2015 – Dar Es Salaam
Monday, September 14.
We have been having some issues with reaching our server back home, so ’yesterday’s post” – such as it was (Dubai) has been posted quite a bit later than it was written. Many thanks to our nephew and house-sitter, Chris, for not only taking care of our fur-babies while we are away, but also being available to do things like reset the cable modem that connects our server to the greater world.
So due to some runway holds in Dubai, we arrived a bit late in Dar Es Salaam yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. Also arriving even later, as in two hours later, than originally scheduled was another flight. As both flights scrambled for luggage and then tried to get through the customs inspection, something that is always a struggle in the small international section of the airport in Dar Es Salaam, Bill glanced over and noticed someone who looked familar. It was our friend and original in-country equipment supplier, Alnoor. He and his wife were returning from Taronto. We had lost track of him last year, after he had closed his original business, but ran into him with his entire family in the departure lounge of the airport when we were leaving Tanzania. So much of a God-incidence to run into him going and coming, so to speak.
One of the reasons we like to stay at the New Africa Hotel is to wake up the music of the worship at the Lutheran church next door. That didn’t happen this morning, After a period when we were both wakeful at 3:00 am, both of us slept straight through until 8:30.
After breakfast we got airtel sim chips for our phones with the help of Karen at the hotel. Then we walked over to the Ideal Computer store to pay for the keyboards, printer and cat 6 network cable we are also bringing over to Kigoma/Kasulu. Looks like there will be not one, but two our three additional (shrunk wrapped) packages that we be shipping our in addition to our five(!) bags. Two of thoese current five bags are filled with nothing but technology and the third bag is Bill’s guitar without which he is not allowed in the diocese.
The streets were really noisy today. It appears from the number of holes on street corners with cable of some short poking up that a major re-wire job is underway. And perhaps due to that the power was out in the section of town we were walking in because outside of every shop we passed, a gasoline generator was running. Dar is not a quiet city but it was really noisy today! And it does seem that the power is known to be un-reliable enough that every business is prepared with it’s own generator.
We enjoyed a nice visit tonight with Bishop Gerard Mpango, who was Bishop of Western Tanganyika when we first started working with the diocese, and two of his childrenm Bwiza, Jessie. His eldest daughter, Rose, is currently attending her second year at Virginia Theological Seminary. She will be ordained a priest after she graduates, but for now, the ordination comes with the understanding that she will not work as a priest in Tanzania.
We are still catching up on our sleep and tomorrow is another day here in Dar….Good night all.
2015 – First Leg Done
Quick check-in. We’ve made it safely to Dubai. Emerates Airline does a marvelous job but 12 hours crammed in an upright seat is still twelve hours of to much posterior pressure and not enough moving around. So here is what Bill and I look like after a twelve hour flight on top of getting up real early in the morning to get to the airport on time.
And this is where we are; Dubai Airport is very modern….and our final stop for Starbuck’s coffee until we return in three weeks.
Getting Ready to go
Here we go again. We’re packing our bags with loads of equipment, a guitar and clothing. 5 bags in all to take with us to Tanzania for our three week trip to Kasulu. We’re pretty excited and a little bit exhausted from the hunting and gathering we’ve been doing for the past 4 weeks to get all of the items we need together for this year’s mission.
Tomorrow morning at 6AM, we’ll be on our way to JFK airport to catch our flight to Dubai. I’m looking forward to the time on the flight, strangely enough. Once we are there, we can really sit back and relax for a while. 12 hours of that on the first leg of the trip and then after a brief layover, we’ll catch the next flight to Dar Es Salaam. That one is about 5 1/2 hours long. Once we get to Dar, there will be a 30 minute or so drive into the city to our hotel. It’s a long trip, but very much worth it. I’m looking forward to getting there. And I’m especially looking forward to the first morning. It’s always great to get up and out into the city. We have some business to attend to there, such as getting cell phone SIMM cards and purchasing more computer equipment for KBC.
The Lord truly has blessed our time of preparation. We’ve been very forward focused for some time now. What I enjoy the most when we are in Kasulu is focusing more on each day as it comes along and looking to be in the moment rather than always looking ahead. That will be a pleasure.
Keep us in prayer and stop in each day. We will try to post each day as time allows.
Blessings to your all.
Bill