trips.schrull.us

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.

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.

 

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, UNITED EMERITES.  Writing this during our layover in Dubai. We’ve had our first Starbucks in over two weeks (hot chocolate for me – I hope to get SOME sleep on the flight to New York) and are currently camped out in some lounge chairs.  Most folks use them for napping.  We just want to be able to get out feet up for an hour or so.  These flights always leave my ankles swollen for several days, even though I try to do the suggested “in seat exercies”.

I was hoping to have a praise report  about my lost kindle, but I’m afraid that it is remaining somewhere in Tanzania.  I’ve de-registered it with Amazon and ordered a new one.  However something, or rather someone else that was lost has been found:  our original technology vendor, who we have not been able to get in touch with this year.  We were waiting for our flight in the Tanzanite Lounge at the Dar Airport and there he was with his entire family.  They were on our flight to Dubai, on their way to Toronto for a summer holiday.  So good to know that they are all okay.

In closing this post, I’ll leave you with some final pictures of the Guest House that is under construction at the DWT compound: