Hamzania

Broadband at home

2008-05-03T17:13:00.000+03:00

Garden progress

2008-05-03T17:01:00.000+03:00

Choirs in Celebration

2008-04-10T11:08:00.001+03:00

“Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name.” Psalm 30:4

The Choirs here in Tanzania are wonderful to both to hear and watch. They are in constant movement, in unison and in rhythm! Performing for the Celebration of the service of the retiring Archbishop Mtetemela where three Choirs; the choir from the parish h that meets in the Chapel at SJUT:

Two choirs from the Anglican Cathedral.

The Choir below preformed in two styles, one traditional with matching dark navy suits, men and women, very conservative. They then broke and “changed” into the traditional Gogo tribal performance costume which for women was a strapless black shift with beads and for the men a large red plaid cloth tied at the shoulder.

The Leader added feathers on the arm and danced and played the trumpet. I have a very bad picture as he was moving very fast! I am hoping one day to see a village performance. Yesterday I was invited to see another Gogo choir perform as they where being filmed on a hilltop as the sun was setting, lovely. They also preformed in a simple navy skirt/pants and blue shirt and tennis shoes. I have no pictures to share but hope to at some point as they will be joining in a celebration of an upcoming opening for a local company.

Celebrating at St. John’s University of Tanzania

2008-04-10T09:50:00.003+03:00

“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” Philemon 7

Our Multi-purpose Hall at St. John's University was the site of the recent celebration held for the retiring Archbishop of Tanzania, Rt. Rev. Dondald Mtetemela and His wife Gladys, pictured above.

The staff which worked hard to prepare was very proud of the decorations. The Purple is the traditional color for he Bishops, so everything was purple and white, chairs, balloons anf flowers are typically expressive of the theme!

The Archbishop and his wife recieved many gifts of thanks from the Diocese all over the country. Everything from a car to a cow to a kanga (fabric) and refrigerators! Wonderful celebration to watch as some sang and danced as the gifts where presented. The celebration was to start at 6:30 in the evening and went on until past midnight, with three choirs entertaining the crowds.

The SJUT chapel was the host of the recent election of the new Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Tanzania! WOW! The Retiring current Archbishop Donald Mtetemela (http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2006/04/an-acn-interview-with-the-most-rev-donald-mtetemela-province-of-tanzania.html ), head of the Anglican Church of Tanzania and a Primate of the world wide communion ( http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/index.cfm) , the of the Episcopal Church in the US is also a (1) primate of the World wide communion) is the Chancellor of St. John’s University. The provision of Christian Higher education for Tanzania is a passion and commitment for Archbishop Donald Mtetelmela (http://www.acn-us.org/archive/2006/04/an-acn-interview-with-the-most-rev-donald-mtetemela-province-of-tanzania.html. The process of election takes place every five years, Archbishop Mtetemela has served for the past 10 years, was very CLOSED DOOR! The entire chapel was closed off and no one heard a thing although all where watching until the decision of the bishops was reached! The Archbishop elect is the the Rt. Rev. Valentino L. Mokiwa, Bishop of Dar es Salaam in the Anglican Church of Tanzania, elected archbishop of the province Feb. 28 during a special session of the General Synod in Dodoma, at SJUT.

Bishop Mokiwa (speaking to the crowd, above) will be installed in Dodoma on May 25. He succeeds the Most Rev. Donald L. Mtetemela, whose second five-year term concludes in May. Primates in Tanzania are limited to a maximum of two five-year terms under that province’s constitution. Archbishop Mtetemela will continue as Bishop of the Diocese of Ruaha for the next five years, while also serving as chancellor of St. John’s University in Dodoma.
Needless to say bishops arrived from all over the country. A celebration of the ministry and service of the Archbishop Mtetemela followed the days events.

Neema Crafts

2008-03-31T22:40:00.002+03:00

"...so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:17

We arrived in Iringa about mid-day Saturday and our first stop was Neema Crafts. Neema is the Swahili word for grace and nothing could be more fitting. This workshop sponsored by the Anglican Church employed the deaf and handicapped. In Africa the handicapped are either left to die as infants or they are hidden away. Neema Crafts trains and provides an opportunity for work in weaving, papermaking, textiles, a small shop staffed as well sell the wares. We enjoyed our lunch at the first deaf staffed café.

While we were there we met a group from England that comes once a year to provide medical evaluation and hearing aides for the deaf. We also met lots of students from all over Tanzania who are working with the peace corps and congregating in Iringa for the Easter break. Most are serving as teachers in secondary schools.

