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.

Easter in Mbeya

Three crosses were erected in the garden outside the administration block - and a notice was posted on the office door. In contrast to the garish displays of Easter Eggs and the images that appear outside (and inside) churches these are the signs of Easter in Mbeya.

The shops display their goods, the market stalls are open, and life continues as per usual. There will be church services on Good Friday - and the Swahili services will go from about nine until well into the afternoon. The banks, the post office, government offices and most 'big' businesses will be shut. Sole traders or family businesses will continue as if it is just another day. For them it is, and they need to trade.

For us Easter is already different. The constant reminders and the commercial opportunities of Easter are missing. It is not much good trying to sell expensive and overpriced chocolates when the majority can only afford the basics. Chocolates are only sold in a few shops anyway, and even a small block of chocolate is 2500 Tshs. You can buy two good meals for that! Shop fronts are places where you display your goods, and shop windows are there to keep out the rain, the dust, the insects and the thieves.

On Good Friday we will see people in the streets, pretty much as other days. At home Good Friday (and Christmas) seems to be marked by an absence of people in the streets.

Here there is life! It seems busy during the daylight hours, but is certainly not frantic. People are always around, and there is always time to talk. People walk, and acknowledge others they meet on the way. People sit, and pass the time between trades in conversation.

Easter will be much like any other time - and the focus on the events of that first Easter will be left to us. We cannot rely on commercial reminders - they are not there. It is up to us to pause and reflect on the significance of those days in Jerusalem so long ago.

For me, it has been good to take my time over Easter, and to reflect on it without the distractions and demands that are normally associated with my remembrances of the central event on the Christian calendar.

7 days at Shukrani - Sunday

Worship at the local Corps commenced about 10.30 a.m., but we arrived about 15 minutes early. We were the only mzungu present (not a surprise!), and were helped by two Shukrani students. It meant that Beth and I had a translator each. With the Captain Samson Ngotcho away at the outpost a young man, Moffat, preached, and preached well. The singing and dancing of the three singing groups was enjoyable, even if we didn't understand the words.

After the service we headed off to lunch in the home of the CSM (the head security guard at Shukrani). The Corps Treasurer (also a security guard) and his wife live nearby and joined us for the meal. We then moved houses and had coffee and 'bumunda' at the CT's home. It was good to see these men and their families in their homes, and to meet their families.

It was about 1 p.m. when we left Shukrani, and about 30-40 minutes later we were at our destination. We walked. Walking is the main form of transport in Mbeya, with daladala in second place.

We began our walk home at close to 6 p.m. Rain during the afternoon meant we did not take the short cut, but were guided along firmer paths. It was a longer walk home through streets alive with people. There are no street lights here, but there is certainly more street life that we see in the suburbs at home.

One of the great privileges of our stay here has been to visit and share a meal in peoples homes, to meet their families and to learn about their lives.

For them our visit is costly. They provide special food, and there have always been at least 4 or 5 dishes provided, together with sodas (soft drink). Since they would normally only have two, at most three, dishes (rice or ugali, and a dish with vegetables or fish) we are greatly honoured by their generosity. They have graced us with their hospitality, yet express profound appreciation that we would come and visit them. It is at once a humbling and gratifying experience.

That was our week, or a glimpse of it.

Weekly Worship - Mbeya Anglican

The plans for Sunday's home visit meant we were free to attend an English speaking service. This was held at Christ the King, an Anglican Church in the centre of Mbeya.

The English speaking service is one of three held in the morning - and fits between two larger Swahili services. The congregation of about 30 was made up of ex-pats and locals, and the service took around about an hour. After attending a few two hour plus meetings it was a nice change.

Sharing in a planned and prepared liturgy was something different for us. The readings allowed for some individuals to participate, and responsive readings and prayers engaged us all. The value of repeating some prayer regularly, and the guided prayers for family, church, community and nation, and the use of creeds were helpful aspects to the service. Repetition is a valuable learning tool, and the intercessory prayers help raise our thoughts to broader issues.

In contrast to the other services we have attended all the singing was a Capella - no keyboard, and no drums. We didn't do too badly either.

Father John preached, and gave an interesting message entitled "Look Up".It was instructive to her him speak of the wandering in the wilderness - the desert. His descriptive phrases help it come to life, and pointed to an understanding of what life was really like in the desert. My mind turned to on of Wilbur Smith's novels "The Burning Shore". If you know where to look you can survive in the desert, but life is difficult, and precarious.

When the snakes afflicted the Israelites a way out was provided. The message turned to Jesus, who was lifted up for our salvation. We need to look up if we are to survive in the spiritual desert that is this age, and perhaps even this world.

At the church I saw a box marked 'Jenga'. At home we have a game called 'Jenga'. Later I discovered that the box was for the building fund. I now know where the game got its name.

Bus trip to Mbeya

After a delightful Sunday evening we packed and prepared for an early start - the bus to Mbeya departed at 6.15 am. We made it with ease (the bus station was only about five minutes away) and so began a day's journey into new territory - for us at least.

We eased our way past the streets of Dar before a few stops on the way out of the suburbs to collect additional passengers. From our exalted vantage point we could see that the morning traffic in Dar replicates that of many other cities - streams of cars and buses lined up at intersections and traffic lights.

The terrain changed as we moved through the foothills and up to the plains. Along the way the various towns and their 'retail areas' could be seen lining the road.

One of the highlights of the trip was Mikumi National Park. The road to Mbeya is the main highway to Zambia and Malawi. The port of Dar Es Salaam is important to them, and the highway is busy with many trucks going east and west. And the highway goes through the national park - BONUS!On one occasion the driver stopped and backed up a few hundred meters so we could catch a glimpse of a couple of lions about 50 metres from the road. There was another stop for some giraffes near the road, but the elephant and impala did not warrant a break in our journey.

There were a few more stops along the way. We could either get off the bus and make our purchases, or buy choose from the range of goods offered to us. Phone vouchers, pears, eggs (hardboiled), bread, biscuits, sodas, cooked maize were all available.

It was close to 8pm when we arrived at Mbeya - and our stop was Soweto. My Swahili is negligible, and we were not sure whether we had communicated correctly to those in charge. I though we had, and when I saw a mzungu (white person) waiting at the side of the road I knew we were at the right place.

A few minutes later we were at Shukrani College, and had settled our gear into Karibuni House, our home for the next two months.