Easter in Review

Thursday:

We attended a 'conference' at the invite of one of the students. It was held in a local park, and the first hour or so was filled with singing, dancing, and a couple of choirs who performed with much energy. There was even
a 'mosh pit', where anything from five to fifty people danced while the choirs did their stuff.

The speaker was a guest from Arusha, and interacted very well with the crowd. The message as about Victory in Jesus Christ, but the crucifixion and resurrection barely got mentioned.

Great to be there - and to be taken home in a taxi over some very narrow and bumpy roads. We were not in a four-wheel drive, but I thought we needed one just for the suburbs.

Good Friday:

A visit to the Children's Prison. It is not far from Shukrani and can hold up to 50 children. When we visited there were only ten boys in the facility. We had been warned about the conditions we might find, but were pleasantly surprised.

The warden was great; we were encouraged by his attitude, and his desire to 'save the children'. We were grateful for permission to visit, and were able to take some basic food supplies to supplement the government rations, as well as some lollies (pipi) that were given to the children after their lunch time meal.

Saturday:

The price of a dallahdallah trip has dropped to only 250 Tshs (25 cents). It is something I have never even heard of in Australia. At home it seems that public transport prices only go one way - UP! There are lots of things we can learn from Tanzania - and this is one of them.

While enjoying a soda (there are no cafes as such for a cup of coffee) we observed a wedding party walking up the street to the Wining Faith church, and we 'dropped in' on the ceremony. Our weddings are sedate affairs, but there was much cheering and clapping as the couple exchanged vows. It was great to be there even for a short time.

Sunday:

Home made chocolate Easter Eggs - made with makeshift moulds. Still some work to be done to get them looking like an Easter eggs, but they tasted good!





Worship was at The Salvation Army - Forest. Just getting to DHQ was a trek, 0ver rough roads (standard fare for Mbeya really) and we arrived in time to see the troops marching to the meeting at about 10.15 a.m.




With a prelude of music and dancing we enjoyed the participation of various groups in the 3 and a half hour gathering. Most remained for lunch, and at around 3.30 pm a substantial party continued to an open air at a market not too far away.

I thought these new floral uniforms were great.

Monday:

A trip to "The Bridge of God" and "The Cooking Pot" - some amazing natural features.

On the way we saw a popular hairdressing salon - the place to be on Easter Monday.

We did walk over the Bridge of God, then had a picnic alongside the local soccer ground (not quite Wembley Stadium) before going to the Cooking Pot.

To get to there we had to go through the grounds of a prison (no pictures allowed, thank you)... must admit it didn't look like a prison, with many houses and kids around the place. Still, it was nice to pass through, and not stay.

It was worth the journey, and concluded a great Easter celebration.