The workshop has outgrown its current location and is building a new building adjacent to the Anglican Cathedral. What a wonderful witness and business! Plans are also in the works for a deaf staffed hotel, I hope tot be able to stay there one day as well!

Easter Sunday

2008-03-31T22:31:00.001+03:00

“He is not here is has risen!” Luke 24:6

Easter Sunday was spent worshiping our Lord in Iringa, Tanzania, located about 5 hours south of Dodoma by car. The Area is beautiful, mountainous and supports a host of plants and trees I have not seen in the Dodoma region.

Our hotel was located at the top of one of the hills and you could see the city below and the mountains across. It rained almost the whole time we where there but none of us minded the refreshing coolness!
On the grounds we saw avocado , guava and citrus trees loaded with fruit, hollyhocks, lots of roses and dahlias to mention a few.

We attended Easter Service as the Anglican Cathedral where Archbishop Mtetemela was delivering the sermon, in Swahili. He paired us with a lovely New Zealand couple with four children ranging from 16-5! They translated the sermon and we where along to understand the message. The youngest was so cute and spent our time at tea in the pastors house in my lap! The hospitality was wonderful.

Outside we where greeted by Gladys, the Archbishop’s wife.

Rev. Dr. Carr and his wife also enjoyed the celebration and worship.

Night Rider

2008-03-31T21:49:00.002+03:00

“…He causes Hi s sun to rise on the evil and good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” Matthew 5:45

I am not sure which of the category we fell into, but we definitely received the rain! As mentions in regard to the elephants… While having enjoyed a day at the game park, we where “hurrying” back to the Hotel trying to beat the DARK and approaching storm. There is no such thing as street lights once out of a city; only one road in Dodoma has lights. It is dark, very dark. The vehicle we were in was very old Land Cruiser, John guesses the 60’s, canvas covered. We watched as our diver twisted the two wires that where coming out of the “dash” together,..Volia lights-hit a bump, no lights,…oh there we go lights again. The entire instrument panel was non- functioning, no idea of speed, fuel, temperature or how much oil we where burning. But to be honest none of us cared! Then,….the wind and storm was on us! Well the canvas was keep in place in the front sides by shutting the door frames on them, the canvas there made up for no windows in the doors, I think we stopped twice in the POURING rain to catch and eventually hold the canvas down as we went along. The rain was coming in horizontally and straight over the windshield, we are all dying laughing. I look over at our travel companions and friends from St. John’s University, Dr. Neville Carr, Dean of Education and His wife Elspeth and could not resist a photo!

This is Dr. Carr, note totally cover and still wet, -wind!

His wife Elspeth!

John and I had opened an umbrella and had it in front of us deflecting most of the rain. It was so dark I could not even see what I was doing. Just pointed and shot the photos, delighted with the results! We laughed the whole way back at our “spa treatment”.

Me! Missed John!

Snake park

2008-03-31T21:01:00.004+03:00

“ When I am afraid, I will trust in You” Psalm 56:3
I do not like snakes, but our hotel in Mukumi had a snake park, and I definitely needed to know more about the snakes in Africa. So in we went, early one morning before breakfast!

John “holding “ a cobra by the neck, well painting of a cobra, at the entrance to the park.

(Think Gatorland)

There was no information as to what is what on most exhibits, but I believe these to be the black and green mambas, DEADLY!

A nasty pile of green mambas.

These tree viper where by far the creepiest, you could NOT see them! They look exactly like thin branches. Only the head and eyes give them away and as we saw one at first we kept looking and saw the entire tree branch was draped with vipers. AUGH! We are sure we would never see one in the wild before they would see us.

Elephants!

2008-03-29T19:23:00.002+03:00

“Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.” Proverbs 4:26

This seems to be the motto of the Elephants!

And they are not kidding! This massive male elephant was NOT happy with the land rover in front of us on the road.

Quite scary for us in the “jeep” behind, as you can see from the photo, canvas on a simple welded frame, three of us sitting up on this high welded seat. Our driver/guide could not turn off our oil burning vehicle because we had already been jumped start by pushing with another vehicle at the Hippo pond moments before!

The elephant charged, raised and shook his head and then came face to face with the Land rover! As you can see from the size of the elephant that he could have easily pushed it over. Our driver reversed as that is seen as nonthreatening and we still smelled (oil) and where loud!

What we found out was there was one more left in his “group” that had not crossed the road! When she crossed, everything was fine, and we were able to drive on slowly past and then really left!

