Luchelele

Rural territories-maeneo yaliyo mbali

Even here working the same territory over & over again can get tiring. Especially if the areas have been continually worked for years. The brother who headed it up basically said he's been preaching all his life & he's worked the same territories every week, every month, every year since he started. It's always good to switch it up.

So a small group set out to work a rural territory called Luchelele.  Getting there meant a daladala halfway & then a pikipiki the rest of the way in. The response was half & half. Many didn't know who Witnesses were & many were receptive while some had very strong views about their religion. We had one family who knew Kisukuma & I showed them the Why Study the Bible? video. The one Bibi loved it! Smiled the entire time. Then the brother we worked with got some amazing return visits. Genuine. Had so many questions & so much time we could've sat for hours. Many were shocked the questions they had could al be easily explained from the Bible. Since many didn't have a Bible they were delighted to be shown. It was a great day & can't wait to come back & do it again. 

Caleb & Sofia videos 

Spider anyone? 

Just one of those things

The second phase of homesickness has set in. Which is ironic because I only have less than a month before I leave. But I'm passing the 8th month & I've never experienced anything like this while being here. The irritableness, being done with hearing the cat calls of being called Mzungu, being harassed on the daladala, walking up our long hill after a long day walking in service, not just being able to jump into an airconditioned car & being dropped off at the door. But no matter how you feel or how long you deal with these feelings, Jehovah is always there. He always has your hand even though you may not see it as quickly as you want, its not according to your time. I had always thought of this as a job, we have a job to preach & at a job you need to make sacrifices. But it wasnt until yesterday, when it hit me how much it is my job. Pathetic I know. But then I thought about it more. How many days do you work? Normal people is Monday-Friday, 5 days. What do you have to deal with? Annoying customers, rude co-workers, hard core boss. Any job you do, whether hard physical work or work that just kills the brain mentally, you get exhausted in one way or another & at times you just get sick of it. 
Yes with our work we get tired, maybe disheartened. My return visit wasn't home again today, that householder really screamed me off his porch. If you are in a foreign language field you know the frustration of driving hours & miles to different studie's houses & them not be home or the exhaustion from canvassing & not finding one person who speaks Swahili. Stick with it. Because Jehovah will always always give you something to bless if you keep enduring. Always find something every day to be happy about. Today we were super tired, we were doing door to door in a new territory. You hardly ever meet anyone with opposition here. Every door people are welcoming & will talk & talk. Time goes slow here so it just felt like I had walked all day & it was only a few hours. We finish up the territory, start heading out, not really sure what road would lead us back but we just picked one & started walking. Decided to do one last house before we headed out. A young girl was in the yard hanging up laundry. We approached her & she didn't respond to us. She was deaf. We started using the only sign language that we learned. Its nice because sign language is so simple its easy to learn & understand. Then I talked to her parents. They were excited that we could communicate with their daughter. They get across what they can tell eachother but thats the extent of the communication. So we asked permission to study with the girl in TSL (Tanzanian Sign Language) & offered to teach the mom as well so that she could communicate with her daughter. What are the chances? I love it!! I love the unexpected turns where you can see Jehovah's hand. Yes you always have ups & downs & needgreating isn't for the faint of heart. Not everyone can do it & that's okay. There's plenty of work to do in Jehovah's organization. But I wouldn't of given this experience up for anything. 

Memorial & Special Talk

I didn't think I would be here for the Memorial of Christ's death but I was. I was so glad I was able to be part of this amazing expirience also. It was amazing. We had an attendance of 178 out of a congregation of about 50 publishers. The guy who works at the hotel by our house, Paulo, that we started a study with but gave to a brother attended. He asked someone else to take his shift so that he could attend. Then we had 9 students from our Kipindi cha Dini come. 7 of which weren't Witnesses & don't attend meetings. 

