Penye nia pana njia

Translation: Where there is a will there is a way…
*on the way to the village PH mentioned that somebody once told him he must be crazy to take all of the roads he does to the places he goes…but I am reminded of this Swahili Proverb as God’s will is stronger and more powerful than even our own will and He can instill his will in us…



Sunday February 24th

What a day, what a day!! WHEW… Today was all sorts of fun and wonderful experiences…I think THIS was my best village visit now!!! I went to breakfast and had a little time after to write about my day yesterday. About 8:40am I went out to wait at the car and then we took off about 8:50!! All I knew was that Harold (from Germany) was coming with Luka and PH and me today…well, it was a full car again as Godfrey and Moreto (friends/teachers) also came along! And a man named Grant…he’s from Oklahoma and has lived here for 8 years (in his mid 30’s I think). Anyway- he travels with PH maybe once or twice a month.
We only had to drive a little over an hour…although the last 20-25 minutes were terrible! Today our problem wasn’t mud/water it was a little hillier, and although it was incredibly dry (this area hasn’t received rain in a few weeks!), it was just uneven road and many potholes!! We were definitely out in the bush today…as we were on a little higher elevation and I could see quite far… all green bushes/trees though…nothing else (besides a few random thatched roofs-Maasai houses)!
The first 15 minutes or so after our arrival at 10AM we sit on some benches under a tarped church made of sticks- it was kind of like a tent! Then we hear a girls choir in the distance and about 15-18 Maasai girls were singing/playing a drum as they were walking to the tent. They had walked all the way from their village to come as guests to this one! So we greet them when they come and clap along of course. Then it was time for the first sacrament: Chai (with Maadazi today)!! About 11:15am Luka and Samuel (the evangelist for this village) came and got myself, Harold, Grant, and Godfrey and they told us we were going to go look around the “shamba”, or field… that was fine with me as I usually sit all day long anyway! I was excited for the chance to “explore” and get some exercise walking around (although it was very warm with the sun shining brightly today)! We walked through much of the green over to a field about a half-mile away…and we went through a small stream of water that apparently never dries up even during the dry season. It felt SO good to stand in the water as it was very refreshing! Then we walked back in the direction of the tent but turned off a different “path” into some more bush as we were now going to see cattle…well, we get to another boma (Maasai grouping- usually a few houses and a little “corral” made of sticks for the cattle) and there were no cattle. A couple men and women greeted us and we rested on some stools they brought us. This whole adventure took about an hour and I talked to Grant pretty much the whole time about my major and what “my” “future plans” both are and aren’t… as anything specifically is up in the air- and will be as God reveals more and more and opens and closes doors… we also talked about mission trips/service trips we’ve done (even to the same city in Mexico: Juarez)! We talked about different denominations as he grew up Methodist but really likes liturgy so he shared experiences of going to Catholic masses with friends- also with his family members in Brooklyn, NYC.
As the 5-6 of us were coming back to the tent, we could see that it was completely filled already…there must have been 50 people sitting underneath it, and then another choir (this villages’ choir) was standing in the back singing also… so we arrive and these two girls choirs are “competing” as PH joked. They were both singing different songs (very loudly, might I add)! There wasn’t much space up front- just a small table for an altar, and then there was a bench perpendicular to the altar that we all crammed on… a couple elders, Godfrey, myself, Moreto, and Harold… PH and Luka were on a small “bench” in front of us (so our knees were practically in their hips)! Then outside of the tent sitting/standing were a bunch of Maasai warriors. It was a packed house today!! The service actually began about 12:45pm I think…and lasted until oh 3:45 about! The service lasted a little longer than “usual” as there many people, two choirs to sing, and many guests had come from other villages so the evangelist, during his time to speak about matters of the church in this village (so Pastor H can here), had many introductions to facilitate…then of course PH had many people to facilitate as well as Harold had to share, and the two teachers, and myself! I am getting much better at my 4 lines of Swahili as I say the same thing in every village! I have added “Nimefurahi sana kuwa hapa” or, I am very happy to be here! (The villagers (those that know Swahili) really seem to like that as it shows that I have learned how to form sentences)!!
There were about 17 baptisms I believe…including a few very elderly women and a man-some young children- and 3 Maasai warrior men (in their 20’s?). Obviously, the Life Expectancy is not very high as Tanzania is still a developing country, so it is very rare to find a person over gosh 70 I would say…but one of the women baptized they figured out she was born probably around 1910 as PH said she told him she was “this high (motioning with her hand” when the Germans left… that means she is at least 98 years old, if not older!! Also, it is a really big deal for these Maasai warriors to be baptized because once becoming a warrior, you never bow your head to anybody (or it would be a sign of weakness, and they would lose dignity, etc)…**Side note: Young children bow their heads to Pastor H for sure, and often the Evangelists, and sometimes even me (as I am older)… The response is for the “elder” to put their head on the child’s head as a blessing…this gesture is therefore stopped when the young boys are initiated into the ranks of warrior hood.
Now, hopefully that gives you a better idea of how important, and meaningful it is especially for these men, to bow their heads so they can be baptized…and these men do it proudly…and that is even more meaningful for me- to SEE how proud they are…they know that faith isn’t a sign of weaknesses…that the power of the Spirit is more powerful than having the title of a Warrior.
After PH’s message, we had communion and two offerings back to back, in which the second one was accompanied with many many items to auction off after the service!! (Including a goat, a chicken, bottles of juice, soap, onions?, a 24 case of glass bottled soda, a few Maasai beaded cross necklaces and another Maasai necklace that has many of the silver charms hanging off from it to make noise when they sing/move!

Well, from the time PH and Luka (who was the assisting Evangelist during the service) started singing # 317 and formed the first 2 people in the circle to begin shaking hands… the rest of the day was full of more adventure…Harold and myself were right after PH and Luka, so we shook hands with most everyone right away as they filed out…and I was only right outside of the church (or from underneath the tent) for a couple minutes, when I look to my left down a few people and see a man maybe in his 20’s (wearing a t-shirt and jeans whom I saw at the service) fall backwards stiff-legged into one of the Evangelists arms…I was trying to watch and shake hands with people still coming out/singing. Then about 6 men have to carry him away from the circle, and they are trying to hold on to him- he must have been convulsing and then the men have him totally off the ground- some are holding his legs, his middle and his arms- and they take him over by a small hut to pray over him. This is all happening at the end of the song/ the beginning of the auction. I looked at PH right away as I knew that this was another demon possession-or to put in less intimidating words- a man troubled with an evil spirit… PH said that he has not seen a man in a few years-because it is normally always women who go to sorcerers (“traditional healers, or medicine men”).
The auction probably took a good half an hour or so as there were many goods!! I was so glad to experience another auction, as the only other one happened a month ago when I did not know any numbers yet- so I especially didn’t know how to bid! I was proud of myself- not just because I was able to buy some things, but because this was something that I could fully take part in and fully understand!! I also hope that it showed the people that I truly cared about being part of the culture. The goat and chicken went first- and PH bought them for the village so they will have an Easter feast together now- as eating a meal together is of high importance to the Maasai! There were about 3-4 kitenge’s and the first one had a really great design so I jumped in on the bidding after it was at “elfu tano” (5000 shillings), well then someone went up to 6, and so I simply said “elfu saba!” and it went to me for 7000 shillings (or around 7 dollars)! Before the auction began, PH and Luka and I decided it would be a good idea to buy the soda for the girls choir that walked from their village…so- Moreto and I went back and forth a little bit, and the people really enjoyed this!! Haha It went to me for 13000 shillings- and then the leader of the girls choir came to get it. There was a small hand mirror next and I wanted to buy it just because I knew Jan here at the school has been looking for one- but Luka ended up getting it for me anyway! Haha Well then they auctioned off a Maasai cross necklace with the same type of necklace the girls choirs wear- it is worn like a choker fitting just exactly around the neck with many little silver charms dangling… I thought it would be good to have something to remember (or represent) the villages by…well I didn’t have to buy that as the Evangelist, Samuel bought it for me! I didn’t even know he was bidding on it for me until PH told me- and then as he’s bringing it over to put on me PH says- now this will mean you’re engaged to him…and I’m like what??! I said softly-maybe he shouldn’t put it on me then... haha but PH said- no, it doesn’t mean you’re engaged- so I accepted the gift! Then I bought another colorful beaded Maasai cross for 3000. Whew- that was enough! I now had quite a bit of bling!! Once the auction was finished we stood around for a little while waiting to eat. PH had to finish filling out a few baptism cards. We were invited to eat inside so I, as the “honorary man” crammed into the little room with a wooden table and chairs to eat some rice with a different kind of orange sauce! The sauces always have such good flavor! It was about 5:30pm so I figured we’d leave shortly after we ate, but of course people had to talk to the Pastor…and he always talks with the evangelists privately before we leave- and he also talked to the man troubled with the evil spirit as well… during this time Harold, Grant, and myself stood outside, and of course I couldn’t go anywhere without a crowd following me- so the girls choir all surrounded me, especially after Godfrey took a picture of me with a few of them. Then it’s just a staring contest…well- I purposely lose and pretend I’m interested in something else- but I just keep a smile on my face and let them look at me, and feel my hair and touch my skin and laugh at my bangs… they also tend to like my digital watch- and so they ask “Saa ngapi?” or what time is it? And its good practice for me as the time is still tough to say sometimes! At least one of the girls knew English- but of course she didn’t say anything until the very end right before we were leaving…and I found out we are going to their village on Wednesday so they were all asking me if I was coming and saying “Karibu” (welcome)! And as Grant said, you’ll have a fan club waiting for you when you arrive!! Haha- that will be something new- to see familiar faces besides an evangelist maybe!
PH said that when he talked to the man troubled with the evil spirit, the man said that he had been planning on being baptized today but when the time came to go see PH to register he could feel it “coming on”- whatever that means… I guess- he could feel/sense that this evil spirit was going to react- and obviously it would if he wanted to be baptized… so the man decided he better not. Well- he is coming to the village we’ll be at on Wednesday to be baptized…so we’ll see how that goes!!!
We finally took off about 10 minutes to 6 and everyone followed us to the car to wave good-bye…a bunch of the girls were outside of my window in the back and waving and putting their hands on the window!
I listened to Julie’s ipod again for the hour drive back home and it was so nice and relaxing. We dropped Moreto and Grant off at 7:15 at the school entrance and then kept going into town as we had to drop off a maasai man that was sick (probably TB). I was going to get off early, but I figured, what’s another 45 minutes??! We also got to see Amina again(who I found out is 25 and does indeed have AIDS)…we then went to a couple different rooms to see some more Maasai patients that PH had brought just this past Friday- and also to pray for them.
I finally arrived back in my room about 8:15pm and I wrote as much as I could about the day before I got ready for bed and collapsed!
At the end of the day I have dirty feet and dusty clothes and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but I am so completely humbled by the attention lavished upon me by these people…especially the girls choir… I am overwhelmed once again by the kindness/hospitality of these “strangers.”