A bit further on we say the cutest/little frightening demonstration of elephant idea of family. What you can no see in this photo is a brand new baby elephant, no taller that the grass and all ears! SO CUTE!!!! We stopped took photos and one of the group auto flash went off. Well that was it- the mama would have none of that. What you see is her beginning her charge. Within seconds, literally the others in the group made a circle around the baby all facing out! You can see the formation, even a young adolescent, in seconds- you could not even see the baby. Completely organized, the mama only charged about 10-12 feet then took her place in the circle. We did not hesitate to move on, the sun was setting quickly and we all needed to get out of the park. More on that later!

2008-03-29T18:42:00.001+03:00

“He wraps himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of His upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.” Psalm 104:2-3

The landscape was amazing, and the photos do not do justice to the expanse and awe one feels as you just stand there. The mountains in the back ground seem to surround the park on all sides, the clouds where very dramatic and the grass, about 6 feet high in most places was like a sea.

Mukumi National Park 2

2008-03-29T17:58:00.002+03:00

“The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.” Psalm 104:21

Although we personally saw no lions, reports of four including two cubs was the hunt of the late afternoon. Our guide was quite diligent and we saw much of the park.

We finished the evening at the Hippo pond, where they usually exit the pond. The poor hippos where just exhausted, they had been laying in the pond ALL DAY, we saw almost every one of them yawn, even the little ones! What did you do all day!

This huge crocodile was living with the hippos, most of the time you could only see the backs or the just the top of the heads!

These baby warthogs reminded us our sweet little scottie dog, all head! Very cute!

2008-03-29T17:54:00.001+03:00

“How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all: the earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24

We decided to take advantage of the long Easter week-end to travel and see a bit of this beautiful country, Africa. Our first destination was Mukumi National Game Park, about a five hour drive from Dodoma and St. John’s University.

The Park is beautiful and we saw animals almost the whole day! Impalas and Storks!

Parliament

2008-03-27T19:22:00.001+03:00

“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask more.” Luke 12: 48b

Dodoma, Tanzania is the seat of government. The Parliament buildings are very futuristic with beautiful grounds and well guarded. The building with the spire is where Parliament convenes. The wall surrounding the complex has vey interesting and unusual ironwork, arched frames and training Bougainville.

The future of Tanzania in determined behind these walls. The city becomes very crowded when the President, staff and members are in town. I love to see the all the SUV’s with the flags of Tanzania waving in the wind as the autos speed by.
A recent scandal removed the Prime Minister and several others, the Cabinet was shuffled, and a new Prime Minister appointed. The whole process was amazing, very orderly, very open and peaceful. Very impressive.

SJUT Chapel

2008-03-19T09:03:00.002+03:00

“I rejoice with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 122: 1

This is the Chapel located on the campus of Saint John’s University of Tanzania. Like most Anglican churches the “hangings” are changed to reflect the season, the purple is up as Lent begins. When we arrived the “hangings” and Altar hanging were orange. I am not familiar with the use o f that color in the USA

Retired Bishop Etiruka serves as the Chaplain for the University, officiates for the “English Service” and also joins “Pastor Frank” in officiating the Swahili service that takes place at the Chapel Sunday mornings. Two services take place each Sunday; the English Service begins at 7:30 and lasts about one hour. The Swahili service follows at 9:00 and last usually 2- 2.5 hours.
John and I have enjoyed the Swahili service and I find the singing very helpful understanding how to pronounce the words printed in the small paper song book. A lot of the songs I know in English and it are so nice to hear them sung in another language. “Great is they Faithfulness”, “Trust and Obey” and of course- “Amazing Grace”! We have just picked up a dual language Bible to help follow along, many of the westerners here have told us how much the Bible has helped them with their language. Still a real uphill for me! I am working on the numbers!

A Walk through Campus

2008-03-08T16:06:00.003+03:00

As John and I walked in early one morning so too was a busy line of large ants, each carrying a load, heading back to the giant fig tree where they must live. Ants always amaze me by their order, focus and perseverance all things that reflect God’s might character in harmony!

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers it's food at harvest." Proverbs 6:6-7

Water is still a problem in the dorms, problems with the valves and tanks and the city turning off the water has led to many attempts to solve the no water in the morning for the girl’s dorm. Please pray for this- it is one thing after another! Almost any day as you pass the girls dorms you see their laundry drying on the lines they have set up. Saturday is a big wash day, even the grounds and rocks and trees are covered with drying laundry.

