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.