Month: July 2015

I joined the students for morning prayer at 7:00 am, while Anya caught up on some sleep.

I walked to the North Maasai District office, which I had visited before in 2008, but without a sign, I wasn’t sure about the entrance. Fortunately, I was close to Rebecca’s bakery and home, so I stopped and asked Rebecca. I was right, despite the lack of a sign. I bought some of her wonderful rolls to bring to anyone at the district office, partially as a gift, but really to advertise Rebecca’s new bakery right across the street.

I talked for 1.5 hours with Pastor Saning’o Laison.

We knew of each other and had emailed, but we had never talked before. His oldest child, was a student of mine. She was a very good student too! She has now graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law and has a new job as an advocate in Dar es Salaam. She would need at least 1 more year of schooling to be a lawyer.

My home church, Cross of Christ Lutheran in Bellevue, has partnered with the North Maasai District since 2008, and we have been mutually blessed. This is why I was so honored on Sunday (see July 19^th’s post). As Pastor Laison is new, taking over for Pastor Nangole, it was so good to get to know each other and talk about our partnership. My church group will be coming next July to share in celebration of the work that will be done this next year, with some financial assistance from my church. I left very encouraged that we have another fine leader who will faithfully steward the relationship and gifts.

Rebecca and her friend were at home when I got home. They had done some laundry for us, as we are not very good at washing clothes by hand, and it provides some income for these women. Lunch was tasty with some very sweet mangos at the end.

I spent some of the afternoon writing up my report of the visit with Pastor Laison for the mission team leaders. I wanted to give plenty of detail of the conversation to help with our future planning.

The water came on in the late afternoon, and for a while, we had both water and power! The power is out now for the second time as I write this.

In early evening, we went to the chapel for the evening devotions. A handful of students brought song books and sat right next to us to welcome us and help with finding the songs. This is one aspect of the legacy of Jean Wahlstrom, who taught the girls this hospitality. It is really helpful when the hymn and page numbers are announced in Kiswahili for guest who don’t know the numbers. However, this is English day, so the singing was in English. The scripture reading was in Kiswahili, as was the homily. The message given by the student was longer than most Lutheran sermons in the USA, and while I can get the just of what she was talking about, for Anya it is a bit boring.

But afterwards these girls and a few others stayed to talk with us. We met the younger sisters of my former students Kipuye and Selina. Selina was a good friend of Anya. We have continued our contacts over the years, but this time we won’t be able to see Selina, as she is head of a school in Mto wa Mbu (literally, mosquito river). There was also one Hadza girl, and I finally remember the name of my Hadza student, and yes, she knew her. The 15-year-old mortality rate is something like 46%, so almost half don’t make it to their 15^th birthday. One of the Hadza students wants to be a doctor, and then, she will be a huge blessing to her people group.

What a difference education can make!

With blessings,

Beth

This is Africa. The power went out before 10 am. It came back on about 6:00 pm, just about the time the water ran out. Fortunately, we had a barrel cleaned out and filled with water earlier in the day, so Anya could wash her hair. I actually helped, for a really mother-daughter bonding experience.

I got up early for morning prayer and was introduced to the students. Dr. Msinjili relayed that I was a former teacher here and my name was Beth Elness, but I’m known as Mama Anya. Ok, I must say that it was encouraging that when they heard “Mama Anya,” there was an audible “Ahh!” from several of the students. They either heard a bit from the past and previous visits, the last being 2013, or the Maasai students thought, “What an auspicious name!” because Anya means “I eat” in Kimaasai.

Anya was awakened by Ciwila bringing another thermos of chai. I found out that this chai is made with the milk produced by the cows which were purchased from money raised by the Cross of Christ Lutheran (my home church) benefit auction. Milk is a staple of the Maasai diet, so now there is more sustainable milk for the students.