I’m struggling with what to do these last couple of weeks before my parents arrive as I LOVE going to the villages and I especially feel like I miss out on so much learning and other experiences if I do not go… and I could literally go all 4 days of the week that PH goes out, but that will leave just 2 days for learning more kiiswahili with a teacher- and I am cutting down to only studying in the morning from 8-12 so that really lessens time for language… although I have surpassed the 40 lesson mark which Wartburg students are required to do I still want to continue learning a little more (hopefully if I shoot for doing 50/60 lessons that will be good)… but I also have much writing to do and my body definitely needs rest and sleep as that’s important too.







Monday February 25th


This morning I planned to get up at 6:45 but I overslept until 7:02…it’s a good thing I never make it to breakfast until like 7:09 every morning anyway! :)
I have a new teacher this week named Ancy- she is beautiful and overly nice- haha, but I guess that’s ok as I don’t feel as stupid taking forever to make a simple sentence as she compliments non-stop! It was very warm today and that didn’t help my tiredness already… so after the break (during which I wrote) I finished up my exercises and said that I was going to be done for the day at 3:15pm (45 minutes early). I just couldn’t do anymore.
After tea, I went to town with Mr. Korean man (as I call him) and Jan. He has a car, so it’s a lot faster to go to town. I really only wanted some a bunch of bananas but Jan needed help getting passport pictures to send to the government to apply for her student residency permit as I had done my first week…and of course I knew where the photo place was. So, we got her photos, and we went to the market so I could buy 5 bananas for 250 shillings (5 cents each)!!! I felt like I was cheating him! I also stopped at the corner supermarket to buy some more cereal, apples, and peanut butter for my morning toast (I think the kitchen is almost out)! I had to go to a “duka la dawa” or a medicine store a.k.a. pharmacy to buy some eye drops for Sister Paulette. I treated myself to a pineapple Fanta soda on the way back, and then went to dinner at 6pm where I discovered that 3 people now have Malaria- Sofia, the german kindergarten teacher has it for the 3rd time in 6 months, and Julie (Rogers wife) and Mrs. Korean woman! Julie looked ghostly the one time I saw her today- and I guess hers is a level 3…it’s better to catch Malaria at level 1 obviously because the higher level the more serious (closer to death) it gets. I do not know how many levels there are though… Julie and Rogers 7 yr old daughter, Amy- had to get tested 3 times last week as one test was positive, one was negative, and so they went to get a third one done in town.
Whew- that’s something I’ve definitely been blessed to not have to deal with…I’m praying that I can hold out for another few short weeks!!

Well, I’ve got quite a bit to work on yet this Monday evening… I keep trying my best to upload pictures, but you might have to wait until I return home in a month where I can put so many more in albums and post a different website!!

Have a great last week of February!! Thinking about you all!


with a joyful heart,
Alana :)

chocolate keki

Translation: chocolate cake! :)

Saturday February 23rd

(once again, trouble uploading pictures...will add some as soon as I can!)


I got up and went to breakfast at 7am, and then it was time to say good-bye to Sister Annette who was going back to her convent in Arusha (north Tanzania), and to the Stubb Family (Randy & Carol- Megan, Nathan, Marissa) as they were also going back to Arusha to Makumira University where they teach music!! PH says LJS (the school) is just like any ol station- with people arriving and/or leaving at all different times… it’s hard to believe the time to start saying good-byes has come already… just under 3 weeks before my parents get here now! I worked on trying to upload pictures, however certain times are better than others… then about 9am I went out to the “parking lot” to meet Jan and Roger so we could wait for the bus that goes to town every Saturday about 9:30am. The bus dropped us off in the market actually so Jan (it was her very first time to town) and myself walked around the market (we only had about 35 minutes before we had to meet a contact) and I showed her where some things were and we looked at many different kitenge (African cloth) shops and we found one shop that had some beautiful ones in it. A single kitenge is so large that two people can share it, so we had the woman cut it in half and I can still easily use it as a wrapped skirt- it is a beautiful darker blue design! Then I bought another one as it has many snail shell designs all over it and I LOVE the snails here- they are so cool!! (I forgot to mention in my last post, when one was sliding its way across my classroom gazebo that the Swahili word for snail is konokono)!
Then we left the market and walked a couple blocks through the main shops to the supermarket so I could pick up some dry cereal, and we both split a package of toilet paper (as we are only rationed one roll a week at the school…and one is not enough when you need to use toilet paper as tissues also)!! Then we walked to a small corner gas station where we waited for a woman to pick us up! Jan was given this couple’s name and number as a contact as they live in Morogoro and work with University students, doing leadership training and holding a “Fun, Food, and Fellowship” night every Friday night at their own house! While we were waiting a young boy about 7-8 maybe walked by with a large plate of bananas on his head (he had an even younger boy with him)…I was really craving a banana, so I bought one for 15 cents today…
Vivian picked us up and we drove a couple blocks further down to a gas station that also has a small café attached to it: Ricky’s Café. This café is excellent as the people that own it are of Middle Eastern descent and they are cake makers/decorators! They make shakes/floats and cappuccinos and lasagna and they have a few different kinds of ice cream (not in a freezer like the grocery store-but like a real ice cream shop)!! It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon to sit outside where there were many tables and chairs- just chatting with this couple (her husband, Ralph, joined us) with the mountains in clear view behind us!! I had a burger (it was alright- but any burger you get here is made of different meat) - and a coke float (so a coke with vanilla/chocolate ice cream) and ALSO chocolate keki!!! (chocolate cake)! I have been craving cake since Sister Annette started joking about it as dessert my first week here!! It was a splurge day, but well worth it!! :)
Ralph could only stay maybe 10 minutes but he bought everyone’s meal even!! Ralph is from Texas originally, and Vivian is from Georgia so Vivian has this great southern drawl still. They are Southern Baptists and have lived in Tanzania for about 25 years total, but in Morogoro here for about 7 years! We ended up chatting for about an hour (mostly listening to what Vivian and Ralph do, have done- and how they ended up here (being called of course). Jan also shared about when she lived in Kenya for about 4 years (that was 10-14 years ago though) and the organization she works with now (who gave her Vivian and Ralph’s contact info)! It was about 12-12:30pm and Vivian was going to give us a ride back to the seminary so we didn’t have to take a taxi, but she first had to go home, which was just fine as they live on the base of the mountain, so it was wonderful to drive just uphill slightly (on terribly bumpy dirt road)… and they have a beautiful home!!! We pull into her driveway after the native Tanzanian man (a “housekeeper”) opens the gate and she mentions that she has coconut trees, bananas, mangoes, lemons, avocados, oranges…I think that is all…right in her yard! Oh-also a tree out back that has tons of clumps of small purple “berries.” I tried one- and the first bite is like that of a grape, but then it was just a bad aftertaste and left my mouth really dry. I don’t remember the name of it…it was oval shaped- a bit bigger than a grape!
In Tanzania, the outside of the houses basically look the same (the ones not made of sticks/mud, and/or dung), but the inside is what counts… as the inside looked plenty “modern”- or like a typical house and style like one would see in the U.S.! It was small, but there were many rooms- and a nice, long screen porch out back…and they even have a guest house in their backyard!!
Then we drove down a couple different roads to a nearby friend’s house…a different couple (both from Texas) and they work with “True Love Waits.” Another beautiful, gated home with a male “housekeeper.” They had an absolutely excellent view of the mountains (the rest of them as they are already up in the base of it)! They also had a few nice white comfy sofas, and more modern furniture and such inside! A 12 inch TV but with a DVD player and their ipod with speakers! Jan and I sat on one couch while Vivian talked to the couple about some book-keeping business…I petted 2 of their 3 grey schnauzer dogs!!!
It was wonderful to see a different part of Morogoro and see some homes/ find out more about the lives of these people working as “missionaries” in a more “modern” setting than PH! I say “missionaries” because really, we are all called to be missionaries (wherever we are at)!!
We arrived back at the seminary about 2:15pm but then Jan and I brought Vivian in to the computer room so Roger and Julie could meet her as they are also Baptists (well, Independent Baptist)…but it ended up being another 20-25 minutes before I went back to my room as Vivian sure can talk!! I sat outside for about an hour- figuring out more details for when my parents get here, and I was able to work out and sweep my room again, as it collects so much red dust/gravel! After dinner I ended up talking to Julie for a bit outside of her room, and we talked about music- how she plays the piano and is a solo singer- she also has arranged some of her own music…then we got into Christian artists…as she likes Michael W. Smith and the Newsboys/Casting Crowns…she shared some other artists with me- but I don’t know as many solo artists- and she didn’t know many I mentioned because she said she grew up listening to nothing but Southern Gospel music!! Then she gave me her ipod and pointed out a few artists for me to listen to!! I finally made it back to my room by about 7:15pm to finish some cleaning, and then chatted online with some people the rest of the evening. Still haven’t gotten any more clothes washed… :(
I went to bed at a decent time- about 10:45pm or so because I desperately needed to get up at 6:35am to shower!!


