It’s natural to compare things. Especially when you’re going someplace different. Tanzania was definitely different from Minnesota. I thought I would speak about some of the comparisons, including a couple of comparisons that along the lines of “you wouldn’t see that in Minnesota”.
Tanzania is a former British colony so they follow the British driving method. They don’t drive on the wrong side of the road; they drive on the left side, different side, or other side. Things that are different aren’t necessarily bad, they just are what they are. You notice a lot of differences when driving. Where there are cities and towns most of the roads are lined with little stands selling things; food, clothing, furniture, and other items. They have a higher percentage of entrepreneurs than we do here. Once you get outside the cities and off the main road there is no pavement. Also, where the pavement ends you pretty much stop seeing gas stations. I was seeing a lot of these roadside stands that would have a bunch of containers filled with a liquid that was about the same color as beer. I was wondering what they were, then I realized that they must be selling gas. Many times we would see a canopy with a pool table underneath. In the evenings, there would be a light on in the canopy and people would be playing pool. Something you wouldn’t see in Minnesota with our weather. But, with the weather in Tanzania there is a rainy season and a dry season. So, they know when to expect rain. Oh, that reminds me. Minnesota has a lot more snow than Tanzania. Not judging our state, just observing. And to tell you the truth, Tanzania has snow year-round if you include the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. When Debbie was in the hospital she had a nurse who was from Ghana. He told us that he was amazed by how weak the sun was in Minnesota. I felt that in Tanzania. Their sun is strong. You could feel the heat quickly if you were in the sunlight. Speaking of sunlight, there are a lot more solar panels on houses than there are here. They don’t have the electrical system that we do. So, a lot of homes will have a small panel on their roofs. We toured a home with a solar panel. It powered three lights that were in the home. Speaking of homes, we’re used to our floors; wood, carpeting, tile or concrete. A lot of their homes don’t have floors other than hard packed dirt. Another thing you won’t see in Minnesota is people bringing water home from a well. Remember the movies where they try to improve young ladies posture by making them walk around with books on their heads. I was thinking of that when I would see someone walking with a five-gallon bucket of water balanced on their heads. There’s another plumbing item that’s different as well. I’ve discussed this before. It was my biggest worry going into the trip. Our sit-down toilets vs. their squat toilets. Most of the time we stayed in places with western style toilets. However, we did have two nights in a place with a squat toilet. I’ll just say that I conquered that challenge. Anything further would be too much information. The lengths of their church services are a lot longer than ours. In Minnesota if the service goes over an hour you start to hear grumblings. In Tanzania Sunday services were not so driven by time and they lasted quite a bit longer. I had heard this before and was worried that I might snooze a little, especially the first Sunday with the big time change. Like most of my worries about the trip it wasn’t a problem. They are very passionate about their worship in Tanzania and it was energizing. So, many differences. But we are also alike in many ways. We all worship the same God who loves each and every one of us.
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I wanted to add a clarification to my post from Tuesday. I'll be speaking in church on Sunday about my trip, but it will be fairly brief. Maybe 10 minutes total. You are still invited, as you are on any Sunday. I just didn't want anybody coming and thinking I was going to give a long talk.
We're planning that I will give a longer talk some evening and show my pictures from Tanzania. I'll post the date and time for that when I know. I’m working on a talk that I’m giving this Sunday, December 4, at Shepherd of the Hills about my trip. I’ll be giving a short talk at both services (8:30 and 10:00). You are all invited.
I’m remembering all those survey’s that rank people’s fears that put public speaking up near the top. I’m wondering if that fear is more than my fear of going to Tanzania. Both fall into the category of fear of the unknown and how I will react to it. Right now, I’d say I was more fearful of Tanzania. Although, I may feel differently on Sunday morning. Especially because I know that I will be following Pastor Renee giving her sermon. And while I might hope that she would give a sermon that would put people to sleep, I know that won’t happen. There is a lot to be said of conquering your fears. I’m glad I decided to go to Tanzania despite my initial trepidations. I did get a chance to do some public speaking in Tanzania and even picked up a tip that I will use on Sunday. At most of the places we stopped at we had to introduce ourselves to the people who were gathered to meet us, I did this at least 7 times. In addition, I gave a longer address in Kidamali because they are our partner congregation. We were warmly welcomed wherever we went. It was at Image Secondary School where I got a public speaking tip. When had all introduced ourselves the head of the school came over and put his arm around me. “We need to walk over here for a minute,” he said leading me away from the students we had just addressed. Why me, what did I say? I was puzzled but I let him lead me. When we got behind everybody else and were facing away from them all he gave me the tip. It’s a good tip, one that I wish I had known before I stood up before everybody and spoke. He told me, “You need to zip up your pants.” People have asked me about pictures. I’m going to post them here at some point. I can do a gallery or a slideshow. I need to experiment a little to see which works better for both computers and those using mobile devices. Should be soon. In the meantime, I hope you noticed the change in the picture with the titles. You should be able to see four different types of animals – giraffe, impala, warthog and zebra. Travelling to a “developing” country can highlight many things that we are fortunate to have in our land of plenty. Things that we take for granted. Things I am thankful for this week with our holiday dedicated to giving thanks. It’s easy to list things we have that aren’t as common in Tanzania. Clean water with the turn of a faucet. Electricity with the flip of a switch all day long. Toilets that flush. Paved roads. There were other things too that weren’t as easy to notice. There is a certain level of automation that we expect that can surprise you when you realize that in Tanzania it’s manual. Like the time I walked by a field that was freshly tilled and didn’t think too much about it. But then, I realized it wasn’t like a tilled field here where someone would have used a tractor or a roto-tiller. This was from someone working with a hoe. It is easy to think of our abundance and be grateful while thinking of the poor Tanzanians who have nothing. But that would be an oversimplification. The people I met have things they can be thankful for. The people are friendly. Their default facial expression seems to be a smile. The people are generous. From people who, by our standards, have nothing we received gifts from each congregation we visited. Their churches are alive and growing. Just days after traveling by air for 24 hours followed by a 10-hour bus ride with an eight-hour time change I went to a church service that was close to 3 hours long and didn’t yawn once. They know the value of an education. They know people who didn’t have access to school, so they are appreciative when their children are able to attend school. Maybe there are things that Tanzania has already developed that would be good for us to work on developing. Something else I’m thankful for is you. I have been uplifted by your prayers for my journey and your support. Thank you readers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I was stressed. I don’t remember the bus ride that well.
