Home again.

Between Saturday morning, East Africa time and Sunday afternoon Eastern time, our group of thirteen hearty travelers slowly drifted apart.  On the Serengeti, Jack and Jane, Payton and Elena, and Shane and Tammy took a small plain east for some R&R on the Indian Ocean.  Back in Monduli, we dropped of Diane; as always, she has more to do before she can rest.  In Arusha, Sarah left the group to travel to South Africa with her husband.  In Amsterdam we said good bye to Carrie when she caught flight a home to Minnesota.  I said my goodbyes to Earlene, Howard and Arlene in Dulles airport, where Steph, Hannah and Connor greeted me warmly, and took me home and fed me pizza. 

It’s good to be home, even if it will take a few days to adjust.  The floors have carpets, and all the windows have glass and screens.  Clean, fresh water comes out of the taps.  As much as I want. I don’t have to brush my teeth with bottled water, or make sure I know where my daily water bottle is at all times.  The electricity is always on. I can sleep in the same bed for more than two nights in a row. The internet is always available, and it’s so fast I can hardly believe it.  My family is here. It seems like riches beyond imagination.

So the trip is over, but the mission continues.  The journey home was marked by many conversations about what happens now.  We saw so much need.  The schools in Arusha need books, and repair.  The girls school needs teachers, funding for college for graduations and better computers.  Selian needs nurses, new equipment, and renovation.  Arusha Lutheran Medical Center needs funds for care and equipment.  The villages far from the cities still need schools.  Everyone needs clean water and reliable electricity.  We all have moments of feeling overwhelmed; times of despair from not knowing where to start. 

Asked how he deals with that sense of scale of the work to be done, Dr. Mark Jacobson quoted Teddy Roosevelt:  “Do what you can with what you have, where you are.”  That is our mission now: To do what we can to support Operation Bootstrap, and our mission partners in Tanzania with the resources our congregation has, from our home in the valley.  In the long run, the Masai and the other people of the Tanzanian highlands are going to have to find their own way forward, and their own solutions to their problems.  What we can do is to answer their calls for help, especially in education, medicine, and public health, so that people their will have resources to chart their own future.  We can support their faith so that future is built on strong foundations.  And we can draw inspiration from their faith and their strength to help us though the tasks at hand, and to grow together, as brothers and sisters in Christ with our neighbors around the globe.

Even though we’re home now, don’t give up on this blog just yet.  A few more stories may come to mind in the next few days as we process all that we have seen and experienced. 

Thanks to you all for following our stories, and for your thoughts and prayers. 

-Bruce

(I just used google to check the TR quote! What a country!)    

Something…

As our trip nears its conclusion, I feel like I’ve used the word Something… (Just like that, in italics, followed by an ellipsis)  a hundred times a day.  “That poverty is something…, the ingenuity of the people is something…, the Tarengari Basin at sunrise s is something…, the animals are something… the special people like Eunice Simonson, Mark Jacobson, and Mama Paulina are something…. (I could go on in this vein all day.)

 I need a better word or phrase.  Amazing, awesome, or astounding don’t cover it.  Maybe “witness to the Holy Spirit”, or “Evidence of God’s Grace” are moving in the right direction.  I mean all these things and more when I say “Isn’t that something….  I’m sure much of our amazement comes from seeing a dramatically new environment.  The amazing, awesome, astounding witness to the Holy Spirit and Evidence of God’s Grace surround us all day, every day in places that seem mundane to us.  But when everything we’re used to has changed we can no longer avoid seeing these things that are just… Something…

 

Jack named the Animals.

  silver backed jackal

 

Female Lion

 

Leopard Tortise

Zebra and Wildebeest Stampeding

27-Jan-2012 (even if it gets posted later)

Today I was blessed to go on a safari ride with (among others) Jack McAllister, Payton Taylor, and a Tanzania guide name Urio.   Jack and Payton know the names of nearly all the birds and animals on the Serengeti, and Urio knows the ones that Jack and Payton don’t.  You don’t just see the well know animals, the lions, the cheetahs, the elephants and giraffe, but they point out the bat eared foxes, the striped hyenas, the leopard tortoises, the steppe eagles, and the violet crested rollers.  The experience reminded me of Genesis 19: 

     “So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”

            Jack, Payton, and Urio would name each animal, an tell us a little about it.  Knowing the animals names is the beginning of understanding the difference between the animals, and understanding their natures and their needs.  Learning the names of the animals is the beginning of meaningful stewardship of the natural world.  Likewise, meeting our human neighbors in need in Tanzania (or anywhere else in the world) is the beginning of understanding their natures and needs.  Meeting our neighbors is the first step in becoming better be stronger brothers and sisters in Christ.

