Communion

Today we had communion at the local Kibidula church. It was my first introduction to African style communion. There was not much different other than we went outside to wash our feet. Which it is my opinion that even if Jesus did not command us to wash each other’s feet we should do it anyways because it feels so good. I like it a lot. After we had finished washing each feet we went back inside for the bread and juice. I was wondering where they would get their grapes for the juice because I have never seen any here in Tanzania. And when they uncovered the juice, I assumed that they didn’t use grape juice because it was yellow. More like a pineapple juice or something. Well, they do use grape juice but they only way to get grape juice is by boiling raisins and straining out the juice. And since golden raisins are the most common here, the juice turns out yellow. I must say that it taste a lot like what it is, raisin juice, but it does the trick when you need it to. As for the bread, it tastes just like home.

Christmas Memories

Yesterday I returned from one of the most memorable, adventurous, exhausting and plain interesting trips of my life. Last Friday the director of Kibidula asked me if I would be willing to go the northern part of Tanzania and buy some sheep for the farm. I would be going with a Tanzanian guy named Ezekiel and we would buy around 100 sheep and ship them back to Kibidula. It sounded fun, especially when I found out that the sheep were in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. So Monday morning we took a fourteen hour bus ride to a town called Boma Ng’ombe. Which is Swahili is means cattle corral, it a small town at the base of Kilimanjaro. It was dark when we arrived but when I awoke in the morning. You could see the mounting right out the guest house window. It is really hard to describe, a huge dormant volcano the rises to over 19000 feet. And even though it is near the equator it has an eternal snow cap. Anyways it is a real beautiful mountain. The next day we went to a farm to look at sheep but he only sheep that farm was willing to sell were rams, so we bought five and continued looking for our hundred sheep. Well, they proved hard to find, but by Thursday we had all the business sorted out and a letter from the vet saying they had all necessary vaccinations (required for transporting in between regions of Tanzania). And we were ready to load them on the truck that we had rented. I was wondering how they would do it, but when it came time the Maasai sheep herders just grabbed the sheep and handed them up to me on the truck. Then came the adventurous and exhausting part, It was two thirty in the afternoon on Christmas eve and we had a twenty four hour truck ride back to Kibidula. Also, the sheep needed to be watched so that they did not trample each other to death. So me and Ezekiel took four hour shifts watching it the back with the sheep. So I spent this past Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day with the bleating sheep in my ears, and me returning the favor by bleating Christmas carols back at them. It took us twenty three and a half hours of almost nonstop driving but we made it back safely to Kibidula. As for me, I was tired and stank horribly, but it is one Christmas I will never forget.

Churches and Manure

Nothing really amazing happened this last week. I have only been doing two things lately: building churches, and shoveling manure. Which as I was thinking about it today (while lying down for my sabbath nap) is really quite interesting. I'll start with One Day Churches. Kibidula has a hundred and forty of them to build. But, since it is rainy season we usually only get in one a week. Thursdays are the church building day and they usually beging around five thirty in the morning, so that we can be to the church site soon after day break. Then we work really hard and, if all goes well, are done in time to sit down to a real good African Lunch of peas and rice. It is quite a fufilling day, in the morning you start with bare ground (sometimes not so bare, the first church we did first required the removal of some large bushes and stumps) and by afternoon we leave behind a new church and a happy congregation. The other days of the week I have been hauling manure for the farm here and at first appearances it is just about as fruitless as building churches is gratifying. It all has to be loaded and unloaded by hand, which takes maybe an hour and a half. and if we work hard we can do four loads a day. Unless, it starts to rain then you only get dirtier. And just as building a church only takes a matter of hours. I have calculated that at the current rate it will take a month of only hauling manure before we finish. However, as I was thinking about it I realized that both jobs are equally important because both jobs are essential to the work of God. While one does seem more satisfying the other is needed to make sure the first can continue. So, I have decided to seize the pitchfork with renewed vigor.

Earthquake!

Well, this week was real exciting. I was able to feel my first earthquake. On Sunday night other people here felt two earthquakes. Nothing much, just a little shaking of the gound and the house creaking. However, I didn't feel a thing and was real dissapointed that I had missed my opportunity. Then, on Wednesday morning, I was laying in my bed reading my bible, when if felt thump, thump, thump as my bed shook with the convulsions of the earth. It didn't last long, maybe fifteen seconds. Then all was peace and quite. At first I didn't realize what was going on (half groggy waking up phase), then I became aware of what it was and wished I could feel another one so that I could analyze it more. Well, I got what I wished for because, lo and behold, a minute or so later another, more powerful tremor sent my bed into uncontrollable spasms. For me it was wonderful. As for the group leader who lives in the other part of my house, he thought the day of Judgement had arrived. Later that day I found out that the epicenter was down near Lake Malawi, and was measured around 5.9 on the Richter Scale. There was some damage done in the south part of the country but nothing was hurt here. Even today there was a minor earthquake but maybe it is just to remind us that this world is not our home.

Package

I have for some time now been waiting for a package from my family. Packages take some time to get here so after a month I was not too worried. As weeks passed by and one month became two, I became more and more expectant for the goodies I was soon to receive. Well, the other day, I was joking to one of the boys here that my package was sure to come that day. This was not the first time that I was sure my package was to come that day, and all other times I had been disappointed. This day, however, turned out to be different. Just as the words had left my mouth, Vusi, a man from South Africa, drove up and told me that I had gotten my package. There it was in the back of his car. Perfectly wrapped in its beautiful, blue and white United States Postal Service tape. Well, needless to say, I was very happy with the package. Actually more happy with what the package contained. Wonderful treats. It is amazing how little things from home can have such special meaning to you when you have not seen them for a long time. Like the farming magazine that my family sent me. It was quite a delight. Or the pest control form that my sister filled out for my room, indicating on it that I had every kind of cockroach and spider infesting my house. (Its not so bad really). In the end it made me wonder whether or not it is more blessed to give than receive, but after thinking about I decided my family probably got more joy in sending the package than I got in receiving. But, boy it sure was nice.

Disclaimer: This was not a dissertation to make everyone who reads it feel like they must send me a package. Rather, it is a grateful recipient sharing his thoughts, feelings, and emotions upon receiving a taste of home.