Sunday Routine

Sunday, January 13, 2019

What else would we do on Sunday but go to church? Even if we wanted to sleep in, Ray would come and tell us we needed to go. He’s a very devout Lutheran, and he goes to an early service so he can be here at 10:00 to take us to ACC. Mary Lou came along, too.

The Sunday flowers are always lovely.

Since ACC has no professional paid staff, the sermons are delivered by different pastors and seminary professors in the area and a few members of the congregation. Last year, I gave my first talk, and in spite of all my fears, it was well received. So, two days after we arrived, last Sunday, both John and I were put on the peaching schedule again. John will be in February and I in late March again. Since John has an M.Div., he has no excuse for not doing well; however, all I have to rely on is my current sense of what makes sense—at least to me. I got by with that last year and am hoping for the same tolerance this year, too.

The speaker of this morning was a Catholic priest, Father Oliver O’Brien, who had a lovely Irish accent. His topic was the Baptism of Jesus, but he wandered all over even getting as far afield as infant versus adult baptism and the sex scandal in the Catholic church. He had warned us that he is a sociologist, not a theologian, which I had thought might be in his favor, but apparently he has yet to learn how to focus on a topic. Still, in the end, he proclaimed that what God really wants is for us to love one another no matter what our culture, class, or religion. With that I could heartily agree.

Mark Jacobson, the former head of Arusha Lutheran Medical Center, was back in town for the graduation of the first doctor from ALMC’s residency program. In fact, a whole delegation of people flew in from Minnesota to attend the graduation ceremony for this one doctor. Mark’s a lovely person, but seeing him made me miss his wife, Linda, more than ever. She always added such vitality to everything here and was the heart of the women’s group I loved to attend. Without Linda, the group has crumbled a bit, and we haven’t met once yet since I arrived. Mark said Linda would return in February, so I may have six weeks to enjoy her energy and zany take on life.

Linda Jacobson

John and I had planned on going out to Njiro for lunch and then a bit of shopping in The Village Market there. When we first came to Arusha, Njiro had the one and only mall in the area, and even though it was terribly small, it was sort of exciting, with its grocery store offering insane items such as lemon curd, marshmallows, Kraft macaroni and cheese, etc. The  little shops on the second floor provided goods and services such as photography, hair styling, locally made clothing, and pet supplies. A big British Woolworth’s is still there with its stock of outrageously priced western clothing, but most all the other shops are now empty. Fortunately, the courtyard with its many restaurants still exists, and the second we sat down, four or five waiters were there to offer us the menus from the various businesses. It can be incredibly overwhelming as one must choose among Chinese, Indian, Australian, and other cuisines. I already knew that I wanted Chicken Saagwala, and, of course, John had to order something mutton. After much pondering, Mary Lou chose what I had ordered and was as enthusiastic about it as I always am.

http://www.greatcurryrecipes.net/2012/02/01/how-to-make-british-indian-restaurant-style-chicken-saagwala/

The remainder of the day was spent relaxing, reading, and being happy that we are here.