Anya went back to sleep, while I did some emails on battery power. It was a morning of putzing around after a long day yesterday: some Kiswahili, some reflections with Anya about yesterday, some tasks like refilling water bottles from our water filter. Rebecca came later with lunch. I think she is planning on feeding Marvin, as we are having quite a bit of left overs. (Rebecca cooked for 12 years for Jean and Marvin.) I tell her this and she laughs. She has a command of English that can joke and understand nuances that most wouldn’t. When I told her that Anya tells me to “chill” sometimes, she replied, “Take a chill pill.” We laughed again. We aren’t making much dent in the left overs either!

I talked with Rebecca about the Pastoralist Women’s Cooperative up by the Kenyan border in Loliondo. It was great to hear her comments about how these women, who are often excluded from decision making and education, while they are forced to be married at young ages and often experience domestic violence. Someday, I want to visit these women, but for this trip, it won’t happen. Check out their website at http://www.pastoralwomenscouncil.org/.

After lunch, we took a walk into Monduli. It takes about half and hour. We went on the southern path through farm fields. I like this path with a great view of the volcanic Monduli mountains and the expansive great rift valley.

However, there is no shade along the way, so it is a bit warmer in mid-day, probably about 76 degrees.

We went to the Tumanini shop to buy a few things. This side of the guest house isn’t very well equipped, so we bought a few things. Here’s the shopping list: TP, paper serviettes (napkins), dish soap, dishwashing brush, dish towel, Cadbury drinking chocolate, and tea bags. We didn’t find the dish brush, so we bought a scrubby thing. We didn’t find dish towels either. With Anya along, it meant we picked up a couple extra things, Fanta Passion in a plastic bottle instead of paying the deposit for the refillable glass bottle, and Eat-Sum-Mor shortbread cookies, imported from South Africa. I should have picked up some ultrapasturized milk pouches for the drinking chocolate. Maybe tomorrow, as I have to go to town again.

Here are some views from our walk

On the way back I met the secretaries leaving the school. One is a friend. (She follows me on Twitter, though I don’t post anything; I just explore what Pope Francis tweets.) I didn’t see her in the morning, but I told her I’ll come tomorrow to greet her.

We got back home, and Anya did some of her algebra 2 homework. Ciwila stopped by to pick up the empty thermos, and we sat on the step and talked for about an hour as the sun started to set. We talked about the Tanzanian Military Academy, as their soldiers were running by us up the mountain for their training. We talked about the university placement system. In this socialistic country, all students are placed by the government into universities. The Tanzania Council of Universities *** system has each university register how many seats they have in each program. Then students indicating three preferences of program and university. Finally, the TCU places students in the open seats according to their National Exam scores. The top students get their top preferences until the seats are filled. Then the subsequent preferences are considered. If the seats are filled, students may end up being placed in programs that they do not want or know anything about. Perhaps they note their preferences for universities with lower tuition rates, but they are place in a more expensive institution. Disturbingly, there is little opportunity to be placed elsewhere. And if one starts the program and doesn’t like it, tough; there is no switching. You only get one chance.

Unfortunately, universities can become lazy under this system. They don’t have to work hard to attract students, as they are guaranteed students as there are more graduates than university places. The students can’t vote with their feet, as they lose their chance for a university education. There is little incentive to improve.

Somehow within this system, the Lutheran church is trying to find partners for a university branch in Monduli. I can’t think of any potential partner who would knowingly donate to a faith-based university where the university can’t select its students. In theory, the government could place a high percentage of Muslims into a Christian institution. While this opens up different opportunities for ministry, it is not the original mission of the university. Crazy!

Ciwila and I also talked about former students and how they are thriving, such as Elizabeth. She told me that one had died last year from burns from cooking. She was the first Hadza (a foraging people group [formerly hunter-gatherer tribe]) to earn a bachelor’s degree, and she was working in community development. What a sad loss. There’s only about 1,000 Hadza remaining, so this is a great loss for the people group. There are about 8 Hadza students at MGLSS. In 2013, Anya and I went on a walking safari with a Hadza guide. If you’ve seen the movie, The Gods Must be Crazy, you have a glimpse of a similar but distinct tribe with the click language. This is an inherently egalitarian society, as foraging women bring more food than the hunting men. They rank a zero on the anthropological technology scale, but they have no history of famine. They don’t even have to carry a water bottle!

