Into the Hills around Tanga

Sunday – August 29, 2010

It was up-and-at-‘em this morning at about 5:30am. Jeremiah was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30am, so we had to be packed and ready for our long trip to Tanga. Originally, we were supposed to be in Tanga yesterday, but with the death of Pastor Jeremiah’s niece, that changed. So we were really sure what our schedule was supposed to be. We were going to meet Pastor Gondwe and then attend a church service around lunch time and then visit another one or two churches in the afternoon. It didn’t turn our that way. Although the roads were pretty good, it took us six hours to make the drive from Arusha to Koroyo, where we met up with Pastor Gondwe, the district pastor of the Tanga region.

Pastor Jeremiah beside his trusty steed "Nomade"

From there we had another two hour drive up into the mountains to a village called Kwamkole. The members greeted us with smiles from ear to ear and with singing and dancing. It was after 3:00pm when we were ushered into the church for the start of the service. Since we were late they had gone ahead and conducted the baptisms, but had reserved the installation of new church elders for us to participate. We were all given the opportunity to pass on our greetings, and I had the opportunity to preach. The church was full and there were many pastors in attendance. These pastors and congregations came out of the Anglican church because of false teaching, and came into contact with Pastor Gondwe. After attending some of the seminars he put on using papers which were presented at previous Pastoral Conferences, these pastors and congregations decided to join us!

The pastors who attended church with us in Kwamkole.

We were invited to Pastor Cecil’s home after the service was over for a late lunch which consisted of potato soup, chicken, and a rice dish with sodas. By the time we finished “lunch” it was 5:00pm and they still wanted us to visit another congregation. So we loaded back into Jeremiah’s car for the bumpy trip to another hill congregation. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. After a 30 minute trip coming down and rough road from Pastor Cecil’s we traveled a smoother gravel road for another 30 minutes or so. Then Pastor Cecil told Pastor Jeremiah to turn right down a small path and grinning said in the few English word he knew: “Short Cut.” As I looked ahead, all that could be seen was a walking path or motorcycle trail. It wasn’t made for a four wheel vehicle, that’s for sure! It must have been a herding trail as well, because we had to stop once while a teenage boy “encouraged” his charges to get off the road with a stick. We also had to dodge tree stumps and rocks and regularly scraped through brush on both sides of the vehicle where the path narrowed. It was quite a ride! it was just starting to turn dusk as we arrived. This was a Maasai congregation, and their building was made of sticks and mud with a thatched roof. We were again introduced and were given time to greet the people and share a few words. The meeting was again concluded with song as we were led out of the church and back down the hill to our car.

The Maasai church and members we visited just before it turned dark.

We then loaded back up for the one and a half hour return trip to Pastor Cecil’s home. It was after 8:30pm when we returned and after some discussion among Pastor Gondwe and Jeremiah, it was decided that we would not continue on to the next congregation tonight. We decided instead to stay here in the mountains and continue on our way to the next congregations in the morning. We were pretty exhausted after our early morning and long day and we readily agreed, although we were curious about where we were going to stay in this small mountain village of about 2,000 people. After some more discussion and a light meal prepared by Pastor Cecil’s wife we gathered our things from Pastor Jeremiah’s car and were led by flashlights on a winding path down narrow alleys, through homes and over rocks to a small building. We were led inside and down a hallway which led to another hallway which had doors on either side. They began unlocking the doors and offering the rooms to us. They were small rooms, or “cells” if you will that contained only a full sized bed, and a nightstand on top of which stood a battery operated lamp. There was also a “bathroom” which consisted of a room with a hole in the ground, and a shower room, which contained only a bucket. All I could think was, this was a lot better than I thought we were going to get for the night!

My accomodations in the guesthouse in Kwamkole, somewhere in the hills near Tanga, Tanzania.

We thank the Lord for the safe travels and the opportunity to meet these fellow believers in the hill country near the coast of Tanzania. May He continue to be with them and strengthen them through the faithful preaching of His Word and continue to be with us as we continue our travels!

In His service,

Nathanael

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:6-7