Too quiet?

Last night I had trouble sleeping; for some unexplainable reason it was very quiet. Nights in Mwanza are rarely quiet with Monday night usually being the quietest night of the week. However, last night was Tuesday night.
The noise starts mid-afternoon; we have a variety of churches around us and they all believe in having outdoor meetings on a regular basis. Tanzanians of all faiths apparently have the same belief in one area at least; the louder the better. It starts with the "checking of the microphone" so for several minutes you hear, over and over, "hello"; "1-2-3" and even "test-test". I don't know why they use the English language for these tests but they usually do. The music and choirs begin followed by the loud preaching, (Is God deaf?) and yelling which continues to grow in volume and emotion as the meeting progesses. There are often 2-3 of these meetings going on at the same time.
As daylight fades and darkness comes the local bars add their loud music to offset the outdoor meetings and all of this is topped off with the Muslim "call to prayer" also done over a loud speaker.
By bedtime, the churches are usually finished but not the bars; we hear several at different times.
There is always people talking as they walk on the road that passes our gate, children playing and crying, dogs barking and the birds (which we have in abundance around our property) singing as they prepare to settle for the night.
As the night progresses it usually settles down to a few distinct noises that last through most of the night. The bars blasting their music over their loudspeakers, the sounds of dogs barking at each other and our own two guard dogs barking at anything that moves.
However, last night it was almost too quiet to sleep because the power was also off most of the night so we didn't have the usual inside noises; the uneven hum of the overhead fan and the slightly louder noise of my c-pap machine on my nightstand.
Finally I am able to drift off to sleep; awakening occasionally to listen to the unusual silence before drifting back to sleep.
Hope your night is peaceful...or loud...whichever suits you best.

Wearing Shoes

I have always enjoyed moving around my home with no shoes on; I like the feel of the cool ceramic tile on my bare feet.


Here in Mwanza Tanzania we try to keep a pair of flip-flops by the side of our bed at night. If we need to get up in the night we slip our feet into these cheap colorful rubber/plastic shoes before striking out across the dark room.



Yesterday as I was strolling across my the living room enjoying the feel of the ceramic tile on my bare feet, I noticed something laying on the floor so I went to investigate. Upon close examination, I realized that it was a baby snake. It was about 6 inches long and very thin; some might have called it "harmless". "Snake" and "harmless" cannot be used in the same sentence.

So, I did what anyone would have done; I quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed my can of DOOM ( similar to Raid Bug Spray but stronger due to no restrictions on chemicals here). I returned to the snake which lay contentedly on my floor and proceeded to "doom it" liberally. I apologize to those of you who may love snakes or at least feel that we should "live together in peace" with them. This is my house and my rules apply; snakes are not welcome. They are grouped with those other unwelcome guests: rats, mice and gigantic roaches.

The snake, although not dead, was now immobilized and unable to escape; it lay groggily in the pool of Doom and occasionally lifted it's head to try for a striking position. Since Tim was not here, I went outside and called for our trusty yard worker, Juma. He came quickly and I pointed out the snake which he quickly picked up on a stick and started outside with it where he would proceed to "take care of it".

As he passed by he calmly explained, "it is a baby cobra - it's too small to hurt anyone". I smiled bravely as if I totally agreed with him.

I quickly went in search of my sandals; the feel of the cool ceramic tile on my bare feet had suddenly lost it's appeal.
I tried not to wonder where the rest of "baby cobra's" family might be lurking.
Have a good day.

Chicken Anyone?

Last Sunday was "youth day" in the Tanzania Assemblies of God; the youth of the church are in charge of the entire service on this day. There is also a "Women's Day" and a "Children's Day". There is no need for a "Men's Day" since every other undesignated Sunday service in this culture is unofficially "Men's Day".

On their special day; it is traditional that the officiating group presents gifts to their pastor/s. At Bwiru Hill Chrisitan Center all of the teachers of the Bible College are also pastors of the Bible College Church; this makes Tim, as Principal, the Senior Pastor.

At the end of the service, all of the youth line up outside the church and sing and dance their way down the aisle to the pastors who are standing at the front of the church ready to receive their gifts. As the youth proceed down the aisle, I can't help noticing that the lead person is carrying a live rooster. The large red rooster, who's feet have been tied, is stuffed into a blue plastic bag with it's feet protruding from the bottom and it's head sticking out of the top of the bag.

My mind begins to process the fact that there is only one large red rooster at the front of the line and there are no other chickens visible in the approaching line of singing, dancing youth. The implications of the solitary rooster becomes clear in light of the fact that Tim and I are the Senior Pastors and the Senior pastors usually receive a more substantial gift than the rest of the staff.

As I suspected; we are presented with the bound and bagged rooster as part of our gift; the rest of our gift was a large umbrella, a box of fruit and vegetables and two flats of eggs (60). Knowing that our rooster would become a tasty snack for our guard dogs; we left it in the care of one of the teachers at the Bible College who has added it to his own flock. We see "Big Red" each day when we drive up to the Bible College; he seems to be happy in his new home.

New Road

Yesterday was a grand day! The Mwanza Bible College sits on top of Bwiru Hill here in Mwanza. Although it affords a lovely view of Lake Victoria, the dirt and rock road that has to be climbed to reach the school has been an ongoing problem since the College opened in 2001.

The road is steep, narrow, filled with deep potholes in some areas and large protruding boulders in others. If a taxi will agree to go up that road, they charge you double price because the road is very bad. We have been praying about that road for years!

Recently, we started up the road only to find it blocked off and city workers working on it. What a shock and surprise. So, for the past two months, we have had to use the back road up to the school; this road is worse than the front road and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to make the steep ascent over the rocks and boulders.

We have been anxiously anticipating the official opening of the front road. We received a text from our staff at the Bible College Wednesday morning that the new road was open! It was a wonderful drive over new pavement as we drove easily to the top of Bwiru Hill.

Some things you take for granted, like paved roads, until you don't have them. When you do have them, they are considered a blessing for which you are always thankful.

Melting pot potluck

Friday night was our "Mwanza Missionary Potluck"; all the missionaries from Mwanza and the nearby areas gather on the first Friday night of each month for food and fellowship.
At these meetings we don't discuss doctrine, mission policies or have theological debates.
We have single missionaries, young couples, families, couples with grown children and grandparents. We have Americans, Canadians, Swedish, South Africans, Europeans, and a variety of other nationalities. There are AIC (African Inland Church), Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Church of Christ and a variety of Faiths.
We gather together for the purpose of fellowship inspite of the many things that could divide us. The things that we have in common: the call to Tanzania, the love for Tanzanians and the desire to be obedient to the call of God on our lives to build HIS Kingdom, these are the things of importance that cause us to come together and become friends.
We eat, we fellowship, we sing, we share testimonies, we share needs, we pray together and then we are free to go. Most of us, however, linger; basking in the comraderie of people different from us in some ways but alike in the important things. In our countries of origin there is a good chance that we would not be together in a setting like this and that we would not be friends or even aquaintances. But in this place where all of us are considered foreigners and strangers, we come together for awhile and are able to "blend in" with everyone else. Time enough to return to the isolated places where most of us do our part for the Kingdom of God; sometimes we feel alone, forgotten, frustrated, helpless, and overwhelmed. On this one night a month, we take the time to have another piece of pie, another cup of coffee, another shared story and another laugh.
Be blessed.