Introspections on life...

The widow giving everything she had…the wealthy man (with many animals) taking the only lamb a poor man had to give to a guest (a story told to illustrate what King David had done in taking Bathsheba from Uriah)...both came to life for us tonight. One of the employees at a local grocery store we go to regularly invited us to his house yesterday, to meet his new baby girl (born July 29) and wife…both beautiful (will post pictures later). So tonight (Aug. 28), we met Tito at the grocery store and headed to his house. He called a taxi so that it would be quicker to get there, and insisted on paying for it. When we arrived at his home, he immediately offered us some milk. He was bubbling with excitement as he offered it to us…a truly joyful heart in giving. He poured us all a cup, including Shay and Jadyn, virtually emptying the box (in addition to milk from cows and powdered milk, they sell ‘long life’ milk here that doesn’t need to be refrigerated…it’s been processed such that the natural chemical/hormone that causes it to spoil has been removed – full cream milk that can sit on the shelf/counter for a month…pretty amazing actually). Anyway, back to tonight. As I drank the milk, my mind immediately began to process the gift/sacrifice that had been given us. Let me bring some perspective on this milk…these boxes of milk (one liter each), cost 2200 schillings. The average person (worker) in TZ makes around 50,000 schillings/month, though I believe Tito actually makes slightly less than that (maybe 40,000). As I drank that milk, I felt so not worthy (feeling somewhat horrible about drinking the milk as I sat across from him, his wife & baby, but not wanting Tito to think I didn’t appreciate his offer/gift) and yet like royalty all at the same time…in all, just a sense of awe at the gift & the excitement with which it was given. Do I give such gifts? Do I make such sacrifices? And even if I do, do I do it with such joy, enthusiasm and excitement? He gave us over 5% of his monthly wages tonight. What is that in the U.S.? Just imagine cracking open a $100, $200, $300 or more bottle of wine for a casual guest…then pouring all their glasses full such that you were left with only a small taste yourself. (And even that's not a fair comparison, as for someone with much to give something like that it is still not nearly the sacrifice it is for someone with little to give such a gift.)

(To be fair, I’m sure there are many ‘financial teachers’ & businessmen out there that are hoping to hear me say that none of us should really make such a frivolous sacrifice, as that would be entirely unwise ‘stewardship’ of our resources…just as those who watched a woman break open a bottle of perfume that cost a year’s wages to anoint/wash Jesus’ feet were dismayed at her foolish stewardship/use of that asset. Ah, stewardship…a modern day guise/cloak for selfishness within the body of Christ. I wonder, whose Kingdom am I trying to enlarge when I’m being a ‘good steward?’ It was, of course, horrible financial advice and would’ve been atrocious stewardship had the rich man really sold everything he owned and gave the money to the poor, as Jesus told him to do in order to find true life. Money, as we all now, is the real source of true life…isn’t it? It must be…why else would a ‘Christian’ nation such as the U.S. be filled with people seeking it so desperately? That many people couldn’t possibly be mistaken or misguided...could they? Am I really spending my life trying to advance His movement?)

At long last...transportation...part II

Well, 2 months and a lot of 'banging my head into a wall' later, we finally have transport for the family! Of course not before spending 6 days sitting & watching a few final upgrades (repairs) be done - new brake discs (rotors) & pads, adjusting the A/C compressor (always fun when someone puts the wrong compressor on a car), removing rain guards (they blocked our view out the window), adding roof rack (will update picture later), repairing 2 door locks that didn't work...blah, blah, blah. Anyway, not all that much if in the U.S., where one could drop the car off to be worked on and pick it up the next day. But when in TZ, where you can't leave your car to be worked on (for fear of what might happen to it while you're gone), nor can you leave it overnight (for fear it'll disappear), 2 days worth of repairs takes 6...and you really come to understand what it means to 'watch the grass grow!' [Once again, all the 'type A, go, go, go, high-efficiency, want to get stuff done' people out there (AKA - half of the U.S.), beware of moving here...you just might find yourself one step away from the loony bin! The other half of the U.S., no problem, come & enjoy!]

All that said, our car is like unbelievable. It's in great shape, mechanically & cosmetically, will take us anywhere (4.1 L diesel 4x4) and even has A/C! Oh yeah...and seat belts too! (Many cars here don't have them...let's just say the phrase 'buckle up' ain't well known around here.) Needless to say, Cindy, Shay & Jadyn were just a wee bit excited!!! Shay seems to be settling in quite nicely! (Never fear Grandpa & Grandma, she doesn't drive down the road like this...at least not yet...just kidding.)

At long last...transportation...

