Thursday, 8/6/2009

On the morning of Thursday, 8/26, Pastor Joyce picked us up and took us on our first shopping experience in Tanzania. We went to a market down the road from our hostel. It was pretty much an all inclusive market. It re-defined "one stop shopping." You could get anything from food, to cleaning supplies, to clothing, jewelry, accessories and fabric. The market was very crowded, and a little bit overwhelming.

I should be clear that what I mean by shopping is that anytime we stopped walking we had like 9 people all around putting things in our faces that we could buy. It was certainly an adventure! One of the things we all bought was pieces of fabric. Fabric is pretty popular in Tanzania and it was all very beautiful.

Many pieces of the fabric have swahili sayings on them. Often times in Tanzania, this fabric is given as a gift. Rather than a greeting card, fabric, with a special saying on it can be given. We all bought some and I know it is a piece of Tanzania we will treasure. Most of us also bought fabric to have dresses made out of. Our plan was to then wear our African dresses to worship on Sunday, which you will hear more about when I get to that post.

After the market we were picked up by our favorite driver, Kiondo. I swear the man was magic. Anytime we were done doing any activity and it was time to go Kiondo was already there to pick us up. It was like he just appeared wherever we needed him to be. Even sometimes if we were visiting a village or something where we came back a different way, there he was just waiting to pick us up. Many times after hiking those mountains we were SO excited to climb into the back of the car, even if we did have to fit way more people than there were seats. Market day was no diferent. We come out of the market and there is Kiondo.

Kiondo took us to Irente where we shared lunch and then Pastor Joyce told us we would be going to visit one of the subparishes. Incase I have not explained it yet, a subparish is a group of people who live in an area and may have difficulty getting to church, many times due to the location of their village. We visited several of these while we were in Tanzania. We would go to the home of the elder of that particular subparish. This is where we were invited into people's homes and lives and where and when we experienced more true hospitality. Each subparish is visited by Pastor Joyce and also Stephano, the Evangelist, on many occassions. Each subparish also holds bible studies regularly. On Thursday, 8/6, we visited the first of several subparishes, and this one was called Kivumbe (I know I spelled this wrong, so if someone from the team has the correct spelling, please let me know) We were told ahead of time that what we would see in this subparish would constitute extreme poverty. This subparish is located high up in the mountains. We were told a little bit about the difficult life these people live. We were also told that for some people in this parish, this would be the first time in their lives they had ever seen a white person.

Now, understand that in Tanzania, it is not customary to give bad news. So, they simply don't do it. They really sugar coat things for you...

Oh yes, we are almost there. And 4 hours later you actually arrive.

Oh, no, the flight was only delayed a little while. 2 hours later you board.

Oh we are just stopping in to say hello. After dinner and conversation, you leave an hour later.

Oh your meal will be ready very soon. An hour later you eat.

So, Pastor Joyce tells us that Kivumbe is only a short walk.

Do you see where this is going?

Apparntly the definition of "short" in Tanzania differs from the one we use in the US.

Oh it's only a short walk. And 1 and a 1/2 miles later we were there.

Oh, and not 1 and 1/2 miles through a field or a paved road. Oh no, it was 1 and 1/2 miles up a mountain. However, there is a quote by Edward Abbey that reads "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into, and above the clouds." That's Kivumbe. The climb up was more than worth what awaited us at the top, and not just for the view. Kivumbe is home to some people in Tanzania who left a huge impression on all of our hearts.

This was one of the days we started off in layers of clothing and then spent the rest of the day shedding them. As we were walking up the mountain, our group became staggered, as we walked at different paces. At one point Pastor Joyce, Barb and myself (Kara) were walking together. We noticed two little boys, maybe 8ish and 6ish following us. As they got closer, we waved and said "Jambo" (hello) to them. Barb was carrying a stash of Beanie Babies in her bag to give out and Pastor Joyce indicated it would be OK to give a toy to them. I handed each one a tiny little Beanie Baby and they looked at it like and I do what with these?

Very quickly they warmed up, and they followed us for quite a while after receiving this small gift. They eventually dissappeared though, heading home with their new toy as we continued up the mountain. It was sweet to see them staring at it, and excited over this new little toy.

As we were walking, we were met by the people of Kivumbe who hiked about a 1/4 of the way down to greet us. We were met again with singing, dancing, flowers and many hugs and handshakes. We began to hike the rest of the way with them. Some of us noted that at several points we thought we were at the top.

Nope. Not there yet.

It is easy for us to laugh and joke about the fact that this day we truly realized how out of shape we felt. In all actuality we didn't mind the walk. And we certainly didn't mind it when Pastor Joyce told us that these people walk all way to Lushoto for food. Barefoot. Lushoto is the small town where our hostel was located, and this was about another 1-2 miles from Irente, so they walk anywhere from 3-4 miles one way for food. Remember, barefoot.

Yes, we're still hiking.