Across from the female dorms is the SJUT Dispensary, wonderful to be able to get your medical needs meet right here on campus.

Keeping Campus

2008-03-08T15:44:00.001+03:00

Well done good and faithful servant!” Matthew 25: 21a

Just what we all want to hear! This certainly applies to Mariam. She is about her work at SJUT very early, daybreak, every morning. She always has a smile. She is one of the many women who sweep the dirt paths each day.. removing the leaves, flowers and sticks that fall each day/night. When I asked the reason,…snakes. AAAAh best reason I know! The area around the homes and all paths a swept, one to discourage snakes and two so you could see one if it was in the path!

Since we are in the rainy season, the grass is growing quite quickly. Men and women both cut the grass by hand with a long sharp bent tool which they swing back and forth rapidly. Looks like a long lawnmower blade with a serrated end. It smells wonderful and as I was walking back to the house one morning the grass was flying in the wind. Tried to catch that on my tiny camera!

2008-02-28T10:54:00.002+03:00

What goes bump- scratch-thud, bump, bump, bump in the attic in the middle of the day?
That was exactly what Mrs. Meshack and I where wondering one morning in the living area of our home.
She looked at me, I looked at her and she said let’s go get Julius!
Luckily for me, Mrs. Meshack was over for a visit and could tell Julius, in Swahili we had heard; because of course when he came in it was dead silent! He left and after a few minutes the noise erupted above the ceiling again, this time from one end of the room to the other and then over the kitchen. He came in again, this time he heard it! The ceilings are about 10 feet and the attic access is in the hall- looked at me and said “wait’. Ok I thought,…

I watched as he went around the yard, gathered some wood and laid out a ladder! He left again, and came back with nails and a hammer and proceeded to make a ladder with which he went into the attic to “see”. I gave him our hand crank flashlight, another large stick and shut all the doors to the hall, hiding in the living/kitchen area! I hear whack, whack, whack, movement, whack,……..etc.
Then to my amazement Mrs. Meshack’s gardener, his buddy, was call from the front door. This was his display:

Bats! Three where up doing who know what in the attic. Julius had literally beaten one to death! This is Julius with his trophy. We left it for John to see when he came home for lunch that day! Funny sort of greenish colored fur. Something about the display reminded me of the boys in the mountains, crawfish claws lined up,…..

He said there where three and that he was going back up to shoo them out and seal up the whole! YEA!!

"When I am afraid, I will trust in You." Psalm 56:3

To Market,...

2008-02-21T07:39:00.006+03:00

This is a view of the market area of Dodoma. What I consider the "Hardware" street, but mixed in are various housewares and small general store type markets. The vehicles are in working order, but handcarts are used the most for getting things around. You can see the stacks of large water bottles on the right. Note the brightly colored signs,..that is where you can get your cell phone need taken care of, from charging to chips, buying minutes and phones. "Everyone" uses a cell phone, but text only for the most part, the rate to speak voice to voice is very high, as opposed to the cost of sending a text that can be very long! (It still takes me forever to type, best at "yes" and "no" and "OK!")

The Supermarket:

In downtown Dodoma there are two “supermarkets” for the westerners to find those items that make us feel at “home”. Things like labeled spices, peanut butter, cereal, butter, cheese, packaged fruit juice, bug spray, toilet paper just to name a few. I am looking forward to having, hopefully, someone let me watch them cook. We have had two meals in private homes that have been incredible and I would love to add a few of the dishes into my vocabulary! But,…as expected neither had recipes.
In the mean time I am able to find most things we need or think we need here or across the street at “Two Sisters”.

The owner of the supermarket, note the fresh eggs, I have never seen them refrigerated. When I first arrived, before we had our small refrigerator, we just keep them on the shelves in the pantry. The shelf life is much longer here, and I must admit the eggs are one of my favorite things, always brown, the yolk is very light. Very good!

I still have not braved the butcher shops so if the meat is not frozen,… we do not have it! I have been given two recommendations from others and will soon take that step! Until then, eggs, frozen sliced ham, pork sausages, and fish for us! All located in the deep freezers you see under the windows. The Bags in front of the boxes on the floor is white flour, I have learned to buy that when you see it. I make our bread, three loaves at a time and the white is great,...because at least one is cinnamon raisin! Gave one loaf to Thomas the houseman to take to his wife, never seen that for sale here.

"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:20

Water & Washing

2008-02-21T07:30:00.007+03:00

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,

but only God,

who makes things grow.’
1 Corinthians 3:7

The need for clean drinking water reminds us all of the blessing that God gives us of Himself as He causes us to thirst for Him in Spirit. Daily our need for His fresh spiritual water, and daily our need to renew our supply of filtered water.

