Arusha, Sunday, February 19, 2017

Another Sunday!  Not particularly a day I look forward to at home, but definitely my favorite here. I never know whom I will see or meet at Arusha Community Church or what the service will be like.  A congregation operating with only laity and elected committees is truly a great model. Many members have to invest large amounts of time in order to make sure everything runs well, and so most members feel heavily invested in the church.  There is no such thing as spectator religion here.

This morning, Erwin Kinsey, a German agronomist, was the worship leader. Jimmy and Christine Ebong, who are from Uganda, were in charge of the music.  And, Lemburis Justo, a Tanzanian Lutheran minister, gave the sermon, which was a wonderful message about what it means to love one’s enemy. The ushers were two teenagers, Godlisten Solomon and Martin Matthews, and Irene Mchomvu, whom I do not know, brought the flowers, two very different bouquets this time. The incredible diversity of this congregation thrills me every Sunday.

Church ladies

Dr. Wendy, a surgeon

Bouquet #1

Bouquet #2

One of our neighbors at Kundayo, Noriko Noda, went to ACC again with us, and after church she had a good time meeting and connecting with people.  Noriko teaches physics and mathematics at a secondary school outside of Arusha, so she leaves Kundayo early every morning and usually doesn’t return until dark.  She is so super conscientious that she even goes to the school to tutor on Saturdays, so we rarely see her during the week.  Several years ago, Noriko spent three years in Tanzania, near Iringa, as a teacher in the Japanese equivalent of the Peace Corps, so she speaks fluent Swahili. Now she is back for at least another year with a Japanese NGO. She said her parents want her to stay home and get married, but I think she will always be a free spirit.

Noriko chatting with a new friend after church.

After church, Noriko wanted to go out for lunch.  She had been to no place in Arusha at all —except to church with us—for the entire month she had been here. So, we took her to George’s, where an order of one pizza and one salad was plenty for all three of us. Soon after we had ordered, other friends from church arrived, so we just pushed our tables together and had a bigger party. We all enjoyed ourselves so much that it was after 3:00 p.m. until we got back to Kundayo. Noriko said she was already looking forward to next Sunday and happily carried the two slices of leftover pizza and a small amount of salad back to her apartment.

Sunday lunch at George's with Noriko

Almost immediately after we arrived back, it began to rain, and there were heavy showers for several hours. It’s wonderful that the farmers get some moisture, but I am selfishly aware that we get cooler temperatures. The increase in mosquitoes, however, is a very negative result for me. Even though I apply repellent heavily and often, the mosquitoes find places between my fingers or near the bottoms of my feet to bite.

Toward evening, I spent some time out in the courtyard visiting with Mama Kundayo, who loves to hear about what we do.  It was the first time I had ever seen her dressed in anything other than African material; she was all in pink, which, while pretty, did not have the same pizzazz as her other ensembles. She was pleased to discover that I am having my dresses sewn by the same tailor she has used for over 30 years.

John made us a dinner of hamburgers and avocado and cucumber slices, with bowls of fruit salad for dessert. We finally had a decent internet connection after dinner, so a good day ended on a happy note.