Asante sana Jesu! "Thank you, Jesus" is the blessing song we language-challenged Americans sing with joy here in Tanzania.
Every day brings new blessings and unimagined experiences. We have had so many "God moments" that our heads are hearts are overcome and our brains are spinning. It will take us months to absorb all we have seen and done; the photographs will help, but many of the messages are engraved solely on our hearts.
Showers here may be a little shorter (due to the drought), but we are well-bathed daily in the sunny smiles of strangers. Tanzanians reach out to us happily and unconditionally. The children--toddlers to teens--flock to us, delighted with the prospect of having their pictures captured on our digital cameras. They love to see their faces; some of the kids do amazing Power Ranger imitations! As we walk about, adults also greet us, frequently eager to try out their English or just to be friendly. Everyone returns our greetings--some smiling shyly and others changing their paths to walk along with us and share the day.
People put their hands out to us, not to beg for money, but to affirm friendship. One Tanzanian told us that when people come to visit from the United States, the people here view it as a blessing from God...quite a contrast from the Western world; we have never felt so loved. I feel like the welcome in heaven could not possibly be any better than the welcome we have received here in Tanzania.
The warmth of the African people rivals the heat of the African sun. Our weather here has been perfect...warm but usually with a welcome breeze.
In our few days here we have learned that nothing quells the African spirit. Entrepreneurs load bikes with bags of bread and crates of coca cola. Handcarts overflow with green bananas, bags of charcoal for cooking, or just about anything else you can image.
The students in our schools have charmed us with the magic of their music. The DIRA schools house and educate hundreds of happy, singing children, with limited electricity and without running water. Five-gallon pails are everywhere..students must carry water for the schools use when they aren't in class...everyone pitches in. Even little kids at the schools wash their own clothes in buckets outside then hang them on the line.
The record number of people seen riding on one bicycle is currently four and we saw two Masaai men in full regalia astride a motorcycle, sitting behind the driver.
Every day we are blessed--with this amazing experience of sharing our faith, with good health, and with our amazing friends, Tom and Beth, who, with the help of God, made this journey possible.
Asante sana Jesu!
Tom & Beth at lake with grandchildren
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The girlfriends have arrived
Finally, we write! We've been unable to write due to power often being turned off because it's the dry season, so much to do in so little time, road construction, and understanding African time. It's a good thing -- much more time for talking than for looking at a watch.
Our group is Sandy Furlong (Tom's sister), Kathy Olson (Beth's sister), Sandy Tibbits (friend of Kathy's from Glencoe), and Shari Hamilton (friend of Beth's from Mahtomedi). We are now all sisters and have many more sisters from this part of the world.
We arrived last Thursday. We're heading on safari today for two days but we're pretty sure we already were on one with all of the animals we saw on our 10 hour trip from the airport to Iringa (the city where Beth and Tom live). Even a lion pride!
Our weekend was spent in a very small village about 4 hours away in the hills. As everything is so far, it's all been such an eye-opening, heartwarming, and amazing adventure. We had a Tanzanian retired pastor named Israel with us to help communicate. He and Tom are quite the comedy team and loved by the people. Tom preached to a packed church and people were still on the road walking to hear the Word. As you all know, our group are talkers and that certainly helps with the conversation even though we're not speaking the same language. Add the music, the singing, the dancing, and ................words just can't describe!
We've been to a hospital, two secondary schools with all of the students singing and welcoming us, been fed in local homes, traveling in a Land Rover many many hours on not so great roads with Tom managing it all well, and of course, still finding time for shopping in the local markets. Yesterday we had two Tanzanians, including a mom from Dar Es Salaam who was looking for a school for her child, in the LR for a total of eight. That left Beth, Sandy T and Kathy all sitting in the trunk! Imagine that as Tom braked frequently for goats, cattle, little kids, banana carts and lots of bikes! We are loving almost every mionute of it and grateful to God for safe journeys!
We're getting used to lots of beans and rice, and meals everywhere we stop. It's much like our Scandinavian heritage -- feed the guests well. We are learning to pace ourselves after the five meals within 6 hours.
And of course, each night, we pull the netting down around our beds and continue to be in awe that we are on the other side of the world.
Love to you All. Blessings,
Tanzania Travelers
Our group is Sandy Furlong (Tom's sister), Kathy Olson (Beth's sister), Sandy Tibbits (friend of Kathy's from Glencoe), and Shari Hamilton (friend of Beth's from Mahtomedi). We are now all sisters and have many more sisters from this part of the world.
We arrived last Thursday. We're heading on safari today for two days but we're pretty sure we already were on one with all of the animals we saw on our 10 hour trip from the airport to Iringa (the city where Beth and Tom live). Even a lion pride!
Our weekend was spent in a very small village about 4 hours away in the hills. As everything is so far, it's all been such an eye-opening, heartwarming, and amazing adventure. We had a Tanzanian retired pastor named Israel with us to help communicate. He and Tom are quite the comedy team and loved by the people. Tom preached to a packed church and people were still on the road walking to hear the Word. As you all know, our group are talkers and that certainly helps with the conversation even though we're not speaking the same language. Add the music, the singing, the dancing, and ................words just can't describe!
We've been to a hospital, two secondary schools with all of the students singing and welcoming us, been fed in local homes, traveling in a Land Rover many many hours on not so great roads with Tom managing it all well, and of course, still finding time for shopping in the local markets. Yesterday we had two Tanzanians, including a mom from Dar Es Salaam who was looking for a school for her child, in the LR for a total of eight. That left Beth, Sandy T and Kathy all sitting in the trunk! Imagine that as Tom braked frequently for goats, cattle, little kids, banana carts and lots of bikes! We are loving almost every mionute of it and grateful to God for safe journeys!
We're getting used to lots of beans and rice, and meals everywhere we stop. It's much like our Scandinavian heritage -- feed the guests well. We are learning to pace ourselves after the five meals within 6 hours.
And of course, each night, we pull the netting down around our beds and continue to be in awe that we are on the other side of the world.
Love to you All. Blessings,
Tanzania Travelers
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