 

Of course the work of inviting people still wasn’t over, we had time to invite everyone to the special talk, “Are You on the Road Leading to Everlasting Life?” One day while going to visit a study who wasn’t home we met a few women who all invited us to sit. Then a few men joined us. They were asking us questions about our religion. If there was separate rooms for men, women, & children. We explained how everyone learns the Bible together because God desires that everyone be saved & we showed them the video, “What Happens at a Kingdom Hall?” to explain more about our program & what to expect. Then they asked what language is it in? Swahili of course but if others desired Sukuma (one of the local tribes) or Tanzanian Sign Language they could be found in other parts of Mwanza. One of the young men then asked what if someone who doesn’t know Swahili or Kisukuma but knows Kihaya only, how would they study the Bible. We told them about our website & how many languages it is availiable in & then downloaded & showed him. “What Happens at a Bible Study?” in…yep, you guessed it…Kihaya! He smiled from ear to ear. Then we told him if he comes to the talk on Sunday, he can meet one of our brothers, an elder in our congregation who speaks Kihaya & he would be more than happy to meet him & study with him in Kihaya. Of course a lot get excited about Wazungu speaking Swahili & may say they will come to the Kingdom Hall but never do. This guy though, showed up to the Kingdom Hall for the special talk, sat by the Kihaya family unknowingly while the Kihaya was presenting the talk, the wife of the brother took a second look at him she noticed right away that he was Mhaya, he looked exactly like her husband. This guy was amazing also, he followed along in his Bible, took notes, tried to sing the songs, even commented towards the end of the WT, “I’ve decided to serve Jehovah.” After the meeting he met his future Bible teacher & informed him he wants to study twice a week. 

“I have written to you in few words in order to encourage you and to give an earnest witness that this is the true undeserved kindness of God. Stand firm in it.”  ~ 1 Peter 5:12

Top picture is the Mhaya man we found in the ministry watching the video, "What Happens at a Kingdom Hall?" in Swahili

Bottom picture he is watching, "What Happens at a Bible Study?" in his language Kihaya. 

Him standing with his future Bible teacher also Mhaya brother

6 months....Really?!?

Yes I am reflecting back in this post....so bear with me. My 6 month anniversary has passed, and I am taking this time to be reminded of my past & the amazement that I am actually here in TZ right now. For those who knew me before, I grew up afraid of everything. I was raised in the same house, small town, same congregation for 17 years. I never wanted to leave my house. The time came for a change, a refresh for both my family & I. We started learning Swahili & attended a Swahili group aimed towards helping refugees or those who had come to America from Africa to teach them the Bible in their own language-the language of the heart. Being in the group & learning Swahili for 3 years made my confidence grow & helped me to change. Of course also having to preach in the most roughest areas of downtown where the poor refugees were sent also might of had a bearing on that as well. I never had the desire to come to Africa. I seriously laughed when people told me I would go to Africa one day. But, one day, I started thinking about it more & the desire became stronger & stronger. The whole arrangement was quick too. It was like Jehovah didn't even give me the chance to really think or reflect about it. Probably because he knew if I did I would back out. It went like this, I got the desire, sent out the message that I wanted to go to Africa, preferably TZ. Because this organization is amazing, I knew I would get a response & I got 3 offers. I prayed continually about them, what was best decision. Months later my ticket was bought, plans were made & I was going to Mwanza, TZ. This all happened within one year of even starting to get this desire. My plan wasn't long. I really didn't think I would last even two weeks. In my mind I hoped I would at least last 1 month-enough of an experience. As I arrived, many things were new to me. But I wasn't in culture shock. I was more amazed at the beauty of Mwanza. We got settled in & then the hard work began...walking to the local market to buy food, walking back carrying all the groceries, cleaning everything super well. Walking 20 mins to the KH & walking back. Normally does no use doing your makeup or hair because by the time you get there you are a sweaty mess anyways. Taking sometimes 2 daladalas to get to our territory & then walking another 30 mins or more to get to the first call. This is just a regular week for us.The fields are definitely ripe for harvesting. There are some who have no clue who Jehovah's Witnesses are. Amazed when they see his name in the Bible. Encouraged by seeing us, not getting paid anything & spending the time teaching them. You learn so many things about yourself. Strengths, weaknesses. It's actually a scary thought, but you wake up every morning saying I wonder what Jehovah will teach me today. You learn to rely on Jehovah like never before & develop truly the fruitages of the spirit. None of this wouldv'e been possible without Jehovah. Without him & his organization, I wouldn't of had the opportunity to join Swahili, to move to TZ, to survive & absolutely love it. Don't let your fears stop you from doing anything. In this organization anything is possible even if you think it isn't, with Jehovah's help you can do anything. This trip has also helped me to see the importance of not staying in one place for too long. The world is big & the need is great everywhere. All it started for me was a step. Just go step by step if you are afraid to jump in. Write to the branch, ask where the need is great in your area if you can't move to a foreign country at the moment. Have the send me attitude. Or visit foreign language groups around you, find which one needs more help. It helps when you fall in love with the people & the language. Find something that speaks to your heart. If I can do it...anyone can do it.

