Fri. May 15, 2020 --
I got up at 5 AM on Friday morning and
ate breakfast and finished getting ready for my trip. Dad and Mom
came by to pick me up in their car around 6:20 AM. We went and picked
up Ndila at the chapel and then drove down to Ilagala. When we got to
Ilagala Dad had to stop before getting to the bridge just past the
primary school because it was flooded. A side stream that comes off
the Malagarasi river overflowed its banks and swallowed up the road.
It was about 200 meters across. After saying good-bye to Dad &
Mom we crossed over by small boat (for 200 shillings per person) to
the other side and then got on 2 bodabodas (motorcycle taxis) to
quickly take us to the ferry to get there on time because we were
running late. We got to the ferry just after 8 AM and fortunately it
had not yet left. Before getting on the ferry they asked us if we had
face masks so we got ours out and put them on. Once on the ferry we
took them off because almost no one was wearing them. The river was
super high.
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| Getting on the ferry. |
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| Crossing the Malagarasi river. |
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| Did all the ferry passengers pay 200 shillings?? |
The ferry was docked at the far right of the normal ramp.
Once across there was a huge long line of people waiting to get
their temperature checked before getting on the ferry going back the
other way to Ilagala. Jems Humbagije soon arrived and we were soon on
our way on the daladala (minibus and local transport). Pleasantly this one was not very
crowded. Past Sunuka but before Kirando the daladala stopped and we
got out. The road was covered in muddy water that had come up from
the rising lake and had covered the low spots in the road.
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| Yep, that's the main road. |
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| Walking thru the water, carrying your luggage. |
We took
off our shoes and rolled up our pants and waded through 3 flooded
areas. At the end of the last one there were 2 boats there to help
people cross over because it got real deep there. We got on one of
the boats and it took us to the other side.
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| The man in blue guides people from stepping off the "road" and into deeper water. |
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| These men with their boats help passengers get across a deep section. |
There was a daladala on
the other side that had just arrived from Mgambo with people who were
going to Ilagala and Kigoma but we soon found out that it was not
available for us. It was waiting for people coming from Kigoma who
had paid for a ticket from town all the way down south to Mgambo.
They were guaranteed a seat on a daladala at each successive leg of
the journey. But we had heard that the ferry does not cross over
again to Mahanga (our side) until 11 AM and it was only around 9:30
in the morning, so we prepared ourselves for a long wait. There were
some ladies cooking rice and beans and lots of people were hanging
around. I order 4 plates for Jems and Ndila and I and the man from
our Ilagala church whom we had met on the daladala, but there were
only 2 plates left so we shared the plates.
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| Waiting by the side of the road for the remaining passengers. |
So we sat and waited from
about 9:30 AM until 12:30 PM. I talked with a man from near Buhingu
(Nkonkwa?) who was interested in studying the Bible more, and wanted
to join our Bible school. Finally another daladala came from Kalia
but it was also waiting for passengers coming from the other side. We
were told to try and get on that one. At around 1 PM they started
loading up the bags and the people with tickets and seats got in. The
minibus was already full and crowded but a bunch of us had not gotten
in yet. Then they noticed that one of the back tires was low so they
began to play musical chairs with the tires, swapping them around
between the 2 daladalas. They must have moved about 4 tires before
they were done. There were still 8 more of us who needed to get in
and many bags, including our 2 boxes and I thought there is NO WAY we
can fit. But in typical African fashion, somehow it happened, don't
ask me how. I was standing on my tiptoes for most of the way,
supporting my weight with mostly my arms, one on one side of the car
and the other on the other side. The short and stocky man in front of
me had nowhere to stand and was hunched over our 2 boxes that were
stacked on top of each other, on top of other bags, and kept falling
onto a lady with her 3 small kids who was sitting in front of him
facing backward. The man kept shifting and then leaning into me and
the lady beside me. It was a painful and miserable 1.5 hours to
Kahwibiri and the steep hill climbs made it harder to hold on and
support our weight.
