November 1st - In Tanga

Saturday, November 1, 2008

This morning we wanted to get an early start because it is a long journey to Tanga. We had planned to take Pastor Gondwe with us back to Tanga (this would save him the cost of transport back since we were going there anyway. But when we thought about it, we realized that it might be difficult to get everyone in Charles’ little Toyota for that long trip. Since it was going to be a very quick trip down there and back Russ decided it might be best for him to stay in Moshi while Bruce, Charles, Pastor Gondwe and I travel to Tanga. He had a few errands to run, anyway, so it worked out well. We decided to leave at around 7:30 am. Charles came to the hotel as we were finishing up breakfast and we were loaded and ready to go before 8:00.

It was a long trip down, and much of the scenery was about what we had seen from Nairobi going south to Arusha. Much of the land was barren savannah land which could hardly be used for feeding grazing sheep. But there were also huge amounts of land that were used for growing sisal for rope. These yucca-like plants would go on as far as the eye could see in some areas. The spikes are cut and laid in piles to be carried off later. It is really an amazing sight to see these huge crops of plants.

The road to Tanga skirted a long mountain range. On the way to Tanga there was a ridge of mountains which was on our left side the whole way. It reminded me a great deal of the Bad Lands of South Dakota, but a bit larger in size. This was very impressive as well.

The closer we came to Tanga the more green it seemed to become. Banana trees, and coconut trees became regular parts of the scenery. It was very beautiful. We stopped to eat lunch at a hotel and restaurant in Sangella called the White Parrot. It was a very traditional looking place that was open air on one side with a timber frame and a grass thatched roof. We all had the buffet which offered fish, vegetable soup, rice with a vegetable gravy, or a meat gravy, mixed vegetables, and different kinds of fruit. We found out that the soup was made with coconut juice, and it was excellent!

After we finished it was another hour from Sangella to Tanga. After traveling Southeast from Moshi, we now turned to the Northeast along the coast of the Indian Ocean to get to Tanga. Tanga is not a small town. Pastor Gondwe estimated it at around 1 million people. It is a coastal city so shipping and fishing are the big industries. We also noticed that there is a very large number of Muslims in this area, just as there was in Mombasa. That itself emphasizes the importance of the work of these churches.

Once in Tanga we met with Pastor Shenkalekwa, who was the district leader of the LCEA for the Tanga region. He had arranged a meeting of some of the pastors and leaders of this district for us to meet with. One of the men was new to our group and had come out of the Anglican church here in East Africa because of the increasing liberal teachings of that church. He was a pastor in the Anglican church but left for reasons of conscience. We tried to give him information about us that would confirm for him that we teach the truth of God’s Word. We pray for all these men and their work here in Tanga!

Tanga leaders meeting with Pastor Shenkelekwa in the center, and Pastor Gondwe beside me.

After our meeting we went to an internet café to upload some blog information, then we settled into the hostel we were staying at for the night. The place were we had our meeting with the Tanga leaders was also a youth hostel. Saidi, the owner, showed us the facilities which we were very satisfied with. Bruce and I stayed in a big room with five sets of bunkbeds and our own large bathroom. It had tub and a sink in one room and off that room there was a bathroom stall and a shower stall. The hostel also had a big dining area, and living room area and an out door dining area for the use of all the guests. It was very nice, and even better, it was dirt cheap! The cost to lodge Bruce, Charles and myself was on 13,500 Tsch (about $12)! And that included breakfast for Bruce and Charles!

After lounging around and showing Pastor Gondwe and Charles the mission video Bruce produced from his trip three years ago (both men appeared in the mission video regularly) we went to Pastor Gondwe’s for supper. We had a very enjoyable time meeting his family (his older sons are away to school but the younger children are at home) eating a delicious meal with them, and then joining them in their evening devotion. We sang a few hymns, Bruce was asked to offer a devotion, we sang some more, and I was asked to close with prayer. I really enjoyed it because it reminded me of home. One of the things I miss a great deal is our family prayer time at night, and this brought back many memories of home. I enjoy the work here very much, but I sure miss my family!

After devotion was over we said "Asante" (thank you) and goodbye, and returned to the hostel. Tomorrow we another day on the road after services at one of the Tanga congregations.

More later...

Nathanael