Pictures of Hello...it's me blog

How you know you have hospitality...

Let's do this....heading to go preach 

A look into the many rock formations of our territory 

I had to post....

Getting used to carrying our groceries like this...

Kids love Caleb & Sofia videos

Oh what adventures await us...

My little brother helping Latipha to find scriptures

When did you get here??

Hello....it's me

I apologize for being lost for awhile. Many things going on that I couldn't find the time to blog. Where should we start.... During the silence, we have had C.O. visit, roomates come & go, and many guests. Our little humble abode was quite packed. We will start with the visit of our Circuit Overseer. It was our first time experiencing the C.O. visit in this congregation & I loved it! The hospitality was amazing. It wasn't just one family feeding just the C.O. & his wife. It wasn't about show. It was the famillies who had close to nothing, giving all they could & hosted the C.O, his wife, & whoever also came out in service that day in their homes. Even if that meant food served outside, and bros & sis spread throughout the rooms of the house & outside. Which made the meeting for field service interesting. The C.O. tried to find a central area that everyone could hear him. Normally the foods consisted of rice, beans, meat, a little ugali, kisamvu (cassava leaves) & for dessert a soda. Which soda here is for special occasions. They do not get one often which seems shocking especially when you consider that a 500 ml of coke is 500 shillings = $ 0.23 USD. We were given Saturday as our day to host the C.O & his wife & anyone who went out in service that day which was close to the entire congregation. We didn't have enough plates to feed everyone, so we borrowed plates from a sister who generously let us borrow them. There were some like kids who had to share a plate, they didn't mind. Of course everyone got a soda. All in all we had about 35 people in our house that day. We were so tired after cleaning up & doing dishes. But it is a joy like nothing else in this world. The joy of hospitality (ukarimu).

The same week of our C.O. visit, I also had a friend from the states visit. She was here for a week & we had a blast. A lot crammed into that week. With going in service with the C.O. & then taking my friend around town & showing her my Mwanza. Super intense but a lot of fun. I also was talked into riding my first pikipiki (motorcycle). But unfortunately while riding I got the need for speed & wanted to go faster. It's an addiction, once I felt that feeling, I never want to go back. It's a bummer because it isn't the safest transport, but don't tell my parents that :)

Out with the old & in with the new.

My friend left early morning the same day that we were expecting our new roomates that night. We got the clever idea to ride a daladala at night to the airport, to save $. Ha! It was already dark, we got on a daladala that said they were going all the way to the airport but once we got on the guy said they were stopping at the stop before the airport but that he could go all the way to the airport. Honestly I think they just wanted us on for the ride. They were being complete troublemakers & when we actually stopped in town we realized that what we rode was like a produce bus bringing produce to the different markets in town. Their night express. So we just had a funny feeling & I think the konda knew also & told us to get off & get on another daladala when we got to town. So we did finally make it to the airport. Our new roomates came & we were off & running trying to help them out before we left for our visa exits. Our old roomates were still in the house-yes, thats right. 8 girls in 1 house for 10 days, 5 sharing 1 bathroom. No comment but one word...endurance. But we survived. The old roomates left. It was bittersweet, they were our roomates for 6 months. We became like a family in many ways. But change can also be healthy.

