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Nordmarkskapellet, outside



Nordmarkskapellet, inside



Brigitte and Edwin ringing the church bell



In front of Nordmarkskapellet

If anybody is still reading this, I'm home! When I woke up this morning I was really confused as to where I was!

I had a great weekend at Nordmarkskapellet. Friday night I drove up to the chapel with two friends, Børge and Sigrun. Driving access is very limited in the woods, but Børge has a permit since he's in charge of the chapel. The car was loaded down with our stuff plus waffle-makings for 300 people! The chapel has rooms for overnighting, so we stayed the weekend there. Saturday I spent the morning helping Sigrun make centerpieces for anniversary celebration, and then spent the afternoon x-country skiing in the magical Norwegian woods. Along the way I met my dear Dutch friend Brigitte and her husband Edwin, who were hiking in since Edwin doesn't know how to ski. We had a great time catching up sitting by the fireplace in the chapel. Sunday was the big 75th anniversary celebration. The service started at noon, and the former Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, preached. At least 200 people skiied in Sunday morning for the celebration. After the service there were waffles with brown goat cheese and jam for everyone, and then a program and video of the chapel. During the program Børge interviewed Brigitte and I since we had come the farthest for the anniversary!

Happy Valentines' Day!

Over breakfast yesterday morning we remembered that it was V-Day, so Sissel lit two pink candles to set the mood :) It isn't really celebrated here, but in recent years stationary stores, post office, flower shops etc. have realized it is another way to make money, so are trying to make it into something. It was clear and sunny, which just makes everything better, and so I put on my 50 layers of clothing and my sunglasses and headed out to my favorite place in Oslo, Vigelandsparken. It is a huge statue park designed by a Norwegian named Gustav Vigeland. The statues all show human relationships and the aging process. I've been there so many times in the cumulative 9 months I've lived here, that all the statues seem like friends. I ate lunch on the stairs of the monolith, enjoying the sunshine.

I walked back to town and did some shopping. At a used clothing store I bought a sweet little girl's bunad (Norwegian costume) for $30. This is the best bargain I've seen in Oslo so far, where my hot coco at a cafe the other day cost $6! I'm hoping it will fit Anya for Norwegian independence day in May. I met Sissel in town for another $6 coco down by the water, overlooking the harbor and Akershus fortress.

I had dinner at the home of some Danish/German/Norwegian friends named Martin and Maria. I met them also when I was studying here, but saw them last 3 or 4 years ago in Portland when they were studying in California. Now they have a darling baby boy named William. We had a wonderful evening together talking about a million different subjects, but a lot about Norwegian politics and culture and the changes that I noticed have taken place over the last 10 years. Oslo now has a 25 percent foreign popluation. You can hear just about every possible language on a walk down the street. I even heard Swahili once! I bet the African immigrants hate the cold. They (Martin the scientist) also told me how baby William has a better chance of marrying one of the three Norwegian princess babies than winning the lottery due to the small population of Norway (4 mill)! I didn't leave until 10:30 pm, and was a bit apprehensive about walking back to Sissel's flat so late, but even at 11 pm on Thursday the streets were full of people, mostly going between bars and cafes. Oh, BTW, I found out why there is so much outdoor seating now - Sissel told me the after the indoor smoking ban was passed into law these places sprung up overnight!

Today I play tourist some more, and this evening will head to the beautiful Norwegian woods for some skiing and fellowship and the 75th anniversary of "Nordmarkskapellet" (the Chapel in the North Woods) on Sunday. The sun is shining again, so I'd better get out there!

BRRRRRR.....

