Tag: Life in Tanzania Page 12 of 26

I guess it’s been the month of Indian experiences for us.

We’ve known Menka and her family since kindergarten, so when she invited us to her Jain Temple for a fund-raising event, we went. 

And so we had lots of fun playing carnival games, and Grace and I got our hands painted with henna, and of course the food was fabulous.  Which is quite impressive considering that Jains are not only vegetarians but also don’t eat anything that grows under the ground, like onions and garlic and potatoes. 

We certainly did garner a lot of attention though….considering that we (or rather I, since Gil is not white) were the only white people there, and our children were the only African people there.  Everyone was very kind and welcoming, of course, but I did wonder what exactly went through people’s minds when they saw us that night.  🙂

Night before last, the thunder woke me up. I kept waiting for the kids to start screaming, but they slept through it. I did not.

Yesterday I had plans. Visit social welfare; take the girls to the salon.

We left the house, and our first stop was to get fuel. Problem #1: No fuel. And we were almost on empty. Went to four gas stations. Nothing.

Uh oh.

I took the girls to a salon near our house instead of the one in town. Decided to go to social welfare the next day. Got home and started to realize how bad the fuel shortage was. Plus, we had no electricity and no fuel for the generator. I found a gas station with fuel and waited in line for 45 minutes. Filled up our car, and our extra tanks for the generator.

Last night, the thunder started again and didn’t stop for something like 9 hours. Now, I was annoyed. Once again we had to scrap our plans for the day.

Then we started hearing. Bridges out. Not just flooded bridges, but washed away bridges. The bridges that connect us to town, actually. After 36 hours with no power, we finally found a friend who just came over and fixed it. Hooray for our friend Hans!

I got online and started to see the pictures.

And I’m sorry for complaining about the sun. And I am ashamed for complaining about my messed-up plans. Because this is what parts of my city looks like right now.

And two more days of rain are forcasted.

Please pray for Dar es Salaam.

Our mission team in Tanzania has a tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving together each year.  We are all from America, and we are as much family as we’re going to get out here.  This year, the Medinas hosted.  All 40 of us. 

Things that are the same as Thanksgiving in the States:

1.  Turkey

2.  Pumpkin pie

3.  Excessive and absurd amounts of food

4.  Lots of laughter and fun

5.  Very very grateful hearts

I think that’s where the similarities stop.

Things that are different from Thanksgiving in the States:

1.  Finding a turkey was a major undertaking.  Finding one that wouldn’t cost $1 per bite was even more of a challenge.  But we did it.

2.  The pumpkin pie, as well as absolutely everything else on the table, was completely from scratch.  Meaning, we cooked down pumpkins for the pies.  And dried out bread cubes for stuffing.  And peeled real potatoes and mashed them.  (Okay, I do know that this does occasionally happen in America as well.  Not trying to insult anyone.)  I did not do all the cooking.  It was a huge potluck, and my part was only baking the rolls and some pies.  We have amazing cooks on our mission team….you kind of have to become that way if you want to eat anything more than scrambled eggs in this country.

3.  Oh, I was wrong.  The cranberry sauce did come from a can.  Which someone had brought with them from the States. 

4.  The fourth Thursday of November is not a holiday in this country.  We all had to work, and thus we held our meal on the fourth Saturday of November.

5.  The power went out right before the guests arrived.  We had been trying to cool down the room by blasting the air conditioning in the living room before they came (which we rarely use), and so we had to turn on the generator to keep it going.  The generator did not like all the power we were using, so we had to choose between the air conditioner and the lights.  The lights went off. 

6.  Having 40 people in the house in 90 degree weather, even with the A/C, still caused a profuse amount of sweating.  Lots of people ate outside. 

7.  The marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes were pink.  Pink is the primary color of all marshmallows in Tanzania.

8.  I used pineapples and bougainvillea as part of my centerpieces.

9.  There was no football, no parade, and nothing, nowhere was on sale. 

But it still felt like Thanksgiving.

We started at 1:00, but many people stayed until 9, snacking on leftovers and playing games for hours. 

There are many things I am thankful for, but this team is a major one.  We are all so far from our families, but they fill us up with love and affection.  My kids call them all “Aunt” and “Uncle.”  They are amazing people with amazing stories and are doing incredible things for God’s kingdom….reaching the very unreached….community development through health care, teaching English, building wells….training Tanzanians to be missionaries….equipping pastors. 

My first choice would be to be with my family on Thanksgiving.  But this is the next best thing.