Hikes and Hosts

Montana and LuRue enjoyed a luxurious morning of sleeping in with no alarm to jolt them awake. Since breakfast wouldn’t be served until 9:00 (Tanzanian time - 9:30), they lay in their warm beds, enjoying the laziness for awhile.

The subject of a hike came up again, and when Edward arrived, he said that he had arranged for some secondary school students to accompany us to Iringa Falls. The 10:00am meeting time was, of course, Tanzanian time of more like 10:30 or 10:40, but we took off with two girls, age 19 and a boy, age 18, all Form 5. It turned out that they had not had time to eat breakfast. They have to do laundry before they can eat. They all spoke good English, so it was a great way to spend some time communicating. The girls wanted to know about marriage arrangements in America, as we’ve been asked before. Lots of photos were taken. It’s clear that all the students are curious about America and almost all want to go there. It must seem like a magical place to them.

After lunch at the Mission House, Montana and LuRue prepared to go to the house of the assistant pastor. He had invited us to visit on the day that he came to pick up his son from preschool. We had cleared it with Edward, though the time was vague (not surprising here). We went at three o’clock & found out that they had delayed their lunch of ugali and spinach (?), so we ate another meal, even knowing that we’d be eating out again later. The pastor was extremely talkative, covering such subjects as the importance of counseling (crying is good for women). He admitted that sometimes it is good for men to cry, too, but especially women. We asked about his wedding & he showed us photos. Very traditional US-type wedding with white wedding gown, champagne, cake, with some extra ceremonies included, such as the farewell party two days before, during which the parents tell their daughter goodbye. He explained the bride price that we’ve been hearing so much about. It’s not necessarily cows, but the man must show that he has a substantial amount of money in order to ensure that the couple will have a good start to their marriage. The parents of the groom are willing to kick in some money if their son has shown good faith.

The pastor’s wife had left during our visit to assist the director’s wife who was preparing a meal for our whole team tonight. We stayed for about an hour and a half, then returned to the mission house.

When 6:00 came and went, no one was surprised. That was the time that we were supposed to leave for the director’s house for dinner. We left about 6:45 to a house very close by. When we arrived, we were greeted by the pastor & introduced to his wife. The assistant pastor’s wife was there helping her. Both families have been here in Pommern only about 2 months. At the assistant pastor’s house, we had been served the traditional meal, so we knew that this evening meal was quite a production: rice, sauce, potatoes, chicken, tea, and banana. The assistant pastor came during the conversation time and LuRue discovered that she had been calling him by the wrong name for days. His name is Faus Duma, not Shadrack. Oh, well!

The women finally came into the living room to sit with us, though that is not the tradition. Edward acted as translator as we exchanged stories. It was a special treat to be able to visit two private homes in one day.

Our generator at the mission house is on late tonight…usually it is on from 6:30 to 10:00. It’s now 10:30 & still running. We are one of the lucky few to have electricity, as did the director. Having light means a single small light bulb in the ceiling of a room. It would be interesting to know how many families in the village have any electricity at all. And as the assistant pastor walked Montana and LuRue home from his house earlier, we talked about the hand water pump in the churchyard. He said that the pump is where his household gets its water.

It puts things into perspective to compare our wasteful way of life.