(missing photos of the cramped bus)
It was raining when we got off at the primary
school. Soon one of the church members spotted us and took us to mzee (swahili for
Mr. or older man)
Benedicto's house behind the small market across the street from the
school. The house was made of burnt bricks and had a dirt floor. Once
in the house we thanked God that we had made it safely. We discussed
some rough plans for the seminar. I rested and dozed a bit and soon
they brought us some beans and rice.
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| Arriving at our host's home. Kitchen is the building on the left. |
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| Manioc drying on tarps. Shower room is the grass hut on the right. |
After that we walked the 10
minutes to the church building. They now have doors and windows which
they can close up. There were 3 men and 5 women besides us, the
guests.
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| Ndila and Benedicto approaching the chapel building. |
Luka led the service. We sang 2 songs and then Ndila taught
about the kind of offering God accepts. I could barely keep my eyes
open and had to keep fighting the drowsiness. It was lightly raining
as we walked back. Back at the house we hung around and talked and
waited. It got cold and then dark. Then I gave mzee Benedicto the
cell phone I had bought him and he thanked me. Then a lady came in
asking to see the Bibles I was selling. Then I was called to take my
bucket bath outside. At about 9:30 PM they brought us manioc ugali (the starch staple),
cooked cabbage and dagaa (small fish). After that we went to bed. I
was given a room by myself and James and Ndila were given the other
room adjacent to the sitting room. They had put a thin mattress on a
bamboo stick bed and 2 kitenge cloths for a bottom sheet. In the
corner of my room there was a round tube standing about 4 feet high,
made out of tree bark and stitched together. It was used as a storage
bin for sorghum grain.
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|
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| In the corner, a storage bin made from a tree bark stitched together. |
Before getting ready for bed I called Gina and
talked to her. She said that Michael had gotten red spots around his
mouth and on his hands and feet, but that they did not seem to hurt
him or irritate him too bad. I said good night to Gina and the kids
and then got in bed. I had a sweater cap, which I pulled over my
face. I heard some mosquitoes but I was mostly covered. I could hear
the noise of the ladies talking loudly and finishing up their supper
outside as I drifted off to sleep.
Sat. May 16, 2020 --
I woke up early, before dawn, to the
almost constant crowing of many roosters. As soon as there was light
there was activity, voices and clattering in the kitchen (a small hut
outside). I got up and prayed for a while before tidying up the room,
getting dressed and making my bed. Then someone came wanting to buy a
couple songbooks. After that I read my Bible and then we had a
breakfast of tea, chapatis and beans cooked in palm oil. We got ready
to go to the chapel. Amosi Amani showed up, having walked the 1.5
hours from Sigunga village. He and Luka had breakfast together and
then we all walked to the chapel together for the seminar. I taught
the first session from 10 – 11 AM on Church Growth Principles.
There were some questions at the end and then James Humbagije taught
on “Kupotea kwa mwanadamu mbali na Mungu” (“Man's lost state
away from God”). It was good. He talked about the fall and later
Zaccheus and how Jesus came to seek the lost. He ended with Jesus'
invitation for all who are weary, to come to him for rest.
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| James teaching on Saturday. |
Then I
taught another session on my topic form 12:30 – 1:30 PM. There were
some questions again. We closed our time and then I made the people
who needed reading glasses sit down in a row and try on the different
reading glasses I had brought for them. Benedicto, Amosi Amani,
Luka's father and one older lady got glasses.
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| Men attending the teaching on Saturday. |
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| Women attending the teaching. |
Then we walked back to
Benedicto's house. I lay down for a few minutes and soon it was time
for lunch. We had cooked green bananas in a tomato sauce and a ripe
banana for dessert. Then we said good-bye to Amosi Amani, who had to
walk back to Sigunga because he had to preach at Sigunga the
following day. We got back to the church around 4 PM and James taught
the first afternoon session on “Kukubaliwa na Mungu” (“Being
accepted/approved by God”). There were a couple questions at the
end of his teaching. Then I taught on Church Growth Principles and
finished up my narration of how the church grew in the book of Acts;
an exciting topic. There were a lot of questions by a young man named
Bonne Annee and also a young lady from a Pentecostal church. We went
until almost 7 PM. We walked back as it was getting dark conversing
along the way with that young lady and Ndila. Then we hung out in the
sitting area with Bonne Annee, taking turns for baths and talking
until the food came around 9 PM. It was corn ugali with a nice
chicken sauce. I ate and then called Gina. She told me that William
had had a fever all day and had red spots around his mouth, arms,
feet and bottom and had been very fussy all day. He would not eat but
only wanted to nurse and be held, and fuss and rest. She had given
him Tylenol multiple times already but it did not seem to help. I
felt so bad that Gina had to go through all that, with me gone but I
realized that this too was part of suffering for the sake of the
gospel and I needed to count it a privilege.
