Wednesday 8/5/2009: A visit with the Munga's and the Women of Irente

On Wednesday morning we had the honor and pleasure of visiting with Mama Askofu (the Bishop's wife) at her home. She was so warm and welcoming and her home is beautiful. She welcomed us with open arms and we joined her inside her home for tea and snacks. We discussed many things, including the success of SEKUCo, the Lutheran University. Mama Munga was the pilot behind this project. The Munga's have three children, two of which have special needs. As they were raising their children in Tanzania it became obvious that there was a lacking in the training for professionals dealing with special needs individuals. So, to rememdy that, Mama Munga started working to open the university, specialing in special needs education. She is an amazing women, working tirelessly for justice and human rights. She has a heart as big as God's world, and is so humble and genuine.

Bishop Stephen Munga, or Baba Askofu, is just as humble. It was really a pleasure to meet with him as well and share lunch with him. Bishop Munga was actually living in Sweden at the time of his call. He was asked to return from Sweden to Tanzania to take the call as Bishop. It speaks volumes to the person he is, and how much he was wanted for this position. Both Baba and Mama Askofu are champions for social justice and are truly God's hands and feet in our world. It was an honor to spend time with them. Please keep Mama Munga in your prayers, as she is currently suffering from back pain.

When we were meeting with the Bishop we were all still a little bit jet-lagged. We had not even been in the country for 48 hours, so we were still adjusting to the time and our bodies were trying to figure where we were and why we were not sleeping. Needless to say, we were not exactly as "on" as we maybe would have liked to be for a meeting with the Bishop's wife, followed by the Bishop himself. Thank God for Barbara Spencer, and her role on Synod council because she was able to fire question after question and saved the meeting! Thanks, Barb! We owe for the gift of being able to make conversation!

Later that afternoon we went to Irente and met with the women's group. They are truly an amazing group of people! They had prepared a lunch for us and welcomed us with song and dance (yes, we had already eaten with Mama Munga, yes, we had already had lunch with the Bishop. Note the trend, when you meet someone new in Tanzania, you WILL be eating with them). This was our first meal time experience at Irente. It is tradition in Tanzania that the guests sit at a head table and eat, while those host(s) sit and watch, not usually eating. This was SO hard for us. We wanted to share with them. We wanted them seated at the table with us. We wanted to eat with them. This was a hard lesson for us, but with Irente, we came to find a comfortable balance. By the end of our time there, our friends at Irente would eat with us, but we were always still seated at the table. Sometimes some of them would pull their chairs up to the table, sometimes sitting around us and eating. It was kind of a comprimise between what we were each used to.

We had a wonderful meeting with the women of Irente. They have amazing talent and make so many things including food, kitchen utensils, beautiful table clothes and napkins and many other things. They demonstrated for us all the things they have made and they were very proud of their work-and they should be!

Most of the nights we were in Tanzania, we would meet for group time after day. It was always a nice time to wind down, discuss things about the day, and we always shared laughter. We used a model called G.R.I.P and it worked well for us. We used this to guide our conversation, talking about our gratitude from the day, any regrets, what inspired us and what our purpose was. One of the things we discussed that evening was what our image of beauty is in America. I think we all could feel like none of us was ever judged by our appearance when we were in Tanzania. The standards are just so different. It never mattered what we were wearing--or if it matched! It didn't matter what brand things were, how old they were, what store it came from. It is such an unmaterialistic society and it was very refreshing to be in.

Tanzania Tuesday 8/4-Arriving at Irente

If you read down to the post I did on Saturday 8/8, you can read a little bit more about our arrival to Irente. I will just say again, that none of us has ever experienced a welcome like we did when we arrived. The drive to Lushoto consisted of many hours on a highway (actually a paved road) and then the last part of the trip takes you up the mountain. When I say "up the mountain," I really mean up the mountain. When we would look out the window it sometimes appeared as if there was no edge, just a cliff. That was sometimes a good point to just start looking straight ahead, or close your eyes and go to your "little happy place" (I visited that little place often that first ride up the mountain) :). As an aside,by the end of the two weeks none of us thought twice about driving the windy narrow roads on the cliff while riding sideways in the car. We were all riding sideways in the car going up a mountain, over looking beautiful valleys. Again, it was breathtaking. We all had so many pictures of mountain scenes, but the pictures don't capture the depth or really do the beautiful view justice. What is not so beautiful is the motion sickness that comes along with a ride like this. I think we would all agree that whoever invented those motion sickness patches you can wear, or the maker of the medication, Bonine, should be granted some award. Those things saved many of us!