God’s grace and peace be with you today and always!

In joyful love,
Alana :)

It's a small world after all...

Explanation: (sung to the tune of “It’s a small world after all”~ this song rings true when you meet up with people half-way across the world that are from the same area as you)


Godfrey, myself, and Sofia!

Thursday February 21st


Class went better today, but I also took a half hour break from 9-9:30am as I went over to the kindergarten area (which is a building with a few classrooms) and I met Sofia who took me to a couple different classrooms so I could take pictures. I am helping out a Wartburg friend who studied here last winter term- she is doing student teaching now in Iowa and is teaching her class about Tanzania! It was fun-as I had not been over to see the Kindergarten yet. There are not many children- only like 12 that come normally…but today there were only 8 as it had really rained last night and so the other children couldn’t make it. Students go to Kindergarten to be prepared for primary (grade) school…therefore they can start at age 3 and go for up to 3 years!
I studied during break (after lunch) and took a test at 2:30pm- and the rest of the day I did some studying/blogging. A new student arrived on Wednesday and started class today…her name is Jan and guess where she is from!?? South Minneapolis- MN!!! She works with an environmental organization in Kenya and will move there after finishing the long course here in May! (I think she is in her late 30’s/early 40’s).



Friday February 22nd


Happy 2-22 to everyone!!! It’s only the best day of the year! (For those of you that do not know- I have a thing with the number 22!!) :)

I got almost a full 8 hours of sleep which of course helped immensely with my attentiveness and retention in class today!! The morning went great as I was able to remember words and figuring out sentence formations went much more smoothly! There was a small snail (maybe the size of a small apple) that inched its way across our gazebo as well…I really enjoy snails!! I liked them at home too, but I have never seen snails so big in nature before! (I only remember getting to have a pet snail in 4th grade when the class paired up and we got to do different experiments and tests with the tiny snails)!
After lunch/break I went to my afternoon session from 2:30-4 and then quickly grabbed a couple Maadazi before heading to town with MeeHa and the Korean couple, as well as Sofia and my teacher from a couple weeks ago, Eliza! We walked all around looking at different shops that had kitenge material (the beautiful kinds of cloth material)…and we went to the market where Sofia and I bought a banana for a snack (only 10 cents and we could have gotten it cheaper…)!! Unfortunately the grocery store closed before 6pm today so we just missed going there. I will have to return tomorrow now… anyway, Sofia and I stayed in town as as we wanted to try something new (well, a new experience for me anyway!) so about 6pm Sofia and I walked a few “blocks”- down a street- to meet Godfrey(a teacher/friend) at a restaurant called Savoy. Everything is outdoors really- with maybe something overhead…it’s the most beautiful weather so it works just fine! Sofia and I talked for a while and watched Godfrey play a few rounds of pool. I also bought an English Tanzanian newspaper for about 50 cents…I try to buy a newspaper when I am outside of the school now because otherwise I cannot find an issue to keep! Then Sofia and I played a round of pool and I think it took us the same total time to play one game as it did for Godfrey to play like 3-4 rounds! Haha It was like 30 cents to play and Sofia and I spent at least 15 minutes trying to get one ball in to figure out who was stripes/solids!! (hey, I hadn’t played in a looong time)! Well, then somehow I got 3 balls in a row in…and ended up winning!! It was a lot of fun as I finally remembered/grew more confident in playing! Then, Godfrey had ordered 2 plates of kiti moto (pork)…it was very small pieces…mostly fat, but what was meat was great! It was in a darker orange sauce that was Excellent…very similar to BBQ!! I think a band was slowly getting ready to play, but in the meantime there was some loud music coming from a speaker…some good Tanzanian pop/hip-hop! We took the taxi of Godfrey’s friend ($2.50) and we were home by 10:15pm! Now, I am going to sleep so I can get up for breakfast and have a full and productive day of cleaning/studying/washing clothes/ catching up!

Only one more week in February to go!!! Have a fantastic weekend!!

in joyful hope,
Alana :)

Don't judge a village by its chai...

…or chairs, or food (or lack there of)

Explanation: something that I had found myself doing after my first week was “judging” a village… like, if they had a church then we would probably get chai And a snack in the morning, and even soda with our meal after the service…or if the village hardly had any chairs for us- just some small stools and only chai then the people probably wouldn’t be as friendly…. It sounds ridiculous but its true. So, whether or not we get Chai AND maandaazi or chapati, or nothing at all, or whether or not the chairs are “nice” or not, or if we get soda… one cannot judge the character of a village and its people like this!!

probably one of my favorite pictures!!

a glimpse of the "mazingera" (or environment) of the place I sat all day (and where the service was held)

