The sermon.

May 26th The sermon. Eleven months ago I boarded a flight from America to this foreign land of Tanzania. I will admit I was pretty scared. I knew that difficulties and hardships awaited me but I wasn’t prepared for the love, kindness, and friendships I have made. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly and Gracious Father, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to live and worship in Kafule this past year. I had no idea the love you had in store for me. I hope the enrichment that I have gained has been returned in some way to all of the people. Amen. Let us read Mark 12: 28-34 and 1 Corinthians 13: 4 -8. Love. Love is spoken about throughout the Bible. Jesus tells us to love each other, to love our enemies, to love our God. We read, we hear, and we believe we are doing the written word. Throughout your lives you have lived in Kafule or Isoko or one of the neighboring villages. You have had the same neighbors most of your life. Some people die over the years, but their family still remains. You love these peo ple. They have become your family. And most of you would stand up right now and say you would die for them. One night I was sitting in Mbughi’s home when someone ran in, spoke very fast, then everyone ran out with their torches leaving the home in complete darkness. I late found out one of the neighbors was being disturbed by a drunken man. Mbughi and his family stopped what they were doing to protect their neighbors. You grow up with these people; they are your family, so it is easy to love them. You have never had a difficult time with the Mark 12 passage. But the Bible tells us to love everybody. Have you considered those words before? Last year in July two foreigners came to live in your village. Now, I hope you never considered them enemies but they were and are different. They looked different, they spoke different, and they even dressed different. How could you understand them let alone love them? Let’s refer back to Mark 12:33. As one of those foreigners I could not understand how I would communicate and interact in a strange society. But God always has a reason and a purpose for his actions. In Mark 12 we have two commandments to fulfill: Mark 12:30-31 From the first week I put my trust in the Lord and started attending church regularly. Yes, I did not and still do not completely understand what goes on each Sunday. Truthfully, I don’t come to church thinking I will get much from the lesson. I go to church for the love: the singing, the dancing, the smiles, the laughter, and the celebrations. Each and every one of you has given me a reason to come to church; a reason to believe God is in each of your hearts. If you love the Lord then everyone knows it. Loving the Lord is loving yourself, loving your neighbor, is loving your enemies. You want to dance, you dance. If you want to sing, you sing. You are free. There are a variety of ways to show love for someone. By worshipping and praising Jesus through songs, dances, laughter, celebrations, by being free…you are loving him. You are rejoicing in his name. I strongly urge and encourage you to be free. Don’t follow or copy what you see on the television or hear on the radio. Most of what you see is excessive or over the top. You don’t need to be excessive to show God you love him. Be yourself. Keep it simple and you have conquered the greatest commandment of all. The second greatest commandment as we read is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How do you think you did with this one? Let’s refer back to 1 Corinthians to get some insight as to what love is. In 1 Corinthians we have found that there are 15 ways to describe love. Let’s see if I can give an example of each. 1. Love is patient Over the Easter holiday I travelled to Matema Beach to relax on the shores of Lake Nyasa. On Easter Sunday I returned on the Toronto Bus and was having an awful time. I spent 12 hours on a bus. When we were stuck in Isongole for 3 hours I called Mbughi and told him to send either Wema or Noeli to come help me as I would be arriving late. When we finally reached Lupembe late that night I found Mbughi with Wema waiting to help me with my bags. 2. Love is kind. As most of you know, I have spent much of these past months tending to my garden. Umbege Kibona graciously gave up countless hours and days to assist in the planting. He did all this work with nothing in return. He doesn’t live in Kafule where everyone will be reaping the benefits of my work when I leave. 