Tuesday - November 5, 2013
It’s day two of our seminar in Arusha. The men who traveled to the seminar yesterday stayed overnight in the area so we agreed to get an early start today. It was suggested that we start at 10:00am and I countered with 8:00am. We settled on a 9:00am start time. All that time spent with my father-in-law in the Menard’s bargain area and on the 400-mile yard sale has come in handy and prepared me well for day to day life in Africa!
It was going to be a shorter day as it was, because we had to stop around at 2:00pm so that the men could catch buses back to their homes. Even with an early dismissal we still would be able to squeeze in a four hour class day (taking out time for such things as morning tea and lunch). Our attendance was a little better today than yesterday, although one man was excused to leave yesterday to return home for a funeral, and another had to leave early today.
This year I have chosen to begin working through the Articles of the Augsburg Confession in my studies with the pastors here. Yesterday we studied Article 1 (Of God), and today we took up a study of Article 2 (Of Sin). I have found that these Articles do an excellent job of covering the information found in the Catechism, but in a different and more detailed way. Thus far it has been a good review. Today we discussed the doctrine of Original Sin and it’s Biblical foundation, and the resulting effect of sin in this world and in our lives.
I have to give these guys credit. They sit there and listen intently, taking notes, and asking questions. Apart from tea break, lunch and the occasional phone call, they remain attentive for the whole day. It might seem like four hours is a long time to cover one subject like that, but when you consider that everything is being translated, that really cuts the teaching time in half, and would be roughly equivalent to the time I would take to cover it in two or three Bible Class sessions at home.
At the end of the day, I made my way back down the hill to my “hotel” room. On the way down there are always a variety of people working, walking, or just making conversation. It’s hard to explain what it would be like back home. Home are interspersed wit
h stores, and people are outside and busy in conversation with others. It might be like walking through an outdoor supermarket in a small town where everyone knows everyone. What a contrast to back home. It seems that (in the big city at least) we hardly ever make conversation with others, even to say hello! We are often self-absorbed and focused only on our lives, our work, our problems. There is very little sense of community anymore. How much we are missing out on! It is a joy to involved in the lives of others, to share their pain, joy, and anything else that comes along. Africa has many problems, but here, on this day, the people of this area have again taught this city boy from American another valuable lesson. Being involved in the lives of others and being active in your community is a very good thing.
In His service,
Nathanael
It’s day two of our seminar in Arusha. The men who traveled to the seminar yesterday stayed overnight in the area so we agreed to get an early start today. It was suggested that we start at 10:00am and I countered with 8:00am. We settled on a 9:00am start time. All that time spent with my father-in-law in the Menard’s bargain area and on the 400-mile yard sale has come in handy and prepared me well for day to day life in Africa!
It was going to be a shorter day as it was, because we had to stop around at 2:00pm so that the men could catch buses back to their homes. Even with an early dismissal we still would be able to squeeze in a four hour class day (taking out time for such things as morning tea and lunch). Our attendance was a little better today than yesterday, although one man was excused to leave yesterday to return home for a funeral, and another had to leave early today.
A few of the men who attended the Pastor's seminar in Arusha.
This year I have chosen to begin working through the Articles of the Augsburg Confession in my studies with the pastors here. Yesterday we studied Article 1 (Of God), and today we took up a study of Article 2 (Of Sin). I have found that these Articles do an excellent job of covering the information found in the Catechism, but in a different and more detailed way. Thus far it has been a good review. Today we discussed the doctrine of Original Sin and it’s Biblical foundation, and the resulting effect of sin in this world and in our lives.
Our classroom - Jeremiah's church outside of Arusha. My only teaching tools: My Bible a chalkboard and chalk.
I have to give these guys credit. They sit there and listen intently, taking notes, and asking questions. Apart from tea break, lunch and the occasional phone call, they remain attentive for the whole day. It might seem like four hours is a long time to cover one subject like that, but when you consider that everything is being translated, that really cuts the teaching time in half, and would be roughly equivalent to the time I would take to cover it in two or three Bible Class sessions at home.
At the end of the day, I made my way back down the hill to my “hotel” room. On the way down there are always a variety of people working, walking, or just making conversation. It’s hard to explain what it would be like back home. Home are interspersed wit
h stores, and people are outside and busy in conversation with others. It might be like walking through an outdoor supermarket in a small town where everyone knows everyone. What a contrast to back home. It seems that (in the big city at least) we hardly ever make conversation with others, even to say hello! We are often self-absorbed and focused only on our lives, our work, our problems. There is very little sense of community anymore. How much we are missing out on! It is a joy to involved in the lives of others, to share their pain, joy, and anything else that comes along. Africa has many problems, but here, on this day, the people of this area have again taught this city boy from American another valuable lesson. Being involved in the lives of others and being active in your community is a very good thing.
In His service,
Nathanael
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
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