Pastor Heri serving PH communion after everyone else





Tuesday February 19th

I was still tired today obviously, but was grateful for a casual day in a village and a break from my lessons. Luka, PH, and I left about 8:45-9am and after about 35 minutes we picked up an evangelist named Luka, and then a couple more evangelists, and then we picked up the evangelist Moi who I was so happy to see again (it had been a month)!! The last person we picked up was Pastor Heri ( he was one of the three pastors with us a week and a half ago and I did not know his name- so in the picture from Fri the 8th he is nameless)! The secondary and tertiary roads were interesting to get through again- but we made it eventually…about 10:45-11am. Today was much more relaxed than normal as this was a very small village- and not a typical Maasai village as it is very “progressive” according to PH- therefore they had some houses that were not made of mud/dung/sticks/bamboo- and I guess the father has made education a huge priority for all of the children/young people. A different evangelist greets us and the 9 of us sit on plastic chairs/stools underneath many large shady trees for essentially the next 2.5 hours. I was definitely the only female again all day and did most listening of course! PH and Luka left a couple different times for about 20 minutes or so- looking around the area I guess. A young man- who was also 21 I guess- chatted with me for about 20 minutes because he just finished Form 5 in Dar es Salaam and is home for a break. Therefore, he wanted to speak in English and we talked about our majors, and about the differences between American and Tanzanian weather and food! We had the first sacrament, chai, around noon or 12:30 and then I did more listening… they told a lot of animal tales/stories- about snakes, baboons, cats/dogs, cows- and once in a while PH would only have to say a couple words and then I got the general gist of the story. About 1:30pm I walked with PH and a couple others down the road a bit to see the church as of now- just made of sticks- and there are some small benches in side- made of sticks…PH said- imagine that…in America many people will complain about sitting on padded pews- how would you like to sit on a stick/small log. One would have a very sore bottom… anyway, the first picture is of PH with two little boys holding his hands….they were adorable and immediately latched on to him and grabbed his hands when we started to walk to the church and then again back from it…and then when he was sitting in his chair next to me the two little boys just loved to stand near him and play with his hands…
For the next hour, people slowly gathered under the tree- and Luka and I chatted before we finally began about 2:30pm. It was very small today… mostly all women/children. In fact, the only baptism was one young boy- about 14-15. The service went by fast again- and we even had men’s choir-which I LOVE…and Moi is great at leading with his loud voice and confident personality…it’s really great to hear the men sing in kiiMaasai- it sounds really cool :)
We ate after the service of course- about 4:30pm-rice and some beans and potatoes in a nice orange sauce :) Also…many times when babies don’t actually breastfeed (which is rare) they will drink milk out of a small gourd….well-at this village there were some larger gourds and moi shook one of them and says to me “maziwa” (milk)…I said “Najua” (I know). However…they pour out this kind of “milk” into glasses and people were drinking it straight…even PH I think (unless he put in sugar). I have seen what it looks like before (similar to the runny yogurt at the school) and I cannot even look at it without my stomach feeling queasy… well- they eventually put a glass in front of me- and I did NOT want to drink it because I KNEW it was going to taste as bad (if not worse) than it looked but I wanted to be a little respectful so I took a small drink and tried to keep my look of disgust at a minimum before I handed my glass to Luka. I don’t know the best description…watery cottage cheese…or think of the smell of sour milk- that’s maybe been left out of the fridge for a day or two… I was brought a nice glass of wonderful chai though!!! :)

We left about 5pm and eventually dropped everyone off…I was tired and lonely- haha. Before going back to the school PH, Luka and I went to a small hospital in town to visit Amina (I had not seen her since my 2nd week here in January)…she is a young woman- couldn’t be more than 25- who has HIV or AIDS and has been taking ARV medicine that’s literally keeping her alive… PH told me some drama that occurred a week and a half ago when the other center was at threw her out and her father had to come get her and she had stopped the medicine…well, anyway- she is still alive and we visited (well, PH did) for about 10-15 minutes, and then returned back to the school here about 7:15pm. I had some studying to do as well as more writing the rest of the night.

**Thought I would mention something about today’s baptism. The people in the village have all been baptized, but PH said he noticed this young man (14-15) sitting off to the side very quiet and PH asked him if he would like to be baptized and smile spread across his face and he just shook his head yes enthusiastically… turns out, he had the name of the type of ants that were trying to run all over my legs in the village a week ago, and he told PH that he was “just the Herd Boy.” So, he asked his mother and got the OK… he also therefore was not literate and so I think PH gave him a small work book (grammar) to start with.




Wednesday February 20th


After breakfast and morning devo I had class all morning…it went alright- I’m still moving pretty slowly. After lunch I took some time to write so I brought my computer outside to sit in the sun for about 35 minutes. My afternoon period from 2:30-4 just went downhill as I lost all energy/motivation to focus and my head started to hurt. I grabbed a couple small bananas at 4pm tea break and brought them back to my room to eat so I could just sit and relax and try to upload some pictures.

I went to dinner feeling pretty disheartened, but thank God for Julie who actually asked how I was doing and then actually stopped to sit down and talk with me...and while doing so, sharing a bit of her own struggles and even opening up very briefly about her past... it was such a blessing to chat with her...even if she and her husband are very outgoing baptists!! :) I also received a small package from the Wartburg College GMCS office (Global and Multi-Cultural Studies)- it was a Wartburg Newspaper from Jan 28th, and a notepad and even a couple pieces of candy! Those starbursts sure tasted great!!!
I really think I just need some sleep. I think that Im feeling a lot more tired because I stopped taking an iron supplement and another vitamin as I wasn’t feeling well digestively a week and a half ago… though I am feeling better, on the flipside I now feel like I am more lethargic.

Maybe I’m feeling the weight of mid-terms and the winter blues here…I don’t know how it’s affecting me, but somehow it is??!


**Note: I forgot to mention…the older Maasai men, they actually wear gym shorts underneath…so they don’t just have their red pieces of cloth slung casually over half their body…thought I would inform you! :)


Praying that you take some time to rest as it is very important…and as I seek to do the same!

struggling to stay afloat,
Alana :)

"And a little child shall lead them...

Explanation: Isaiah 11:6 (Jesus)


Sunday February 17th

Today was probably my best day here yet~ and probably one of my favorite village services!!!!! After breakfast, we left about 8:45am…all 9 of us, before Pastor Malaki joined us! The Stubb Family came with PH, Luka, and myself…so the 3 children (Megan(14), Nathan(11), Marissa (12) and their mother, Carol sat in the back while Godfrey, me, Randy, (and eventually Pastor Malaki) sat in the middle!!! The Stubbs are great~ Megan is excellent at kiiSwahili and has already surpassed me by 5-6 lessons!! The parents are very nice, but boy they sure can talk a lot!! (you all thought I talked a lot…) haha Seriously…sometimes I just like it to be quiet in the car- to listen to music, or to just look out the window, and I really do like to listen to the conversation that PH/Luka/ other evangelists or pastors usually have to see if I can pick up anything!! However, Randy decided to talk to me pretty much the entire way to the village- about Makumira University where they teach music. *Note: the Stubbs are a very small/thin family- that is why 4 fit in the back so well! :)