3. It does not envy. This was probably the hardest for me to think of an example. It is hard not to envy someone. For me, I envy the fact that each of you has your family close by but my family is a four day journey far away. When I think of something that is not envied of mine I think of my hair. Children cry when they see it, they don’t even want to touch it! Maybe some of you envy my hair but not when you hear that I must wash it each day! 4. It does not boast. This was another difficult one for me. Everyone that has become my friend this past year seems to get a rise in social status throughout the villages. If I travel to a home one afternoon everybody knows about it. There were a few instances when some of my friends have helped me which very few people know about. As I mentioned before, my return from Easter vacation was very bad. The day after Easter was much worse. While I was away a rat let loose in my room. He ate a skirt and went to the toilet on my clothes and bed. I was also suffering from an ear infection…my day was bad. At one point, I spoke with Enea about my troubles. Without hesitation she ordered me medicine from the hospital and sent students to set up rat traps at my home. My day completely turned around. 5. It is not proud. I mentioned earlier about Umbege assisting in planting my garden. Most of you already knew this. Most of you don’t know that a form 4 student, Jaliwa, was the first person to ever help me start my garden. And he has helped more than once. 6. It is not rude. The two secretaries at school, Neema and Tegemea, are prime examples of this. Every morning they are there to greet me with a friendly smile and a mwaghona. 7. It is not self-seeking. Throughout this year I have had complete strangers come to my door to offer gifts of peanuts, avocado, banana, or eggs. 8. It is not easily angered. While traveling in December my phone calls were few and far in between. I consider (as I am sure most of you do) that to be quite rude as a friend. Fortunately, none of my frequent callers from Kafule or Isoko were angry with me but happy to finally hear from me. 9. It keeps no record of wrongs. Again, I didn’t call for about a week while I was travelling. When I did return to Kafule no one seemed to care or remember. 10. Does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Some of you heard about the instance at school when a student stole a pen from me while I was teaching. Throughout the week I had many students and teachers apologizing to me. They were upset with what the student had done and fully supported me. 11. Always protects. Whenever there is an issue at my home I have many people to turn to. When I finally captured our first rat I called Mbughi and Noeli came to the rescue. When I captured the second rat I screamed so loud that the primary school teachers came running to rescue. 12. Always trusts. Since we do not have electricity in Kafule, Lindsay and I would travel to Isoko once or twice a week to charge our computers. In January, Enea gave us the key to her home to charge our computers any time we want. Even if she was travelling or working we would still be welcomed. 13. Always hopes. When we arrived in July, the teachers at Kafule were present at our home to welcome us. 14. Always perseveres. This can definitely be accredited to Elizabeth and Umbege. One day with Elizabeth I came up with the idea to walk to Malawi one Saturday and that is exactly what we did. Five hours there, five hours return. 15. Never fails. You kept listening throughout this sermon!! So yes, I think you conquered the second greatest commandment as well. Please take a minute to reflect on all these memories I have just shared with you. None of them were about the powerful ten minute prayer or the hour long sermon by a guest preacher or the confession of sins when someone passed out. They were all about simple acts or ordinary occurrences. If you live your life believing then it shows. I am a witness to these simple acts which glorify God in every way possible. Extravagant acts or gestures are not nor will they ever be needed. Keep it simple. In America, keep it simple is the theme of my home church. There is so much truth to that phrase and I hope you can remember it. I have had an amazing experience this past year. I have laughed, I have cried, and I have danced a lot. One of my fondest memories comes from last September. On a Saturday night I came to church for a celebration. The generator was going, people were dancing, and I got a chance to dance with this mama right here (I pointed at a woman from the congregation). I loved that night and won’t ever forget it. Next Sunday we are celebrating Pentecost. For those of you that don’t know or don’t remember Pentecost is the day when the Holy Spirit entered the bodies of God believers. As a final memory and to celebrate the Holy Spirit I ask that we spend this Friday night dancing and celebrating. Since the generator is an expensive commodity, I will take care of the cost of it. All are invited; I hope to see you there! Let us pray. Dear Heavenly and Gracious Father, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with my friends. Please continue to watch over this second family of mine. I hope that they are able to continue loving you and keeping life simple. On Friday night we will show you our love by dancing the night away. I hope you join us in this celebration. Amen. And this was translated and then spoken in all Swahili. Love, Gretchen

