Community + Christmas = Secret Santa

December 9...

Now that I am back in Toronto life has resumed its pace which has seemed to ramp-up with the Christmas season. It's been more difficult to find time just to think and reflect as much, but if anything my life in Tanzania taught me how important that is. So, I'll continue to try and find time to think. Even if it's just on the subway.

For the past three years we've done Secret Santa at the house. It's always great fun and we keep the price reasonable so the gifts strike that great balance of being entertaining and fun while also being a little useless. Rest assured, there were no iPods exchanged or Yankee Swap.

I took some candid shots of the guys that you might enjoy seeing.





Of course there were jokes, like wrapping up Chris' mail and giving it to him as a gift. But don't worry, he got a real gift too.



Pat got a great magic book and wand.



Mark got a Jack Bower action-figure. Though the wrapping job was a bit suspect. Maybe it was theme wrapping job.





Paul got some great DVDs.



Craig got a strange but hilarious book.



Jay got his favourite: Starkbucks money.



And then we had a group hug.



I really do love my community here in Toronto; both from Wesley Chapel and my house community. But it's hard work, a lot more than I ever really thought about. Living with people can be great and terrible all in the same day but I find at the end of that day, I'm almost always happy that I live with these people. But it's not perfect. Nothing ever is. A good friend told me a few days ago that good community needs three things: doors. locks. and hinges. I thought it was a very apt illustration. I'm glad I live in community and I'm also glad that I have a door. Together those things make life pretty good.

New Time Zones and Old Favourites

November 24...

I'm back! Back home in good old, freezing cold Canada. Man it's cold here. But to be completely honest, I'm kind of enjoying the temperature. It's really very refreshing...for about 10 minutes. And before I got to Toronto, I had the pleasure of landing in Amsterdam and spending a few hours in that beautiful city with my friend Lieneke, who I met in Tanzania and who lives in that coastal country. And while it wasn't quite as cold as Toronto, the brisk air and snow on the ground was good preparation for the real thing: the Canadian winter. My travel was as comfortable as I could have asked for and I arrived safely in Toronto a few days ago.





I've been asked a few times since I arrived the obvious questions about how my trip was and of course most people realize it is impossible to sum up such an experience in a few sentences. I can honestly say that is was an amazing, life-changing adventure where I learned more about myself and the world in which I live and have come to know and trust in God much more.

Ok, so I guess that is pretty good for a sentence. But other questions have been asked like if I notice the difference in life here in Canada. Again, there is an obvious difference, but I think it is the subtle things that are more profound. And I think it will take a long time before I fully appreciate all that I saw and did over there. As life continues to move ahead here in Canada I suspect that the little things like, taking transit, or eating in restaurants and even watching tv will slowly reveal to me the differences in life in Canada and Tanzania.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank all of you who read my blog while I was away and for the many encouraging and positive comments I received here. They really were lovely to read and often buoyed my spirit on low days, so I thank all of you for that. I also want to thank all of you who prayed and kept me in your thoughts while I was away. I can't explain fully how it felt to know that I was being held in prayer by family and friends at all times; it was wonderful though. I hope that you will continue to pray for me as I make my way through life and I will try my best to do the same for you, my family and friends.

God used me on this trip for His purposes and I know that. It was a phenomenal experience that came with its share of hard times and disappointments. But through it all God was good as He always is. I am thankful and look forward to the next adventure He sends me on.

Last Days

November 15...

Less than a week left. I can't really believe it to be honest. It's totally cliché and I know it, but time has really just flown by. I can still remember so vividly, getting off the airplane in Dar just over two months ago: being accosted by the heat and humidity, then having my baggage “lost” (or just a few days late) and being completely drained by the time-zone adjustment. That sounds all pretty negative, but there have been so many amazing and good things that have happened since I arrived in Tanzania.

I have learned more about myself than I ever knew before and outside of a lot of “getting to know me” time I have met some truly incredible people. I have learned that we are never really alone and that when we step out in faith into the unknown God provides community for us; either through relationship with Him alone or with the people we meet along the way. Thankfully, I have had an abundant dose of the second and made many great friendships with people here.

I am sure that as time passes I will discover more and more of how this trip will impact my life. In the immediate I know there will be some changes: I know that I will appreciate my family and friends so much more, I know that I will appreciate the opportunities I have both at work and at church to use the gifts I have, and I KNOW I'll use less water when I brush my teeth (and I thought I was conservative before)! Hopefully, I will come to appreciate more the treasures I have been blessed with and be far quicker to give what I can to those around me.

God has truly been good these last few months. I have been challenged, almost daily, to trust Him more completely and I hope that when I return that trust will continue to deepen. I am thankful to God and all those who helped get me here and I am very excited to return home and share all that has happened with my friends and family. And I might be a little too excited as I am finding it hard these days to fall asleep at night because I am thinking about my homecoming!