I am going to have a hard time putting into words what it was like to meet the beautiful people of Kivumbe, and the pictures might really just speak for themselves, but I will try. When we first got there, they sang a few songs and danced for us, and then we sang a few songs for them as well. We introduced ourselves, telling our new friends our names and our jobs back in the US. Pastor Joyce said a few words to all of us and Pastor Sharon prayed before we went inside one of the homes to eat. During all of this, there was an adorable little boy who was maybe 2 who continually would slide down a dirt hill yelling "Beep Beep!"

After all of this, we went inside to eat. They had prepared so much food for us. We were so appreciative, and we also felt guilty. We realized it took them nearly all day to walk to Lushoto to shop for food and then come back up again. Here we were being offered the best of what they could give to us. When we were finished eating there were still many leftovers. There was some popcorn left, and another type of food that we all referred to as Tanzanian donuts, although I am sure this is not the official name. Lisa asked if we could take what was left and share it with those outside. They said it was fine to do this, so Lisa, Liz and myself took the leftover food outside. We began breaking off pieces of "donuts" and handing them out to each child. We filled little hands with pieces of popcorn. One little girl even picked up the bottom of her skirt and held it out so that Liz could fill her skirt with popcorn. It is my guess that not one of these children that we were handing food out to had ever eaten any kind of lavish meal. Who knows if, or what, they had even eaten yet that day. Yet there was no fighting over anything. No grabbing at the basket of food on the ground in front of us. No fighting that someone else's piece was bigger than what they were given. Just gratitude. We were a little nervous that we were going to run out, but we just kept breaking off small pieces of "donuts" and handing them out and there was enough for each child.

All of us also spent time outside with the people from Kivumbe, and they LOVED-LOVED-LOVED having their picture taken. Especially the children. They were just enamored over the digital camera and when they would have their picture taken and then turn the camera around to look at the picture on the back they would erupt in laughter. Lisa used the video feature on her camera and would record them and then play it back for them. They had never seen such a thing and were just in awe. I am pretty sure we could have stood there and done that for days and they never would have gotten bored.

Barbara and Donna traveled with a bag of tricks and had stashed some small toys in their backpacks to give out during our trip. At Kivumbe, Barbara gave the children a frisbe to play with and they had a ball throwing it back and forth to each other and to us. They were so filled with joy.

Before we left, Kivumbe presented us each with a gift. They had heard that we had been writing things down as we traveled, and we were. Each of us traveled with a journal and would note things in our journals that were important to us throughout the day. Because of this the people at Kivumbe gave us each a brand new, unsharpened pencil. It may not seem like a big deal but a few of us were brought to tears by the thoughtfulness behind this. For people who hardly have anything in the way of material items, to be so thoughtful and gracious to us was so moving to us and touched each of us.

Thursday was definitely a day that made an impact on all of us. As I said, many of the people in this area had never before seen a white person. The simple fact that we chose to get on a plane, leave all that we know and the luxuries of America, come to Africa, and then hike all the way up this mountain to see them meant so much to them. We were not coming bearing gifts (that they knew of). We didn't have food to give to them. We didn't have any money with us. Essentially, we had nothing with us that was going to necessarily make their lives easier or better. Except ourselves and our stories. And, as it turns out, that was enough. Their homes were made out of bricks that they made out of clay, and their roof was made from pieces of metal. They were so proud to have us in their homes eating food they had prepared. We were so honored to be there. I think it sent the message to them that they matter and that they are important. We cared enough to come, and that was all they wanted.

This was a big day for us also in the sense of reality sinking in for how absolutely blessed we are in our country. That night one of us commented that they could not imagine living up there in all of that dirt and never getting to take an actual shower. Being in their home, and having a glimpse of the simplicity in which they live really made us each realize just how much we take for granted and just how blessed we each are.

Pastor Joyce explained to us what a hard life it is to live up in Kivumbe, and despite this, these were some of the most faithfilled, Christ-centered people we had ever met. This was just the begining of what became a pattern to us in Tanzania. These people who have so little in the way of material things have so much faith in God. If you heard Pastor Sharon's sermon this last Sunday, you heard her say that these are people who talk about God. He shows up in everyday conversation. Their lives are centered in Christ. For us, Kivumbe was really one of the first real glimpses we had of how strong their faith us. It was the first time it became really apparant, that maybe all the "stuff" we have here actually has a tendency to get in the way of what really and truly matters.

We had much to learn from the people of Kivumbe and it was a day and an experience that none of us will ever forget.

When we left Kivumbe, the people there insisted on walking us back down to where they had met us on the trek up. They danced and sang all the way down, us following them. Children ran after us, and held our hands as we walked. Kivumbe also wanted to give us another gift and that was a basket of potatoes, as is seen being balanced delicately on the woman's head below. We don't know exactly where the potatoes came from, but we know it was a huge sacrifice for them.