nitahubiri!

May 12th (part two) At 3:20 AM I woke on Saturday, went to the toilet, and walked to the main road to catch the bus. The 4 AM bus was 40 minutes late. Luckily, I had company: the headmaster was travelling to Mbeya. When Toronto arrived we were both told to sit in the front with Lindsay but I left Isaac to it and snuck in the back for some much needed rest. I slept most of the ride and the woman next to me rested her head on my shoulder. At 6:30 the bus stopped and everyone got out. We were stuck. The lorry that left an hour before us broke down in the middle of the road. After an hour and a half of waiting the driver took our bus into the shrub around the lorry and then we continued on our journey. I arrived at Lisa’s home at 9:30 instead of the promised 7. She was very anxious and worried but we were both happy it wasn’t a serious problem. The entire visit to Isongole was enjoyable but very rushed and definitely not long enough. We went to the market in Isongole in the afternoon on Saturday where I bought a few pairs of sandals made out of tires and food for the next week. We spent the evening in the town of Itumba for a Nurse’s Day Celebration. Nurse’s Day Celebration combined nurses and other workers from the hospital in Itumba and Isoko. Lisa has friends there and I had friends there so it was a cool experience. Unfortunately, the party was short lived and we were home by eleven. The lorry from Isoko Hospital didn’t want to drive all night and left after we ate. Most of the people left with it. Lisa and I attempted movie night when we returned but were both completely exhausted and fell asleep in the living room. We woke late on Sunday, ate breakfast, and then it was time for me to wait in Isongole for the bus. I returned to Kafule late Sunday night and am trying to slow down but there is just so much to do! I didn’t go home until 3 from work on Monday and spent an hour and a half trying to light the fire for my jiko (cooker) with little success. (I finally asked a student walking by to assist). After I started the boiling of the drinking water I started the cleaning. Five bags of trash and covered in dirt three hours later and I finished (for now) the cleaning. There is still some work to do but it was dark and I was hungry. Yesterday I didn’t return home until 5:30, went for a run, bathed, and spent the night at Mbughi’s dancing. I arrived home at eleven exhausted and went right to bed. Today is another long day at school. On Saturday I am giving my form 4 students a practice exam so I am currently sitting in the office watching form 2 students handwrite copies of the exam for me. On Sunday I am preaching at Kafule Church! Nitahubiri! I have been telling all the students and villagers as I go for walks/runs this week, but they aren’t really sure what to expect. I wrote most of the sermon a few weeks ago after a really fun church service where we did a lot of singing and dancing. I completed it on Monday night and gave it to the headmaster to translate on Tuesday. He finished in record timing (the next morning) but I was too tired to even collect it from him. Thursday night we sat and read through it once. I had more trouble reading his handwriting then the actual words. Once we read through it I decided I needed to rewrite it because I couldn’t read what he wrote. The problem was that my sermon was 8 pages written in English and then became 7 and a half when he translated. There was a lot of rewriting to do and little time to do it. Slowly I am going through the writing and reading. Today, I am going to my friend Elizabeth’s home to get some help with the pronunciation. You think preaching is hard, try it in another language! Love, Gretchen