Blessings,

See you all soon,

Bruce

Today we traveled to Karatu in a different region of Tanzania.  Karatu is outside the Masai lands, and is largely inhabited by other tribes.  They wear bright colors, but different than the red and blue favored by the Masai.  The traditional dress is different.  Open pastures have given way to orderly fields, cultivated in the rich soil of the rift valley.  The farmers live in square brick houses with tin roofs, rather that the round, thatched mud huts that we have become used to.  We see few tall, lean Masai herdsmen. 

We’ve come to Karatu to visit the Ngora Ngora Crater.  The crater is a vast, steep sided bowl formed millions of years ago in a volcanic catastrophe.  The plain at the floor of the crater is home to a staggering array of species.  We counted 18 large mammal species and several more large birds (see below). 

All this serves to remind us that diversity in all things pleases God, and witnesses to his boundless creativity. 

Tomorrow we travel to the Serengeti, along a very long, very unpaved road, so keep us in your prayers.

-Bruce

Mammals species:

            Cape buffalo, zebra, Grant’s gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, serval cat, wart hog, wildebeest, lion, black rhino, eland, hyena, hippos, elephant, hartebeest, cheetah, waterbuck, and baboons.

The larger birds we saw include the ostrich, Kori Bustard, and  huge flocks or crowned crane.

           

black rhinos, zebra, and wildebeest graze together in the crater.



A visit to a boma

This post is a little out of order, but yesterday (Monday) we visited a Masai boma on our way to Tarengeri.  A friend of Diane, and MGLSS graduate named Scholer needed a ride from Arusha to her home village.  Diane also brought food and a solar flashlight/cellphone charger that were needed in the village. As always, the visit ended with the hosts sharing Coca-cola and other drinks with our group.  I'm not sure how the villagers always have something to serve to guests, but they do.

The village men welcome our group

Some women watch from the sidelines

Some of the village women head out to the fields 

Peyton never misses a chance to practice his Swahili, and learn more about the Masai culture

 The young men of the village pose for a photo

Wherever Diane Jacoby  goes, some one needs to talk to her

Coming home from market

This guy picked up some fast food at the local drive through.  Note the live chicken on his handlebars.

Wake up tme

This morning I witnessed the most incredible/amazing sunrise!  Sitting on the rim of the Tangeri valley, in my pjs, with a cup of coffee, masses and masses of birds singing, and the hues of pink, orange, yellow and blue slowing fading as the sun rises to reveal the beautiful and lush terrain below.  This morning we’re greeted with Dik-diks’ scurrying between our tents, elephants slowly moving across the plains, and a lone male giraffe in profile.  God is good, Always!

-Arlene 

The view from Tarengeri Lodge, but not at dawn.

My day at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center

 

I had the privilege of spending the day at ALMC.  The Orthopedic surgery schedule consisted of 2 knee arthroscopies. 1 hip arthrocoposy (the first at ALMC ) .  The very first shoulder arthroscopy at ALMC was performed the day before, and was a great success.,  The surgeries were performed by Dr. Palmer from Minn.  He is in Arusha for 2  weeks with his PA-C, doing Orthopedic surgery, teaching Dr Kibira how to do knee arthroscopies,  who is an Orthopedic surgeon at ALMC.

It was in some ways similar to OR’s in the US, and in other ways miles apart such as: using perforated towel clips to keep drapes in  tact, not to mention the BIG bug flying in the OR, no tape on instrument trays, tied with cloth, 1 X4 wood covered with cloth for arm boards, only to mention a few.

One of the more prominent things I noticed was no one seemed to be complaining about their job, or clock watching.  All were gracious and welcoming.

While everyone else made hospice visits to those who are facing death, I had the wonderful opportunity to witness the birth (c-section) of a beautiful baby boy.

God is truly good!

Earlene

Picutures

Since I finally have fast internet and a few minutes, here is some of what we have seen:

The Olchoki shool in Arusha;  Note the lessons on the walls.

