August 4, 2006 - Kangari, Kenya
August 4, 2006 - Kangari, Kenya
The most common question I still get is “what are you doing there?” Very good question – in fact I had to give it some thought. I came here to serve. God told me to go to Africa – unfortunately he wasn’t more specific - and Africa is really big. Until I find the “place” that I’m supposed to be I’m doing by best to serve where I am. Although day-to-day activities vary greatly depending on where I am, it all kind of boils down to 3 tasks: Listen, Learn and Love.
July 28 - Tabata, Tanzania
July 28, 2006 - Tabata, Tanzania
I’m now in Tabata, which is just outside of Dar es Salaam. I’m staying with a friend, Mjema and his family. They are truly wonderful people and have thus far treated me as royalty. I saw the “gang” off at the Dar airport last night – it was a tough goodbye. Their companionship, assistance and wonderful spirits will be greatly missed. It was incredibly difficult leaving my family and friends in the states, having Chad, Whitney, Beth, Kara, John and Todd here was like having a little bit of home here and helped tremendously in making this transition. To each of you - travel safe, continue to love and serve, know you are on my heart and in my prayers and most of all – SHINE! Another chapter in this adventure comes to a close, turn the page, a new one starts.
Arusha, Tanzania - July 15, 2006
July 15, 2006 - Arusha, Tanzania As promised, today’s entry is going to be bit more upbeat. I haven’t finished Emmanuel’s story yet – but still plan to share that in the near future. Again, it’s been a very busy week. Travel is tough on the old bones and seems to require more recovery time each trip. On my way to Arusha I spent a day/night in Kondeli, and one in Manio – both villages in the Kilimanjaro region. As you might gather by the regions name it is mountainous – also lush, almost tropical and quite a bit cooler than I expected. Again I met many wonderful people – some good, some not so good – but all put in my path for a reason. It seems that each trip adds a piece to the puzzle. I am trying to find means of connecting the “good” resources with “greatest” need. There are many resources, and endless need – so much of the battle is just trying to tell the good guys from the bad guys. There are many NGO’s (non-government organizations). They drive very nice Land Rovers, have ample 4-color brochures but are rarely seen in action. In a similar sense, there is need everywhere – and everyone’s need is the greatest, at least according to them. For example, I spent several hours in a village church this week, the nicest village church I have seen thus far. It had amenities like paint, windows, concrete floor and wooden pews, none of which I had seen in any other village church. The pastor and elders spent hours trying to convince me that their Parrish’s need for an additional school building should be classified as “greatest need”. I will never argue the importance of education, but it’s a pretty tough sell in contrast to the needs I see for food, water and housing. They see and understand the needs in the areas around them, yet still consider theirs the “greatest”. It’s just every man for himself. Thus, the job at hand.
July 8, 2006 Iringa / Dodoma, Tanzania
It’s been nearly 2 weeks since my last blog entry - but I have managed to get some photos posted on the site. If you haven’t seen them you can click on “images”, then click on the photo of rocks, then click on a gallery you would like to view. I apologize for some of the image quality, but I’m afraid my camera is finally on it’s way out. If anyone knows of a good deal on a digital camera (6 mega pixel, 10x optical zoom and uses Compact Flash memory cards), I’m interested.
Iringa - June 26, 2006
I boarded a "coaster" (bus) at 6am Friday to head to Iringa. Iringa is SW of Dar es Salaam, about an 8 hour ride if you go straight through. We made several stops, so it ended up being closer to 12 hours. Although long, the ride was amazing. It's starting to feel like I'm really in Africa! Being in Dar es Salaam for this time has been like dropping someone in NE Minneapolis and telling them "This is Minnesota!" Hardly an accurate representation. The scenery between Dar and Iringa included mountains, grassland and savanah. I saw zebras, elephants, giraffes, baboons, gazelles and impala. Unfortunately the speed of the bus, and my position in it prohibited taking photos - so you'll have to take my word for it - for now.
JUne 18, 2006
June 18, 2006 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Jambo – Greetings from Africa –
As week 2 of the African Odyssey draws to a close, the dust is anything but settling. The 2 months prior to leaving were such a whirlwind of task and emotion – I really thought things were going to settle down when I arrived. There would be an angel standing at the airport holding a sign with my name on it. On my way to my accommodations I would be briefed on the “how-to” of ending hunger, disease and poverty, sleep late the first morning then dig in to the business at hand. Not quite the way it has gone. Thus far, it has been a lot of sitting, walking, waiting…and wondering. I have met a lot of wonderful people and made some very good connections – both in Dar and other parts of Tanzania. I have been learning about the culture and even picking up some basic Swahili – but I have yet to get beyond the Dar city limits. I do not excel at the sitting & waiting part – and this is apparently what God wants me to work on.
Dar esSalaam, Tanzania - June 11, 2006
I left my home, and life as I know it on June 6. The flights to Dar es Salaam were very long. 3 hours to Newark, a short layover, 7 hours to Amsterdam, 5 hour layover, 8 hours to Kilimanjaro, 1 hour to re-fuel, then the last hour to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I left Minneapolis at 11am Tuesday and arrived in Dar about 11pm on Wednesday. The service and amenities on the KLM flights was very good, but the legroom left something to be desired, so sleep was sparse. The crew that met me at the airport was a very welcome site. Chad, Jon, Whitney and Beth had been in Tanzania since April working on a documentary and developing contacts. Isaac Kileo is a man from Tanzania that has been assisting them, and will be very helpful in helping me acclimate to the country during the coming weeks. Laura Nielsen from Feed My Starving Children joined me on the flight here and will be returning in early July.