Church

Over the river and through the mud...

Last Sunday we were planning on attending church in a village. No problem, right? We’ve done this many times by now. While every village visit is a unique experience, this one proved there is sometimes more adventure in the journey than planned.

Our journey began quite uneventfully as we set out on the highway. The car was filled with pleasant conversation and the mood was light. When we turned off the highway, the roads were no longer smooth sailing. We made it through a few muddy patches when some women tried warning us that there was water ahead. We took note of their warning, glad that we had 4-wheel drive, and continued on for a very short distance. At this point, it was hard to tell where the road was, so Luka (the driver and evangelist) and Heri, a pastor we had picked up along the way, got out to see if there was any way we could get through the mud. There was no way, so we decided to try the other road. Not far into our journey on the other road we encountered the same problem and were soon stuck. Luckily, many villagers came to our rescue and helped us push the car out.

The road was impassable, so if we were going to make it to church, we were going to walk. This is when the true journey began. While the distance wasn’t far (maybe 1-2 miles?) the fellowship was great. What a bonding experience literally walking with these people.

When we arrived at the village, we were welcomed with great enthusiasm (and, of course, tea!) Church was under a tree, and a beautiful one at that.

While we were enjoying tea, we could see rain far in the distance. Knowing that it was going to hit during the service, we switched to a different tree and began. What happens when it rains during a service under a tree, you might ask? Everyone gets wet. Drenched, actually. The spirit of this congregation wasn’t dampened (pun intended) though. The singing was as vibrant at the end of the service as at the beginning. It all continued – even though the offering was sopping wet, it was still given. Communion wafers a bit soggy? No problem. It was a memorable occasion indeed.

If we thought it was muddy on our way to church, it was nothing compared to our walk home! The small stream we crossed on the way seemed like a raging river on the return trip. Our new friends walked us the entire way back to the car – giving a helping hand through the especially slippery or challenging parts, laughing together and enjoying the experience.

At the end of the day, we were drenched, muddy, and left thinking wow, life is great.

Giving and Goats

In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Acts 20:35

A few Sundays ago, at a church service in one of the villages, Sue and I became the proud owners of our very own goat! While for Sue, having been raised up on a farm, this was not her first time to own goats, it was definitely the first time for either of us to get one on the way out of church.

Here in rural Tanzania, in the worship services of pastoralist peoples (like the Maasai) there is one particularly striking difference from what we have been accustomed to in the States. Here in Tanzania, just like in America, it is very natural for the people to bring their offerings in the form of their common currency. The thing is that the common currency for many happens to be chickens and goats and cows.

For these people who do business among themselves each day by trading with chickens and sheep and goats, why not bring this “currency” (as strange or humorous as it may seem to us when a cow comes down the center aisle)? And they do bring them up to the altar-- not as a sacrifice of atonement as in ancient times, but as an offering of thanksgiving to God. In fact, chickens and goats and sometimes even cows are quite generous offerings which can support a lot of good work among the people.

After the offering is blessed and dedicated to God and worship is concluded, this is when the congregation gathers outside the Church for the auction (which is how Sue and I came to have our goat). This, if you follow the steps of this process, is a fascinating way for these communal-minded people to give an offering to God, not as individuals, but as a community and in community.

First, somebody brings a goat to worship as an offering. Then, after worship at the auction, somebody else buys the animal from the Church (and not just at market value, we noticed). Here, the people have a jubilant time as the bidding ensues. Songs are sung in celebration as the offering gets larger and larger. People circle around the bidding members, singing and fanning them (lest they get too hot in the sun). Finally, after the bid is closed at an agreeable price, the one who won the bid commonly donates the animal again, this time to someone else at the auction (often times items will go to someone who has need, but also apparently visitors are targeted to be recipients of gracious generosity).

And so this is how we came to have our little goat; a goat which we, in turn, gave to the family of the pastor of the village, who certainly has made good use of the animal by feeding his family and/or the people of his village with it.

From the life that God gave to the people in the form of livestock, the people bless God in return, and then are blessed again. Wow, what a marvelous and striking image for offering? May we all inherit such a joy in giving what God has first given us so that our blessings may multiply in such a way!

An Update at the New Year

As December, 2009 came to a close, so did our time in language study—at least the formal coursework part… for now. Although we still have much to learn in order to become fluent at speaking Swahili, the next step is to immerse ourselves in the Tanzanian culture by speaking with native Swahili speakers as much as possible.

We, for the time being, are going to accompany some of the other missionaries based in Morogoro as they go about their work in the region. This will enable us to practice our Swahili and get a better picture of what is going on in the Morogoro Diocese. The eventual plan is that I will work as an educator/mentor for indigenous parish evangelists, teaching theology and Bible (among other things). A much more fluent tongue will first be necessary for this.

Learning a second language is a humbling experience. Some days we can see how far we’ve progressed. Other days it still feels like we do not understand anything of the conversations around us. It is a challenging process for sure; one that unfortunately can’t be rushed.

After language classes, we celebrated Christmas here in Morogoro, attending worship at a prison-congregation on Christmas Day, and attending a wedding the day after Christmas. For New Years we went to a beach south of Dar es Salaam for a little R&R—a necessary rest.

We hope to have more time for updates now that classes are finished, although internet access has been a continual problem. We will do our best! Thanks for checking in with us here at our blog. Keep checking in as we hope to soon post highlights from our last month.

We also hope that the promise of God’s presence (Emmanuel) touched you this Christmas Season, and that you will experience many new blessings in 2010. Heri ya Mwaka Mpya (New Year’s Blessings).