trips.schrull.us

 
It is still rainy season here in Kasulu and as we gathered this morning in the chapel for devotions the heavens opened with a deluge so loud on the tin roof that we could not hear one another as we read and commented on today’s passage from John.  The blessing was that after drenching the land, the rain completely halted just before the end of the half-hour gathering.  It did leave a certain level of humidity in the air though.  Unless we can “bake” them in the sun tomorrow, it is gong to be several days before Bill’s freshly washed heavy cotton pants dry.

We returned to the hostel to make our first breakfast here:  Instant Irish oatmeal with a spoonful of Neato (Full-fat dried milk from Nestle; I don’t know WHY they don’t sell it in the U.S.) banana and a couple of spoonfuls of local honey along with mango juice and coffee.

 

Next up was delivering the tablets we had brought with us to the DWT diocesan secretary, Emmanual Bwatta.  Our hostel and the office are within very easy walking distance from each other in the compound, but twenty tablets with protective covers, their chargers, plug converters and cables are HEAVY.  One of our rolling L.L.Bean rolling duffles to the rescue!  

 

Bill stayed at the offices to take a look at some networking issues that had occurred since we where last here in September 2015.  We had brought an amplifier for the outside access point and when we had left a large portion of the compound had internet access.  That was just at the start of rainy season and since then a lightening storm fried it and a couple of other network components. This happens all too often.  There is now a new cellular provider in the area with a very strong signal and very good rates.  You only have to go as far as Kigoma to get one of their cellular modems – two years ago you couldn’t even buy a cellular modem in Dar Es Salamm.  We think that perhaps to route to go is provide one of these modems, with perhaps a repeater to boost the signal for each building that is used by diocesan personal instead of trying to provide a central antenna that is all too prone to lightening strikes and power surges.

 

After chai in the diocesan lunch/break room, (Elevensies…japati and fried eggs and sweet chai, which served as an excellent lunch for us) we hung two more sets of curtains and a few pictures in our hostel rooms, and then headed down to the Lake Tanganyika Theological College (the college formally known as “KBC” or Kasulu Bible College.) Bill brought the mini-Mac server he had brought to more than supplement the mini-Mac server he had sent to Kasulu with the Bishop back in January when the previous server died a hard death.  This new server is faster, has more storage and memory than the server he sent in January.  Having both of them will provide a backup should something happen to one of them.  Tomorrow he will discuss with the LTTC computer staff how they want it configured.  In the meantime he got the College-wide wi-if network working again.  It needed to be re-configured after the various IP address changes that occurred with the previous server was replaced.

There is building everywhere here. The construction on the left is from last fall.  Not only is it finished, but it grew some friends.  These will be offices for the instructors.  Right now they have no private work space, just a common teachers lounge.

 

Dinner tonight was at Cannon Daniel Nyugwa’s house, out next to the Marusi Church.  Dinner at Daniel’s house is always a feast, and also full of interesting conversation.  Daniel will be reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 this summer and will be retiring.  He is planning to move to Kigoma.  We will miss him on our future visits to the Kasulu area, but hope that we might see him when we go though Kigoma.

 

All in all, things have been going very smoothly, and we know that is a result of your prayers for us and for the work.  Keep praying, please!