Well, we drive for about 10 minutes maybe when we get an incredibly flat tire. PH pulls over immediately (thank God there was an area of extra road on the shoulder for buses)! So, we all get out of the car and Luka is very speedy at changing the tire and within 15 minutes we are going again! *Note: they do not carry spare tires here, they carry extra tires…
About 45 minutes into the drive, we pick up P. Malaki on the side of the road and shortly after that we turn off onto a Secondary Road that seemed to go straight forever…however it was very bumpy as we went from one side of the road to the other to avoid various dips and potholes and puddles of water/mud-sometimes there were patches of water covering the whole road- we prayed that they weren’t too deep! After what seemed like an hour (probably only 30-45 min) we turned off on yet another “road.” Now we were to the Tertiary part of the trip…basically following some tire tracks through the bush… there were a couple terrible parts of the grass that were submerged in water that we had to get through… and then we stop because we see that just ahead of us has eroded: ½ the road is dry gravel but the other ½ is a watery, muddy mess. Well, Luka and Malaki have been directing up until now, but then Luka gets out to figure out how to go around this bad area. We follow him through some trees and then a small child (about 9-10) suddenly appears with a huge smile on his face and he shows us the way. We follow he and Luka until the little boy has shown us back to the “road”…more like a path… and then he gets in and sits on Luka’s lap to continue pointing PH in the right direction…right up until we stop before the brick-built church! I give Randy the credit for remembering this verse… it was great because right before this child appeared Randy and I had been sharing previous village experiences and we were talking about how being here, in this culture, it makes the Gospel come so alive- meaning, I feel like I could be walking around with Jesus…
I think we arrive around 11-11:15am and after a few greetings Carol and I head off into the bush to find some trees to use as a restroom. Now, every village visit up til now I have been able to wait until returning to the seminary, but those roads were so incredibly bumpy that I found myself needing to go… so I relented and was thankful for the company!! Haha I’ve gone to the bathroom in a few crazy places before when I was here 4 years ago, but it was still akward, knowing how many people were just beyond some trees in the church, and many Maasai women were cooking at a fire as well… and it probably wasn’t the best day to wear bright orange :)
We join the rest of the group, now standing outside by a sand pile engaging in conversation… a couple small kids come over and Megan absolutely loves kids and since her Swahili is so good she tries talking to them… we learn the name of one of the two: Kennett. He is a little rascal and trouble-maker but has the greatest laugh and a cute smile….when he wasn’t smirking! Anyway, we took a couple pictures with them…and of course, the close-up pictures I have with them the children aren’t smiling! But sometimes, children don’t know to smile for pictures so they scowl or just stare… we go into the church and there are a few benches and some other children hanging out… well- somehow this game got started between Kennett and myself because he climbed up on the bench and reached out to me and so I would “catch” him and swing him around… he just loved this and squealed with delight every time I did it…over and over and over again… about 15 times!!! J I enjoyed every minute of it as I haven’t gotten a chance to play with many children…(it really helped to have along the 3 American children because it made it a lot easier) and Kennett just clinged to me! :)
Then the Mamas brought in chai and shooed all the children out of the church. We were served wonderful chapati And maandazi…but the chai was NOT TRUE Maasai chai!!!! I was bummed and surprised as the Chai is obviously absolutely wonderful!! But PH did say this was a very poor village, so it is possible they did not have means to obtain the ginger to grind. After chai/conversation PH and Malaki go outside to register for a few baptisms and the rest of us stay sitting. The Stubbs, myself, and Luka were on one bench and Godfrey was behind us. Women and children start showing up and a choir gets assembled on a few benches and so they start some pre-service singing (the men of course gather outside to chat before the service). After a few minutes Luka gets up to go bring in the kneelers and the rest of the things used so the spot on the end next to me is open for quite a while until suddenly the most beautiful Maasai man just plops down next to me (of course, I did not know this until after the service as I really only saw the side of him)…although right after he sat down he turned to me and asked me “Are these liturgy books?(referring to the stack of 4 books between us)” in excellent English.
I remember looking at my watch at 12:30pm while the pre-service singing was still happening and I told Carol that if we start the service by 2:30pm we would be doing good!! Not too much later (maybe 30 min or so) we actually started! It was about 2 hrs again- and just wonderful!! The girls choir sang and also the “Von Trapp Family Singers” as PH liked to call the Stubb Family! They sang a couple songs in English and one in Swahili in the beginning of the service…then there were a couple baptisms- a baby and a young boy…PH gave the message and this one was a lot harder to understand- or maybe it was just harder for me to concentrate as we were all squeezed onto this bench together…so on one side of me was this Maasai man and the other was Marissa (the Stubb’s daughter with Down Syndrome)- she is a delight, but sometimes its hard for her to pay attention for so long, so she was taking over my “personal space bubble” as we might call it…actually- after riding packed in the car for over a month now and thinking about my other experiences…there’s not really a personal space bubble anymore! Haha
Communion time rolls around and typically those baptized go first, then the young Maasai warriors, because supposedly, if they do not go right away they will not go at all….well, the 8 or so young men were sitting in the rows behind us but it looked like PH was motioning for us to go, so we started to walk up- and well, I just kept going because no one else was getting up behind us… so I ended up taking communion with all of the warriors first! Haha- then again…every village we go to I am always an “honorary man” anyway as I eat first… :) During the offering, the Stubb Family sang “Thy Word” and they sang in English, but Megan would sing the verse in Swahili right after…so it was a beautiful flowing mixture of kiiengereza (English) and kiiswahili!!! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but after the offering, there’s a tiny bit of liturgy left, then the pastors kneel facing the altar and the whole congregation sits to have a couple minutes of silent prayer/reflection! Then the Pastors/evangelists exit first and we start to sing # 317 and file out to shake hands until the last person or child is out! PH says a blessing, and then the service is over and people slowly disperse!
Well, as I went around shaking hands I ended up being across from 3 Maasai men (including the one sitting next to me)…and I knew that he would want to come talk to me as he knows English and the men were looking in my direction… (I was also surprised and intrigued about where he was educated though) well, sure enough… he heads in my direction and comes right to me- (I was standing nearby Randy and Carol) and says “ I want to know you better- where are you living?” haha and I said-right now? well, I am (we all are-motioning toward the Stubbs) all from Morogoro- the Lutheran Junior Seminary. Then Randy talks to him about for awhile as Megan and I step a few feet away to take pictures of the children that were all lined up in a group nicely. Then, he came over to me again and asked if I was married yet…I said not yet- but I am with someone back home! He acts very surprised (about not being married) so I explain that in America many people do not get married until their mid-20’s, like 25 or so, because they like to finish school first. He then asked how long I will be here for, and I said only one more month. PH came over and said “Marko!” so then I knew his name at least!! PH said- I wanted this guy to be an evangelist!!
Then we had to eat- with my right hand of course! I must say…I am getting the hang of it!! We all chatted/said good-byes to different people… I was able to get a picture with the two Evangelists: Moses and Mathaeo (matthew), as well as another Maasai man and Marko!! Except, in the picture he is not smiling and he had a wonderful smile and excellent teeth! Now half of our group is in the car ready to go, but I was still outside and Marko told me that the children were saying- is this an ndege (meaning airplane)- and he told them no, it’s a gari (car) …and they said-what’s that? He thought it was funny… then he shook my hand and told me- “God-willing, we will meet again.”
Malaki then grabbed my camera and had someone take a quick picture of us…little did I know that Marko happened to be in the corner of it! so now you can see his great smile!
We finally get going and Luka drives back on the Tertiary Road and gets us through the mud/water…then we hit the Secondary Road and we stop briefly to see this Evangelist Center that Luka had built…and also the water pump that pumps clean water…PH pumped it up and down quite a bit and then the water finally came! Luka and Malaki did some pumping as well…and then I tried it!! It’s not hard, but you have to pump it MANY times so I got tired- but I did manage to make the water flow!! Almost as soon as we get back in the car it starts to downpour for about 30 minutes… then PH and Luka switch once we are back on the Primary Road. We drop off Pastor Malaki and continue back to the seminary arriving about 6:10pm… Luka and I went to PH’s room to look at the calendar so we could start planning for the week my parents will be here…then I went to dinner about 6:35pm- everyone else had finished but Sofia (who is finally back after being gone about 9 days in Dar for a volunteer meeting through her missionary organization) and Godfrey were there to keep me company!
The rest of the night I accomplished uploading a lot of pictures and then just reflecting… I hand-wrote a bunch of thoughts/feelings down… it was just a good night of brokenness and I learned a lot…but therefore also didn’t go to bed until late.

Marko was a wonderful guy- and yes, I think the Maasai are in general a beautiful people…but marriage proposals from other Maasai men, I was definitely like, that’s alright- not exactly into half-naked men that carry a large knife/club on their belt (for safety!)…however, Marko was so beautiful to me- maybe because he spoke English well that helped me to see a different side in a Maasai warrior… he was gentle, humble and intimidating all at the same time and to say the least, I was flattered! But who wouldn’t be… yes, I may have been homecoming queen at Wartburg in the fall but what does that mean??? It has absolutely no meaning here… so I’m not anybody special…just another mzungu (white person) that is treated with the same respect as any other visitor to the village… I really don’t deserve all this attention- they give attention to any white person/visitor…but this place really does to wonders for one’s self-esteem!! :)


Monday February 18th


Well… what went from the best day of my time here so far changed to one of the worst on Monday. My new teacher for the week is Amani and he is also teaching during his 3-week holiday break from the University… quite the contrary from past teachers, he explains almost too well- or too much, maybe is a better word. I didn’t even get through one full lesson all day…the lesson was about Mount Kilimanjaro and climbing vocabulary- so that was okay, but it’s the exercise practice sheets that just take me way too long.
I was doing alright until lunch- but then after lunch I was starting to get crabby and tired and so the afternoon period of class from 2:30-4pm was awful…I was useless and I felt very sorry for my teacher. My brain just didn’t want to function…I was ready to cry tears of frustration and just walk right out (I have only wanted to do that one other time…this was worse!) haha Finally, 4pm hits and so I head back to my room for some personal space. It was good to just forget about studying so I looked at a couple friends’ pictures/read a blog as one is currently studying in Botswana (southern part of Africa) and a friend that was in the Sierra Leone! After dinner (which I didn’t eat much of) I started writing about Sunday uploading pictures right away as I had taken so many good ones! However, about 9pm the power goes out and I once again lose pictures (about 5 too)! :( Bummer… so, now you will read in writing and then hopefully soon I can get some pictures up so it will help you connect names w/faces and environments!!!

Blessings for your week!

in His grip,
Alana :)

soko confidence!

Explanation: market confidence :) (the Fri the 15th writing explains)!

Tom and Sally Roach: the ELCA global missionary reps that we had dinner with (Thursday Feb 7th)!

Sister Paulette, me, Sister Aileen- eating ice cream to celebrate all of us making it to Swahili Book # 2 as well as my half-birthday (Monday Feb 4th)!

THESE PICTURES: Feb 1 Village visit!


Godfrey teaching me for about 20 minutes!

kind of blurry, but right when the rain started before communion!

PH and me~ soaking wet! but happy :)

me and nicole

me and PH with some Maasai warriors!

Nicole, myself, Godfrey eating/drinking more chai after the rainy service!

with the first man that wanted a picture :)




Thursday February 14th

Happy LOVE Day!!! (wait…shouldn’t EVERY day be Love day??!!!)