We’ve been charging phones. I just talked with Anya, saying, “Isn’t it a bit crazy that we are here in Africa, and we have 5 phones between the 2 of us!” So, this seems crazy, but let me explain. We had our USA phones, but they are locked to service with AT&T, even though they are GSM system that can work in Europe and Africa. It is very expensive to use AT&T in Europe, so, we bought 2 unlocked GSM phones to work in Norway with a Norwegian phone company. Here in Tanzania, again it would be expensive to used our AT&T system, and especially difficult for Tanzanians to call us. So, we bought an older model Nokia phone with a pay-as-you-go system to contact friends in Tanzania. Texting on the keypad is now frustrating, though I used to be pretty good at it in 2002-2004. So, crazy but needed for basic communication with our host country contacts.

Here’s the mystery photo. This thing is on our kitchen wall. What is it?

With blessings,

Beth

I was awakened by Ciwila bringing a thermos of chai and some bread, peanut butter, and jam for breakfast. I’m not quite in the early morning rhythm yet, but these folks know how to maximize the 12 hours of sunlight. I had a nice cup of chai with my breakfast, but I didn’t take a second cup. For days with big celebrations, it is good not to be well hydrated. Then, I had a nice dipper shower with water heated in the electric kettle. I prefer that to the shower in the guest house, as I can conserve water, and I know that the temperature will be constant.

Anya and I walked to church, arriving at about 9:30. I wore her Birkenstock sandals and had dress shoes in my backpack. There first service for students was close to the end. There was tea and bites (some food) for the wageni (guests), but I found a way to avoid the tea, because I knew a long service was ahead. I greeted many people, including Dr. Parsalaw, who Knut brought to Norway for the Maasai research group. He is the Vice Chancellor of Tumaini University Makumira. I also met him during my two weeks of research there in 2012. There would be several points of contact with Dr. Parsalaw during the day.

I also met Elizabeth, one of my former students.

Elizabeth was a very good student. She asked excellent questions, which is always a sign of a good student. She thanked me for my teaching as she did well in biology. She is now a CPA working for a NGO (non-profit) that works with microloans. She is doing well. We had a good talk later in the day, where I found out about her husband and two-year-old daughter. I asked her about being a Maasai young woman who comes from a tradition of arranged marriages where they have no say in the matter. Sometimes, they are promised when they are in utero! I’ve often wondered how they deal with finding a spouse when they don’t come from a dating culture. She was fine to share her story of meeting in a Maasai association in Arusha to help each other. They knew of each other for three years before they started a serious relationship. When she told her family there was a man in her life, they asked if he was Maasai. When she said he was, they were relieved and said OK.

The procession (with me among the honored guests, then the pastors, then the bishops and Pastor Nangole) started for the 10:00 am service. The service ended at 2:44! Yes, 4 hours and 44 minutes! I’m glad I didn’t have the second cup of tea. People did walk out on occasion for a bathroom break, but I was in my Maasai dress that jingles when one walks, and I was squished in the center of the pews with about 7 people to squeeze by. The guy next to me was a gentleman, and sat forward for much of the service, as there was not room for all of us to lean on the backrest. We alternated shoulder position. But he also shared his hymnbook and the found the right pages in the liturgy for me. Also, he had the Kiswahili Bible on his Chinese smart phone, so we could read the Psalm responsively. He was from the Diocese office.