I'm in Oslo! I had a good trip back to Dar and got to spend some time with a few friends that evening. I went to bed at 2:30 am after finishing packing and was up again at 5:30 am to go to the airport. Typical Tanzania, the taxi ran out of gas just short of the airport. Taxis usually run on empty, and occassionally the driver will ask for prepayment so he can get gas before taking you to your destination! Anyway, after waiting 20 minutes for him to come back with gas, I left $10 equivalent in the ash tray and flagged another taxi so I didn't miss my flight! And I managed to say goodbye to everyone w/o crying :)

I spent the night on some chairs in London-Heathrow which ended up being fine with my earplugs and eyemask, and then caught an early morning flight to Oslo. Today was cold, foggy and dark in Oslo. Everyone wears black, which is so different from colorful Tanzania. I am staying with my Norwegian friend Sissel in her cute little flat. We met in '97 when I was an exchange student here, and I haven't seen her in about 8 years. After settling in, I met an American friend Luther who I also haven't seen for about 8 years. We went out for coffee at a cute little cafe, then walked around a little while and then got dinner. Despite the cold, many people are outside downtown. The main shopping street is for peds only, and there is an outdoor ice skating ring in the middle of town. There are lots of sidewalk cafes with outdoor seating - they provide blankets for customers, and sometimes heat lamps too. After dark, many open galleries and cafes put little torches outside, making points of light down the dark streets. But I'm glad to be in Sissel's cozy flat now instead of outside!

African Camping Rocks!

Playing in the river.

Nashesha and Erik, zebras in the background.

Kari in front of smoking Ol Doniyo Lengai (means Mountain of God in the Maasai language).

My head is so full of all the amazing scenery, people, animals and crazy things I've seen this weekend! I went camping with Uncle Erik, Erik Mdogo, Nashesha, and two neighbor boys Hamisi and Dina. We had such an amazing time! On the drive out we saw elephants, zebra and giraffe. Nothing is cooler than an elephant crossing the road in front of you! :) We camped by a dry riverbed in view of the smoking volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in a huge Ngorongoro-esque field full of wildebeest, zebra, impala and ostriches. There was a huge thunder/lightning/rainstorm that night, and water entered under Shesha's and my tent and we got absolutely soaked. Fortunately it wasn't cold, so we were able to sleep in a puddle!

In the morning, after we line dried all our stuff, we headed out for another campsite, by a shallow river in a beautiful gorge. After we unpacked we hiked along the river until we reached an amazing waterfall that we could walk through. On the other side was a passage where the rocks overhead didn't quite touch and smaller waterfalls came down. It was one of the coolest places I've ever been, and we played there for hours. Sunday we hiked/scrambled along the river again, all the way to its source which was a huge rock wall where water shot out of about 50 places. The scenery was unbelievable, I wish you all could have seen it because I know pictures won't do it justice! Tomorrow I take the bus to Dar and I fly out the next morning. I will try to blog from Norway...

PM resigns

It seems there is always a lot of big stuff going on here. Last Thursday my friend Daniel's father died. Yesterday my friend Paul was hit by a car (he's ok). Today the Prime Minister resigned after being caught in a scandal. He is the first PM to ever resign, so it is a big deal, and good for the country to see that corruption doesn't always pay. Here's a link to an article if you are interested: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7232141.stm You can also google Tanzania+Lowassa.

Aunt Bernice and I had a nice lunch today at an Ethiopian restaurant with Boyz 2 Men playing in the background and a parrot yelling who knows what in the corner. Bernice has to travel for work (World Vision) today, so she can't go camping with us, so I was glad to have some time to spend with her before she leaves this afternoon.


The first time I have seen Mt. Menu with snow! From Erik's yard.

Bernice's parents (they went home earlier this week). Babu is doing ok.

On Vacation

Now I'm really on vacation at my aunt and uncle's house in Arusha, sleeping in, reading, plenty of internet time and I even took an afternoon nap! Yesterday I went to observe a session of the UN Rwanda War Tribunal. It has been going on for about 10 years and I always wanted to go see it while I lived here, but was always in Arusha over various holidays, and so it was not in session. I sat in on a session in which the nanny of a political figure was interviewed. It was really tedious as they would ask a simple question like "where were you when you heard that the president was killed?" She was questioned in english, and then it was interpreted into french (for some of the judges) and into whatever language she was speaking. She was 16 at the time of the genocide, and probably had no education, so a number of times she said she didn't understand the question, and lawyer would have to start all over. Although it was very interesting in general, one hour to observe was plenty!