thiefs and lindsay's departure

May 12th It is coming close to the end of my year in Tanzania so posts are few and far in between. Since the Mei Mosi or May Day or Worker’s Day party we have been busy preparing for Lindsay’s departure. I’ve been busy preparing what I will do when she leaves; she has been busy packing. Over the last two weeks I have had some trouble with students stealing from me. I think because we are leaving soon they think we won’t care as much if they take our things. I don’t care so much for what they have stolen, just the fact that they have stolen. During the Mei Mosi party my desk from the office was used for the guest of honor. In my desk I had my markers, my stapler, and about 40 pens and pencils that I give as gifts for the good students. The desk wasn’t returned the night of the party. The next morning I made students return it to the staff room and I found all of my things were taken out. I knew that they were stolen and didn’t just fall out because the stapler was taken out of its bag and then the bag was returned. When I consulted the headmaster and second headmaster they told me they didn’t know what they could do. That happened on the previous Wednesday. On Monday I was teaching in Form 2 when the students were being very misbehaved (more so than ever before). We were starting a new chapter, sets, and I brought in objects to display sets. I brought in my remaining 7 pens, a few books, and chalk. While teaching I put these objects on the window ceil. As I said, the students were very misbehaved and many were sent out of the classroom. While doing an exercise I was walking around the room checking work. As I approached the front I saw a hand putting a pen back on the window ceil. Some of the students I sent out stole a few pens and a good student went and returned the pens for me. She was so nice as to hope I didn’t notice, but I did and wasn’t very happy. I walked out and went home for the day. Eventually the staff found out and hunted down the girl who stole and she was beaten quite badly. She came to apologize to me (which was all I asked for) and then I could hear her crying while they hit her with a stick and called her a thief in front of everyone. Throughout this week she has been returning to the office for other offenses. I even caught her going through the purse of another teacher! She obviously didn’t learn her lesson. Fortunately, there are many students who do care and told me they were sorry which made the week a little better. Last Saturday I went to teach my form 4 students in the morning and then went to Isoko with Lindsay. Enea called asking us to come to her home so she could spend time with us. When we arrived she was so busy working that we sat in her house all afternoon without more than a greeting with her. On Sunday Mbughi brought me to a different church for a service. The service was five hours long. I was not happy and neither was Lindsay. We made plans to visit a students’ home that afternoon and we arrived much later than planned. This last week seemed very rushed. Each day we had some social obligation to partake in and I never got a chance to relax. On Wednesday Lindsay had her bags packed and was ready to go. She started counting down the hours to Saturday morning’s 4 AM departure. Thursday was her last night in Kafule and we spent it at Mbughi’s house. While there, he informed us he was going to make us zawadi’s (gift’s). It was going to be a woven sign with our first and last names on it…this would be our third. I brought over the two last night thinking he would change his mind about making another but his response was his would be better. I guess when I get older I will never forget my name; I’ll have three signs saying it! On Friday Lindsay took the school motorcycle to Isoko for the night. The motorcycle was supposed to come at 2 PM and both her and I rushed through work to be on time for the departure. The driver did not show up until 4:30. Kind of a waste of my day. I considered going to Isoko for a few hours but since her departure was already late and I wanted to go for a run I said goodbye and surveyed the damage she left in her room. Since I was travelling to Isongole on Saturday to visit my friend Lisa, I left the 2 boxes, 1 basket, and 2 bags and floor full of trash for Monday afternoon. Friday night I went to bed early. Upon my return from Isongole life has been quite hectic and with little rest. Read part two about my trip to Isongole! Love, Gretchen

Time is winding down...

May 4th Lindsay and I never went to Daraja ya Mungu. The head doctor, Doctor Shibanda, was trying to charge us Tsh 200,000 or about $150 for the trip. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but for the cost of things on this side of the world that is quite significant. We turned the offer down and were glad we did—it poured all morning. Once the rain cleared up in the afternoon Lindsay and I headed to Isoko. Lindsay went earlier than me and when I arrived at Enea’s house she informed me that I missed the killing and plucking of the chicken…Enea wanted to show Lindsay how to prepare a local chicken. After about an hour Enea finished cooking and we ate chicken and potatoes (fried chicken with no sauce makes the driest meal you can imagine) while watching Harry Potter on her television. Enea just bought a TV in Mbeya so we are helping her use it with movies that Lindsay bought. After the movie, we headed home to prepare for the last day of school for the week. Lindsay went away this past weekend so I celebrated an empty house with a lot of cooking and MUCH NEEDED cleaning. I prepared beans with potatoes and leafy greens (kind of like spinach) with eggplant. I know this doesn’t sound like much but it took me five hours to prepare this food! On Sunday I continued eating all my leftovers. On Tuesday we celebrated May Day or Worker’s Day at school. The school put on a big party to celebrate. Since the party is so close to our departure it was a joint goodbye party. At 8 AM on Tuesday Lindsay received a phone call that we were needed to help with decorations. So much for sleeping in! For some reason I woke completely exhausted and was not thrilled to be going to school. We went to find four students sitting around and a box of random decorations. At 2 o’clock we were told to report for the party and at 1 o’clock we were still decorating…Lindsay and I took an early exit. We went home and took power naps. A little after 2 o’clock we arrived at school. The only people we found were the headmaster and the DJ. The DJ was warming up the generator and for an hour we sat waiting for the other teachers and faculty members to arrive. The first order of business was eating. We ate lots and lots of rice. You had the choice of white rice or spiced rice, a piece of fried chicken, and a fried banana. Again, a very dry meal. Luckily, the rice was cooked in so much oil that everything went down easily. With three sodas added on top of it I didn’t have too much trouble. After eating, the guest of honor (or honours as the time table said) spoke, the headmaster presented gifts, and Lindsay and I gave thank you speeches. And then the dancing started. We danced well into the night and then the DJ switched to a Tanzanian movie and Lindsay and I left. We had to go home to open our presents! Besides a general gift from the school, the second headmaster (Makala), and a new teacher (Grace) gave us each gifts. From the school we received a kanga (fabric you can wrap around like a sarong) and a woven sign with our names on it. Makala gave us each a kanga and Grace gave us each a pair of underwear. We still don’t understand her gift. Lindsay thinks it was a joke but we don’t have any jokes with her concerning underwear. And I’m pretty sure the note she wrote us was on a pad wrapper. The gift is still sitting on the table in the living room. After the big party we had a three day week of teaching to look forward to. On Wednesday night I left a tin can outside to measure the rain fall. I left the tin there until this afternoon. In 36 hours we received 3 inches of rainfall. The air is so dense that the chalk breaks as soon as we touch it! Don’t worry, the rain continues as I write this so I will give you an update the next time I write. This weekend Lindsay is preparing to pack while I teach form 4 students. She will be leaving next weekend and then I have the place to myself before I leave. Still don’t know when that will be yet… Love, Gretchen