I knew I was going to be asked to bring a greeting, which would probably be translated (it was, by Mr. Kwayu, a friend who is the Head of School of the neighboring secondary school). There is a clear hierarchical system, and I was just below Dr. Parsalaw. Whenever he was invited to do something, I had the position that was just next in the pecking order. Indeed, I didn’t expect that there would be such an honoring of me too. At a separate occasion, I was invited to come up with Anya and receive gifts for us and for my church, because of the partnership we’ve had since 2008.

After the service, people I didn’t know were just coming up to greet me and thank me. But also, all who I knew came up to me. (Jean and Marv, greetings from Nakaji, Janet, Elizabeth L., and others!).

When it was time for food, the manager of the church grabbed my hand, took me out of the lineup for food, and brought me to the hand washing station to be next at the food tables. This is very uncomfortable for me, but fortunately, I was being dragged along. I apologized to the people that I just cut in line in front of. This cutting in the food line actually happened twice in the food line, because after this meal at church, we were invited to Pastor Nangole’s house for another shorter service and a meal. Again, I was dragged into the line ahead of the wonderful choir. I had an opportunity to again apologize and also share my deep appreciation for their wonderful music. This is the best church choir I have heard in Tz.

Before he left, Bishop Masangwa came to greet me. While he was assistant bishop, he traveled with us for 5 days in north Maasailand, as the Bishop was ill. So, we got to know him a bit and his diplomacy and his humor. He is a faithful leader, and again I’m honored to have this greeting.

As you can imagine, Anya was bored silly in 4 hours and 44 minutes of a Kiswahili service. After lunch, would it be culturally appropriate to send her home and not show up at Pastor Nangole’s house? We asked David (our friend who drove us from the airport on Friday night). He said that Nangole would expect us as a pair.

So, we decided that David would take us to Nangole’s, and after Nangole had seen Anya, then Anya would go with David to our guest house to get one more bag for David to store for us. After the “kaky kaky” (which is a roasted goat that is served like a wedding cake, as there are few ovens, wedding cakes are rare and these special roasted goats reinforced by wire take the place of cakes), where we were called up with Dr. Parsalaw, Anya went off. I did get a Fanta passion with my meal. Yum!

Here’s a note about the food, the meat in particular. I’m pretty much an omnivore, though I do have things I don’t prefer, but generally it makes it easier to be a good guest. Anya is pretty picky about her meat, and prefers mostly poultry and good bits of meat without skin, gristle, or fat. There are very few pieces of meat in Maasailand that fit this description. I’m less picky, but there are things that I just can’t manage. I don’t mind goat, but my kaky kaky piece was half fat. Anya’s looked like a piece of gristle. It is good that I keep plastic bags in my backpack, as we tried to find the most delicate way to receive this piece of meat that would be very difficult to get down.

I stayed longer and talked with friends. I ended up with hopes for two times to meet in Arusha with friends and former students.

I walked home, removing my Maasai dress after leaving the gates as it was really, very dusty along the road. Some places had 6 inch dust banks! (I’m thankful for nose hairs in Africa!)

I met the Deputy Head of the neighboring school, where Eric’s memorial scholarship has sponsored students. We had a meaningful chat. I remembered most of the names I need to today! I got a bit of help with a couple. One is the evangelist who is the father of a special needs boy that we sponsor in school. How good to see them. Richie is increasing in capability, and they are so grateful for the sponsorship. The father is going to try to visit me on Wednesday.

Then I walked back with two of the Form 4 (10^th grade equivalent) girls from MGLSS, coming back to school from the market. I’m unknown to most of these students, so it was nice to just chat with them. I did say I used to teach there and that the matron of the school was my former student.

The day isn’t over yet. Ciwila invited us over for dinner with her family. We had a nice meal, but I had to warn her that I wouldn’t be able to each much as we had two meals in the afternoon. She was so gracious. We watched a bit of the Tanzanian news with them, and I was able to get a pulse of the upcoming elections, some land disputes, and other national current events.

What a full day!