When we were almost all the way up the mountain to Irente we heard a band playing. As we got closer, we saw it was a band in the back of a pick-up truck. Pastor Joyce said "That's for you." Children from the village started chasing the car. Chuck mentioned that he had never before been important enough to be chased. Pastor Joyce also made sure we heard that the band was playing "Rock of Ages" as we drove up the mountain to Irente. Adults and children were following us and waving at us. We had our hands out the window waving right back and I think this was the first time we really used our Swahili as we shouted "Jambo," which means "Hello" back to them.

Before I talk about our actual greeting from Irente, I think it is important to note that we were hours late getting there. They were expecting us around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and we did not arrive until between 5 or 6. We had to stop at the bank on our way from Moshi to Lushoto so that we could exchange money and this process took longer than anticipated. We were in the bank for well over an hour. I have to say that Tanzanians are some of the most patient people I have ever met The lines in the bank were incredibly long. Some people that were in line when we came in where still in line over an hour later when we left. But there was not a single complaint about this. Some people waiting for us at Irente did end up needing to leave Irente before we arrived, but most of the people stayed and waited on us for hours.

The actual Church at Irente is situated on a hill. So, our car stopped at the bottom of the hill and Pastor Joyce told us we would get out there and walk. We did this, shoulder to shoulder, with those from Irente, up to the church and then listened to the many songs they had prepared for us. We were greeted like royalty. We were in disbelief and we were overwhelmed. We climbed out of the car to strangers who were hugging us and singing to us and giving us flowers. It took only a few seconds for our tears to come. We were just completely overwhelmed by their unconditional love and joy over our arrival. We saw the face of Jesus in each one of them as they loved us and greeted us as if they had known us their entire lives, not as the strangers from another country who were hours late.

And that quickly, we were no longer strangers.

That was the moment that Irente was no longer a place on the map, it was a place we belonged to.

That was the moment that being Brothers and Sisters in Christ became real.

I will repeat what Pastor Sharon said that night, because it is something I won't ever forget.

That is God's Grace.

They are a living example of what it means to love unconditionally.

That love does not come with strings attached.

We don't deserve it.

We do nothing to earn it.

But it is there for us.

Thanks, Irente, for showing that to us.

Tanzania 8/1-8/4

Thanks everyone for all of your patience! I will try and go through and give a day by day of what we did while we were in Tanzania. Thank you so much for your prayers while we were away! We left LCR around 2pm on 8/1 following a short time of prayer. Thank you to everyone who joined us that day, or called in, or prayed from wherever you were. We headed to Washington DC in two cars, and stopped at the home of Barb Spencer's sister. She had prepared a wonderful home cooked meal for us. It was a great chance to just relax before going to the hotel. From Barb's sister's we went to our hotel in Herndon, VA. We pretty much went right to bed once we got there. We had to be up at 6am the next day to be at the airport by 8 for our 10am flight, and 6am is earlier for some of us than others. The next day, Sunday, 8/2 we were on our way to the airport by 7am after we raided the continental breakfast bar at the hotel. We were pretty loud and excited on the shuttle to the airort at 7am so we felt kind of badly for the other, not so enthused passengers who were stuck on the same van as us. We did get some interesting looks from those people when we announced to the driver that our airline was Ethiopian Airline. Seriously...it's a real airline with real airplanes! We went through security without any issues, and then went to the gate to wait to board. While we waited we did laps. Because we knew we had the pleasure of sitting for the next 19 hours so we were walking while we could. We also practiced our swahili words, while doing laps. We made the most of our time! After a prayer circle we boarded the plane. And then sat on the runway. And sat. And sat. And sat. It wasn't until much later we found out that there were some wild storms happening farther up north which explained our delay on the runway.

