A Year in Tanzania

This week marks our one year anniversary of our arrival in Tanzania. 365 days ago, we had moved out of our house, sold our car, and packed a few belongings into our suitcases that we would bring with us on our journey to Africa. As we look back at the year, we have had quite an adventure indeed! Filled with both challenges and joy, our experience has been rich. Here are a few highlights from our first year.

Language School – we attended language school in Arusha (northern Tanzania) for three weeks and continued language studies in Morogoro for two more months after that. We made great friends during that time and learned the Swahili language and the customs for the area.

(A few of our language school teachers)

Weekend in Parakuyo – A pastor from a nearby Maasai congregation invited us to spend the weekend in his village. We accepted, and it was a great opportunity to practice our language skills. Most of our time was spent under a tree visiting with the people, but we were also able to visit some bomas (homes) and witness typical life in a Maasai village. We were amazed at how women are able to do anything with a baby on their back – even milk a cow!

Village Visits – Much of our time has been spent visiting the villages in the region. We have been able to participate in baptisms, weddings, fundraisers, church openings, and many other occasions! The music never disappoints, and the hospitality is incredible.

Josh preached his first sermon in Swahili under the shade of a mango tree.

In May we were able to fly to South Africa, rent a car, and road trip through South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. It was a great opportunity to experience more of Africa and recharge for our work here.

South Africa - near the Cape of Good Hope (it was so exciting to wear our winter clothes!)

Namibia - we watched the sunrise from Dune 65

Botswana - mekoro ride in the Okavango Delta

The Theological Education by Extension (TEE) is up and running! Josh is the TEE coordinator and the program has been well-received.

We met the President of Tanzania at a fundraiser for a new school in the diocese.

I began teaching English (in Swahili) at a local Kindergarten.

We have learned the fair price for produce at the market, how to cook with limited groceries, and how to wash our laundry by hand.

Josh’s parents were able to visit! What a great end to our first year.

Double Wedding

Two Sundays ago, we had the opportunity to attend worship at the Sokoine Lutheran Church—one of our Maasai congregations in the Morogoro Diocese. This particular Sunday was not just any ordinary Sunday however, as the worship service on this day included two weddings. This is not totally out of the ordinary here in Tanzania—to celebrate weddings within the order of worship on a Sunday morning. In my opinion, it’s not a bad idea either. Once you get past the extended length of the worship service (about four hours), you see how the weddings are important to the community of faith as much as the community is important to the families of the bride and groom. Also, the hopeful and perhaps vulnerable nature of people when they are tying the knot, when you think about it, lends itself well to the prayer life of church. For, when else do we make such a profound leap of faith without truly knowing what the future will hold in store for us, than at a wedding? From my perspective, having this ceremony as part of the worship service—where we honor God, who gives us life, guidance and promise of security/salvation—just before the prayers of the church—makes total sense.

Another interesting thing that we have noticed about Tanzanian weddings is the demeanor of the brides. At all three of the weddings that we have been to this year, we have noticed how the brides (and to a lesser extent the grooms) have remained stoic (even showing obvious sadness) during the wedding. At this wedding we asked the best man to explain why the brides were so sad looking, staring at the floor and even sniffling during the vows, while the rest of the people surrounding them were in a jovial, joyous, celebratory mood. He explained that it was customary for brides to respect their family of origin in this way. The wedding marks the brides exit from her parents’ household and arrival in the new home she will make with her husband. It would be disrespectful to show too much joy about leaving someone who has taken care of you since birth.

So, while in America it seems natural for the bride and groom to be happy on their wedding day, in Tanzania it is exactly the opposite. The people assured us that although these couples displayed their sadness, it did not mean that they were sad about the marriage. Just like in America, weddings everywhere are events full of a myriad of complex emotions. Today we thank God for the blessing of family and pray for these newlyweds as they begin their lives together.

Maasai Evangelism Conference

Last month I was invited and attended the second annual Maasai Evangelism
Conference here in our region of Tanzania. Gathering in a small village about an hour north of the city of Morogoro, were thousands of Maasai men, women and children who had come from all over Tanzania in order to participate in this event. There were even several distinguished guests representing the Maasai communities in Kenya in attendance.

It was a very special event for the people here. It had the feel,
to me - as one of a hand-full of people present who were not Maasai - of a
massive family reunion. You could feel the excitement as this mass of
people celebrated the meeting of relatives and explored their heritage together.