With blessings,

Beth

I was wakened by roosters before the sun rose. Every day of the year, the sun rises at about 6:30 am and sets around 6:30 pm because we are just 3 degrees south of the equator. Also, there is very little twilight in the dawn and dusk times. It is dark when the sun is down and the moon is new, like last night.

I started sorting through all our stuff to see what we can streamline for travels in country. I’m hoping that I can send one more duffel bag with David tomorrow. We have to plan on nice dress clothes for a celebration, casual skirts for Monduli town, warm layers for hiking and camping, and then clothes for the beach.

At about 9:00 am, Ciwilia brought over a thermos of black chai tea with lemongrass, sugar, some eggs from her chickens, and some sweet potatoes for breakfast. I had already had some instant oatmeal we brought, knowing that we would have a few mornings like this.

Rebecca brought lunch, with her niece, Faraja, helping her. Faraja is home for the weekend from nursing school at the Arusha Lutheran Nursing School. We had a nice meal of chicken with rice, cucumber salad, with sliced pineapple. Oh the pineapple here is so sweet!

We joined Rebecca in the taxi home. Rebecca has a prosthetic leg after her leg amputation from a wound that would not heal. Rebecca and Faraja helped us get a Nokia phone and pay-as-you-go vouchers to have access to the rest of the world here. It is an older Nokia phone for about $22. Texting is done on the number keypad. But it will serve us for now with the basics.

Then we went to Rebecca’s new bakery that just opened on July 11. We took pictures on Anya’s phone, but I’m having difficulty to get them to my computer without wifi, as her phone doesn’t show up on my laptop as an external drive like mine does. Huh! So, watch for pictures to come.

We walked back to our guest house. Unlike Norway, we were greeting most people along the way. Even half a block away, people would yell a greeting. We are some of the very few white people around here, so we do not blend in very well. On the walk, three boys about 10 years old ran up to us. Often, I expect a request of a hand out. Instead, one held up a coin and asked how much it was. It was a US quarter. He asked if we could exchange it for him. As there is no place he could spend a quarter, I opened my coin purse and exchanged it for three 200 shilling coins. It was a bit of a good rate for him, but not by much with the strong dollar right now, where $1 = Tsh 2,100+.

We met Ciwila coming from the market on the way home and helped her carry her bags as we talked more. Then she took us to greet the wonderful Head of School, Dr. Msinjili, one of my heroes of life. He was working a long Saturday. He is in a very difficult role. He told me about the decrease in funding from the USA over the next four years. He is so passionate about keeping the mission of the school to make it possible for girls whose parents were not going to invest in secondary education for their girls to still have the life-changing opportunity for an education. It would be fairly easy to make the school sustainable with paying students, but they come from families who are able to afford school and want to invest in their daughter. The mission of the school would be lost. Pray for this one.

We are repacking our gear, combining the supplies that came from the USA with Elizabeth. I’m trying to send one duffel bag and one rolling carryon bag back with David tomorrow, so we will travel lighter for the next 2 weeks. The risk is that I send too many bags before I know what can fit in our remaining bags. Oh my. I hope I plan and pack wisely!

While packing, we heard the evening prayer singing, so we went to the chapel and heard the singing. The Pentecostal movement has influenced the spirituality in Tanzania, so there is a bit of that flavor to the worship in the evenings when there isn’t a liturgy. It also reminds me a bit of campfire songs at Bible camp. So there was a lot of “heart” in the worship. This is one aspect of mature discipleship, but it also needs to be balanced with “head” and “hands” and also “lips” or sharing the good news in word, for how shall they know unless they hear, as faith comes from hearing.

While in worship, Pastor Nangole arrived, walking down the main walkway to the chapel. I saw him and greeted him. We walked to his Land Cruiser, where he gave me a gift; he gave me an absolutely stunning Maasai dress which is dripping with oromboi (small shiny decorative metal disks) and beautiful beading. I won’t be able to blend in tomorrow! I had planned to wear subdued but sophisticated grey and black tones, but I’m going to be like a Christmas tree! This is a great honor, but it is on the verge of overwhelming.