After months of waiting for the trip to Tanzania, it happened. After months of wondering what it would be like in Tanzania and how I would react, here I was. After a long time with no visits from Shepherd of the Hills to our partner congregation in Kidamali, I was on the way there for Sunday worship. What would it be like? Would they be upset with me for Shepherd’s long absence? What would it be like talking with the people of Kidamali? How would I do when I addressed the whole congregation? Questions and worries nagged at me. Then we were there, our bus pulling into the driveway at the Pastor’s home. We all signed a guestbook and then were welcomed inside for a meal. After the meal, we went onto the Pastor’s porch where we were serenaded with beautiful music by the church choir while the Pastors all were putting on their vestments. We had 5 Pastors there. From Kidamali – John Kisoma, the Senior Pastor and Amidu Msungu, the Associate Pastor. From our group – Pastor Rich who would be preaching and Pastor Sarah who was our group leader. And from the Iringa Diocese Bega Kwa Bega office Pastor Msigwa (pronounced em-sig-wa) who was translating. After the Pastors had changed we processed up to the church building and service began. As the guests, we all sat up at the very front of the church on the side. At one point, we all introduced ourselves. As the representative from their partner church I went first. I introduced myself and spoke about how Shepherd was excited to be reestablishing our relationship. The congregation all cheered. After the introductions, I read a letter from the Pastor and Governing Board of Shepherd of the Hills to the congregation. I would read one sentence, Pastor Msigwa would translate it and the congregation would cheer. After every sentence, they applauded. I was feeling welcome in Kidamali at this point. Later in the service the Chair of their partnership committee, Clemence Kavindi gave a report about the partnership from Kidamali’s viewpoint. He spoke and Pastor Msigwa translated to me. I was amazed to hear that they had set aside two days a week for praying for us in Minnesota, that money that had been given from Shepherd members had helped 70 children with educational scholarships, and that they had said special prayers for Shepherd when they knew we were looking for a new pastor. I was moved almost to tears. When the report was finished the Chairperson turned to go sit back down, but I leaped up and went to him. I just had to hug him. And not just him, it was really meant for the whole congregation. The whole service lasted almost 3 hours, but it didn’t feel long at all. I felt energized from the welcome I had received. Afterwards we had a lunch again at the Pastor’s house. Clemence helped me to find the spot at the guest house where my daughter, Alicia, had stood to have her picture taken when she had visited in 2007. Tom Olsen from our group took a picture of me in the same spot. Then we took a short trip to one of the parish’s preaching points. The way it works in Tanzania is that the main parish will have additional preaching points where services are held by an Evangelist each week. When a preaching point becomes large enough it can become a parish on its own. At the preaching point of Nyamihuu we were greeted by the church leaders singing a welcome song for us. (I’m not sure if I’ll get any buy-in when I tell the Shepherd Governing Board we should be singing welcomes to our visitors.) Spending time seeing God at work in Tanzania made my worries fade and left me feeling that in Kidamali and in Tanzania I was karibu sana. (In Swahili karibu means welcome and sana means very much.) I’ll have been back home two weeks on Wednesday this week. I’m feeling better, although there was a slight relapse of being ill. Staying up late for Game 7 of the World Series and then for the election results were probably not the best way to get over jet lag. I am sleeping better; I had been waking up at 4am every morning (noon Tanzanian time).