Friday we are going camping, Monday I take the bus back to Dar, and Tuesday I fly to Norway for a few days before coming home. The Norway trip is proving more expensive and logistically difficult than I had initially hoped, but I'm sure it will be great. God willing, and provided I don't freeze to death in Oslo, I'll be flying home on the 18th!

Maasae Girls' School

Erik Mdogo driving four on "a bicycle built for two". I could only manage to pedal with three!

Nashesha in front of the chapel of the Maasae Girls' School.

On Saturday Nashesha and I went to spend the night with missionary friends from Bellevue, Marv and Jean. They are teachers at the Maasae Girls' School, a boarding school for girls from the traditionally nomadic Maasai tribe. When the school began (10 yrs ago or so), there were only 24 Maasai girls in secondary school in the whole country! It was a fun adventure for Nashesha and I to do together. In the morning we worshipped together with the girls in their outdoor chapel, the roof of which is shaped like a Maasai shield. The pastor is a Maasai who graduated from the school and has now returned as chaplain.

On the way back we stopped for lunch at the "Snake Park", sort of a hotel/restaurant/zoo in one. It was feeding time for the snakes so we got to watch various snakes eating live chicks whole!! We returned to Arusha late Sunday evening, and spent the rest of the day dancing, riding bikes, and watching part of Charlotte's Web on Shesha's DVD player that we plugged in outside.

Pictures!

My beautiful cousin, Nashesha

Michelle (Misha) with her Kizanaki group, working on grammar

Moses and Moses

Stanley sporting his new t-shirt, thank you Liz

Victor (in new shirt), Kari, Paul, Jacob

One of Jacob's 17 siblings!

Me with Jacob's sister Rahabu

Me with Victor's sisters Neema, Esta and Elisifa

God speaks your language

I'm glad to see the Arusha post up since the computer said it failed to load. Anyway...lots of traveling the last few days! The morning after arriving in Arusha I flew to Mwanza on the southern tip of Lake Victoria, and then took a 4-hr bus ride to Musoma, on the eastern side of the lake. It was fun to go somewhere new, since so far I've been in "familiar territory". The highlight was driving for a while along the edge of the Serengetti. In Musoma I stayed two nights at a beautiful Catholic guest house right on the edge of Lake Victoria. I spent Thursday sitting in on a Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL workshop. The Musoma cluster is working on Bible translation in 9 local languages simultaneously. One of the translators (Michelle) is a gal from Olympia, WA who knows Greg and the Caldwells because her sister was a Ballard Young Life leader!

The workshop was specifically for 4 of the language groups. They have just begun with these languages, starting with creating an alphabet since none of these languages were previously written. Now they are working on creating a dictionary and figuring out the grammar. They are working in small groups, with 4-5 speakers of the language (often pastors or evangelists), with one Wycliffe member. Bible translation will start later this year, or early next year. It is fascinating work on the whole, but it was hard for me to stay awake listening to people discuss grammar ALL DAY! :) Now I'm heading back to Arusha, so another half day of travel...I will be glad to stay there for the week!

Arusha

Today took the 9 hour bus ride to Arusha. Sat next to an American backpacker guy, so the time passed quickly between talking to him and reading. I finished a biography on Hudson Taylor and read half of "it's my turn" by Ruth Bell Graham. Now I am at Erik, Bernice and Nashesha's house (uncle, aunt, cousin). It is soooo great to be here. Shesha (9 yrs) was so excited to see me. She has grown so tall!! We played Barbies all evening and she showed me her french homework. She loves school. Steve Friberg was here tonight (family friend), so it was great to see him although I don't think I'll get to see the rest of fam. Also Bernice's parents are here tonight - B's dad has been having heart problems so came to Arusha from the village to get treatment. Tomorrow early I fly to Musoma to visit a Wycliffe Bible translation site for two days so I will try to write more and download pics when I get back.

No Hurry In Tanzania

Still in Dar, visiting people. I will be glad to head to Arusha on Tues - this city is huge and everyone is spread out all over the place. Traffic is bad and weather is hot! Friday I had lunch with my German friend Susi. We met when she came thru my language school as a student. She works for SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators and is now (6 yrs later) the head of all language survey in Tanzania and Uganda. She gave me a tour of the headquarters and we ate hamburgers at a nice restaurant. Even though it had only been a week, it was still a little funny to be hanging out with wazungu (white people) and speaking English. It was great to hear about her work.