I finished writing my words to share tomorrow, as I’ve been asked to speak. I had to hand write out my notes as I’m here in low-tech-land and reading notes on my iPhone is not the message I want to send.

Ciwila brought over another bag of groceries for us to tide us over. What hospitality.

More repacking stuff tonight with a head lamp, as the spare room has no lights. This is Africa. Yes, I’m keeping the head lamps handy!

Off to sleep. The pictures tomorrow should be fascinating!

With blessings,

Beth

It was an early morning departure on July 17, as the taxi picked us up at 3:30 am. My scale was accurate to max out our allotted weight for our 4 rolling duffel bags. We both tried to nap on the flight to Amsterdam, though Anya was more successful. Though, she was highly motivated to be rested enough to get 4 movies in on the flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport. I also got 4 movies in, as I didn’t see any movies in the theatre in Norway. At $20 a movie, I passed.

As a returning traveler, I knew that the airplane also unloaded from the back door at the airport, walking down the moveable stairs onto the tarmac and then walking into the terminal. So, I chose two seats in the back (not the last row that sometimes doesn’t recline fully or too close to the line for the bathroom) so we could be one of the first ones in the line to purchase a visa in the airport for the same price of $100. This was great, as it already is an ordeal of going through 3 lines, one to buy the visa, one to put the stamp in the passport, and the last to have a picture taken and a digital fingerprint reading. It still took us about 15 minutes, and we were some of the first people in the line!

Elizabeth and David met us at the airport with warm hugs, malaria meds, and a modem. The trip is at least 2 hours, with about 100 speed bumps (also known as sleeping policemen and what you need when you don’t have cops in cars to chase speeders), and one road stop. The police, on foot, chided David for having wazungu (white people) out at night, as it isn’t safe. David thought that this was not a good way to welcome guests, by telling them that things are dangerous at night. David did pick up a friend, George, to do with him to Monduli after dropping off Elizabeth in Arusha.

So, the four of us went to the Girls School guesthouse where we were greeted by my former teacher colleague, Ciwila. She is excellent, and one of the most hard working teachers at MGLSS. If there is an event, Ciwila is the busy beaver and leading up the women (there are few men around, and none in service roles). The women make it work.

David had a duffel bag of our Tanzanian clothes and gear (water filter, binoculars, sun screen, sandals, etc.) that Elizabeth brought with her from the USA. Even though we had a water filter, Elizabeth picked up a couple bottles of water to have. Then we could brush our teeth without having to dig out and set up the water filter. It was a long day, so we said goodbye to David and George, and we were able to get to bed right away and rest well for the night.

With blessings,

Beth

We have a 3:30 AM taxi call! I’m praying that my luggage scale is adequately accurate and there isn’t too much hassle with the tax rebate check as the window is closed, so it is done at the luggage drop off. With quite a bit of paperwork, my purchases from some stores that attract tourists can qualify for a 19% sales tax refund. It is purchases in the last 90 days in Sweden and 30 days in Norway! The administration of the program is quite expensive too. I wonder if it really is worth it.

In the morning, I took my last trip to MHS to turn in a couple library books and my keys. It is really quiet there, as most people are on summer vacation. On the bus, I spent most of the time staring out the window to get one last time to soak it all in.

I realized how 5.75 months ago, I barely knew the bus system, and now it is quite comfortable. When I arrived, most signs were unknown and most of the language was equally unknown. Now, there is a bit of understanding and some beginning Norsk vocabulary that I understand. Anya is way ahead of me, but it is nice to know that I’m capable of learning and getting adjusted.

Now, a short night and a major transition ahead. At least we get to catch up on movies on the airplane.

We will have limited Internet access in Tanzania, so I won’t be able to post regularly. The stories should be interesting though when they do get posted. Keep us in your prayers!