John keeps us well supplied by filtering water daily which is used for drinking and cooking. I am very cautious, yet sometimes out of habit find myself walking over to the sink with a glass in my hand!! Did it one day! (Small tummy ache) Luckily the water here is good, I think only the westerners are not drinking from the tap, the University is supplied with “city water”. The area is a bit like Florida with an aquifer beneath, also an underground river runs just behind the hill to the northeast. But the surface is dry.

The plantings are typically built up and a trench established. This is a view from our back door, the hedge is started as outlined by the trench. We are hoping to gravel the immediate area inside and over to the clothesline. All washing and drying done outside- lots of trips in and out, LOTS of dirt in! We hope to get this done before the rains ends and it really gets dry! I have not experienced that yet, but from the looks of the closets,…I have a lot to learn!

View from the kitchen window, glimpse of the garden in front, towards the main road outside the campus. The black lines outside the window to the left are the supports for the water tank at aour house, mounted above the eave line. This tank is our reserve tank, the City of Dodoma still turns the water off to this area most every night. So we limit the water use after 5:00. Currently we have the water turned off to the guest bathroom, a leaking toilet tank valve drained the reserve tank!! We are in week 3 or so of trying to get it fixed, several attempts have failed. Spare parts are difficult, the tank "insides" may not be able to be repaired from lack of parts and may result in the entire replacement of the the toliet. When parts are gone, they are gone! Frequently I am told in shops, "finished" meaning no more!

“What on earth is this?”!! I am sure that is going through the mind and “What is she doing now?”

Well- Mentioned earlier was the fact that we have retrieved some furnishings out of “damaged” storage. Three "chest of drawers” are part of that, all needing a bit of work. (One appears to have been home to a rodent family, complete with arched side entry!) After several cleanings with disinfectant and leaving the drawers open, a bit more encouragement was needed before our clothing could be stored. SO,…..I smashed up a bar of soap I thought smelled good, made pockets out of a small note pad and taped them shut,.. Voila sachets! Could not resist a photo of the afternoon’s work!

Sing to the Lord,...

2008-02-21T07:28:00.002+03:00

“ Sing to the Lord a new song: sing to the Lord , all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples” Psalm 96: 1-3

The Chapel at St. John’s University is home to the Kikuyu Parrish and the wonderful Revival choir. I was able to sit in on a choir practice as they rehearsed for the Sunday Swahili service. They rehearse from about 4:00 to 6:30 twice a week. The singing includes movement which is choreographed by the women. The blonde woman is a CMS missionary from the UK. Her husband is a professor here at SJUT and they have two very cute small boys one a little over two and the other five! Before Children, Christine and Paul spent several years in a village in Tanzania, they both speak fluent Swahili, and Christine sang and danced with the choir then as well! I am amazed and impressed with her talent and courage! She holds her own! She and her husband are just beginning an “Alpha” class in Swahili through the Parrish and reaching out to the students. The class just filled yesterday and will start in the next few weeks, what an answer to many prayers.
The young woman is the purple shirt is so fun to watch, I wish you could see her sing and dance, she seem to lead the movements and set the tone all very intuitively. The children you see in the picture with the guitars are just part of it, if feeding is required, the mother just sits and nurses the baby, if they want to sleep, they are placed in a cloth (A Kitenge (Ka-tang-a) is a piece of fabric: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitenge it is used as an outer covering and the fabric is also used to make tops and skirts, headdress, lots of baby slings! Kanga is also fabric but has a border, pictures and often words. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanga_%28African_garment%29 ) on the back life goes on! Singing, dancing so natural.

The man with the guitar in the front row, William, is the choir director and song writer/musician. What a gift! The Chapel will be hosting the election of the new Archbishop of Tanzania this week, we are so blessed to have the current Archbishop as the Chancellor of the University and for this to be the venue of his transition. In honor of this, William is writing two new songs! I can’t wait to see what the Lord bring to life through his gifts!

Going to town

2008-02-19T09:29:00.005+03:00

Going to the places He will show us,….

Going to town. Each morning and each evening the road in front of our home gives passage to herds of goats and cows, keep in line and moving on by the long sticks of their masters. I was able to catch a glimpse of them passing the final corner as they head in. I have no idea where they go, but only that they go back and forth each day!

