Tanzania Water Well and Construction Team, Monday, September 21, 2009

Author’s Notes, The Parable of the Minas, Village Life

These updates are not necessarily the views of the church or other team members. These posts are simply my stories and I hope you enjoy reading them and are encouraged by the ways you help us serve our Lord. Each of the other team members has wonderful things to relate, they simply have provided me the opportunity to inform you of some of the occurrences during this short term mission. This is appreciated and I encourage each of you readers to find time to ask probing questions of any short term missionary about the life changing events on their trip.

In yesterday’s sermon Pastor Hafermann was ministering on Luke 19:1-9 Zacchaeus the Tax Collector. I think the chicken we purchased at the auction after church was a week ahead and had been studying Luke 19:11-27 The Parable of the Ten Minas. From, yesterday’s post you read about the auction and our purchasing several items including a chicken which was invited to lunch as part of the team on Monday. Well, Sunday night, the chicken was bound around the legs and placed outside one of our rooms. In the morning the chicken was still there but so was a new egg! As the team gathered for final instructions before their departures, Pastor Mwimbe saw the hen and her talent and asked if we would trade for one of his roosters. The hen behaved wisely; therefore, saving her life as the rooster was resting on his laurels and losing his.
Before, the exchange of the hen for the rooster, the hen noisily traveled to Morogoro with the construction crew to help purchase nails, lumber, and other items needed for the roof trusses at Tuka. While this was an important Ramadan holiday, most of the stores were open for business and the streets were full of traffic. We saw typical sites of men pulling carts full of heavy sacks of grain, women carrying heavy items on their heads, and men with no shoes loading trucks with lumber.

Luca circled the town picking up two of his helpers and they joined Earl and me in the back of the truck as Mike, Alan, and Luca rode in the cab. The ride was almost two hours with half of it in very rural yet well maintained dirt roads. The entire trip was enjoyable as it provided a full view of our surroundings which had grayness due to smoke and trees emptied of leaves. It was similar to views of rural Oklahoma in the dark gray winter months. The air was cool and riding in the back provided Earl an opportunity to recall times in his youth when he worked on the farm. His alert eye also provided us with views of monkey and baboon along the road.

As we drove deeper and deeper into the bush we continuously passed by small groups of thatch huts and a few brick ones. We saw many people and often we waved and didn’t receive a response. However, most of the time we did receive waves and almost all little children smiled and called out to us. They may be poor in worldly items but are certainly full of human compassion and desirous to make connections.

Upon arrival at Tuka, Mike stated he needed to sit and rest in the shade. Knowing he is not one to complain the rest of us knew this could be serious so we made sure he had plenty of water and had him rest inside the 10 by 12 feet church. The structure has no walls, a thatch roof and few rows of benches made of sticks. Mike gallantly tried to join the activities of the day but after a few minutes in the sun his symptoms returned and we escorted him back into the church to rest next to the rooster whose fate had been sealed by the chicken who laid the egg. They were both lying flat out as if they were an attraction on a WWF match where both contestants were down for the count. Fortunately, Mike was the one who rose victorious. To move ahead in the story, Mike did recover in the evening and by the next morning was fairly much back to normal. However, he kept asking about the other paved roads that we traveled during the day. This was a bad sign as there are no other paved roads in this area. It was good Mike stayed out of the heat that day.

Immediately upon our groups arrival at Tuka, several local people began unloading the truck and moving the lumber into piles. Our group worked with Luka to draw up the dimensions of the trusses and began the process of laying out the first set. We used the interior area of what would become the church. The stem wall was already in place and they had marked out the brick lines. About twenty-five villagers sat on the stem wall of the new church building and watched us work. After Luka’s team and we set a few first boards in place the villagers understood the process and were able to hammer, saw, and change out wood pieces with us. Lots of pointing, whistling, tugging, and laughing at each other broke any language barriers as the villagers worked hard and began to anticipate the next steps in the construction process.

This church building is obviously important to the village and they wanted to show not only their appreciation for our support but more importantly their full commitment to raising and caring for the building. During the afternoon, there were plenty of times for smiles, bad Swahili, poor English and perfect love. As we closed for the day there were many hand clasps and broad smiles.

Both Roberts and John arrived at Tuka in the early afternoon as they were still waiting for the water drilling company to arrive on site. They were not upset as things move differently here and they were now operating on Tanzania time. After a short visit they returned to Lubayu where their drilling would commence.

In the evening the team described the parade of the Lubayu villagers upon their arrival. It appeared as the entire village turned out to watch the drilling process and to offer food to those who came to help provide life giving water. Rice, beans, meats, and tea were provided the team and their hosts eagerly gathered to share smiles and cheer on the drilling process. While not disappointing the day would up being a setup day and not a drilling day. However, at the end of the long day, the drilling crew was on site and their equipment completely prepared to start the drilling process early on Tuesday morning.

Back at the Lutheran seminary, the team gathered for dinner and told stories of the day. Each person recalled something that touched them in a meaningful way. We received each other’s stories well and aided in punctuating them with similar thoughts. We are all pleased to be here and thrilled about making connections with the local peoples.

A final thought for the day. The days dawn cool and end with quiet breezes bringing fresh breezes. But, from noon until three the sun’s rays penetrate our bodies and extract strength and vital fluids. While we Americans break frequently for sun screen, water and shade, the local people did not – ever. Our entire group is bewildered as to how their bodies can sustain themselves with so little food and water. They are amazing.
By Brett Tabler