So there we were. Sitting on the plane for the next 19 hours. I don't even remember what we did. We tried to sleep. Some of us did sleep. We read. We played games. We got up and walked. We started to go a little bit crazy. We ate. They fed us so many times. As soon as you get on the plane, they put you on Ethiopian time. So when we boarded, they function as if it is 8pm, because that is what time it was in Ethiopia. So our first meal was dinner because it was dinner time in Ethiopia, even though we thought it was only mid afternoon. The next time we ate we had breakfast. But when that time came around our bodies thought it was midnight and we wanted to go to sleep, not eat omlets. And this might be about the time "going crazy" started to kick in! Although Sandy said she really liked flying. She thought of it as she just got to sit there for all those hours and read and people just kept on bringing her food. That was really a positive spin for us! But I was way past positive spins by the 8th hour. The first leg took us to Rome Italy and it was 8 hours long. In Rome we just stopped to change crews and bring on more food. Lisa jumped in front of the open door when we were in Rome so that she could breathe in Roman air :)

The next leg of the trip took us to Ethiopia. I wish I remembered more about this 6 hours, but we had been awake many, many hours by now! I do know when we landed in Ethiopia there was an airplane graveyard next to the runway. I am not sure whose idea it was to put that next to the runway, but I do know it was not that person's best idea! I also know that we were two hours late getting into Ethiopia and I do know I was a little bit panicked because our next flight was scheduled to take off at 10am and we were not going to land until 9:45am. Fortunately, in Africa, they have this thing we now call "African Time." It is similar to "Yardley Time" but it is a little more extreme. It basically means that you just add like 77 minutes to anytime someone tells you and that is when it will actually happen. It goes for airlines, too, apparantly. When we got to the gate there wasn't even a plane there yet and none of the airline workers seemed very concerned about that. We were so exhausted that some of us just laid down on the airport floor and started to fall asleep. Shortly after this, they called us to board and at noon we were on our way to Tanzania. We were all beyond exhausted at this point. Most of us fell right to sleep on this plane ride. Some of us fell so soundly asleep that we slept right through a layover in Kenya.

Around 4pm (Tanzanian time) on 8/3we landed at Kilimanjaro Internation Airport in Tanzania. It was SO refreshing to breathe in fresh air! The process of going through customs and immigration was quick. We got our luggage, went outside and met Pastor Joyce! It was SO nice to finally be able to put a face to her name. She came with her sister, Happiness, and her two children along with our driver, Dennis. From the airport we went to the Uhuru Hostel in Moshi Tanzania. We spent our first night here. I was SO thankful that we had made the decision NOT to drive all the way to Lushoto this first night. It was still 6 hours away. We were able to go to the hostel, have a nice dinner and get a full night's sleep.

The next day was Tuesday, 8/4, we left Moshi, stopped at the bank to exchange money, and then made the long drive to Lushoto. This was our first of many car rides in Tanzania in which we sat sideways with many people stuffed in the back. As the two weeks went on, we quickly learned the tricks to making this easier! The whole ride to Lushoto was beautiful. It looked like a post card everywhere you looked and we all took a ton of pictures! It is a beautiful country. We were all just so excited to be there and spent the ride talking to Pastor Joyce about LCR, learning more about Irente, and just taking in all the beauty around us. The hours in the car went by much quicker than the hours in the plane!

I felt really guilty about not being able to blog and update while we were in Tanzania, and one of the reasons I felt like that was because I learned once we arrived in Tanzania that our flight tracker had not been accurate. In fact, it had been so inaccurate, that it said that our pilot aborted our flight plan mid flight. This would have meant that our landing occcured somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I wasn't sure if this was a really tactful way of saying the plane crashed. I know that some of us did sleep through a layover in Kenya, but I can assure you that never once did we land in the Atlantic. We were safe and sound, but if anyone was tracking us they were not given correct information!

