In step: Oink

So I may have misled you, and myself, in my first blog post when I said I wouldn’t be able to rely on the comfort of having peanut butter and banana toast for breakfast. The Lord has let me have that comfort, the only difference being it was on Christie’s homemade bagel instead of toast. Which really just made it better.

On Saturday we went to the gold mine with Brett and Christie and the kids. We didn’t find any gold. Mostly because we weren’t looking for it. Many Saturdays their family will go here to get away and have some fun together. We can swim, run, workout, or play on a playground, all without having to wear a skirt. I even got to throw a frisbee again! That night the Groens (the other missionary family we’ll be working with) came back from Israel. Our summer 2014 Geita family is finally united! They have already been incredibly hospitable and have made me and the other interns feel at home.

Sunday was our first journey to a village, and so far the best part of being in Tanzania (although Katie getting stuck in the bathroom at a restaurant comes in a close second). Village church was everything I had pictured, but nothing like I expected. The small church, dirt floors, singing kids, and uncomfortable plank of wood for chairs were all as I had imagined them to be. What I didn’t expect was how many times we would greet people with “Bwana a safiwe” (Praise the Lord). Or the pure beauty of hearing the choir sing once the sounds system they attempted to use wouldn’t work. Or the privilege of being considered an honored guest and given a seat at the front. Although many of us would not choose to be set out in front of the church body like celebrities, this was their way of showing love and gratitude toward us, and it was humbling to accept it. After church we went to the preacher Matayo’s house to have lunch that they prepared for us and to spend time with the people. The meal was surprisingly delicious considering village food generally consists of beans and ugali (bland food that is similar to grits). They made us “doughnuts”, chai tea, chicken and rice. In order to show the family we enjoy the meal and appreciate their effort, we’re expected to finish all they give us, or at least most of it. Usually I’m pretty good at finishing my food and taking on other people’s leftovers, but this proved to be more of a challenge than I expected. Luckily Matayo knows Brett enough to not be insulted that we couldn’t finish all the meal they gave us. After the kids warmed up to us, naturally we ended up dancing. They attempted to show me some moves and all laughed at me when I, as Brett puts it, looked like a dancing flamingo. No matter how much I embarrassed myself, it was every bit worth it to laugh with all of them. I also loved the small amount of communication we were able to have. Just being able to ask someone’s name broke down small cultural barriers. Although, communication isn’t always effective, especially when Dustin (another intern) calls one of the cows his father.

Church at Ibondo

On Monday we got news that most of our bags made it to the airport, so we took the three hour trip to go pick them up in Mwanza. While we were in town, we waited in the car while Brett had to run some errands. Meanwhile a man came up to our window, trying to talk to us and motioning to open the door. We did our best to tell him we didn’t have any money and couldn’t help, but he wasn’t making any effort to leave. He seemed to be praying or rather putting a curse on us at one point. After about 15 minutes he finally left, right before Brett came back. Later that day, Brett claimed to have paid the man to go up to our car and scare us. I’m still skeptical of this, but it wouldn’t be beyond him to do it. While we were still in Mwanza we had lunch at a delicious Indian restaurant and did class there. Or at least got through most of class before Katie got herself stuck in the bathroom. Lots of laughs.

On Tuesday I witnessed my first and hopefully last animal slaughtering. (For those of you with a weak stomach, you may want to skip this paragraph) It is true that a pig screams when it’s being killed. After the gruesome part was over, it was actually pretty interesting to see the pig dissected. We got to help process the meat and I volunteered for the lovely job of cleaning out the small intestine to use for the casing for sausage. The whole time I kept wondering, how did the first person decide this animal meat would be good to eat? Guess if the Lord said it’s good, it’s good.

*Ironically, the name of the worker who slaughtered the pig was Severini. Clearly he was meant for this job.

Later we were taken on a tour of the demo farm where Brett uses practical techniques and resources that local Tanzanians can use to raise chickens and goats and grow different crops. It’s still a work in progress, but in the near future the food will go to Neema House which is the orphanage that the Groens helped start. We got to visit it today too to meet the kids and house mommas who are currently staying there. They have a few Tanzanian workers who either work full-time or part-time. The goal is for the orphanage to one day be completely run by Tanzanians- with the farm providing money for the orphanage. This way it will be more sustainable and more reliant on local funding.

We almost got kicked out of the country on Wednesday. Kidding… but immigration did try to convince us to pay for a working Visa. After explaining we weren’t actually working but just visiting and observing missionaries, they let us go. On a lighter note, we got to go to the market today and attempt to buy food to practice our Swahili. They love to laugh at our efforts. We came out with plenty of maembe, ndizi, and pinasa, so I consider it a success! (Mango, bananas, and pineapple) All of us interns got to spend time with the Groen’s tonight, eating Alicia’s fantastic feast including a chocolate dessert that reminded me of my mom’s chocolate cobbler (Yours is still better momma J But her sweet potatoes win) I feel more and more at home every day. Thank the Lord!

Earlier we were talking about what it even means to be “ministers of the new covenant” in 2 Corinthians 3-4. If the new covenant is no longer through the law, but through the Spirit, our life’s purpose is to be continually transformed to reflect the Lord’s glory to the world. May we all be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God and want to reflect him more each day

“For the earth will be filled with the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” Habakkuk 2:14