Godfrey gave quite the morning devotion this morning. Aside from having us turn to our neighbor’s and tell them “Happy Valentine’s Day he talked for quite some time about Daniel 3: 24-30 (I believe). I think others were hoping that he would just finish talking, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as he talks about what the passage means for us… he talks slowly and confidently- challenging us to think. He has great poise and confidence in the way he holds himself and knows how to draw people in and captivate their attention. He discussed the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego…how they were willing to be thrown in a firey furnace for their faith. Godfrey posed the question to us: “Do we have a faith like that?” Harold, a delightful German man that joined us this week, was the first to raise his hand and admit “I don’t!”
Class was good all day~ I studied after lunch as I had a test after my break. My teacher, Gloria, is 20 and she finished From 6 last year and is actually in her first year at the University in Moshi (northern Tanzania) studying accounting. She is teaching here at the school during her holiday break for 3 weeks! She is actually very young it seems to be at the University already- compared to “most” Tanzanian students. I learned the colors- which are quite difficult to remember and some have prefixes. Then we got into a discussion about gender after she figured out that my favorite color was blue (she said she noticed I had a lot of it!) :) She said that when someone has a baby and they want to give a gift, pink is given for girls and blue for boys- nothing different there! We also got into a discussion about stereotypes and movies when she asked about cheerleaders- although she didn’t know the name! She loves movies and asked me about Mean Girls (with Lindsay Lohan) and said she likes movies with Lindsay, Hilary Duff, and Kirsten Dunst! I was able to bring a couple movies and so I lent her one of my favorite “chick flicks” called Center Stage! (She liked it so much she said she was going to watch it again Friday night)!
After dinner on Thursday, one of my roommates had informed me that Luke Menard made it into the Top 24 for the seventh season of American Idol!! He is from the wonderful a cappella group: Chapter 6!! I met them when they came to Wartburg my freshman year, and then again my sophomore year where I was one of two girls serenaded on stage by Luke and another member!! They also came this past fall to Wartburg again but I was unable to see them :( He’s a wonderful guy and I was very excited to “know” someone so I went to the American Idol website for a while to look up some info!


Friday February 15th

Jacob gave the morning devotion on 1 Corinthians 13 (the Love chapter)…and he read us a cross-cultural worker version of this chapter produced by the ELCA maybe?! I will get a copy of it and write it sometime soon!! It was just excellent!! Class was great today! However, 5 minutes before noon the rain decided to come…it poured for about 25 minutes so we had to watch from the indoor classroom. Then, our usual walking path (on the red soil) back to the blocks/dining hall was a river, so we went the long way around-through the school (which had large puddles of water here and there due to leaks). However, 1 hour later the sun is out and the ground is already almost hard again!! After class at 4 I went to town with the Koreans: MeeHa and the South Korean couple who have their own vehicle! It was fun walking around with them…the poor man- he had to tag around and watch us ladies looking at kitenge (skirt material) shops!! So sometimes MeeHa would speak in Korean to them, and then tell me in English so I wouldn’t feel left out- then we would speak Swahili to the shop owners to ask them questions! I felt SO much more confident going to town this time and I could tell that I had improved since going to town on Monday the 4th- almost two weeks more of lessons really helped my vocabulary and confidence! I am getting more and more comfortable with where things are located in the market or other stores, and also with my greetings! Tanzanians are very friendly and most of the time they will always greet you with something…but now, I’ve decided to try and be the first one to greet others and I love to walk away seeing smiles cross their faces and their heads perk up at this pale-skinned girl crossing the communication barrier first! :) We found so many more shops with beautiful material and so I will be going back of course!! The last place we stopped was Pira’s- the infamous grocery store on the corner that is one of the best in town so we park by it every time! I had to pick up some things for Sister Annette and Carol, and also myself! I bought more apples as they were down to 600 shillings (60 cents)! And I splurged on cereal- but the cheapest kind, so it was 5,200 shillings… but well worth it if it helps my digestive system!! :) We arrived back just in time for dinner at 6pm and the rest of the night I spent doing a little studying and caught up somewhat on my posts!!!


Saturday February 16th

I got up and went to breakfast at 7am, and then came back to sleep some more! However…I really should have learned by now that it’s better if I go to bed early and never take naps because usually the workers are always doing something-but really, the loudest ones are the children that are running around by 8:30am playing outside…and the two little Norwegian children that live by me are not very well-behaved… So I do not feel very rested but hopefully tonight I will sleep well! I spent most of the day on the Bread for the World website- it’s a wonderful Christian domestic/world hunger fighting organization and the hunger awareness group at Wartburg, called Manna, that I have been a part of works with this organization!! Well, then I got all excited just for God’s plans for me and what I hope to be doing occupation-wise, etc and so I read a couple of the introductions, are parts of other books that I brought….they have been sitting on my bookshelf untouched and I want so badly to read them but right now I still have more Swahili to be studying and more writing to be doing…but it excited me about being here as well as going home and just about being the church…being part of Jesus’ great commission- knowing that the Kingdom of God is not just meant for later, but for now- here on EARTH as it is in Heaven…and what we can be doing- at home and/or abroad to stand up for truth and fight for justice!!
I sat outside for about 30-45 minutes working on some writing...but I can’t do much more than that because the past two days, I have noticed that after sitting in the sun for 10 minutes I am already drowning in a pool of sweat!! But the actual air temperature is so nice, and so I really enjoy the warmth of the sun! Megan has coined the word “sweat bath” when she sees me sitting in my blue chair! :) I did a nice work out before showering and heading to dinner at 6:10! Tonight I have much e-mailing catch up to do, and hopefully some of these pictures from the past couple of weeks will decide to work! I am in dire need of washing more clothes so hopefully that happens as well…as far as studying goes- well, that may have to wait until after I return from the village tomorrow night! Goodness~ time just keeps flying!! My parents will be here in less than a month now!


**If anyone also has any news on the shootings in Illinois please let me know~ it is hard to find out much here!! This really hits home as the Stubb family (Randy and Carol and kids) who teach music at the University in northern Tanzania are from Illinois and went to the school-they both have taught in the same auditorium… small world, huh?!

In my thoughts and prayers…

Lala salaama (sleep well)!


with sorrow and love,
Alana :)

Practice makes... sentences?!?

Explanation: in my case, practice doesn't make perfect...rather I feel successful making a sentence!! :)

Wed 2-13-08


standing next to the Maasai girls choir (2-13-08)

a maasai warrior baptized (I love that you can see the cross on his skin)!

Wednesday February 13th


At breakfast this morning I had an orange (that was green before it was peeled)! However, it still took a lot of work, as the outer whiteish membrane is much thicker than an orange we would eat-therefore I had to take out the seeds first then peel the thick membrane off, and then tried eating/sucking some of the fruit out-but it’s shaped more like a grapefruit inside. Also, it is much more tart than the oranges we eat! But, I was grateful for something new! Although, I was really enjoying eating bananas…something I’ve refrained from eating my whole life…until the past week! :)