Friday night was the rescheduled dinner for friends here. It ended up being 13 of us! We arranged to meet at 7 pm. I arrived at 7:45 pm. I think the last people arrived around 8:30 pm. Time is very "flexible" here :) I'm so proud of my friends. Some are still studying, but others have good jobs as civil engineers, loan officers, bank branch managers, university teachers etc.

Saturday enjoyed the beach and today went to church and lunch with an American couple who work for Young Life here. They work in an international school and have their first club on Friday. There are also some Tanzanian staff here who work in the govt schools. It was fun to hear more about YL here since it didn't start until after I left. Hugs to all!

Roller Coaster

Space Mountain has nothing on my life in Tanzania! The last two days have been a total emotional roller coaster. Tuesday I spent most of the day visiting people in the nearby village, Maili Tatu. I love these friends so much, but they have nothing, so with each visit comes a request for help (mostly with school fees). As you may know, my generosity sometimes extends beyond my means and I often feel others' problems as my own, so the day was exhausting. I simply cannot look a friend in the face and refuse to help. I was also very disappointed that so many people in the village have had children out of wedlock since I left. It just makes life even harder for them with another mouth to feed and another mind to educate.

One low point was when I stepped into a river of siafu (biting ants). By the time I noticed, my feet were covered with them! I removed my tevas with record speed and ran screaming barefoot down the path! And suddenly I felt like everything was too much - constant dirt and sweat, insect attacks, and the burden of poverty.

Wednesday night I arrived in Dar and after a short period of time found myself in the middle of a soap opera to rival Days. One of the hardest things for me about Tanzania is the way people tend to hide the truth to save face. I found out that a close friend was deceiving me, and caught him in the middle of the lie. He then was forced to tell the truth, which was pretty bad. We talked for a long time and finally I asked him where he was with God. He replied "far away". He then told me that he has watched the example of his brother, a born-again Christian whom he lives with, and that he wants to turn his life around but isn't strong enough. I immediately thought of last Sunday's sermon about the Lord being our strength and was able to share with him that none of us, his brother included, have any strength on our own, but God alone gives us strength. I shared some verses with him, and he asked if I would give him a Bible (bought one today in town). I asked him if he wanted to pray, and he did. I left the room for about 5 or 10 minutes so we could each spend time alone confessing, and then we prayed together. It was powerful and we were both crying at different points. Please pray that this friend would feel God's presence and God would give him the strength to withstand temptation and turn his life around.

Patience

Up until yesterday I did a really good job of not being tasky or in a hurry. But yesterday I had all sorts of plans in mind for the day when one of the Sisters from the orphanage came unexpectedly to the school to see me. She really wanted me to meet her nephew Stanley who I have been helping in school. I didn't want to go because I already had plans and knew this visit would likely take at least half the day. But it was obviously very important to her since she came so far without knowing if I would even be here. So after walking, taking a bus, taking a taxi, going in a private car and then hiking up a mtn, we arrived. I was trying very hard not to be irritated, but I was anyway. But when we reached the house I relaxed, because it was such a beautiful area, in the foothills of the mtns with a stream running by the house and a cool breeze. Also because Stanley and his family were soooo happy to meet me. We ate lunch, but Stanley was so happy he said he couldn't even eat. He was such a polite, handsome young man and told me about how much he enjoys studying, esp. science. He walks at least 5 miles to school and then back again, up the mtn. We Amercians take education for granted. Here it is an incredible privilege and young people do whatever it takes to get it if they can.

I haven't figured out how to download pics yet, but hopefully will soon!

I'm here!

Victor was kind enough to come to the Dar es Salaam airport AGAIN to meet me Friday morning. He dropped me at his auntie's house since I didn't know where the Wycliffe guest house was, where I had planned to stay Thursday night. The Wycliffe driver had come the day before, and I didn't know how to reach him. (For those of you who were surprised at my lack of planning for this trip, now you can see why I didn't bother!) But it was nice to see his aunties again, and it was a more "authenic" experience anyway, eating ugali with my hands on the porch and taking a candlelight bucket shower (loving my haircut!)

