From Tanga to Moshi

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! (Psalm 105:1-3).

We didn’t sleep very well last night. It was pretty cold, and although we had all our clothes on, we were still chilled to the bone under our one blanket. Mike has come down with a nasty cold as a result of the temperatures up here at night. We were finally awakened for good by our host’s portable radio at about 5:00am. We had decided to skip breakfast and get an early start down the hill. Then we said our goodbyes and prepared to head back down the hill to catch a bus to Moshi. Pastor Steven, the elderly pastor here at Amani, had heard that they were installing a culvert under the road which could prevent our traveling. He awoke early and went down the hill to the site to make sure we would be able to pass. Such is the concern and love of the people of Amani!

We loaded up the car, along with an additional guest, but didn’t make it very far. After rolling only 200 feet we found that we had a flat tire. Once again, the people of Amani assisted by gathering rocks to put in front of the tires (to keep it from rolling) and for under the car (as an added support in case the car fell off the jack). We were able to get the tire changed, and then pumped up the spare and the now flat tire at the next village (using a bicycle hand pump, no less).

Three hours and a million and one bumps later and we arrived in Muheza where we would catch a bus to Moshi and Pastor Gondwe would catch another back to Tanga. Since we had skipped breakfast and had time to kill while we waited for our bus to arrive, we walked across the street to have breakfast. Our breakfast consisted of several samosas and a soft drink. Samosa (often called sambusa) are one of my favorite snacks. They are small and triangular shaped, thinly breaded on the outside and stuffed with meat and spices on the inside. Very good especially when they are warm! Now, if I could only get a Cherry Coke....

Our bus arrived at about 12:30, and our estimated travel time of four hours to Moshi was again short of the mark. It ended up being a 5 and a half hour trip crammed into a very small seat on a very big bus. Poor Mike had to straddle two seat to get enough room for his legs! I had to keep my bag on my lap because there was so little room and ended up with deep bruises on the top of my legs from all of the jolting and pressure! It was a miserable trip, and we were exuberant to finally get off the bus. Once again we noticed the plethora of Muslims, this time running the bus. The bus driver was a hulking Arab man, and there was another slender one assisting with seating and ticket checking. Four others were working on the bus with baggage and other jobs, and several of them were wearing the unique hats of Muslims. While less prevalent inland, Muslims are making inroads across Africa.

It has been a very long and hard travel day and we were very glad to meet up with Russ and get settled into our room under the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Tomorrow will be a slower day for running errands, writing reports and resting up a bit. Mike is feeling more miserable tonight, so hopefully the bonus day will be good for him.

We give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful works, and rejoice to be workers in His kingdom!

In Christ,

Nathanael