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| Luke's roommate. |
Sun. May 17, 2020 --
I woke up at 6:45 AM. I said my
prayers and then I tidied up my room. After that I read my Bible and
also read over my sermon notes. Ndila went to go teach the children
at Sunday School at around 8 AM. We had our breakfast of lemon grass
tea and 2 maandazis (local doughnut). Then I called Gina to see how
she was doing. She said last night was worse than the first night.
William's fever would not go down, even with the Tylenol, and he was
in a lot of pain. Now the spots almost covered his whole body. He had
cried a lot during the night. She was wondering if she should try and
have Dr. Meggie look at him. Soon after talking with Gina we walked
to the chapel to have the meeting. Luka led the service. During the
testimony time almost everyone called our a song to sing and some
gave a testimony afterward, most didn't. They sang a lot of songs in
Kirundi (a language), and some korasis (antiphonal repetitive
choruses) as well. They played a big drum.
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| With the believers on Sunday morning. Woman playing drum at top right. |
I preached on Ps. 84 about
longing for the house of the Lord. After the service I gave them an
exhortation to be unified and love each other and do the work of the
Lord. Then I gave them my box of gifts of used clothes and thanked
them for their hospitality. James Humbagije also encouraged them and
then Ndila took his turn thanking them. Then a lady and Benedicto got
and and thanked us for coming. After that one older man needed
glasses so I attended to him. Then we walked back to Benedicto's
house. I lay down on my bed and promptly fell asleep. I awoke to
voices talking in the living room. I got up and texted Gina asking
how William was doing. She said that his fever finally broke and that
they were going to have Dr. Meggie look at him. We had lunch and then
I texted her again and she said that Dr. Meggie had confirmed that it
was hand-foot-mouth disease, not measles. She warned that it was
quite contagious, especially for younger children, and that it was
viral so there is not much that you can do, except wait it out and
treat the symptoms. At around 3:30 PM we walked back to the church.
On the way we met two men and a lady needing reading glasses. We went
to the chapel and had them try them on until they found one that
“fit” their eyes. We started the seminar at 4 PM and I taught
until 6:20 PM. There were only a few questions at the end and then we
closed our time. One more man needed glasses so I got him a pair.
After lunch and the whole time I was teaching I could tell that my
tummy was not right. It felt bloated and tight. After we finished the
meeting I had a bout of diarrhea. I have been drinking their water
which they say comes from a spring so I don't know if it's from the
water or the food. We walked back, talking to Leonard, one of the
church members who said he is from Burundi. After getting to the
house I rested a bit and then wrote in my journal. Richard Emmanuel
called me and said that Nathan Rasmussen had called him and told him
about some Comorians who live in Zanzibar. He was wanting him to go
to them and try and reach them with the gospel. Richard was calling
me to see what I thought about it. I expressed a bit of concern
because of the lack of support he would have from his church and
other KLB churches. But when it sounded like he felt called and
wanted to go by faith, trusting God to provide I told him I would not
try and hinder him. Then I tried to encourage him in his faith and
told him I would be praying for him as he prepared to go. Afterward I
called Gina and talked with her for a while. William seems to be
quite a bit better. He was a bit fussy at supper and seemed a little
warm. Then I got called to bathe so I said good night to them. After
my bucket bath my tummy troubled me again so I had to visit the
outhouse again. Then we had supper and I went to bed soon after that.
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| With the fever gone, William gets a popsicle to soothe his sores. |
Mon. May 18, 2020 --
My alarm went off at 6:45 AM but I did
not get up until about 7:15 AM when mzee Benedicto called for us to
get up and get ready before the daladala comes. My stomach was
feeling much better. I got dressed and then went out to wash my face.