With blessings,

Beth

Amidst the packing throughout the day, we had two wonderful times of farewell with food.

Tina, my PhD student colleague, walked down the hill, and we joined her in walking to the center of Sandnes, where she treated us for lunch at the Pastabakeriet. Her family had just returned from Italy and time with her in-laws, as her husband is Italian. Unfortunately, one of her boys was sick with pneumonia for the majority of their vacation, which was a huge disappointment for him. Fortunately, he is much better and a full recovery will come. We passed on our set of Bucky Ball magnets to her boys, as they loved them when they visited us. So, they will have hours of play to come.

Tina has been such a help and an encouragement to me. Her PhD journey started a few months before mine, so I’ve been able to see how the path unfolded for her. She will probably defend her dissertation in November, so unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend and support her with my presence. I’ll do so with my prayers. She greeted us when we arrived with dinner and a couple bags of groceries to tide us over until the stores opened on Monday.

After lunch and more packing, I got a call from Marta, with an invitation to dinner later in the day with the Dahls. We took the X60 bus, which Anya has taken before, but I haven’t. She calls it “Stavanger in a Nutshell,” because you see many different views of this area: farmland with some sheep and cows, vistas with mountains, the university (where I took a philosophy of science course), the Forus petroleum business center, a shopping mall, different kinds of residential areas, and eventually the Stavanger city center (though we got off earlier).

On the walk from the bus stop to Marta’s, I collected some flower photos.

Kjell was grilling pork chops, and Marta had a great meal, including Anya’s favorite comfort food, mashed potatoes.

I thanked Marta for her gracious hospitality to me and Anya and her voice of wisdom when I was figuring out how to support Anya in the challenges of her cultural immersion in Norwegian and in her school. I told Marta that growing up in the church, I used to have a limited view of hospitality. I thought it was the relegation of women to the kitchen to serve coffee and tea–and then clean up afterwards. Later, through a friend in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in college, I heard another definition; hospitality is giving another the freedom to be themselves in your presence. Marta, as a translator of the culture, gave this special inter-cultural freedom for me.

We bussed home and finished the day’s packing. For international travel, I am allotted 2 pieces of luggage per person. Thus, I have 4 rolling duffel bags between 48 and 49.6 pounds each, according to my travel scale. The limit is 50 pounds or 23 kilograms. As 23 kilos equals 50.71 pounds, I should be safe, even if my scale isn’t precise. We also have two tightly packed rolling carryons, two “accessory” small backpacks, and two travel pillows. I tried to get everything in bags last night to see how close I am to done. There will be some tweaking left to do, adding things and jettisoning others of less value.

I have one more day for final packing tweaks, my last trip to MHS to return my keys, and cleaning the house. Fortunately, the process in on target and we were blessed by Tina and Marta along the way.

With blessings,

Beth

Anya slept in while I did more packing and preparations. I woke her up for our planned trip to do some errands. I started by going to my Sandnes bank to figure out what to do there. Because I’m short 7 days from a complete 6-month stay, I don’t have online banking privileges, however, I’d like to keep some money here and a bank card for my return next year for the expected defense of the dissertation. (I’ve never “climbed this mountain” before, so I don’t know how steep or how long this climb is, but my hope is that in the late spring, I can defend my thesis.)

We then took the #3 bus to Stavanger. Anya wanted to look for a few gifts. But the main purpose was to visit the thrift store and have Anya help me pick out a little more dressy skirt than my travel clothes for Pastor Nangole’s retirement celebration. We had many good laughs and many groans! Anya found a dress that she loved.

We walked out with a grey skirt for me and a colorful and cute dress for Anya!

Then Anya took off to explore a bit and head home on the bus, while I walked to MHS and scanned a few things to reduce the paper to take back to the USA. Providentially, I arrived just as things were closing up at about 3:00 pm. While I did this intentionally, in order to not hog the photocopy machine/scanner, I didn’t realize that they had switched key card entrance mechanisms. So, I got a new key card just in the nick of time. I’ll head in tomorrow to return my keys when someone is around to receive them.