'Daddy, d'ya wanna go for a ride with me?' Watch out everyone...look at the little hottie on the bike! Shay's already enjoying Daddy's new bike...currently her plan is to jump the fence, go pick up Natalie (cousin) & then go see Grandma Kathy & Grandma Sally (yes, she also said she was going to see both Grandpa's too, lest they feel left out). Sometimes Daddy pushes her around the courtyard on it, but never fear...she won't let Daddy start the engine with her on it. How's that for finally getting my 1st dirtbike...and all I had to do was move to the Motherland! This is the best way to get around (when flying solo or tandem) in Tanzania. Honda 250R...plenty of power and handles the rough roads/speed bumps like butter baby! (Don't worry mom, I never go over 140 km/hr...of course, that's as high as the speedometer goes, so I guess I really wouldn't know if I was going faster than that. But seriously all you who are thinking, 'He'll kill himself.' I usually only cruise around 80-110 km/hr = about 50-70 mph. Hope telling you that didn't just make it worse...) I am diggin' having a bike though (as Cindy says...I get that same goofy grin I got when driving my rig back home)...it's been a sweet gift from God!

Want to know what a piki piki (motorbike) costs in Tanzania? Or better yet, what the cost of it LOOKS like in Tanzanian Schillings? These would be 2 pictures of 1,350,000 tsh...which is what I bought the bike for!! (1.35 mil tsh = appx. $1,050 U.S.)

If you're interested in the full story (with a little philosophical rabbit trail), read on. If not, scroll down to the next entry.


The bike was definitely a gift from God, as I was about to go out and buy a 'Honda' CG 125...that would be a China import with a bootleg Honda logo stamped on it. They're little tiny bikes that are great for getting around town, as long as you stay on the asphalt & go real slow over any bumps...of course, as even the locals say, ya get what ya pay for...they're 800,000 tsh brand new ($650 U.S.), but as they'll tell ya, don't plan on these bad boys lasting all that long...good for a quick, cheap fix. Anyway, secretly I was hoping & holding out for a true Honda dirtbike, as I had been borrowing Peter's (see Yesu Anaweza blog) and loved it. But alas, Honda 250's are a hot commodity here, as the mine guys all want them to travel the 50 km out to the Tanzanite mines...and the mine guys have money to burn. Thus, most Honda 250's here run about 1.8-2.5 mil tsh. I had relegated myself to a China import, but then had the dealer jack the price on me - thanks to the color of my skin...2 prices in TZ...local price & mzungu (white person) price. Even after agreeing on a price the day before, when I came to buy the bike, I was informed it was no 50,000 tsh higher. Of course, that's only $35 U.S., but the principle of it ticked me off, so I walked away. I just started walking towards town, with my friend Bariki following me. As I was walking, a bit miffed & fuming (until you've lived here a while & know the market price for things, us white folk can't go buy anything ourselves, always have to take locals with us...which is yet another thing that makes things take for-EVER here). As I walked by some hardware shops, I saw this bike parked in front of it. I said, 'Bariki, find out who owns that bike & if it's for sale' (if you ask, almost everything's for sale in TZ). Not only did he come back saying 'yes, it's for sale,' but he told me the price was 1.35 mil tsh, which is a GREAT price for a Honda 250! I secretly wondered if he didn't see me sitting on the curb when he quoted the price or if I just met one of the few TZ who charge the same price to locals & mzungu...yes, they're out there & when we find them, we do lots of business with them. Finding people you can TRUST is HUGE here!

Unfortunately, corruption still has its roots here...driven not just from the top, but from the 'everyday Joe' (lest you think it's only mzungu they try to take advantage of, we've even seen them do it to one another). So much for an 'all for 1 and 1 for all' mentality...a 'let's band together and help one another rise above this'...sadly, for many here it's more of an 'every man for himself' type attitude. Of course, that's not to say America's all that different, especially those who live in rougher/tougher situations (relatively speaking...as in my opinion, everyone in the U.S. has it posh compared to the rest of the world). Case in point...New Orleans...definitely didn't come together for the common good...at least not initially. Then again, we have also seen tough times where the nation has come together to fight for the common good...such as the response from the rest of America after the initial madness of New Orleans or 9-11. Maybe I'm just slighted in my view of America because, while there are cases of that, America has a vast unrealized potential to do soooo much more...and it's that unrealized potential, that oftentimes is wasted inwards, that causes me to also see America as an 'every man for himself' country. Maybe America, like people, thrives best in times of crisis...and atrophies in times of peace. Either way, at least the corruption isn't quite so evident/blatant in America...simple things like set/posted prices for a product/service...set prices that EVERYONE pays, eliminates much of the opportunity for corruption/deceit/theft. (On the flip side, we get the upside of the bias when it comes to police, as they pretty much just let us be, while still requiring/taking bribes from the locals...to be fair, the current/new President actually is trying to crack down on corruption, which is why the locals say the police don't harass us mzungu, as they're afraid we might have a bit more 'clout' if we were to report them to the government if they tried to bribe us.)

