Blogs from Usa River, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 3

Thursday, July 8, 2010: "Hii ni siku ambayo Bwana imefanya, mimi kufurahi na kushangilia ndani yake!" ("This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.") This morning, we were served fry bread with our team and it was yummy!!! Then we headed out for the day. Cindy Williams came with us. And a little old man, with a huge smile, came with us today. His name was Ellyrahema. The first Bible study we had was in a house that was approximately 12 ft. by 12 ft. and I am not joking. That was the entire house. A bed took up most of the house, and Mom, Katherine, Cindy, Paulina, myself, and the 4 inhabitants squeezed in a space that was about 4 ft. by 12 ft. I say ... read more

Friday, July 11, 2010: Our day started out mostly as normal--as normal as you can get in Africa, anyway! We went back to David & Margaret's house, and studied with the three women, and we also went back and studied with MamaCarey. When we got back for lunch, there was Brad and he had two people to baptize! But there was no sign of Cody. Mom was kind of freaking out, when Brad said he left Cody up on Mt. Meru with only William (preacher at Maji ya Chai)! For class today--our attendance was down to 110 --we did the story of the Good Samaritan. We acted it out, too, to the kids amusement. Poor Katherine got "beat up." :) We handed out colorful band-aids, too, and the kids LOVED them! That may be unfathomable to ... read more

Tuesday, July 6, 2010: Wow. And I mean wow. I have been to Tanzania once before, but that doesn't mean it ceases to amaze me. We have a saying in our group: "T.I.A." That stands for "This is Africa." That means: anything goes, anything is apt to change. It's certainly true. You wake up, and you're under mosquito netting. "This is definitely not Oklahoma." To say the least. We arise, and get ready. Sharing one bathroom with 7 girls and being ready at 8 o'clock is not easy. In fact, Brad said it was a miracle. 8 o'clock is when our bus would leave, with or without us. No, I'm just kidding. Katherine counted heads to make sure we were all there.We have a huge bus, although when we all get inside of it, it seems ... read more

Sunday, July 11, 2010: We spent the Sunday going in several different directions. Brad preached at Njiro, while Cody taught Bible class; Grant preached at Maji Ya Chai, and Corey accompanied him; and Rod preached at USA River, where the rest of our group went as well. Some miscommunications arose with our bus, so we arrived at 10:30, instead of 10:00, but Tanzanians don't worry too much about time. Now, Fariji Paul told us that there were about 20 children that went to Church there. I figured that some children would accompany their parents to the Lutheran, Pentecostal Churches, or to the mosque, but some would still come off the street. I estimated there would be approximately 75 kids. Wrong. TWO HUNDRED and FORTY KIDS came to church that day! I was shocked, although in a ... read more

Greetings from Tanzania are very different than in the States. People spend more time saying hello and will often hold the other person's hand for the entire greeting. Even for someone coming from "Minnesota nice" and who has visited "Friendly Fridley," it took me a while to get used to the greetings. People are genuinely glad to see you and often will wave and say "Jambo" or "Habari" in passing. I've always felt welcomed just walking down the street. Only men are seen holding hands with each other in public. I haven't noticed any male/female couples and women holding hands in public. Coming from the States where the exact opposite is true it is odd at first but then becomes genuinely natural. The men who are holding hands are friends and are usually in a conversation ... read more