Soon enough. First I have to finish my work at St. Michael's and then brave a two day, 26 hour trip home. Yikes. But I know it will be worth it.

Iringa From Above

November 14...

Andrew and I climbed Gangilonga Rock today. It's a massive granite rock face that sticks straight out of the hillside behind their house in Iringa. It took about 20 minutes to get up there and it was a little perilous at times, but Andrew took it all in stride. I tried to do the same.

Gangilonga Rock from the Wingfield's house





The steep path up to the rock-top





Once we got up there the view was amazing. You can see pretty well all of Iringa from up there. Apparently it's a popular hang-out for the local teenage population (as are most secluded look-outs) and is covered in graffiti. I couldn't understand it, but I imagine it said something like, “So-and-so was here and had a great time!”




Looking down



The rock itself ejects from the hill and is nearly flat on top, making it an excellent look-out. And it's here that the famous HeHe (pronounced Hay-Hay) Chief Mkwawa held his meetings with other tribal leaders on how to best fight the invading Germans in the 1890's. And I can see why he would meet there: the view is incredible and lets you see all of Iringa providing a serious tactical advantage. It's also on this rock that Chief Mkwawa committed suicide rather than be captured by the Germans when the colonial military finally defeated the Hehe in 1898. The Germans then took Mkwawa's skull back to Germany to display in the museum in Bremen until after WWI the British (who took control of Tanzania, then German East Africa) demanded its return to Tanzania in the treaty of Versailles!

And there's your history lesson. For those of you who know me well, you should be impressed that I've been able to hold back the history lessons this long!

The way down



Paul and I

Down By the River

November 3...

There is a language school just outside of Iringa that many ex-pats attend to help develop their Kswahili so they can better serve in their positions here in Tanzania. The school itself is situated on the Little Ruaha river and designed as a camp-site based school.

Besides language school, they also have the facilities for people to come and camp which the Wingfields have done before. Or, if you just want to spend a day relaxing, you can come for a meal and swim in the river; which is what we did.

The food was incredible. I ate too much. But it was too good for moderation. Then after lunch, the Wingfields and I went down to the river for a swim. I realized after upon entering the water, that I had never swam in a river before. I guess I've just always been around lakes. Anyway, the river was excellent. It had a strong current that was great fun to swim in.

Hopefully the pictures will help you get an idea of what it looked like. And though it may not look it, there were some deep parts where I couldn't touch the bottom and where you had to fight against the current of the water. There were also some great rocky out-crops where I just sat and watched the river flow past me.






I am continually amazed at God's beauty reflected in nature. Maybe I just didn't notice it as much back home, or maybe it's because I'm usually surrounded by concrete buildings and row upon row of housing that I miss the beauty in nature. It's everywhere here and I love it. I feel constantly amazed at God's handiwork and feel privileged to experience it as I have.

If you feel like I did back home, buried by urban infrastructure, take a walk in the woods or a garden. You don't have to be surrounded by mountains to feel God's grandeur; take a deep look at the nature around you and feel God's presence there.

It's worth your time. Believe me.

Relaxing in the sun while I still can

November 2...

I am trying to enjoy the beautifully temperate weather of Tanzania while I still can. I've been reading the CBC's website and seeing the temperatures steadily drop in Toronto. News from home also tells me there has been a few occasions of snow. Already!

Enjoy these photos. They were taken at the Wingfield's home in Iringa.

Wish you were here.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

November 1...

I know, I know. It's a terrible title, but I couldn't help myself.
Do you ever think about why we do things? I mean, have you just stopped in the middle of the day and just taken a second to think, “why am I doing this?” I have to admit that back home, I really didn't do that very often and whenever I did it was probably because I didn't want to be doing what I was doing. You know one of those exasperated moments on the subway, or preparing a lesson and most often while washing the dishes.

The other morning I woke up in the village to the typical sound of morning activities in the village: people talking and laughing, the sounds of getting water from the tap outside and of course all kinds of barnyard noises that I have become accustomed to. And to be honest, I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to have to go and wash my face and hair and leave the rest of me unwashed. I didn't want to eat oatmeal for the millionth time. And I certainly didn't want to have to struggle through another English lesson working hard to communicate through a barely common language. I wanted to be back home where there is warm water all the time. Lots of choice when it comes to breakfast. And the comforting thought of easy conversations with other English speakers.

In that moment I thought, “why am I doing this?” And I really had to think.

There are a lot of reasons I came to Tanzania: adventure, exploration, travel, being independent, learning more about God. All good things. But sometimes those things aren't enough to get you out of bed.

