The Eads to Tanzania

Preparing for a Wedding

Tomorrow I will be officiating my first wedding . . . ever. There is a wedding in the church in Shadi, and I have been asked to officiate. Apart from sharing a devotional word and leading in the exchange of the rings and vows, I will be a witness to everything else. I was excited to hear that this would overlap with Rachel and Holly's stay with us, so that they can get a taste of this aspect of the culture here. Hopefully, we will be able to get a summary of the event and maybe a picture or two up in the near future.

Kisukuma

I have been trying with a little more earnest these days to learn more Kisukuma, the tribal language most spoken in our area. I have found that one helpful way to work on it is to carry with me a small Sukuma New Testament that I bought in town some time ago. As I have been making my visits on the pastors or Bible Institute students, I have been asking them if I could read a few verses to them, to which the response is always positive. It has been a great way to talk about the Word, by comparing the Swahili translation with the Sukuma translation, along with getting to learn some new vocabulary, correct my pronunciation, and try to make sense of the grammatical structures, most of which are very different from those of Swahili.

 

Rachel and Holly Arrive

Rachel Gilbertson and Holly Martin, from our sending church Parkers Lake Baptist Church, have arrived to visit with us for six weeks. They will be ministering at Tumaini Children's Home as well as to our family. We are very excited to have them with us, and they should not be strangers on this blog. I am going to try to have to give regular updates of their time here. 

Building Project Pictures

I wanted to share some pictures of the building project in Sengerema.

The first picture is of the parsonage that was constructed in June and July.

This second picture was taken on 13 Oct, during one of the church’s volunteer work days. The church had gathered to clear the area where the bricks are being formed. This is a picture of the trenches for the foundation taken the same day. The picture is of John Ariyo, the foreman that is overseeing the project. He is setting the rebar for the supports in each corner.

I took this picture on 21 Oct, during one of the church’s volunteer work days. You cannot see very well in this picture, but they have already built up the sides of the foundation with rock, compacted fill dirt inside the foundation and set rock. In the picture, they are pouring the slab. As you can see, cement is not machine-delivered! The gravel, sand, and cement are mixed and put into containers that are then handed from one person to another until they have reached the place that they are to be poured. Each one in the line will often yell something to stir the person in front of them that the next load is coming. I often heard repeated, “Hakuna kulala mbele!” (“No sleeping in front!”), “Amkeni!” (“Wake up!”), “Tunakula leo!” (“We are eating today!” which is a playful reference to the containers that are used which look like dishes), “Lete mzigo!” (“Bring the load!”), just to name a few. This is really hard work, but it was great to see the believers there doing it together.