After morning devotion I went to class for a half an hour to finish up my exercises and that way I will start fresh on Lesson #35 tomorrow! I came back to my room and for about 20 minutes was able to talk to about 4 different friends online (quickly of course)- but it was wonderful! I talked with a roommate of mine who was just here in Tanzania for the whole Fall semester and I have never typed more furiously as she asked me about certain people and experiences and I know the very same people or have been to so many similar places- so she understands and can relate completely! It was very exciting!
Anyway, Pastor H and I took off from the school around 9:20am (therefore I got to sit up front again) but we had to actually go into town to pick up the Evangelist for the area (Samuel) as well as Malaki again (one of the newly ordained pastors)!! Then the drive was really only about 45 minutes on almost all nice Primary road- just about a mile or two into the bush we had to go (but that was very bad “road”)!
On the drive everyone was reading newspapers as the President (Jakaya Kikwete) has just downsized his cabinet- cutting some people and adding more honest, and dependable people.
We arrive about 10:45am or so and another man (an evangelist I think?) joins us and we just sit in the church on a bench. One Maasai woman on crutches comes into the church and sits down on the bench next to me so I got about ½ page of reading done in my book… then PH and Malaki waved me over to go look at the herd of cattle that was walking by in the nearby trees. However, the cattle keeps running away from us so Malaki is leading, then PH and then myself but after about a minute we realized that we were not going to catch up with them, and then I felt something on my feet and realized that this was an area where there are Large ants running Everywhere- and they bite…so I started slapping them off of my feet and ran back to the safe zone: the church :)
Well, then PH tells me, ok- we (he plus Malaki and the evangelists) have to go now (of course I don’t know where or to do what) so I guess you’ll get some practice speaking today… so there I was sitting in this church next to this Maasai woman who knows not a word of English. What was I to do?! *(Luka was supposed to come with us today but since a wall fell over at one of his sites because of a storm he had to go fix it today- and although I still would have practiced Swahili with him, he knows some English and is more of a comfort as a companion-sometimes just knowing one friend helps…)
So, for a few minutes I try asking this woman her name (Marea), what she hurt (as in, the reasons for the crutches), and also about her family, my family, and simple info that I know how to say- like what date I came and how long I have been studying the language and when I will leave… (turns out that she is the mother-in-law of the Evangelist (Samuel). She also noticed one of my rings. I wear two silver ones: one with a cross and the other that says God is love… well- I told her what it says in kiiSwahili and then she wanted to try it on of course- and I figured she would want to keep it anyway so I never asked for it back… I have had it for years and so I really wasn’t heartbroken! A few more mamas came in and sat down as well as a few children…and somehow within a matter of minutes I found myself surrounded by about 20 children and about 5-6 mamas! I introduced myself again and told where I came from and I showed them a picture of snow on my camera…and also of my parents and Paul :) I showed a few of them some pictures from my mountain climb and some animals from Mikumi…then it was time to put the camera away! I was thankful when PH and the others came back but then they went to set up a couple benches under a nearby tree to start baptism registration…well that lessened the crowd a bit as Mamas went to register their babies/small children. I realized that sometimes it’s okay to just sit in silence and just sit and smile…because sometimes that’s literally all I can do! The elder mama came to get me for chai and I was excited, not just because I could get a little fresh air, but because I LOVE Maasai chai!!! I went to sit on the benches with the other men and while we were drinking our chai many more people had shown up and they all started to sing! Finally, it was bout 2:30pm and the 8 or so baptisms were registered and we were ready to begin! I went and stood in the back for the opening song and then the elder mama and the evangelist-Samuel- showed me to a spot up front on a bench. I sat all the way over right next to the wall!
The service was wonderful as usual…but it was definitely the best Maasai girls choir I have seen!! They had some awesome choreography (if one can call it that!) and sang quite a bit!! I have a shorter video that I will try and post soon!
In the previous post I added a picture of myself and a couple older Maasai warrior men…they sat perpendicular to me on a bench and at one point they leaned over to ask me my age and then talked amongst themselves and a few seconds later they asked me something about, do I want to live here, (meaning in the village of course)…and then I heard ng’ombe (cattle)…and immediately I knew what they were discussing! Haha It’s funny how when one hears simply one word they can figure out the meaning of the conversation…and especially if it involves a girl. When “cattle” and “girl” are talked about it’s always about a brideprice!! :) So I just laugh and say “labda, labda” (maybe/perhaps)…

This was a packed house with all women and children on one side and the men on the other. It was mostly young warrior boys (in their young teens)…supposedly they have been a Christian congregation for about 3 years now but the only people that were singing the liturgy/hymns from the book were PH, Malaki, the other assisting pastor that rode his bike to come to the service, and myself… granted there are only about 4 hymnals, but I guess it’s the job of the Evangelist to teach them the liturgy/songs…one wonders what has been going on the past three years?!??
I obviously had no one to translate any of the sermon but I catch a little bit here and there and PH is so expressive so that helps. This congregation was SO captivated by PH…it was wonderful to look at their faces, just intently watching/listening to him. He makes them laugh with his actions/antics and knows how to make the Gospel completely relevant in their cultural context… after we sang my favorite song and exited the church, the Pastors asked if anyone wanted prayer and so many went back in to gather up front around the altar. I stayed outside and was surrounded by kids again- just looking at me…some touching my watch, my skin, my hair… and Samuel introduced me to his wife, Esther, as well as their baby. Esther took my glasses off to try them on! Then I showed the girls some of the pictures I took of the choir…my goodness are these kids desperate to see themselves on the camera. So, after a few minutes it was time to eat and I say “Inatosha!” (enough)! PH and Malaki and the other pastor were taking care of some other business so I sat down with the two Maasai men to eat. (Since the evangelist didn’t exactly get the news out that we would be coming for a service, no meat was killed…but that was fine by me!) We had bowls of rice and potatoes and that yummy orange sauce! ooh-and More Chai again!! There were actually a few spoons to use, but I decided to use my hands because honestly, the past few village visits we’ve been privileged to have silverware to use and I feel like I’m getting more of a “cultural experience” or just engaging in village life with them when I use my hands! I’m getting much better and making “snowballs!” :)
We left around 5:15pm and drove back to Morogoro, dropping Malaki and Samuel off in town before arriving back at the seminary about 7pm!

in Him,

Alana :)

Dagaa

Translation: a stew with fish



**NOTE: these few pictures are from WED...I will add the written post (that goes with these pictures) tomorrow!!

place of worship: 2-13-08

Malaki and PH giving communion

the two elder warrior men that I sat near during the service!

Tuesday February 12th


First of all, the reason that I’ve typically been a day behind or added 2 days together on one post is because the power went out Sunday night, Monday night, and Tuesday afternoon…for at least an hour or more- and all during prime times for me to upload pictures or add a post!


I got up about 5:45am to do a little workout before I showered and went to breakfast so I would feel a little better!
I had class all day-got frustrated...nothing new there! :) and studied all day during my breaks as well! The only thing interesting that happened today was at lunch… I go to lunch like usual, and typically I always know what we’re having because like I mentioned, I think, there are about 3-5 “different” meals and we just keep rotating. Once in a while the Mama’s will throw in something new…well, I was just putting some food on my plate- some rice and potatoes, and usually there is a sauce mixture (with carrots/meat or just carrots and beans) which is like a dark orangeish color and it’s very good and I like to put it all over the top of my rice/potatoes… so I came to a bowl that looked just like the sauce mixture- saw some darker pieces were in it so I assumed it was meat. Well, I poured it over most of my rice/potatoes and sat down. Thankfully, Randy and Carol sat down by me (the couple w/the family that has been living in Arusha for over a year) and exclaimed, “Oh- you’re eating dagaa! That’s what we feed our dog!!” (It even sounds like dog!) I said- oh that’s just great…what is it?!? and they said “maybe we shouldn’t tell you until you try it.” Hmm… well they said it was very tiny fish and normally I can eat most kinds of fish, however, I took one bite of my mixture and that was all I could handle… I said, yeah, it’s a little fishy (no pun intended)! It was more than a little fishy…I could barely handle the smell of the sauce on my plate. Needless to say I ate only half of my meal!
If you read my post from Mon the 4th when many of us went to the market for the afternoon and I described it, I said that there were large piles of tiny fish… well, especially after seeing that pile of fish and knowing that I just ate some of that pretty much got rid of any appetite for lunch! The fish are boiled and they end up basically flat (and about twice the length of a fingernail)…after I learned that there were mini fish in my sauce mixture I could see silver shining and I was like- well, that’s definitely not meat!! :) No more dagaa for this girl!! And I am much more careful now about making sure I know what is in a bowl…


Siku njema! (good day)


satisfied in Him,
Alana :)

"We're not politicans, we're pastors"

Said by: Pastor Herb Hafermann (keep reading for further explanation)!

the secondary school (2-10-08)

the classroom we used for worship!