Then I spread out my things on my bed so that I could organize and
pack them for our trip home. While I was making a quick visit to the bathroom I heard the minibus coming and my
hosts were yelling for us to hurry up and get on before it left. They
went out to the road to stop it. James and Ndila and I all rushed to
pack up and our hosts helped grab our bags. We bargained over the
ticket price and our bags were packed into the back and we said
good-bye to the saints, got in and were off. There was standing room
only and it was pretty tight quarters with trying to stand, brace
ourselves by holding onto the side lip of the roof and bending over
because of the low roof. Fortunately the driver was going pretty fast
and the pain and discomfort lasted only about 75 minutes. Along the
way we stopped to pick up more people but it wasn't as crowded as the
last daladala we were on when we going to Kahwibiri. Finally we got
to the place where the lake covered the road. We got out and took off
our shoes and rolled up our pants and got onto the small boats that
took us over to the shallow water on the other side. We got out into
the shallow water and walked for about 1 km. through the 3 long
puddles until we got to the other side. We waited for the next
daladala for about 30 minutes. When it pulled up we loaded up and
those with seats got in. We were waiting for the conductor from the
first daladala because we had all paid him full fares to where we
were going and had no tickets to get on the next 2 daladalas. He
assured us that he was coming with us all the way to Kigoma town. We
waited for another 25 minutes before he finally came. He said he was
helping the driver remove a broken part from the daladala so that he
could take it to town to find a replacement. We got in and drove the
45 minutes to Ilagala. This time I was very uncomfortable. For the
first half of the time I had a severe neck cramp from bending over
and I was crammed between 2 ladies. Finally, the person behind me
shifted to the other side and I was able to shift into that space and
I was somewhat more comfortable and had a little more space. We
arrived at the ferry crossing and got out. I divided the small
“gunia” of corn which I had gotten as a gift. I gave half of it
to Jems Humbagije and said good-bye to him. He was going to walk home
from there to Kalinkungwe.
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| Crossing the first section of deep water. |
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| Everybody piles into the boats. |
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| It's a busy place. |
I washed my hands, put on my face mask and
waited in line to have my temperature checked for Coronavirus, before
buying my ticket and getting on the ferry. We crossed over and then
had to walk for almost 2 km. before getting to some more puddles and
the side river from the big Malagarasi river that had overflowed and
had washed over the road for a large area. We got on to a boat once
again and crossed over. On the other side I was able to get a seat
because a few people were not continuing on with us, having arrived.
The daladala was very hot as we waited about 30 minutes for the
driver to come. Soon we were on our way. I wore my face mask the
whole way on that last leg of the journey. Unfortunately Ndila was
not able to get a seat so he had to stand for most of the trip. The
trip took a full 1.5 hours. As people settled into the journey a
drowsiness came over most of the passengers. The man next to me was
carrying a toddler who fell asleep leaning on the backpack that I was
holding on my lap, and the man soon followed suit. I felt bad for a
pregnant lady who had been with us the whole way and had to walk that
whole way through water and over land. She finally was able to sit on
the spare tire by the door for the last leg of the journey. However I
could see her heaving into her kitenge and wiping her face clean from
the throwup. When we got close to town people began to disembark and
Ndila finally got to sit down. When we got to Mwandiga we had to stop
and get our temperature checked for Coronavirus. I texted Gina to
tell her we were almost there. We stopped at the “Zulu” stand and
got off. I said good-bye to Ndila and gave him the rest of the corn.
I saw our car coming and flagged Gina down. It was around 2 PM and I
hadn't eaten anything all day. She picked me up and we went home. I
was so glad to see my wife and be home. We ate a late lunch together.
I soon got to see Michael and his hand-foot-mouth disease spots, and
when William got up from his nap I got to see him. William certainly
got a worse case of it than Michael and he had a lot of nasty red
spots all around his mouth and by his nose, On his hands and feet and
a lot of new ones on his knees. He looked pretty miserable.
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| The two youngest, recovering from hand-foot-mouth disease. |