My mind went back to Donald Miller's, Blue Like Jazz and his chapter on Love. He talks about people (Christians) using love like money. He says, “I used love like money, but love doesn't work like money. It's not a commodity. When we barter with it, we all lose” (218-219). He goes on to say that we should forget the notion of doling out our love like currency; lavishing it on some and refusing to give to others who we don't like, or smell or have offended us or something. And that thought made me think about why I came to Tanzania.

Yes I came for all those reasons mentioned before, but at the core, at the centre of my reason for being here is love. Seriously. That's really it. It's not complicated but it's been hard sometimes. I am here to love other people like Jesus loved me: unconditionally. And that has lots of tangible manifestations, like teaching. Lying in bed that morning, I realized that through teaching I am showing love to my students: by being encouraging and learning about them and caring about them as people. That's love. But love is not always easy. And it's not the chemically dependant kind of love we see on the silver screen. I can't just stop loving people because I don't feel like it or I don't want to get out of bed. It's a choice. Jesus chose and so must I.

So I'm still going. Still trying to make each day count. Still trying to show God's unconditional love to those I meet here. And it's something I need to do back home too. And as long as I can, I will choose to love.

Developing a Heart for Development

October 25...

The past few days I have been working with Andrew the village of Usolanga which is about a two hour drive away from Iringa. One of Emmanuel International's projects here in Tanzania is the creation of sustainable, clean drinking water sources. And in a country like Tanzania that basically has two seasons, dry and wet, that means utilizing the torrential down-pours of the rainy season in the middle of the hot and dry time through water storage tanks.

EI has constructed a bunch of these rain-water tanks that basically catch the water off the rooftops and stores it in huge tanks to be used during the dry season. The tanks are remarkably simple in design, but that's why they work. To build these huge cisterns EI has to organize the labour, construction materials, time-lines and funding and it is no small task. To build an identical tank in Canada it would take a couple of weeks. Here in Tanzania, it takes at least a month and that's if everything goes according to plan. Like most developing countries, Tanzania has a chronic shortage of skilled labour and finding suitable building materials can prove to be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, EI Tanzania has been getting the job done.



So for the past two days, Andrew and I were working with one of the water projects currently under construction at a medical clinic run by the Anglican Church. It was awesome to see the work being done there and nice to pitch in and help where I could; shovelling, tying down sun-shades and cold-welding. I should mention though how incredibly hot Usolanga is. Unlike Iringa and Kilolo, this village is down thousands of feet from the highlands and as a result endures the full brunt of the sun's rays. The thermometer in our EI accommodation house said it was 38 degrees Celsius at 2pm and it only got hotter. Because of the heat, work begins at 6 in the morning and ends at 2 in the afternoon just as the sun reaches it's thermal zenith! So, as is the custom, we ended work and went inside for an attempted nap.



Despite the heat, it was a great experience. I really enjoyed seeing the project come along and was happy I could help in my small way. And I slept incredibly well that night. And the meals we had were fantastic, not because they were gourmet, but because I was famished! Have you ever noticed that when you put in a really hard day's work you feel really satisfied after eating and sleep really well? I think it's something that I've missed out on back home.





And if I'm honest with myself, I can admit that I actually thought fondly of the winter back home and for a moment wished there was snow outside. Wow. That's a scary thought.

Adventures in the Highlands

October 17...

I got the chance to visit a remote village last week. It was great fun even getting there. The roads, well they really weren't roads. More like, “Oh hey, those crater looking things seem to be in a line. Do you think they could have been roads once?” I'm just glad we were in a capable 4X4 truck that could handle the terrain.

We were picking up some students for the Bible School that's also located on the St. Michael's grounds. It took a few hours to get there and when we finally did, our passengers were not ready for us yet. So we helped some locals bring sand up from the river to make cement and my friend Ken (the driver and an Australian ex-pat working at St. Michael's) played with the local kids.

All the kids loved Ken. He's pretty much everyone's grandpa here.

It was a fun trip and I was happy to have had the chance to go.

Next stop Kilimanjaro!

October 15...

Well maybe not Kilimanjaro. I did however, climb the hill that sits opposite of St. Michael's last weekend with my good friend Hugh. It took about an hour to get up there and a little more than half of that to get back down.

We walked up through people's sambas (fields) and it felt a bit like walking through someone's backyard. But they didn't care and it saved a lot of time!

The view was amazing and my photos do not do it justice. My legs were sore the next day, but it was well worth it.

No pain no gain I guess.

I Want To Tell You A Funny Story

October 13...