last walk to the market

April 25th The teachers’ never played the students in netball after my last post. Every time I would show up at the court no one would be present. Not sure why I was ever asked to play in an imaginary game. Today, there is supposed to be a student versus teacher soccer game but I am not counting on it ever happening. It rained all last week. The weather was quite miserable and the footpaths became extremely difficult to walk on. I think my butt is permanently bruised. Fortunately, on Saturday I woke to perfect weather. Friday afternoon the rain stopped and I prayed that meant the end of it. I thought it was (for the last four days at least); the sun was shining and the footpaths finally dried over. Unfortunately, last night the rain returned in full force. For much of today it hasn’t stopped. Maybe this will be the weather routine for the next month: rain for a week, then no rain for a few days, then another week of rain. I truly don’t mind the rain all that much but it’s the cold weather that bothers me. I’ve resulted in sleeping in socks, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt again. If I can’t stand 60 degree weather I am not sure how I will deal with a Delaware winter this year! I celebrated the perfect weather by walking to the market in Katengele on Saturday. I did so much needed laundry on Saturday morning then left for my walk. I was happy to be on my own and climbed the mountain in record timing. Tanzanians make straw mats at the market which they use for sleeping. I think they are very good mats to stretch on. I’ve been using one all year and decided I should bring one back to the US with me. While walking home, I got many congratulations on my new purchase. If only they knew that I didn’t actually sleep on the dried grass. Along with my mat, I bought some food for the next week. Nothing else is going on on this side of the world…the garden is still growing well, still running a lot, and still working a lot, but no new rats to report! Tomorrow there is no school. On Union Day Tanzanians celebrate the unification of Tanganika (former Tanzania) and Zanzibar. Lindsay and I hope to celebrate by taking a trip to the local natural bridge: ‘Daraja ya Mungu’ or ‘God’s Bridge.’ Still waiting to find out if the hospital will lend us their car or not. Hope you are staying warm and having a great week! Love, Gretchen

