Africa Mission Trip – Day 7 (Church Day)

Sunday, June 16, 2013 Happy Father’s Day to all the dads reading the blog. It has been a great day here in Arusha, Tanzania … not Father’s Day, but still a great day. It is very interesting to compare and contrast the different ministries we have experienced on this trip. A saying I learned a lot time ago is … “It’s not better. It’s not worse. It is just different.” I think some of our group has connected a little more here so far and some of our group connected a little more in Kenya and Kibera (of course that may be unfair to say since we have only been here in Tanzania a day and a half). The morning started early today to allow time to get to church for their 9:00 AM service. Breakfast was served at the Smith’s home starting at 7:00 AM. Can I just say that Mary Smith knows how to cook for a group? The fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls really hit the spot. It wasn’t Cinnabon, but it was pretty close. Our group is meeting in two different places separated by about four houses. I am fortunate enough to be staying at the Smith’s house so I got first shot at the breakfast. We left for church around 8:30 not knowing exactly what to expect at our first official church service in Africa. The church here has two different services on Sunday mornings. The 9:00 AM service is English speaking and is a much smaller crowd, but the ones that come love the experience of singing and listening to the preaching in English. That is one of the noticeable differences between Arusha and Nairobi. Many more people within the city of Nairobi spoke English (this was not true of Kibera, but the city as a whole). The 10:30 AM service is a Swahili service and it was packed out this morning. It is not Father’s Day in Tanzania but it was Family Day at the church. We were privileged to be able to take part in the service in several different ways. Both Waverly and Craig sang special music (solos). Stephanie, Chris and Brooke all shared testimonies. Our drama team presented the drama and did a great job … this time with music, but had to create new props because the original were left in Kenya. Again, a lesson on the importance of improvising. Sandy preached in the English speaking service and I was privileged to speak in the Swahili service (with an translator of course.) I actually had four or five phrases in Swahili I was going to attempt in the message, but after butchering my first couple attempts I decided I would stick to letting Vernon handle the Swahili. I did learn, “Bwana see-Fee-way”. That is not at all how to spell it, but that is how I pronounced it. It translates at “Praise the Lord.” The only Swahili word I was comfortable with was “Amen” which translates as “Amen.” Everyone that was involved in the service today did a GREAT job! Some were stepping out of their comfort zone but it was another step to a changed life. God is good. Before I forget to mention the Swahili service lasted a little over three hours. Yes I said three hours. And it wasn’t because of a long-winded preacher. The first service, English speaking, ended around 10:15 and the Swahili service started at 10:30. I did not even start preaching until after noon. The services here are typically longer than what we are used to in the States, but today was an extra special day. It was Family Day. A repeated phrase was, “Familia Boro … Inaanza na mimi” which means “A good family starts with me.” On top of the extra elements our team provided there were several skits and special songs presented by the Tanzanians. Even though we couldn’t understand their language there were a few that definitely still communicated important family principles. After church we had a Tanzanian style “potluck” dinner on the grounds. It wasn’t a potluck in the sense that everyone brought something; the church provided a meal and a drink for everyone. I would tell you what we had for lunch, but I have no idea. Vernon kept calling it monkey brains, which I know it wasn’t but since church wasn’t over until after 1:30 PM I would have probably eaten it even if it were monkey brains. I was reminded of another old mission trip saying … “Where you lead me Lord I will follow and what you feed me Lord I will swallow.” The lunch was actually very good. We had the privilege to spend some time sitting and eating with the members of the church. One of the things that stood out to me the most about this church was the amount of young men that are actively involved and excited about what God is doing here. Oftentimes it is hard to get young men heavily involved in ministry in the States, but it is almost unheard of in East Africa. Shortly after completing our lunch we were given a tour of the Olorien Medical Clinic. For those that attend North Park this will be very familiar to you. Our church has had a very strong commitment to this clinic since it was founded in 2009. We were the first to be able to see the brand new addition to the front of the property. I think it would be safe to say that we were all blown away by this facility and the impact it is making in this community. The doctor managing the clinic is Dr. Byemba. He is actually from the Congo but made his way to Tanzania some 16 years ago during a civil war time in their country. They walked across the bush for some four months before arriving here. He was medically trained and licensed in the Congo but was considered a refugee here in Tanzania and was not cleared to practice medicine. He joined the church here and through God’s providential guidance has been instrumental in every phase of this clinic. From where it has gone just four years ago to what it is today is nothing short of a miracle. The new wing to the clinic has a great registration area and waiting area where they provide copies of the book of Romans for people to read. There is also a new laboratory with a brand new blood analyzer used primarily to check for Malaria but also for HIV. Malaria is the number one killer in the world and is one of the most common diagnoses from the clinic. When a person is diagnosed with malaria they are able to leave the clinic that day with the medicine they need to get better. We were also told that on average probably four new people are diagnosed on a weekly basis with HIV. In this new wing is also an x-ray room. There is still a little work that needs to be completed on the x-ray machine but when it is working (hopefully this summer) it will be only the second facility in Arusha (city of approximately one million) to have a working x-ray machine. There is also an immunization center that provides all kinds of immunizations on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The upper room of the new building is empty right now but there are several different options being considered for how to utilize this space to serve the community. We also got to walk through the older buildings (that are only four years old) which includes ultrasound equipment, dental equipment and even a surgical room. It is truly amazing what North Park’s investment in this project is accomplishing. The next great need for this facility will be a new well so they can provide their own water. Would you make that a matter of prayer? After our tour of the medical clinic we made it back to the house to rest for a while. We were anticipating another group that was traveling down from Kenya that would also be ministering here in Tanzania the next several days. We met this group for dinner at 6:00 PM at a place called Khan’s Barbeque. It is a restaurant in downtown Arusha that literally doubles as an auto parts store during the day and a restaurant at night. They cooked the food right off the sidewalk and our tables were set up on the sidewalk across the street. The street’s name is Mosque Street since there are three different mosques on the street … yes there is a larger Islamic population here than Nairobi. Dinner was great. One person said they had never had such good chicken and lugnuts. After dinner we made it back to the Smith’s house were we had a short meeting to reflect on the day and discuss the upcoming schedule. As I have said before this is one of my favorite times to sit and listen to how God is working in our group’s lives. Please continue to pray for us that God would show Himself and continue to change lives. In the morning we leave early again, but this time it is on safari. Tomorrow is our only full “fun day” of the trip. We leave out at 6:30 AM to head toward the Ngorongoro Crater. We will be spending the night three tomorrow as well. We are all excited to take the day off to experience a part of God’s creation that we may never get to experience again. And yes, for those curious, I am planning on picking up my Massai spear on the way so I can bring back a lion with me to America. No guarantees on the blog for tomorrow. I think there will be Internet access but I am not for sure. Please keep us in your prayers. Until tomorrow (I hope) …