Well it's funny to me at least. Before coming to Tanzania, I have to be honest and say that when I prayed to God for stuff, I generally had a pretty vague belief that whatever I was asking for would happen. I'm not entirely sure why this is (and sometimes still is) the case. Maybe I didn't want to get my hopes up you know. I didn't want to ask God for something very specific and then not get it, or get something else: sort of a disappointed Christmas morning scenario where you really wanted a remote control car and got multi-coloured underwear instead.

Or maybe, I felt like I couldn't possibly know the mind of God and so whatever I wanted was probably not what He wanted for me and so over time, I just stopped asking specifically for stuff. Sure I would still ask, but it would all be pretty general; and there's nothing wrong with that either.

But to be completely honest, I just stopped thinking that God would answer prayer on the spot and with exactly what I needed (and wanted). That is changing though. And believe it or not, it started with a boiled egg.

Let me explain:

Before coming here I didn't eat boiled eggs. A recent chat with my mom has revealed that we apparently had the option to eat such food as kids, but never did. When I say we, I'm referring to my brothers and I (and if you're reading this now brothers, please don't ostracise me for developing an enjoyment for boiled eggs). Anyway, I had the chance to eat them here and they're really not bad and are an awesome source of protein, which is great for village life.

So the other day, I was here in Kilolo and feeling really hungry. It was my last day in the village before leaving for the weekend and going to town (Iringa). I didn't really have a lot of food left, and nothing that would feed the need for protein. I decided to go and collect my daily bread (not the little pieces of paper with Bible verses but the actual stuff you eat) from my neighbours and on the way I casually just said something to God which I guess constituted as prayer; though it was more of a passing thought directed at Him. I said, “God it would be really great if You could get me something to eat”. And I was specifically referring to something with protein in it. And just kept walking. Actually, I pretty well forgot that I said that until He answered (which is a habit I'm trying to break). So I got to my neighbours, collected the bread and had about a three sentence conversation with the kind people who provide me with bread. I was just about to walk out of their home, hands full of carbohydrates, when I was called back. “You like eggs?” I was asked. “Sure.” I replied. And then out of the air came flying a hard boiled egg which I caught but nearly missed.

As I walked out of the house and back to my own I couldn't help but laugh a little. As if God had answered my dumb little prayer and with a hard boiled egg no less. I was really grateful and enjoyed the egg immensely.

And stuff like that keeps happening.

Today, as I made my way to the bus station I said another quick, no-thought prayer. I was late leaving and needed get to the bus station quick but knew I could only go as fast as my legs would take me. I prayed something like, “God, it would be great if I could get to the bus station really quick.” Seriously that was it. Nothing deep or profound. There was no scripture quoting. Just a quick little thought, again directed in His general direction.

And then it happened again. He answered.

A few minutes later and classy looking red pick-up drove by and slowed down. The window rolled down and the young driver asked me, in English, “Are you going down?” By which he meant are you going down to the town centre (where the bus station is). I said yes and few minutes later I was at the bus station right on time courtesy of a very kind Tanzanian. And for my parents' sake, the truck had official plates, so it wasn't just a random truck, but some government official or something: very safe.

You know, if stuff like this keeps happening I may have to start praying a little more earnestly.

But here's the thing: I don't want to become spoiled and greedy. I realize that God wants to (and does) provide for us. But I don't want to get caught in the trap that has me praying strategic prayers with laser guided accuracy. I just don't think it works like that. I want to develop an expectant attitude that is patient by nature and trusts that whatever God's provision (or lack of) is and whenever it comes (if it comes) is what is best for me.

But I have to be careful I think. Because in trying to do that I could slip back into the thinking that God doesn't really answer our prayers in the immediate with exactly what we need. And then I just stop asking God for anything and instead try and work it out on my own. And that leads to two things: a) disappointment, which is usually followed by b) pain.

So I'm going to keep making those small prayers for my daily needs. And I think I'll even ask Him about the bigger things too and trust that He knows what He's doing.

I mean who would have thought of a boiled egg. But it worked.

Scottish Jigs...You Can Dance If You Want To

October 12...

Last weekend, I went to a church retreat here in Iringa. Well just outside Iringa actually, at a beautiful camp ground. It was part of Iringa Christian Fellowship, which is an English speaking church here in town made up mostly of ex-pats who meet semi-regularly.

Some highlights include:

1. Caleigh Dancing
2. Amazing food
3. The best shower I've had in Africa
4. Great fun with new friends






We camped out in tents, and based on my village lifestyle, it wasn't all that different from what I'm used to. There were learning sessions, music and great times just to hangout. All in all it was a great weekend.

And if I didn't know it already, the Caliegh dance proved once and for I that while I may have two left feet, those feet love to move across the dance floor!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie...Literally

October 2...

Just a couple of pictures of the Wingfields' guard dog sleeping. His name is Dog. Seriously. And yes he actually sleeps like this. A lot.

Enjoy