I’m tired tonight. Partly it is getting up early, because my head is filled with tasks. Partly, it is the emotional drain of thinking through all the variables for a major transition that is extended with travels to Tanzania. Fortunately, I got word from a friend in Tanzania, Elizabeth, who will pick up some malaria meds for us and a SIM card for my phone, as we’ll be driving through Arusha in the evening when all the shops are closed. Monduli has less amenities, and with all the counterfeit meds on the market, it is good to buy from a trusted pharmacy. We also have one of two nights in transition nailed down, as I wait for response from the last night’s hotel inquiry.

When we lived in Tanzania, we would often say, “This is Africa,” which means, we can plan wisely through incorporating years of wisdom, but still life in Africa is beyond control. Sometimes, you just do the best you can with what you got. This is why community is so important. The interdependence with others is what sustains life. So, today, I’m grateful for Elizabeth and Nashesha!

This evening, Anya ran 10K for her conditioning in preparation for August soccer practice. This was her second run of the day, though the first one was not one she felt good about. I am so blessed to have a daughter who is healthy and able to run, jump, and kick.

With blessings,

Beth

Scott was ready to go at our 9:00 am planned departure time. We rolled the bags downhill to the bus stop, where Scott had learned during his time that the #9 is the one we take to the airport. The bus works slick to get to the airport, and $6.19 (50 kroner) is much cheaper than a $55-60 taxi with only 18 minutes difference in travel time.

The #9 bus back to Sandnes was departing at the top of the hour, so I pulled out the book I brought along (New Perspectives on Intercultural Reading of the Bible, a collection of essays in a festschrift for Hans de Wit) and read outside for about half an hour in the nice weather and sometimes sunshine.

Nice weather here is a high in the upper 60s! The hottest it has been in Stavanger so far has be 74!

In the sunshine, I did a bit of yard work–mostly pulling weeds that had grown while we were traveling. The rest of the day was packing and scratching things off my to-do list.

In the evening, my back needed a break, so we watched Helen Miren in The Queen. It was cool for Anya to see the Buckingham Palace and say, “I’ve been there!”

With blessings,

Beth

Today, 51 years ago, I was born in Williston, North Dakota. I had an inferiority complex to my sibling sisters with their exotic birthplaces; one was born in Taiwan and the other in Hong Kong. Later on I did the math, and I realized that I was made in Hong Kong. I guess I’m not disqualified by birthplace for being president of the USA, but who would ever want this?!? (Oh, I guess there is a growing list!)

We were off by bus to church this morning. The Stavanger International Church joined the Anglican congregation for worship in the Bishop’s Chapel right next to the Stavanger Cathedral. They only worship in this small place during July when they have so many people off on holiday. But it was a moving worship in a wonderful place with rich acoustics.

The priest gave one of the fullest and focused sermons I have heard in a long time. He carefully wove in the Amos Old Testament text with the Gospel text from Mark in a way that the Gospel message was so clear and compelling.

The congregation also sang “Happy Birthday” to me and two others.

Afterwards, Anya took me to the French Bakery for decadent pastries and tea.

Life is still too short to not take a nap, so I had a nice nap. Scott arrived back from time with his cousin shortly after I awoke. The rest of the day was packing and preparations with a nice break for a walk to dinner at a nice Thai restaurant not too far away.  This was Scott’s birthday treat!

My to-do list is slowly being blackened out, and most of the important planning pieces for Tanzania are in place, with just a couple transition and confirmations in process. Still, my Meyers-Briggs “J” temperament is not settled until everything is done (which is never is), and the unknowns are managed (which they never are), so again, I’m learning that one of life’s biggest lessons is learning to trust God. Fortunately, I have 51 years of God’s amazing grace, steadfast love, and caring providence to remind me.

With blessings,

Beth