The Eads to Tanzania

Masanyiwa

This is the Sukuma name that I (Dan) have been given by the men in the Sweya church. The name means "blessed." They have explained that when a father favors one child over his other children, he will give him this name. So, now instead of referring to me as Daniel, the men have begun to use this name.

Leaving for Zanzibar

Today, our family is headed for a vacation to Zanzibar. We received a gift from a supporting church especially for this purpose, and with Rob's recommendation we are headed to this island that is just off of the Tanzanian coast. Stay tuned to the blog as there will still be posts here while we are gone.

Some Perspective

After a number of comments that I received off-line about this post, I thought that I would do my best to try to give some perspective.

Yes, robbery is a part of life here. But almost all robberies like the ones that I posted about take place at night. At any time of the day, we can walk through our neighborhoods without any fears, and we have only felt welcomed by our neighbors.

While there may have been some increase in this recent string of robberies, crime of this kind is a regular occurrence. It does not mean that we are in any more danger than we ever were before. It means that we have just been hearing more about it. It means that we must be vigilant to use necessary and reasonable means to protect us, but it does not mean that we have to live in fear. Like I hope that our posts on the blog here show, we love living here, and our lives are full of daily activities that we do with freedom.

Most crime like this deals with more than money. It more than often deals with revenge. And this is where it is difficult to get the whole story. In a society that is very relational, there may be a long-standing rift between two people that goes on for years and finally leads to a sad and cruel expression of that conflict. While all that we will hear about is the robbery, there can be a long history that we may never know.

So, thank you for your prayers and concern. And I hope that these words will bring some balance to your perspective.

New Pictures in the Family Album

Check out the latest additions to the family album today. Take a peek at our life through the window of a few pictures!

Heart Full, Pockets Empty

My trip to Nyakaliro was a good one. I was certainly tired getting back home. Left this morning at 6:00 AM to return around 7:00 PM. I preached again with the Bible Institute students there. I repeated my sermon from Daniel 3 (Utiifu wetu ni ibada yetu, Our obedience is our worship). I have been trying to train the guys to help me by pointing out my grammar and pronounciation errors. At first they were very reluctant, but now they have become very helpful in very graciously pointing out errors to me. It really does my heart well to see that the men have enthusiastically remembered previous sermons that I have preached and illustrations that I have used. I sense that we are developing an atmosphere of learning from one another, and it excites me.

The men did well in their sermons today.

By the end of the day, I didn’t have my wallet. Either lost or stolen, I was left with just enough money to get home. I will have to replace my driver’s licence too. Good thing that I recorded all of the steps here and here.

Another Village Robbery

Jackson, a family friend, came by yesterday, and although he couldn't stay long, he wanted to tell us about some sad events that took place the night previous. Langwa, Jackson's cousin, and his wife had been badly injured by thieves that had broken into their house. I visited the family today and got a fuller account.

Langwa's brother explained to me that thieves had approached the home by boat (the house is right down by the lake). Armed with machetes, they began making loud threats to the neighbors in order to scare them into staying in their homes. Then they wrenched the door open with much effort. Wishing to strong-arm Langwa into giving up his money, they threatened to cut his youngest child to death. The mother begged them not to, and instead they cut her twice across the front and back of her head. They were even more violent with Langwa, and in the end left both he and his wife for dead.

Before the thieves had entered in, Langwa and his wife had managed to call the police and Langwa's father- an old man that lives just behind our house. Langwa's brother and two others, after hearing the news, went running toward the house in order to help. They began throwing rocks on top of the metal roof. These efforts to scare the thieves caused the violence to pause. Then the police arrived. Langwa's brother is probably the reason why Langwa and his wife were not killed.

The thieves left with a large sum of money - nearly $300 - fleeing back to their boat. After firing the motor up, they rode away across the inlet. The police, in chase, opened fire on the thieves, and the gunfire scared six of Langwa's cows into breaking down the stable fence, and they fled. 

So when Jackson arrived yesterday, he and his relatives were still continuing to look for Langwa's cows. The police had brought Langwa and his wife to Bugando, Mwanza's largest hospital, and because of the loss of blood, Langwa was in shock. Langwa's wife was already home by the close of yesterday. As I have heard, Langwa was to return home this evening.

These are sad circumstances, but they have been frequently repeated. Within the last 2 weeks, we have heard of  six such incidents that we have taken place within walking distance of our home. We are taking the necessary precautions in order to deter thieves from attempting a break-in on our home, and we have not felt immediately threatened by these events. We know that our confidence is not in padlocks or gates, fences or barred windows, but in God. 

Please pray for wisdom and safety for us and our neighbors, and thank God for his provision of protection.