School is starting again which means Kipindi cha Dini is back on. We accepted a different Kipindi than before. Now we are teaching more middle school/high schoolers. Its nice because they are at a vital age & you feel like you can help them & whatever you do can have a positive effect on them. But it also requires humility because they aren't like little kids who will just let your broken Swahili pass by. Noooo. These kids will completely look at you blank & be like what do you mean? Or just laugh...silly Mzungu. It was funny though today we were talking about friends, & choosing your friends wisely. One student was giving an example about how it isn't always important to have a lot of friends but what is important is having those friends with good qualities. But the way he illustrated it was by saying you can have a group of chickens who behave badly & one chicken who behaves good. Who is going to appeal to you more? Who are you going to want to take care of more? I'm like are you comparing your friends to chickens or are you just saying that your friends are chickens. The whole class laughed. It's fun to joke with them though because they joke back. Then we sang song 75 & had a group of boys & group of girls & had a competition of who could sing better. Then we had the girls sing one line while the boys followed them with the next & then everyone sang the chorus together. Of course the girls sang better than the guys. Just saying ;)

Updates on studies : Paulo, the one who we happened to pass by & start a study with at the hotel by our house is now studying regularly with a brother. Still asks many deep questions & does research in the Bible himself. He will read the Good News brochure, look up the scriptures, then use the index to find the other scriptures that go alone with that scripture. Latipha, is progressive even though she has now started working & can sometimes work all night will still sit & study an entire lesson of the Good News brochure & understands completely. I just got a new 12 year old girl named Jaqueline. Like I've said before, "coincidences" are just a little scary sometimes. So I first met this girl while sitting on the road waiting for my service partner. She stuck out to me because she looked sad & she has some kind of disease with her body, like her growth, kinda deformed. So I showed her a track & she sat & read with me & just sat with me until my service partner came & we left. Then every Thursday we normally pass her house on the way out of the territory. She always finds me & shouts my name & I never talk with her a long time because its always getting dark by the time we leave & we need to get home. One day it was a really long day but I still remembered I had her left to visit. So I prayed, if she was someone that Jehovah was drawing, have her be waiting on the road. On the way starting up the long cobblestone path out of our territory. I hear a voice call my name. There she was, standing in a small dirt alley between two broken down concrete houses. So I followed her to her house, realized after talking to her for a while that her parents had both died, and she was left to the care of her elderly grandmother, a crippled bibi who was sitting on the ground outside as we entered. I set up a plan with Jaqueline & when I could return. Now being back for good I have time to spend time with her.

"Let's just stop by"

So close to our house is a hotel/restaurant. We always pass through on the way to service & when we come home. We've come to know many of the waitresses & workers there just by passing through. There's been one who we bumped into in town one day & she helped us a lot. So today we were like let's stop by today, see if she is working & offer her a study. Well we stopped by, she was there & bought us some sodas & we sat & talked for awhile. Then the bartender came in to give the ticket & he walked into the room & his mouth dropped wide open. I was like mbona unashangaa? (Why are you surprised?) ️He said I heard you guys speaking Swahili but I was surprised to walk in & see Wazungu speaking. So we told him why we were here & he's like what if I want to learn the Bible but don't have time? So my friend with me asked him "Do you have 5 mins?" He said yes. So she got out the Habari Njema brochure & gave 2 other copies to the other two girls sitting there & we discussed the first lesson first paragraph. After we were done we invited them to the Kingdom Hall, and showed the video

"What happens at the Kingdom Hall?" We told them when they see us pass through & they have time they can always call out to us & we will take a few mins to study. It's always amazing the little "coincidences" that happen, proves that Jehovah & his angels are taking the lead in this preaching work. Helping us find the honest hearted ones who are thirsting for Bible knowledge.