Well, enough of that rant, back to the story...Instantly I wanted the bike (assuming it ran good...and it did), so I bought it that day...well, sort of. We agreed to a deal, but that was 1 week ago & I still haven't paid him as he hasn't come up with the proper paperwork (title) for it...but he's supposed to get the last couple documents today...we'll see. Either way, it's been a gift from God...at just the right time, when I was ready to give up...throw in the towl on my search...and there He was. His provision and love are unbelievable, sooooo much more than I deserve...as if He hasn't given me enough...what love He pours down on us every day...sometimes it's hard to see through my selfishness & insatiable appetite for more, but when the fog of my greed clears, I am mesmorized by how much He's given me already...how much He gives me every day...it's incredible...leaving me with nothing to say but AHSANTE SANA! (Thank You very much! - for pronunciation, think Lion King & the goofy baboon) God, develop this same love within me, that I might express Your love daily to those around me.

Our surroundings...

Flowers gallore. There are many beautiful flowers here, similar in type/variety/color to Hawaii. Although, during dry season (as it was when I was last here in December), they're not nearly so abundant.


Now THAT'S a grasshopper. Consider this, those are 12 inch tiles he's sittin' on. Lizards and geckos also are abundant...we particularly like the geckos...cool looking reptiles that can move up walls & across ceilings effortlessly...and they eat the bugs! There have actually been very few bugs, compared to what we were expecting...of course, it's not rainy or hot season right now, so we'll see.

Do you like sunflowers? How about 12-15 foot sunflowers! They're enormous, and they're everywhere. Locals grow them and make sunflower oil from them, but mostly just for their own personal use. The sunflowers line the corn fields. There is tons of corn here, but unlike America they don't harvest it until it is 100% brown & dead-looking (yes, the corn has become rock hard by this point, worthless for eating off the cob). They use the corn to make corn flour, with which they make Ugali...a staple diet for most locals. The closest thing we could compare it to is a 'tacky/sticky' version of cream of wheat...they roll it into balls & dip it into the 'sauce of the day.' The other staple diets include rice and beans...not that different from Cindy & I's diet back home, but I think Wes (Herbert) is going to go nuts if he eats it one more time.

'Climb me...climb me...climb me' it beckons incessantly. Mt. Kilimanjaro, the rooftop of Africa. The highest point in Africa, nearly 20,000 ft. Mile high city ain't got nothin' on this. Dave plans to climb Kili while we're hear, but is waiting for better weather ('winter' here actually means very few clear, sunny days...it is cloudy often, of course, the sun usually pops through at some point everyday). Thanks to the tourist industry, climbing Kili runs a cool $1,000 U.S...sooooo, Dave will probably only be climbing it once while hear. (Of course, if you were born in Tanzania, then it costs a whoppin' 35,000 tsh - tanzanian shillings - to climb...the equivalent of $30 U.S...amazingly, very few locals have climbed or have any desire to climb Kili...such is life, we take for granted what is out our backdoor.)

New friends...

'C'mon kids...let's go play...come with me. D'ya wanna play with me? Let's go play...c'mon kids!' A leader in our midst. It doesn't matter how old the kids are, everyday we watch Shay lead the way. This day she got these 4 boys to come play on the 'spinny thing' (merry-go-round is it?). Of course, they seem to be enjoying a free ride compliments of Shay. What kind of leader is she anyway...just the kind God calls us to be!

So much for not drinking the water. "Mommy, look what Maria taught me!" No matter how 'careful' you are, you can never provide 100% protection. (The 'gospel of safety'...an amusing illusion that pervades American culture. How safe are we really...whereever we go? Amidst our journey to Africa, most people worried about our safety...yet, ironically, with the recent happenings in the Middle East, I think we're in a much better...one might say 'safer'...place right now! Except for our peeps in Idaho, because you can't bomb what you don't know exists!) At the end of the day, we simply strive to follow Him...trusting whatever happens in along the way is what's best for eternity.

Look, more new friends mama! Hanging with the big kids in Majengo, an area just outside of downtown Moshi where Yesu Anaweza (the church we're working with here) is located. Needless to say, and as it is everywhere we go, Shay & Jadyn definitely are not starved for attention. Everywhere we go the other kids want to play with the girls and touch their hair (they love Shay & Jadyn's hair). Most of the time the girls love it, but sometimes it's a bit much for them (can you say 'claustrophobia').

Day 1 and already found a new friend. Her name is Maria. She was one of the first orphans taken in by Light in Africa, and thus has special place in Mama Lynn's heart (the founder of Light in Africa). Accordingly, she has sort of been 'informally' adopted by Mama Lynn...going with Mama Lynn everywhere as her side-kick. Shay and Maria love playing together.