After Victor and another friend, Paul, got off work we took a 3 hour bus ride to Morogoro, where I used to live. I am shocked to see that prices have increased dramatically since I left, due to the cost of oil. Transportation costs are about 100% higher after just 4 years. Paul's brother Upendo met us in town for a late dinner when we arrived at 10 pm. Upendo just took over the language school where I used to work, so I was able to hear all the news of the school and people there since I left. Then we returned to the school where Upendo had arranged a room for me.

Since Paul and Victor had to return to Dar Sunday night, we had to pack a lot into the weekend. Saturday morning we had chai at Victor's mom's house in the nearby village. I was delighted to see his three little sisters again (ages 15, 12, and 4). The youngest was born shortly before I left, and I was asked to name her. She was a little shy at first, but warmed up quickly. We took the three girls to town to buy new school uniforms, but picked up two more little boys (both named Moses, age 7) on the way when we visited Victor's fiance Ester and baby. Moses is Ester's nephew and he totally remembered me, although he was only 3 when I left. We visited for about 20 min. and he started crying when I rose to leave! So I asked his mom if we could take him to town too, and the other Moses (his cousin) came along as a bonus. Moses' mom Dina was obviously sick, and when I asked her about it she said she didn't have any money to go to the doctor. I gave her $5, hating how complacent I have become living in America and no longer weighing my purchases against what that money could do here.

After buying new uniforms for the kids, eating lunch, and buying sacks of flour, rice and beans for the two families, we dropped the kids at home and went to the nearby orphange which I used to visit weekly. It was fun to see the nuns I knew, as well as the older children who were still there. My favorite, Bebi, lives with her grandma now, so I was disappointed not to see her.

Sunday morning it poured rain. It cooled things off for a bit, which was nice (it is 90 degrees, 95% humidity here). It was raining so loud on the tin roof I could hardly hear the pastor as he preached about the joy of the Lord being our strength. After church Paul, Victor and I went out to our friend Jacob's village to see his family. It was a 20 minutes bus ride followed by a 20 minute walk on a path in the hot sun to reach the village. Victor made me laugh when he broke off a large tree branch and held it over his head for shade. He looked like the little kid from The Gods Must Be Crazy.

Jacob is from the Maasai tribe. His father has 4 wives and Jacob is the 2nd of 18 children. We had a nice visit with the family and they send their greetings to Kathy, Chuck, Krista, Sonja, and Thea. I love being with my three best buds here: Victor, Paul, and Jacob. Although much has changed, we are having so much fun talking and reminicing and laughing. Then Victor and Paul caught a bus back to Dar and I headed back to the school. I went for a long run, visiting Victor's sisters again on the way. I forgot how beautiful the mountains here are. I loved running thru the village at dusk, when people are starting to light kerosene lamps and the road is full of people walking home or standing in groups talking.

Halfway there...

I am writing from London where after a 7 hour layover we have a 2-hour delay (minimum) due to a plane that "missed the runway" shortly after I arrived, causing all sorts of cancellations and delays. I was blessed to be sitting on the flight from Seattle with a missionary family of 5 on their way to Malawi, so we've been hanging out at the airport together, watching each other's bags. I called my friend Victor who is picking me up, to tell him that the plane is delayed. Turns out I was confused about which day I was arriving, and he waited three hours at the airport for me this morning. Oops! I also arranged a dinner for about 10 of my friends in Dar, which has already happened. Hope they had fun!

Habari

"Habari" means "news" in Swahili, so this blog will be about my news from Tanzania! Yes, that's right, I'm going back for a visit, four years after spending two years there, working at a missionary language school in Morogoro. I leave January 16th, and will return to Seattle on February 18th, after a short detour in Oslo, Norway on the way home. Stay tuned!

I would appreciate prayers for safety and health, that I would be an encouragement to those I visit, and that God would go before me in arranging who I should see/meet while I am there.