1) Racquetball. We were quite surprised (and delighted) to discover that Tenwek has a racquetball court. Thanks to Carlan (hopeful future addition to the McCropders) and other donors, the McCropders now have their own set of rackets, goggles, and balls. This is an excellent activity that both the guys and girls enjoy. Hitting the ball as hard as you can is a great stress reliever!
2) Movies. This is a common weekend activity. A long-term missionary graciously left us his projector when he went back to the States for furlough, so now we can watch movies on the big screen. We have a hot air popcorn popper from the 80s in our kitchen, so we can come pretty close to a theater experience without the steep price tag!
3) Games. Agricola is the newest craze in the McCropder community. Surprisingly, it's probably been played more than Settlers of Catan. That's saying something.
4) Hiking. There are two common destinations when it comes to hiking -- one child-friendly and the other not so child-friendly. The child-friendly destination is the waterfall. It's about a 15-minute walk (depending on the child). John and Jason are scheming of ways to put in a zip-line or swinging rope. Please don't encourage them in this endeavor. The not so child-friendly destination is Mount Motigo. This 2-3 hour hike roundtrip offers a lovely view of the surrounding area. (The picture below shows Tenwek Hospital from the top of Mount Motigo.)
5) Personal Hobbies. Of course, each of us has our own leisure activity that we enjoy. Eric can often be heard playing his guitar. Rachel devours books. Heather and I love jigsaw puzzles. Jason is often spotted reading a surgery textbook or flipping through his Swahili flashcards. (I really think this is a leisure activity for him!) John will do whatever as long as he's around people.
6) Hanging Out. Between the hours of 5 and 6:30, you can almost always spot a group of us talking outside our building while our kids play. As people meander home from work, they join the crowd. It's a wonderful time of debriefing and fellowshipping with each other.
We're excited to hear about your possibilities and understand how you're feeling with the big decision you have to make. We'll be praying for you. Would you guys let us know what you think after visiting Burundi? Dan visited there before med school and Frank Ogden will be visiting us in January, so we've been praying about this as a possible location for after our two years with WMM.
ReplyDeleteDan and Kristina Benedick