I’ve decided to go back to my usual schedule for blog updates. I’m planning on posting something every Tuesday as I had been doing. In theory that lets me write something over the weekend and then do a final edit on Tuesday before I post. In practice, I have sometimes been up late on Tuesday writing. I’m sure that most of my posts will be about the trip to Tanzania for a while. By posting weekly I’ll be able to take some time for reflection. I’m looking forward to telling you about the many things we did. We spent a night in Dar es Salaam after our flight landed. The next day we had breakfast accompanied with CNN’s debate analysis. The debate had just taken place in the middle of the night Tanzanian time, so our breakfast was only a few hours later.
That day we took a long bus ride to Iringa that ended up arriving after dark. It was an interesting ride with many new sights quickly passing by outside our bus windows. At one point after dark I saw a large group of people standing around a home or building. In the instant when I had a clear glimpse of what they were all looking at I saw a TV with what looked like the debate replaying. And then it was gone. The next day, when we visited the Iringa Diocese offices, Secretary General Chavalla told us that we weren’t electing the President of the United States, but that we were electing the President of the World. Because whoever is elected their policies will have a worldwide impact. He talked a bit about Obama and mentioned that George W. Bush is remembered in Africa for his work in the fight against AIDS. Everyone in the group was struck by this. Coming from an American those words might have sounded arrogant, but coming from an African they carried more weight. Later in the trip we asked a Tanzanian pastor if he agreed that the President of the US is also the President of the World and he immediately said, “Yes, of course.” Many times when we ate with people we were asked about the election. Most of the times the discussion started with a question about who we thought would win and then carried on from there. They are very interested in our election as it will impact their lives as well as ours. My having the same name as Hillary’s Vice-Presidential candidate wasn’t a big deal. But my picture with Obama was always enjoyed. Even after I told people that it really wasn’t him, just a look-a-like, they would laugh and still look closely at the picture. I am back at home. I arrived back from Tanzania on Wednesday afternoon. My daughter, Alicia picked me up at the airport and took me home.
Thank you for all your prayers for my journey, I appreciate them. The trip was an amazing experience and I will be writing about more in depth soon. Unfortunately, I became sick on the last day in Tanzania. It started in the afternoon as a feeling of general indigestion that maybe a couple of antacids would clear up. By the time of our flight that left just before midnight, I was not in good shape, alternating between feeling chilled or overheated. While it was nice to be coming home it was not a pleasant experience. I tried to stay up Wednesday and watch the World Series. I think I slept through most of it, waking up when the announcers got excited and to run for the bathroom and the end of the ninth inning. Maybe it was what I needed to get me back on track time wise, so I could go to bed and get a full night’s sleep. Still I took it easy on Thursday. I’m still not feeling well. Last night I was calculating when it would be 3 days since I started feeling sick. It started around 2:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam. So, I had to translate that to Twin Cities time and figure it out. I had some antibiotics for traveler’s diarrhea that the doctor said I could start taking after 3 days which turned out to be 6:30 am Friday morning. I took one when I got up, hopefully it will knock out whatever bug has been bothering me. If I had to get sick in on the trip that was probably the best time for it. It didn’t impact on any of our activities. (I’ll feel better about the silver lining when the cloud is gone and I am feeling better.) Just a quick note to give you an update. In my post from last night (Tanzania time for me) I asked for prayers for Freddy.
We found out that Freddy had surgery yesterday and is expected to make a full recovery. Thank you for your prayers. A little demonstration of God's connection from Tanzania to Minnesota. We just spent 3 days on a safari to Ruaha National Park; Tanzania's largest National Park. Kidamali, Shepherd of the Hills partner congregation, is on the road to the park, so we drove through on the way there and back.
The drive was an adventure in itself. If you've ever driven on a dirt road and had the washer board effect where your whole vehicle rattles you'll understand the road condition for the last half of the trip. I think it was 60 kilometers of that. Then throw in some engine trouble on both the way there and back. But even with that, the trip was amazing. I've been seeing God's work with the people of Tanzania, now I had the chance to see God's work with the land of Tanzania. We took three drives through the park with our guides. It was simply amazing. We saw so many animals and birds. I'm going to have to buy a guidebook to identify everything. There are 542 different species of birds in Ruaha. I was close enough to an elephant to realize that they have eyelashes. I saw a giraffe bend over to take a drink. I saw a landscape all the way around from horizon to horizon and the only man-made things in view were the truck we were on, 30 feet of our road and a cell tower on a mountain. God's creation is wonderful. We're back to visiting churches tomorrow. We'll take a long bus trip again and spend 3 days south of Iringa. On Sunday, we'll worship with another partner congregation then head back to Iringa. Monday begins our return voyage as we'll be busing to Dar es Salaam. Our flight will leave Tuesday with a Wednesday return for our arrival in Minnesota. Please say some prayers for Freddy, grandson of Liz Spohr and nephew of Sarah Spohr both members of our group. He's having some medical issues. Pray that the doctors figure everything out, that they can fix whatever's wrong. Pray for Freddy's healing so that he can go back to doing the things that young boys do. Pray for Liz and Sarah for peace that their worries and concern for Freddy won't detract from the trip. |
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