Thanks for your prayers and support! More details and photos to come.

You Know You are in Tanzania Part 2

1. Hand sanitizer is just as good as soap and actually washing your hands.

2. You discuss squatty potty etiquette and actually prefer these to Western toilets.

3. Any song you now have stuck in your head is in ½ English and ½ Swahili.

4. Someone is constantly asking what time it is, what day it is, and where we are.

5. You are shocked to find out that the car you are riding in has working headlights

6. You sit sideways in a car and no longer get motion sick because of it.

7. You see someone swinging a machete through tall grass and your response is “Oh look, he is mowing the lawn.

8. You no longer think twice about seeing a woman carrying pounds of stuff on her head without her hands. You wish you could do the same.

9. There are always at least 5 water bottles in your bathroom so that you have water to brush your teeth with.

10. You are already planning your next trip before even leaving the country.

We're Home

Thanks so much to everyone for your prayers! We arrived home safe and sound today. We landed in Washington DC around 9am this morning and we were welcomed back at LCR this afternoon. Thanks so much to everyone who put together the lovely luncheon for us. The food was great! We had an uneventful trip home, or as uneventful as 19 hours on a plane can be. We were all exhausted and very happy to see a Starbucks in the airport.

I will do my best over the next few days to get up some better updates and stories from our trip. I will also add pictures for all of you. The one at the top of this post is of mount Kilimanjaro, as we flew over it yesterday on our way out of Tanzania.

Thanks for your prayers as we traveled! They were felt and appreciated!

Peace,

Kara

On the road again

Hello! Just wanted everyone to know the TEAM is safe and sound in Arusha. They said goodbye to pastor Joyce Wednesday morning, as well as their favorite driver Kiondo and one of the church elders, Alfred. They referred to Alfred and Stephano, (the evangelist from Irente) as their shepherds. Because they would definitely have been lost and walking aimlessly through Tanzania if not for them.

Today they had a wonderful day on safari and saw so many animals in their natural habitat. It was amazing and left them in awe of the beauty that God created.

Please pray for water here in this area. There is a drought in Tanzania and it is affecting the animals and the tribal people who depend on them for survival.

If you were to look at a map of Tanzania, you will see that our TEAM is now between the city of Arusha and Lake Victoria, towards the Serengeti dessert.

Today they drove through the Plains land and it was beautiful. Tomorrow they are going to the Ngorongoro Crater. (Which is also called the 8th wonder of the world.)


Their new hotel is wonderful. Some of the amenities that they are most excited about:
-wash cloths,
-a bath mat,
-bars of soap.
-2 rolls of toilet paper- this means they no longer need to keep every last paper product that they find to use later,
-hot water for more than 30 seconds-tonight they all took long showers, and not just because they were really dirty but also because it was an option.

They also love having new, clean towels and Lisa said she dried her face on a separate towel because she could. :-) They are happy for an extra blanket for the bed and for hangers. They LOVE the wide mosquito nets that will not entangle them if they get up in the night and forget we are under one.

However, despite the excitement over the little things they all feel a bit guilty with their new accommodations. While in Irente last week, they were welcomed into members’ homes which were smaller than the bathrooms in their present hotel.

They saw and experienced things today that some Africans may never get to experience, even though they live there.

They are aware of the abundance that each of them will be returning to and thank God for opening their eyes and their hearts to how others live and find joy in their lives. After a week of living in such simplicity they struggle to find words to explain the emotions that come with leaving. One thing is for sure, each one of them has left a piece of their hearts there with their new faith filled family in Irente, Tanzania.

Arusha

Hello!
Just wanted to let everyone know that our TEAM has arrived safe and sound in Arusha. They will be picked up there tomorrow for their safari. They are staying at the ELCT hostel in downtown Arusha. By their new standards for accommodations their rooms are wonderful. They have shower curtains AND clean bath towels AND rolls of toilet paper. Today they are going to walk around Arusha do some shopping and sightseeing and relax for a little while.