In the foreground you can see the bird cage that Julius the gardener has made and as tried to keep three laughing doves in, according to John. Unfortunately for the doves, the roaming cat viewed the cage and their location as caged cat food. All have served as a food source for the cat! Julius has been unable to keep the cat out,…so the cage has now been dismantled. The bath tub is still there, serves as a work area for Julius.

The plants he has planted and the paths he has made through out the garden are his own design and undertaking. He has used a lot of what I call spider lilies, cannas, zinnias, succulents.
The yard has mangos and one orange tree, some papayas. I love the white “angle trumpets” that are blooming now.

He put in the beginnings of a bougainvillea hedge yesterday and a new, very small guava tree. EVERYONE is planting and putting all sorts of vegetables. This is the rainy season and now is the time. I understand that productivity is an option till august, when the dry season begins and the rains stop. Everything turns brown.
He has put in cabbage, onions, French beans (seeds a gift from Mrs. Meshach), passion fruit. Soon to come are tomatoes, okra, eggplant, an unusual custard apple tree. I hope to be able to send a picture as there is one close by. Also coming is a pomegranate, I love the way it looks and he is putting that in the center of his latest raised garden.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time" Ecclesiates 3:11

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time" Ecclesiates 3:11

Making the Bed

2008-02-19T08:56:00.004+03:00

Going to the place He will show us,…

Well, the twin beds pushed together with the blow-up bed on top, … under the twin size mosquito net,… was getting old! So off to town we went to find a “fundi” (maker) for our bed.

We found a group making a style we liked, with the help of two students from the University, we made arrangements and the beds (2) would be ready in three days! They are made right there, by hand with a minimum of machinery, we had really like the head board without the added top piece,.. But when we came to pick it had been added! We are wondering what Chippendale is thinking.

A “brother” of a SJUT Staff had a truck and we arranged to have him help us get the beds home. He also helped us get the foam mattress we needed as well. The wood here is VERY heavy! (We can not even move the bed once we got it together! )

We also had the same “fundi” make us “old fashion settees” to match what we found in the storage rooms at SJUT. The furniture we have out of the storage was made here at SJUT when it operated as a secondary school and taught Vocational skills in woodworking and metal. All are a bit different and well made. Getting the Settees to the house was a different matter. Several days of failed arrangements passed, including John & Brother, getting halfway to town and running out of gas,… before we walked into town, about 45 minutes, to see what we could work out! After several attempt to communicate without the help of the Swahili speaking students, we arranged for two men to bring them out on a hand pushed (metal) cart. I had seen a bed pass our house, as I looked out the kitchen window, the day before in the same manner,… funny how the Lord continues to provide for our needs!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth.” Psalm 121: 1-2

Visit to the fish market and on to Dodoma

2008-02-19T08:29:00.002+03:00

Going to the places He will show us,...

From the produce market in Dar Es Salaam, we walked across the street to the fresh fish market on the Indian Ocean. The catch of the day out of sale.

The “snake Fish” was still moving about! Loved the display technique for the fresh shrimp.

"Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?" Job 41:1

Then off to Dodoma, the St. John's University Driver, Lechipya is a wealth of information as we travel the six hours inland and north to Dodoma. We pass many villages along the way and see the landscape change as we travel up to about 3,400 feet to the dryer region where the capital is set. Although in the photo it is hard to see, we stopped for a group of baboons to pass across the road. That being the only wildlife we saw on the journey.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

2008-02-19T08:11:00.005+03:00

Going to the place He will show us...

As we cross into Tanzania we have a beautiful view of
cloud-covered Mt. Kilimanjaro outside the plane window.

After clearing customs and a very brief, pass through immigration (Thank you for all your prayers! John said that he has never been through so smoothly) we were meet by a SJUT driver and given a brief driving tour around the main downtown of Dar Es Salaam. Our first stop was a local fresh produce market.

"Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" Galatians 6:9

The Anglican Cathedral, Dodoma

2008-02-18T20:16:00.002+03:00

Going to the place that He will show us,…

The Anglican Cathedral in Dodoma, given to the Diocese as a gift from one woman, built in 1933.

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Psalm 122:1

Hamzania: Going to the place that He will show us!

2008-01-26T22:10:00.000+03:00

"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you" Genesis 12:1b

The site is named Hamzania in anticipation of what the Lord has for us to see with our hearts, souls, minds and bodies as we journey with Him.

John at the check-in Raleigh, NC.

"He said to them, 'But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one." Luke 22:36

We hope the Lord meant it literally! We took as much as we could, three swords (of the spirit) included as well.