat for our kids.

• Taking communion as a branch. Simple. Reverent. Wonderful.
  

• Reconnecting with good friends from orientation and language school. Since we all live in different areas of Tanzania, it was fun to be back in one place again.

• Water polo. Both the men and women played fun, yet intense matches.

• Eating great food that I didn't have to cook. The main restaurant served a wonderful buffet each day, and the hotel had an excellent pizza restaurant too!

• Cappuccino! I think I drank more cappuccinos last week than I have in an entire year. No Starbucks in Dodoma. :(

• Josiah learning to swim. One of the childcare volunteers worked with him one afternoon, and before we knew it, he was dog-paddling across the pool.

• Ocean breezes, playing in the sand, and searching tide pools for tropical fish. Anytime I'm at the beach, I'm a happy woman. So are my kids.

• Remembering. This year our branch celebrated its 10-year anniversary. It was exciting to hear about all God has done.

After a wonderful week at conference, I came away refreshed, recharged, and ready to get back to ministry, doing our part to see Ugandans and Tanzanians have the opportunity to read Scripture in their mother tongue. I can't wait for next year!

Picnicking

Today, some friends and I took advantage of the school holiday and took our kids on a picnic at a reservoir in the hills overlooking Dodoma.

Anna had fun with her friend, Esther.

We took a hike.

We even saw a scarecrow in someone's vegetable garden.

To round out the morning, we had a lovely picnic together. What a lovely Friday!

Kongwa

The other day, I realized that it has been nearly 6 months since I slept somewhere other than Dodoma. To my on-the-go husband, who has happily traveled nearly every month since we moved here, staying put in one place for that long is highly undesirable.

So, he suggested that maybe it was time for us to get away as a family (and pull me away from my little cocoon. Yes, I'm a happy homebody.) On Friday, Josiah completed his final term of the school year, so we figured this might be a good time to plan a short getaway.

Some friends of ours told us about a historic guest house nestled in the mountains just outside the town of Kongwa (about an hour away from Dodoma), so we decided to give it a try.

The guest house, Westgate Hostel, sits on the St. Phillips Theological College compound. According to a plaque on the front of the building, it was built in 1914 by a Canadian missionary. Cool! We stayed on the top floor, and had to climb some rickety stairs to get there. The space inside wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely full of character. (They just don't make windows like that anymore.)
It was also comfortable and clean, and was just the kind of change of pace that I didn't know I needed.

It was quiet. It had a nice view. It had no neighbors. (Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my neighbors, but I guess that sometimes - even for this homebody - it is nice to be off our housing compound.) We were only in Kongwa for one night, but we had a nice, relaxing time.

We ate good food.

The boys did some hiking.
(We tried taking Anna, but it didn't work out so well. "That was a hard trail, Mommy," she told me.)

They saw some great views.

We spent the rest of our time resting, watching a movie or two, and talking. It was nice.

As we headed home, Paul and I commented to each other that we need to make getting away as a family now and then more of a habit, even if it's only for a night. Change of pace is a good thing.

Where Two or Three are Gathered

One of the highlights of my week is attending a ladies Bible study on Wednesday mornings with a few other moms here in Dodoma.

We are a multicultural group. Two of the ladies are from the UK, one is from Switzerland, one is from Sweden, one is from Northern Ireland, another is from Germany, and I am from America. (Unfortunately, two members of our group are missing from the photo.)

Today, we met for our final session before the school's summer holiday (I mean, "winter" holiday - we are officially in our cool season of the year). It was a bittersweet meeting because several of our members are preparing to move away from Dodoma to minister in other places. Someone once told me that the life of the missionary is a transient one. They were right. It always seems like someone is leaving on furlough, moving to a new assignment, or returning to their home country. While I'm sad to see these ladies move on from Dodoma, I know God will use them greatly in their new roles.

Since January, we have worked our way through two study books, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver and The Friendships of Women by Dee Brestin. I've learned many things during both studies, but the best part of our Wednesday morning meetings was having a chance to gather with other Christian women to learn, share, laugh, and pray.

In Matthew 18:20, the Bible says, "For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them."

Since moving to Dodoma, the truth of this Scripture always comes alive to me as I'm gathered with this group of ladies. I am so encouraged to be able to share my joys and my struggles with other women who can relate to what I'm going through. I feel the power of the Holy Spirit as we pray for each other and encourage each other.

I can't wait for August when those of us who remain will start the Beth Moore Study my mom sent us. (Thanks, Mom!) Praise the Lord for these dear sisters in Christ!

Good Boy

Josiah came running into the house after school today, simply trembling with excitement.

"Mommy, I want to show you something. Look!" he exclaimed, shoving a paper into my hands. "I got a 'certifi-cat'!" (My dear child attends an international school, so he's copying the Tanzanian, New Zealand, British, etc., accents he hears. It's too cute to correct him.)

A parent often wonders how their child is behaving when they are not around. Is he listening in school? Does he obey his teacher?

Well, apparently Josiah is doing just fine because today his teachers presented him with the "Good Behavior" award, earned by accumulating the most good behavior stickers throughout the term.

Good job, Josiah! Mom and Dad are so proud of you!