destruction of panya 2

April 17th (part 2) This week has been very interesting. It started with no rain and gorgeous days of sun shine. My garden grew really nice while I was away and continued throughout the week. I can’t eat the food from it fast enough! I’ve been making many deliveries to neighbors which they greatly appreciated. On Thursday, we woke to a torrential downpour. And the rain hasn’t ceased too much since then. All day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we did not see the sun. On Sunday it only rained in the morning and evening but the sun was hidden behind clouds so it was still dark and chilly. As a result, the garden stopped growing and I started spending more time indoors. Occasionally the rain would break and I would go running or walking but the paths and roads were (and still are) awful to walk or run on. Most of my clothes are muddy from falling and I can’t wash them because they won’t dry. On Saturday Lindsay and I escaped to Isoko and spent the afternoon watching movie’s at Enea’s home. Yesterday the sun finally emerged but the rain and cold came back today. We were told the rain stops after Easter…it’s gotten worse. :-( I am proud to announce that I have captured and then made someone else kill the panya (rat) today. Panya number 2 is dead and it’s about time! I have been waking up all week to him eating in the kitchen. Each day I have made new discoveries to which food he likes to eat. You would think triple bagging food would be enough to deter the scent! I cleaned out the kitchen of all his favorites last night and wrapped up and placed in a new location anything I thought he might like. I discovered Saturday night that he ate through three bags that I used to cover up my cereal. That is what he was crunching on every night! I brought so much fruit back from Mbeya that I hadn’t touched my cereal…now the remaining cereal is in a bag which hangs from one of the ceiling beams. On Sunday, I found out that he ate some of the seeds from the garden that are kept in a storage room. That discovery made me call in the reinforcements: the cat. I would have brought in the cat a long time ago, but Lindsay is allergic. I went to Mbughi’s house to find that the cat ran away. The cat returned later but Mbughi was worried that it would eat the poison we had in the ceiling and wouldn’t bring her over! So much for the reinforcement. This morning I was stretching when I heard movement in the kitchen. I went in with my flashlight and the rat leapt from the flour bag towards me! I screamed and watched him run into the door. I grabbed the rice sorter (closest thing to me) and captured him. Lindsay told me to shake it around. I did but all that helped with was cutting his tail off! I decided it was too much for the morning and I didn’t think I could kill him so I put my boot on top of the rice sorter and went to school. This afternoon I returned home for some lunch to find the rat was still captured and alive. I started thinking he would eat through the rice sorter (it is made out of woven dried grass) and got worried. I took my boot, got his tail to stick out, and pressed down. I opened the rice sorter and with one jump he ran free. I screamed quite loudly then followed him into the back of the compound. He ran into our cooking room where I cornered him and again threw the rice sorter back on top. Luckily he was injured and couldn’t escape me. I heard the primary school teachers (who heard me scream and thought I was in trouble) and asked them to help. Two women (one pregnant) came into my home, closed up the cooking room, and attacked. With a wooden spoon, the rat was beaten to death. The rat was already limping at this point and obviously had no chance. Hopefully he is the last rodent to make an appearance while I still live in Kafule! This week is sports week and the teachers play the students in netball today! Now that I understand the rules, I enjoy the game very much. I only need to find a team to play on in Delaware when I return home! Love, Gretchen

bad return to kafule

April 17th I’ve been back to my home in the mountains for a little over a week now. The first day of my return was quite awful but I’ve luckily rebounded quite fast. Easter Day was spent on a bus for 12 hours. It all started at 9 AM in Mbeya on a smaller, more crowded bus and ended in a larger bus where I was seated in the front with the driver. The drive, in general, wasn’t bad but I was ready to get home. At one point we stopped for over two hours in Isongole (a neighboring village that is about a three hour drive away) because the gas tank fell off its hinges and a hole was punctured in it. So much for those pot hole filled roads. When we did reach Kafule (at 9 PM) I was met by Mr. Mbughi and his daughter who helped me to carry my bags home. After dropping off my bags, I enjoyed a nice dinner at their home before retreating for bed. Unfortunately, sleep wasn’t as relaxing as I had hoped. It all started with the smell of rat urine that was overwhelmingly present in my room. All over my clothes and bed I found little bowel movements and discoloration. Not just one or two droppings, but probably around a hundred or more. I did as much cleaning as I could that first night and left the deep cleaning for the next morning. I spent Easter morning cleaning all my clothes and scrubbing the floor in my room and kitchen. Now, my clothes are being safely kept in my luggage and my bed is under a mosquito net. With the rat problem and an ear infection that got progressively worse, I had a bad return to Kafule. In the afternoon on Easter Monday I called my friend Enea to ask for medicine from the hospital. While on the phone with her, I informed her of the rat problem and she was upset that I was having such a bad day. A few hours later some students arrived to help de-rat my home. Enea sent them with poison that they placed in some burnt meat and placed in my ceiling. Supposedly the burnt meat sends a nice scent that the rat would enjoy. I was very grateful for her help and my day started to look up from there. That, and a look at my grandiose garden, quickly turned my return to Kafule into a more positive direction. The week started bad but was pretty positive after that first day. Keep reading to find out about the rest of the week! Love, Gretchen