It was a joyous event, yet the official purpose of the gathering, according to our host (one of the young Maasai men assigned with the responsibility of organizing the event), was two-fold:
1) It was a spiritual retreat -- an evangelism conference in which the
Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed and the community was encouraged
in faith.
2) It was an educational retreat as well -- There were several sessions in which teachers and speakers discussed various issues pertaining to Maasai life and life in East Africa. Health concerns, environmental protection, and the value of education itself were each focus topics targeted to benefit the whole community.


On the final day of the event I witnessed something I had never seen
before: a mass-blessing in which every single person had hands layed
on their heads, one by one, by one of the pastors present. They were each given a
blessing and the whole group was blessed, that their lives might be given God's guidance and security, in the name of Jesus Christ. This was an ecumenical gathering which included clergy representatives from the Lutheran Church, the Pentecostal Church and the Anglican Church and possibly more, each domination having established churches amongst the Maasai people.

Following the mass-blessing, the event culminated with at least 20 persons(both adult and child) being baptized. This added yet another dimension of celebration to the conference!

And then... as is always true at Maasai functions--we feasted on rice
and, of course, the central symbol of Maasai living... (ng'ombe) beef!
And it was good.

Public Transportation

Here in Tanzania, the vast majority of the people do not own vehicles. As an American coming here recently, I would say that this is one of the most immediately striking differences between daily life for people here and for people at home in the States.

Issues surrounding transportation are huge here and impact life and culture in many, many ways. Immediately noticeable is the sheer number of people traveling by foot at all times of the day, and also at night. Without quick and easy transportation it can take a long time to do many things which we tend to take for granted at home. As a result, some tasks regarded as relatively quick and simple for us with our cars (like grocery shopping) can easily become all day ventures for people living here without vehicles. Some things, which we would automatically take care of—getting supplies on the coattail of other errand running—simply and understandably won’t get done here if considered unessential to daily living.

A huge dimension of the culture of Tanzania (and I would guess most of Africa) is the industry of public transportation. Public transportation can be found in the form of cars, buses, minivans (called daladalas), motorcycles (called pikipikis) and even bicycles (bisikelis). Following is a quick guide to public transport in TZ .

Taxis and Pikipikis. If you want to get directly to your destination, take a taxi or pikipiki. You will probably need to barter for a fair price. Pikipikis are more affordable for the common family, so you might even see a whole family (Mom, Dad and a couple kids) lined up on the back of a motorcycle (Yikes!).

Bisikeli. If you’ve got time, or are trying to save your Shillings, take a bisikeli (bicycle). You will see many people being hauled around town on the back of bisikelis by young male drivers. If you are driving a car yourself, watch out! Bisikelis and pikipikis can be a little unpredictable.

Daladala. This has become a symbol of present-day African culture. Although you may have to wait for quite some time for one to arrive or depart, taking the daladala can be a most informative cultural immersion. If you can handle the close proximity to condensed humanity in this hot and humid climate (I have been truly amazed at how many people can fit into one minivan) you will likely also encounter the socially generous nature of the nation on-board the daladala. People will make room where there is no room. People of the younger generation will automatically give up their seats for their elders. People will hold each other’s bags, purses or even children as a matter of course.

Recently we got a vehicle of our own, so we are taking public transportation –namely daladalas- much less frequently. The funny thing is that as “private” vehicle owners, we still have a similar experience with “Haus” our Toyota Landcruiser. Haus often winds up as packed as a daladala, with families and choirs of people and sometimes a chicken or two!

We're Back: A New Chapter!

Drenched at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Some of you have inquired as to why we've been absent from our blog for such a long while. For this delay, we do apologize. In May we spent time on vacation in Southern Africa (which perhaps we should have warned you about ahead of time), and before that we were, I admit, preoccupied with moving into our new house in town!

For approximately 5 months prior to this move, we were still living on the campus of the Lutheran Junior Seminary located several miles outside of town. Now, with the move into the city limits of Morogoro as well as the arrival of Haus (see the last blog entry), we feel like we’ve got a new lease on life. That is to say everything has suddenly gotten a lot less cumbersome for us. We will be much closer to shopping at the market as well as to my work at the Morogoro Diocese office and to everything the town has to offer. And for now, much less public transportation.

As much as we have enjoyed the experience of condensed humanity on the daladala (the minivans used for public transport), here begins a new chapter.

Introducing... Haus

With gratitude to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod of the ELCA who is sponsoring the refurbishment of the vehicle, we would like to introduce you to our new Land Cruiser, Haus. Haus (recently named) is going to keep us safe as we travel on those secondary and tertiary roads out into the bush to make home-visits. A little different than what pastor's generally drive back in the states. Thank you Ark-Oak!

Tanzanian Holy Week

Bishop Mameo and Pastor Josh on Easter Morning