Greetings from Iringa, Tanzania where the rainy season is long since past and we are in the dead of winter. The evening and morning temperatures are in the 60's and the nights might get down to 55 Fahrenheit. When the sun hits our pasty white skin in the afternoon we quickly forget that it was cool only a few hours ago. The wind whips up each evening and rattles the rusty tin roof of the "Life Skills Center" where we are staying. The accommodations are very clean and comfortable and our hosts take the best care of us, especially Shem- who seems to be everywhere.

Each morning we awaken to the Muslim call to prayer around 5:00 - an almost eery unintelligible  chant that tapers off around 6:00 when the church bell rings about 30 meters from our windows. The bell gets the dogs on the church yard barking, then fighting as if to say " I am the big dog on this porch" ... which gets the roosters in the neighbor's back yards all crowing... it's quite a wake up call- with no snooze button. 

The noise finally goes down as the sun comes up.

Our Sunday was pretty full as we got to know our hosts and attend the Kihesa Church Services- each lasting 2+ hours and wrapping up with a unique auction on the steps of the building.
After the choir finishes their final song in the parking lot / patio area ( outdoor gathering area) one of the church elders brings out a donated item- sometimes it's a chicken, sometimes a bag of grain... today he presented a large piece of fabric with a brown and gold print as he worked up and down the stairs in front of the brick and tin building. He called for bids just as well as any auctioneer you have ever seen. 

The unique thing about the auction is that you pay each time you bid, whether you win the bid or not.
I learned this the hard way! Glad my bid was only 10,000 Tanzanian Shillings (TSh) - around $5.00. If you increase your bid, you only have to pay the amount over your initial bid. My translator host called this increase "up yours". 

Monday morning we woke to the same routine of chant /bell/bark/crow- sunshine...
We gathered in the large room for great breakfast of fresh egg omelets, toast and sausages - prepared by the mamas of the congregation.

After breakfast we walked down to the kindergarden about 2 blocks away.  We walked in and  saw beautiful smiling faces looking at us. We all got in there and they stood up and sang a song to us clapping and banging on the table. We taught them "Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes." They really enjoyed it. At our craft sale in December we raised money, we used some of  that money we were able to purchase books for them. The teacher was so happy and the kids were too, the kids gave us a big thank you. Coan then gave each kid a piece of candy, they loved that. We now got to go meet the kids. At first all the kids were a little bit shy but after a while they got used to us. They all loved to be in pictures so I took lots of them. Sometime the kids wouldn't even get off me!! but I didn't mind they were so cute. When we left all of them were saying bye with their smiling faces. That will give me a moment to remember.  (written by Jill)

After kindergarten, We met with 3 of the 4 pastors of Kihesa church and boarded the bus. Peter our driver navigated the washed out dirt road to one of 4 "preaching points" which are satellite churches started by Kihesa. Trained evangelists hold services each Sunday morning for the locals who could not travel the distance to the main church. Once a month the Pastor visits the to administer communion. This Preaching Point is called Nazareth, where there are about 8 men, 11 women and 54+ children who are creating their own church in that neighborhood. The building has 14 benches made from slab wood hand nailed with 20 penny spikes. The wood started out rough sawn but is now polished smooth by folks sitting on them week after week.  Each bench would hold 2 to 3 Americans, or about 8 Tanzanians. Nazareth is growing at a rate similar to the overall Lutheran Church in Tanzania. The growth is amazing- God is doing great things here. The rate of growth causes each Preaching Point to make plans for expansion- to accommodate the new Christians who they know will be coming soon.

After making our way down the sandy path, through harvested corn & oil seed ( sunflower) remnants we boarded the bus for a ride to Tumiani University, now called Iringa U.
This school was started in 1994 as a place to train new pastors. In the last 2 decades it has grown to 5 schools and areas of study. Tumiani has been the only school in TZ offering courses in hospitality management- which is a growing business in the area.

more information on Iringa u available at uoi.ac.tz

We returned to the Life Skills Center for a presentation from the youth of Kihesa, who updated us on their plans to learn skills and create a self sustaining program of making batiks, soap, cooking oil and other basic products. They gave a demonstration on how to make batik and then auctioned the first 4 to our crowd of Minnesotan bidders. ( this was a normal auction, not the kind mentioned above).

Several of us walked away with works of art still damp from the process.

We then boarded the bus to visit another Preaching Point in another part of Kihesa neighborhood. 

This is a newer location on borrowed land, the structure was tree branches lashed and nailed together with tarps creating a roof and cardboard sheathing the walls. The weather took it's toll on the roof and there were several rips and tears. Luckily the rainy season is past. It was night by the time we found our way down the dirt alley where we were careful not to step in the damp areas ( one can guess what caused the dirt to be damp just there). Tanzanians never ever step in the damp areas. We were greeted by a very "mature group" of worshipers who explained by kerosene lamp how it would take over $600 to bring power to the "building"- it might as well have been a million dollars. They apologized there were so few of them noting they had 2 funerals today which reduced the overall number of church members.  These folks are determined to worship their Lord - whatever it takes. They are too old to make the journey to the big Kihesa church, so this preaching point allows them to gather and share the word. This is a new church being born. Many struggles lay ahead, but these folks will find a way to make this work- or die trying. Either is acceptable to them- they know where they are  going. 

Continuing our journey Peter piloted our 30 passenger Toyota bus down roads where we had no place driving. I would have had a blast in my Willys Jeep, where the big 'Yoda coughed and sputtered as Peter coached the clutch through the alleyways. Poor Jilly Bean got squished between Beth and Mark as we rounded a left turn at a steep angle. 

We found our way to one of the Church Elders' house where we met the continuously expanding family. "This is my child, and that one, and these twins, and the little one, and here is the mother, and here is my brother, and his wife and their children and here is my friend and his daughter and the mama and....". In pure Tanzania style we could not tell which folks were directly related, which ones lived in the house or down the road. But none of that mattered. We had a traditional TZ feast of rice, beans, noodles, cabbage, fried chicken, stewed bananas and watermelon. Since there were way more humans than seats we did what my kids would call "people stacking". Each person either got a resin chair or they balanced on one cheek sharing a couch, or chair or bench with other folks.

we wrapped up the evening with song and prayer- loaded the bus and rode back to Kihesa Life Skills Center.

It's night now.  A different set of stars grace the sky... The pastors are in their homes, our sentry stands ready outside the building like an African Guardian Angel,  my travel buddies are in bed ready to "la la - fo fo fo" ( sleep like a log).
The Kihesa choir practice is replaced by the neighborhood dogs choir.
Engines from trucks and motorcycles roar from the main road as people make their way home.
Time for me to sign off, before the Muslims begin morning prayer, and the bell rings, and the dogs, and roosters start all over again.

JJ Wolf Dawg has a another big day planned for tomorrow, so I better get some rest.
Thanks for your prayers and support.