trips.schrull.us

If you have been following Bill’s blog over at http://tzblog.schrull.us you know that we flew back to Dar es Salaam yesterday.

FOUND:  I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to the flight:  I have been dealing with a minor sinus “thing” ever since Friday, and sinuses and flying don’t go together particularly well.  I try to bring “just in case” medications with us when we come here.  This usually includes everything for dealing with a cold: vitamin C, zinc tablets, musinex and sudafed (or the generic equivalent.)  This year, when I was putting together the “just in case” package, I couldn’t find any sudafed in the house.  It was then after 9 pm, and thanks to sudafed being a major ingredient in cooking some kind of nasty illegal drug it is now kept behind the counter at pharmacies:  you can buy it without a perscription but you need to show all kinds of ID.  So I shrugged my shoulders and prayed that we wouldn’t need it.

Yesterday morning, as I was reorganizing my toiletries kit, a found a blister pack with eight sudafed tablets in it!  I took two right away for the flight to Dar.  The other six are ready to for our flights to Dubai and then to New York.  I thank God that I didn’t find them until yesterday:  I would probably have taken them and then they would not have been available for the trip home.  Side note:  my ears still really hurt when we landed in Dar yesterday, but I seem to have less congestion today.  Don’t know if it’s just the timing of the “bug” or sleeping in filtered air that has made the difference.

LOST:  I had been reading my kindle on the flight to Dar.    Because we were sitting in the exit row, my purse, where I normally keep my kindle, was in the overhead bin. I stuck the kindle in my seat back for the landing, telling myself not to forget to take it out of the seat back.  Note to self:  Don’t EVER tell myself not to forget something; I’m almost guarenteed to forget it.  And I did – forget it.  I remembered when we were in cab, about a mile from the airport.  The cab driver was kind evnough to turn around and wait while Bill went to Tanzania Air and asked them to check the plane (which was still at the airport) for my kindle.  They couldn’t find it, but took Bill’s cell number.  We will check with Tanzania Air when we head back to the airport in an hour or so.  I hope that my next post will include a praise report; if not, it is not an major disaster, just a disapointment.

We’ve enjoyed a nice relaxing night at the Tanzanite Executive Suites.  Enjoyed the first long hot shower in two weeks and took in the news cycle and some Discovery channel in English.  We don’t MISS TV in Kasulu, and all of our friends there have it, but we don’t really watch it there.  

Bill has spent the morning exploring this part of Dar a bit.  Soon we will be on our next leg to home, our work and our silly cats, Allie Cat and Marlie.  Allie will probably not forgive us for at least an hour.  Marlie will probably help us unpack!

Church today was at Marusi and it was a huge celebration, ordaining three new deacons who had just graduated from the Bible College yesterday.  Marusi is a very beautiful church, but it is not particularly large.  The service was jam-packed, both with people and activities.

The service was almost delayed due to the late arrival of the new deacons…there had been a communications snafu about who was providing transportaton.  It was really sweet, they were all wearing matching brand new suits.  There wives were also wearing matching brand new suits as well.

There were four choirs: KCC (Kasulu Cathedral Choir which is THE choir standard in the area), Maursi, and what I think was the Marusi Mother’s Union choir. Also a traditional choir that sang in Kiha (the traditional tribal language of the area) and danced. They wore bells on their legs so it was quite a change for the guitar/synth based sound of the other choirs.

Canon Helen preached the sermon, which I think was very special.  These had been her students for the past two years and she had a very important part in sending them out into their new ministires.

There were so many people present that the offering required two choirs before everyone had come forward. Then there was an opportunity for everyone to come up and shake the new deacon’s hands and make a contribution towards their new minisitries. There was communion, which went quite quickly, and the saving grace was that they did NOT auction off the non-monetary offerings (of which there were quite a few) before recessing from the service.  Still it took over four hours before we processed out and proceeded to lunch.

It was Sunday afternoon, so of course there was a Bridal Party doing wedding pictures in the garden at the compound shortly after we returned.

This evening we had a nice quiet celebration with just the DWT “core” group at the usual hotel with the standard menu: rice, chicken, beef, beans, cabbage and fruit.

KBC gave us a lovey konga with a map of Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi (? can’t remember and it’s folded up for packing now.).  I really admired the katanga that Mama Escofu was wearing on Friday.  I thought it would be lovely to get some of the cloth.  Well, behind my back, she contacted her friends to get some and had it made up into a shirt and skirt that fits me perfectly and a matching shirt that is a little tight around Bill’s middle, but will fit him perfectly when he drops a little weight.

Love the people here, and will sincerely miss them, the sounds of the Tanzanian birds and the dry warm days and cool nights, but must admit that I am ready for a salad and not having to crawl out from under a mosquito net.

KASULU BIBLE COLLEGE, KASULU, TZ.  We spent the morning here attending what is the KBC version of graduation ceremonies.  

We started with communion with an excellent sermon by Cannon Helen on being humble – not full of ourselves – so that we can be full of God – not bad for a sermon given with only 20 minutes notice!

As with any commencement, there were many speakers, which, or course I couldn’t understand, but which the students seemed to enjoy.  Eventually they handed out laminated certificates, the Bible College’s version of diplomas.  Then there were gifts for the best students in the classes.  

Finally there were many gifts for Helen and Alister Sammons who have been working here for the last two years and are leaving just after we head for home, and also for Elisha, who has been the technology teacher (and I just found out is a doctor as well as a priest), who will be heading home to Burundi on Monday.  I think that the Bible College will miss the three of them very much.  I know that I will miss them when we return next year.

This was of course followed by another standard Tanzanian feast (chicken, beef, rice, beans, etc.) and now Bill is working with Reginald, who will be taking over the technology (and is eagerly soaking up everything that Bill can show him) and configuring a hot-spot device that we are buying from the Sammons for the Bible College.  They will give it to Daudi to hook up when they leave and their son will have another one waiting for them when they get back to Britain.  These things work like a charm here, but you can’t buy them in Tanzania anywhere.