 The "Kiddies" at Sarah Wallace's Plaster House in Arusha (Sarah likes to call them her "Kiddies"

 A Masai Boy at selian Hospital, in Arusha

 The team hoofs it through Masailand with Mama Paulina in hospice visits.

 A recipient of Hospice care outside his home

 The form six girls dressed for graduation.

Should those Elephants be so close?

23-January 2012

Greetings all.

We have arrived at Tarengari Safari Lodge. This an amazing place in the heart of Tarengari National Park.  We've have adventures since my last post (and some before) which I'd love to write about, but I'll need some time to sit and write.  Some other folks may want to share as well, so even though we have left our mission partners, please keep checking in on this blog.

Tarengari park is lush and green now, and we encountered an enormous herd of elephants. As we sat and watched, the herd crossed the road, some in front of us and some behind.  Some of these giants seemed close enough to touch, if we dared try (we did not.)   Even when you are stunned by the Glory of God three or four times a day, it never gets old.

Peace and Blessing,
Bruce

Graduation Day at MGLSS

22-Jan-2012  - Sunday

            We spent Sunday that the Masae Girls Lutheran Secondary School.  It was a special day, with the form six students graduating.  In the Tanzanian school system, form six is the final year of secondary school.  It can best be compared to the first year of college in the United States.  Very few MGLSS students achieve this level of education.  For example, this year there are  forty or so incoming form one students, but only six form six graduates.  Keep in mind that eighty percent of these girls come from pastoralist families with no running water or electricity.  Most of these girls don’t ever see a computer, or a picture of one, until they walk into a computer class.  They must pass that class to move from form on to form two.  This is an enormous academic achievement for these girls, and should be celebrated.

            The day began with a worship service that prominently featured the six graduates.  The congregation sat in the Chapel (see the picture at the top of the blog for reference.)  while the school choir began drumming and singing.  The congregation waited, surrounded on three sides by thick stone walls, shaded by the great Maasai shied, yet with a surprising amount of air and light flowing through the gap between the two.  The form six girls marched down the aisle in procession.  They were ornately dressed in purple or brown robes, lavishly trimmed in white beads, glittering with galaxies of small metal disks, half the size of a dime, and twice as shinny.  They wore crowns, collars, and bracelets of brilliant white beads.  All the girl’s gowns fit this general description, but each was completely unique.  The gowns are modeled on the Masai wedding gown.  They entered to the sound of simple drums and complex harmonies singing praises to God.  The girls sat together near the front on the left side.  We, as honored guests sat near the front on the right.  Form five girls joined us, and led us through the services.  Hymns and prayers were in Swahili.   Bible verses were read in both Swahili and English.  During prayers, the graduates knelt at the altar while one of their mothers stood behind and prayed, with great emphasis.  She prayed in Swahili, so I don’t know what the prayers were, but the clarity and passion transcended the language barrier. 

            After the service we joined the graduates and families for a simple lunch, followed by the graduation ceremony. 

            Graduation took place in the dining hall.  Dignitaries, such as the a representative from the Arusha Lutheran Diocese,  local politicians,  and Diane Jacoby (our travel partner, and OBA director) sat on a head table at the dais.  The graduates sat in a row facing the dignitaries.  Special guest (us) sat on one wing, and close family members of the graduate sat on the opposite wing, facing each other, the graduates in the middle. Other family members and friends sat behind the graduates, with the younger students behind them.  Family members dress covered a wide range from traditional, with red plaid robes, beads and sandals, to modern dress that would fit in for evening dinning at Village Square.

            Prior to the graduation ceremony the graduates lead a procession through the front gate of the school, followed by guest, families, and students.  The procession symbolized the opening of educational possibilities to the girls the disparate pastoral tribe, that had not been available prior to 1995. 

            The graduation Ceremony lasted three hours, and by Western Standards could have been a combination of a wedding reception and a graduation.  An MC hosted the event (the MGLSS science teacher in real life) dressed in a lime green shirt, dancing and singing with boundless energy.  Afro-pop music (maybe too loud) fed his energy even more.  The first event was a the presentation of a cake, and an “auction” to have the cake cut.  I use quotes, because all bids were kept, not just the winner. Proceeds went to the school.  Following that, a similar “auction” was held to feed a piece of cake to each of the graduates.  Again, funds raised went to the school.  The headmaster of the school made an extra donation to feed a piece of cake to “Bibi” (grandmother) McAllister.  Next came speeches and diploma presentations, so the tone shifted more to what we had expected for a graduation.  Special class awards followed.  The music came back on that the science teacher/MC when back to his expressive persona.  Somewhere around twenty such awards were presented, some familiar, some that more or less made senses, and some that were inscrutable.  Familiar awards included an award for academic achievement and leadership.  Awards that made some sense included “cleanliness and stewardship, and "most self reliant".  The inscrutable included “President”, "Prime Minister”, and “Senator”.  Members of the mission team were presented with gifts in appreciation for all the OBA and ELCA congregations have done for MGLSS in general, and the graduates in particular. Shukas (traditional red plaid robes) were presented to the men, and kongas,  (bright print wraps) to the women.  The gifts were a typical Maasai expression of appreciation and generosity.  So, members of Bethel, the gifts bestowed on Howard, Earlene, Jack, Jane, Arlene, and myself were accepted thankfully and graciously with all of you in mind. 

            So we thank you all.  For support of the mission programs,  and for support in love and prayer for us.

Blessings all.

-Bruce

Almost like home

21-Jan-2012 

            Today we journeyed from Arusha to Monduli, home of both the MaaSae Girls Secondary School and Moringe Sokonie Secondary School.   We stopped first at Moringe Sokonie.  MSSS is a coed school about twice the size of MGLSS.  The school receives significant support from Operation Boot Strap Africa, and as at all our other all of us, especially Diane Jacoby were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm.  We met with the head master, several teachers, and four students who had been sponsored by OBA, three of whom were preparing to graduate from Form Six (the final year of Secondary School).   They had only exams left.  The girls introduced themselves, and shared their aspirations.  One wanted to by a lawyer, another a doctor or a teacher.  The girls all spoke articulately in excellent, if slightly shy English.

Because the day was unusually warm, the headmaster chose to abbreviate his originally planned tour.  His main concern was that we see the computer lab.  He was quickly directed to me, as the group computer expert.  (For reasons that take too long to explain I’ve gathered a long list of responsibilities within our group including computers, pens, cameras, currency, and most recently plumbing emergencies.)    

            The computer lab contained a broad array of archaic PCs.  Some had 3.5 or 5.25 inch floppy drives.  Many had labels advertising the use of the Window95 operating System (which went out of date in 1998.)  We tried to add a quick blog entry from the lab, but the internet connection was to slow to be effective for our purposes.  Still The work being done in the lab is very important.  Students who come from pastoral villages without electricity need time and help in building up basic keyboard skills.  Students also learn to use common program such as Word and Excel.  I spoke at length with the instructor, a young man named Nure (Noo-ray.)  He explained some of the challenges he faced, but also noted the enthusiasm that the children had for the subject.  Indeed, even though it was a Saturday morning, many students were working, typing and formatting formal letters in MS Word.  Nure also expressed an interest in enhancing his programming skills, so he and I talked shop for a while.  By the time we were done, the rest of the group had moved on.  While Nure guided me across campus to catch up, we encountered a group of boys playing soccer (more properly “football” here, NFL playoffs not withstanding.)  I asked if I could play for a couple of minutes.  Nure said yes, so I asked the boys, who happily consented.  I chose a side, and began playing defense.  Clearly all the opposing players felt that the best thing they could do was challenge me directly and get past me.  After a few attempts one player was able to get a high weak shot around my right.  There was no keeper behind me, so the shot scored.  To be fair, I was burdened by a good pair of sneakers, and he was barefoot.  Nure pulled me away after a quick high five to my nemisis, and brought me back to our group.  

            So just like home, I worked on computers for a while, and then went and played soccer.

            Again at MGLSS I was again identified as the group computer expert, and introduced to Helen, the computer instructor.  She showed me the national curriculum for Secondary Computer classes.  I found it both difficult in Archaic.  for example form two students (7th or 8th grade) are expected to understand local area network topologies, including star networks.  (Anyone who followed that last sentence gets an A+.  I haven’t encountered star network topology since college.)  Helen agreed, and admitted that most teachers can’t really cover network issues with children that young.  That is fairly typical of the Tanzanian educational system.

            Now we are off the Snake Park for dinner.  No worries, I’ve been the before.  It’s a fun place where the snakes are all locked up, and the food is outstanding.

Blessings to all, and thanks for your prayers.

-Bruce.