Tanzania Construction Team, Mon., September 20, 2010

Tanzania Construction Team
Monday September 20, 2010

Monday is another divide and conquer day. Marilene and Tonya will spend the day in the Kswahili language school here at KKKT. Robert will take Mike with him to check on the water well drilling and flow inspections at Ebenezer and Misera. Earl, Scott and I will be taken to Muhungambola by Mr. Kazoka where we will meet with Pastor Steven Nehru to work on evangelist Michael’s house.

The road to Muhungambola is a typical Tanzanian country road almost one and a half lanes wide, deep ditches on the side, red silt like dirt, rough, and with unexpected twists and turns. At one point the road straightens and goes up hill. The driver accelerates assuming the continuation but at the top of the crest there is a severe left hand curve causing immediate redirection and all of us grabbing for something stable. Also, typical is that vehicles have the right of way over any pedestrian either walking or on bicycle. When pedestrians see cars coming they normally step into the ditch or off the roadway. Some try to share the road which makes for very close quarters. However, we and everyone we pass is safe.

Pastor Nehru speaks a little English – that is a little English. When we first get on site we shake hands to greet the half dozen or so men who are digging a ditch to redirect the water that is washing away the foundation of Michael’s house. This is a good project and will pay dividends when the short rains come in the next few months and the long rains come after the third month of next year. Earl, Scott, and I continue to survey the work site and discuss options for the different projects. Since the family had moved all the furniture out of the house, we unloaded our tools and bags into the front room to provide convenient access. A few moments later Pastor Nehru asks us if we can pray before we begin.

I was a little embarrassed by this comment as it was obvious I had missed important protocol. Each day we begin by having team prayer for guidance in our efforts, safety, and most importantly to behave as Christ wishes. When onsite we do the same with the local people. Apparently, our surveying and setup appeared like we were only there to complete tasks and not to be brothers in doing the work together. We did find out later that Pastor Nehru didn’t feel any imposition as he just wanted to make sure we met the villagers and communally to praise God for bringing help and for God’s blessings on the work to be done. So, note to self, don’t get the tools out of the vehicle until after the greetings and prayers. Even though there was no problem, we discussed this as a team and have agreed to follow this guideline the rest of the week.

When Pastor Nehru did introduce us, he had the workers digging the ditch, carpenters, evangelist Michael and his wife Veroneka, the kindergarten teacher and several other women. The introduction to so many women was unique and showed respect to them. After the blessing, we visited a few more minutes and commented on how well quickly the men were progressing on the ditch. We inspected the recently completed floor and wall repairs and complimented the carpenter on the work. Steven (Nehru), Michael and Earl teamed to work on window screens while Scott and I taught a few villagers how to paint.

Within minutes, I was asked if we had some bandages as one of the men working on the ditch had been hit in the head and had a cut. Fortunately we had surgical gloves to protect our hands from the oil based paint but I had forgotten the first aid kit. Yesterday we had two at the different locations but both would up in Robert’s car and we didn’t pull one for our work today! Second note to self. Always bring the first aid kit. Fortunately the cut wasn’t terribly bad. I washed it with fresh water and another local man (both in their twenties) got a double edged, dirty, razor blade and shaved the wounded man’s head where it was injured. That alone would have hurt me but the wounded man did not wince once. Then I cleaned the wound with water, baby wipes and hand sanitizer. In my best Swahili told him it would burn but again the man didn’t wince at all during the cleaning. I used clean wipes and paper tape to cover the wound. Finally, I placed the “Brett Hat” on his head and told him to keep it there all day so it would keep the wound clean.

Two items: Later in the day we wanted to make sure the injured man was doing well and he had gone to his home and someone had completed my field triage. Second, the hat my mother-in-law gave me a few years ago now has a new life. For fun she had my name embroidered on it and I have worn it on short term mission trips with the Asbury youth into Mexico. I used it so kids would know my name and Justin Petron wonderfully and comically mocked me in a skit about it. Now I have pictures of the man with the Brett hat and have let him know we are now brothers and he has a new name – Tanzania Brett. Pastor Nehru assisted in the translation and we all shook hands and hugged.

It was a long day in Muhungambola and we were glad to meet back at KKKT with the others. Marilene and Tonya enjoyed learning proper greetings and meeting other students from Germany and the US. Both of them were lively at dinner as they interacted with the other students in the dining hall. Mike and Robert had good but not great news about the water well sites as one well had good water but not as much flow as hoped.

During our team meeting we discussed several aspects of the day including Scott’s questions as to where all the animals are. He is correct as we see more ground animals and birds in Oklahoma than there are here. We also talked about the importance of putting up new screens and painting homes. The tasks are important but the communicating, helping, and working with the locals is critical. At the end of the day we were amazed about the amount of work completed by the villagers. They are not scared of hard work. They just don’t have opportunity. Without the opportunity they don’t have the training. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of providing both to their lives. Not that we do a big thing but that we do it together through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Oh, by the way, ask Scott about putting a Tanzanian on his head, er shoulders!

Brett