Still stepping along

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. And, for those of you who know me well, you know speedwriting is not a strong point of mine. In fact, I’d even call it a very weak point. There is so much I want to say though, so here goes post number 1…

Two Sundays ago, we went to a village called Katoro. Some of the interns had visited there the week before, but it was Dustin and my first time. The church was recently trying to raise money to build a new building and this week announced that they bought a plot right in the middle of their village. They didn’t raise enough money to build in town where they wanted, but apparently the Lord wanted it to be closer to the people of Katoro. On the drive there, Brett had asked us to pray for wisdom in responding to the church leader’s requests that required a lot of unnecessary help from the missionaries. Clearly He heard our prayers and answered them by showing Brett that the church leader didn’t seem to be concerned about these things, but instead asked a lot of really good questions about how to lead. One thing that we thought was interesting was his concern with the growth of large, showy choirs in Tanzania that seem to distract from pure worship focused in God’s word. It’s kind of similar to churches in America, where music in church can become a form of entertainment instead of a path to praise and crying out to God. This man saw it as a source of competition between churches in Tanzania to see who could draw in the most people with their choirs. It’s certainly good to sing praises as a body of Christ, and it’s also good that people will be drawn to that. But when the focus turns from our Lord to ourselves, we miss the point of worship. I also enjoyed seeing how well the church worked together to serve their own community. As a church they decided when the best day was to all start making bricks for their new building, and also when they could go visit a women in their village who gave birth to a stillborn child. Such a great example of serving one another humbly in love.

Last week Dustin (now known as Coach) taught a tennis camp for kids at the gold mine school. We were his helpers. It was quite entertaining watching 6 and 7 year olds attempt to use a tennis racket for the first time, and even more entertaining hearing them talk in their foreign accents. Some of them were from Australia, some from South Africa, and some even from New Zealand. Dustin adopted an Australian/Tanzanian accent whenever he was in coaching mode. By the end of the week they were tennis pros. Meaning they could hit the ball over the net 47% of the time. The other 53% they were having so much fun it didn’t matter. One of my favorite parts of camp: Dustin asked the kids “What is a camera used for?” expecting the answer to simply be “to take pictures.” But Lazi replied “It is used to catch thieves and robbers.” Good point Lazi.

One day last week we made another attempt to conquer Swahili, but slightly less entertaining than the fashion show. Margaret, one of the Harrison’s workers, taught us how to make chapattis (a Tanzanian delicacy. Basically an uber delicious tortilla). Sometimes, it’s better to enjoy food without knowing what exactly goes into it to make it so delicious. This was one of those times. After we drowned each chapatti in mafuta (oil), we added more. And then a tad more. But they turned out quite tasty considering a bunch of wazungu made them.

Also last week some of us worked on putting up solar panels at Neema House to ensure that the kids have electricity when the power is out, which is about 30% of the time (I made that percentage up, but it’s based on my own observation during the past five weeks). I got to climb on a roof all morning, so even though the project was only partially completed, it was fun.

We were studying in John 6, where Jesus reminds the people that the prophets say “They will all be taught by God.” When thinking about this from a missions mindset, we realize that we aren’t the ones doing the teaching. We are teaching people to be taught. Then those who truly hear and learn from what God teaches will be drawn to Jesus. It's relieving to know we don't have to know all the answers, but we do know who to look to to find them.

Another Groen birthday shout-out this week! We celebrated Mama Alicia’s birthday by watching “The Gods Must be Crazy” and by breaking into the Groen’s house after getting locked out. Not to mention it allowed us another chance to eat ice cream and brownies. Alicia is a beautiful example of Christ’s selfless love for all of us interns and especially for her three daughters. We mostly experience it through her exquisite cooking. She fits a lot of love in one little apple pie muffin. But we experience it even more through the way she lives her life by humbly and joyfully serving others.