the form 5 and 6 girls after PH prayed a blessing for them


the Maasai girls choir in the courtyard after the service





**NOTE: the views expressed in this post and all of the previous posts, as well as future posts are only MY opinion!!




Sunday February 10th


I have discovered that breakfast is my favorite meal and that 7am-12 is my favorite time of the day! I am loving the morning~ although that doesn’t mean I am quite yet a morning person… (I’m getting better)! After breakfast this morning I took a shower and got ready to leave at 8:30. Olivia joined us again, as well as Godfrey and Moreto (two of my friends/previous teachers)!
I had the privilege of riding shotgun today as Luka was working on building his Father’s house. It’s even more exciting to ride up front as I can (literally) see more! I also enjoy conversation with Umchungaji (Pastor). Once again I am overloaded with more knowledge than my brain can remember, let alone retain on a word document… but I do my best! (I even tried writing today; however, those tertiary roads make it just a bit difficult sometimes)!
Anyway, today was exciting, especially as this was a completely new experience for PH as well!! I said, “something new after 45 years?! This MUST be a historic day!” :)
I say new because we did not go to a village…we went to an all-girls Secondary School (or High School) because they’ve been basically forgotten about. There is an Evangelist for the area but no Pastor has been there so today there would finally be a Pastor! (It wasn’t just a coincidence that today was the day before the Form 6 girls start taking their national exams!) We drove about 45 minutes and then turned onto a Tertiary Road that went way back into the green bush… we passed a couple of compounds that were VTC’s (Vocational Training Centers (schools), and finally came to the Dakawa High School. We arrived about 10-10:10am and were led to a classroom built to hold 40 students (I later found out that the large assembly hall we normally would have used wasn’t available because it is used for the test-taking). There were many metal chairs set up, and a table covered with a white cloth that was to be used for the altar. There were a couple chairs right behind the altar, which PH pointed out to me and then tells me that politicians are behind podiums but “we’re not politicians, we’re pastors!” :)
The service started at 10:30am and was done about 12:45pm. It was very warm inside as there was not much air flow- only a small breeze once and a while from the nearby windows but the service was great! I’m really getting a hang for the liturgy and know what pages to skip around to in the book, and I am even hearing the numbers of songs…although I have to admit that I have some favorites so when I hear the tune I already know which number the song is!! :) *Note: I should mention that there were some men at the service-it wasn’t all women…some of them teachers, some walked from the VTC’s down the road. Two choirs took turns singing a couple songs in the first half… the all girls group of about 6-7 was real good!!! Then as someone is announcing that it will be introduction time there is all this commotion going on as a girl tells something to the two rows of the good girls choir and they get up at different times and walk out the back and stand outside… well, turns out about 15 or so Maasai women and young girls (and about 3 men) have walked from their village to the school because they knew Pastor was coming…so they were warmly welcomed and invited in to sit down… this is all happening during the time Olivia, myself, Godfrey, and Moreto are trying to introduce ourselves (in kiiSwahili of course)! It was a large surprise, but a huge smile crossed my face as I saw who was coming to worship with us- and I KNOW it brought and even bigger smile to PH who was grinning in his chair up front! He was just gleeful watching them sing a couple songs as well!
Godfrey translated a bit of PH’s sermon but it was hard to hear him. We had communion, and the offering (both accompanied with music of course)! Then the Evangelist invited the Maasai girls choir to sing a couple songs in the middle of the circle outside once everyone had a change to file out. I was able to get a couple short video clips. We were served lunch about 1:15pm (actually a decent time for once!) and at the other end of the table were all the Maasai girls/women/couple men since they were also guests! We got to choose which soda we wanted and I was finally able to try the yellow Miranda kind- which is like Fanta pineapple!!
It was good :)

We said good-bye at 1:45pm and before we could come back to the school we had to stop at one of the VTC compounds as the Evangelist told PH that a couple elder women would like to have communion brought to them. We drove to a house in the compound and a guy that looked like he was in his mid to late 20’s welcomes us into the living room where the two women are sitting. So we start with a great hymn and then do a little of the liturgy pre-Eucharist and PH gives out the communion to them and then we of course end with number 317- my favorite! I don’t know where my confidence to sing with only a few people came from (esp. a capella (I still can never spell this right!))…well, I mean I know that God has given me the confidence but it’s really surprising me! I think because I know the liturgy/some songs so well that it enables me to sing with more confidence and for some reason it is so easy to blend in/harmonize. It was just great- 8 or so of us sitting in a living room and having a 15 minute service…it was mostly Godfrey, Moreto, PH, and the Evangelist (and sometimes his wife) singing- I was the only girl as Olivia wasn’t exactly singing.
Then we walked to the next house over, a couple hundred feet away (the Evangelist’s house) to just sit for 5 minutes and PH prayed a blessing on the house and the family, then we left about 2:30pm and drove back to Morogoro. We returned about 4pm and I studied and rested until dinner. After dinner I worked on some writing/studying and the power went out for about 20 minutes… right at 9pm, which was exactly half-way through the African football(soccer) final match!! So I am writing, and I hear this loud groan echo from the common room and from across the compound as many of the secondary school students had been watching as well. PH was at the office writing an e-mail and he stopped by to tell me that he now has an excuse to get some rest…well, 20 minutes later he walks by again and says “well, I’m not too old that I can’t stay up and try to write some more…” haha

On the drive home PH talked about how pleased he was with the fact that the young women studying @ this secondary school were not too sophisticated that they would receive these young Maasai girls so well!! There ended up being a total of 137 attendees and 110 to communion! (I knew the actual numbers today)!
I was also able to look out the window and reflect a little… I realized how I take the sacrament of communion for granted as I am able to get it so often at home… the Maasai and the girls at this secondary school are only able to hold services with their evangelist so it’s a really big deal when the pastor comes because he brings this wonderful sacrament! Also…the offering. At first I really didn’t like getting up out of my seat every time to bring my money to the front…but when I finally remembered that the offering in church is really between just God and me I have enjoyed getting up to go to the front because it is the actual motion of really getting up and I feel like I am actually giving to God by dropping it in the basket in front of the altar. And what I put in the offering is about what I personally feel like offering up at the time… sometimes I don’t want to believe scripture in that whatever I offer God will provide, and tenfold even. It’s more about trust and where my heart is at- rather than, oh the church wants my money again…but the money isn’t ours in the first place - (gosh it even hurts to say that sometimes) but it is also humbling. When I have noticed, all of the children in the Maasai villages each have something- even if it’s the smallest coin, they will put something in.
The more I hear about the Pentecostals and the work they try to do, the more I find myself being frustrated. I do not want to be as it is important to, well, not only love all while serving Jesus-but especially my Christian brothers and sisters…if we do not show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ (no matter the denomination) than how should we expect that anyone without a faith, or with a different faith will ever listen to us?? The reason I am frustrated is because the Pentecostals (I’m generalizing here) go at Evangelism/missions with the mindset of black and white theology… but when trying to minister to other cultures that’s now how we can do it. One’s culture is also one’s way of life, and to tell someone what they can and cannot do is placing a hierarchy between people immediately… Also, PH said that it’s nice to hear songs about how we should be putting our trust in Jesus rather than some choirs that have been influenced by Pentecostals talking about God smiting us all… I’m sorry, but that’s just not the way that Jesus came to us or what he preached. We cannot scare/force people into a faith of love…then that’s not true love anymore… and we know what love is: the cross- sacrifice- 1 John 3:16 “this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” I fail at loving every single day…loving Jesus and loving others…even loving myself (which we have to love ourselves, but not so much as to be prideful)…but every day is a new day and a new chance to try again and to try to do better.



Monday February 11th


Well, after morning devotion we switched teachers as it is a new week. I have a girl named Gloria and right now I do not know anything else about her! She is very sweet, especially as being a Monday, I struggled through the morning lessons as my exercises required me to make up many sentences… during the break I did some studying and took a nap. Instead of the afternoon lesson, today I joined the long course group for their first “orientation” session: an early history of Christianity in Tanzania led by Pastor Herb Hafermann!! There was obviously a lot of information, but I enjoyed it. I don’t know how well the American couple (Roger and Julie) enjoyed it though as Julie was talking to Carol (the wife of the other American couple) in front of me on the walk to afternoon tea at 4… PH always talks about how unity between Christians is so important, despite the denominational differences...and even if the group that’s here now all gets along, it does not mean that all groups do when they come here…I mean, now we have a man from India who is a Catholic Priest, we have the Lutheran missionaries teaching in Arusha, we’ve got Roger and Julie’s family with Roger, a Baptist pastor… and the Norwegian couple is part of a Church of Christ or a Scriptural church. I do not know about the Korean couple, and a man named Harold, from Germany just came as well. Something interesting about yesterday morning (Sunday) is that Julie was asking Carol about what the service here at the school is like and Carol said- oh, just a traditional service with liturgy and hymns etc…and Julie still didn’t get it and kind of sputtered and just said, “uh- what does that mean? What is liturgical? I don’t know that word….” I said, it’s a structured pattern that you can follow along with in a book- it’s great! (As I had been to the Wednesday service) Gosh- I almost couldn’t believe it… here I grew up with such traditional structure and grew very bitter towards it for awhile in the beginning of college…but I have really come to appreciate some structure/tradition in worshiping!! Again, this is my opinion, and the way that I feel spiritually fed!

After tea I came back to my room to work on some more writing before dinner at 6. Julie wasn’t feeling well, which caused she and I along with Randy and Carol to discuss illnesses/body problems for a few minutes- and especially malaria…and how its better if we get it here than in the states because here they definitely know how to treat it, and Carol knows people that have gone back to the U.S. and been mis-diagnosed and ended up getting extremely sick. Then Carol asked me about my time here so far and if being here has changed my future “plans” etc…and also what has been the most eye-opening experience thus far… so it’s good that I’ve been reflecting as it’s one thing to think about my experiences, and another to try and explain to others!! They were telling me about some more of their experiences living in Tanzania the past 15 months or so… I was able to come back and do some online chatting as I hadn’t been able to in a week! :) Then, as I was finishing up adding pictures to this post and literally was 2 minutes away from posting my Sunday blog the power goes out at 8:30pm…30 minutes later I hear the thunder and soon after some rain starts!
Well, it came back on already- that wasn’t even an hour! Except, my pictures that took forever to upload are gone and sometimes the internet connection doesn’t work until the next morning… so you may read this today or not…!

Have an excellent week!

trying to love like Him,
Alana :)