Some people would call it an adventure

It’s rainy season, so you don’t expect the roads to be good, but they were even worse than I had anticipated as we travelled several hundred kilometres from Mbeya to Makete to Njombe to Kidugala and back to Mbeya over four days. The goal of the trip was to meet with the Kinga Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Makete, and then the Bena CBO in Njombe, to discuss distribution of New Testaments and other resources in their languages, before going on to talk to students at a Lutheran Theological Seminary in Kidugala.

My colleague, Konga, and I set off at noon on Tuesday in our project’s Land Cruiser. After about an hour we left the tarmac road, and the impact of rainy season on dirt roads quickly made itself felt as we started the gradual climb up to Kitulo National Park. This park isn’t for wildlife, though some seemingly elusive zebras are reported to exist, but rather has been made a protected area in order to preserve important sources of water as well as wild flowers including rare orchids. The road is frequented by lorries carrying produce (such as potatoes), which churn up the road in the rainy season, as well as a few small buses and occasional cars (mostly 4WDs like we were in).

Before entering the park we stopped off at village to get some lunch. Konga asked someone on the roadside where they’d recommend we go for food, and we were directed to a dingy café, with a couple of tables inside and a cramped cooking area outside. Despite external appearances, the food was good and the staff friendly, and I enjoyed ugali, greens and roasted chunks of beef. After we’d eaten, we made a dive for the car in the pouring rain and continued our journey. As we drove through the park, Konga pointed out where houses had stood, and a church once existed, before people were evicted in order to turn it into a preservation.

The journey included rain, fog, mud, puddles and holes as well as moments of beauty when the skies cleared and we could look across the wild moorland and see interesting plant life and gnarled trees. It isn’t so easy to appreciate beauty, though, when one is worried that they are going to have to spend the night sleeping in their car in the middle of a wilderness. This is what I feared would happen when we encountered two lorries that had got stuck in the mud as they tried to pass each other on the narrow road. We waited, and waited, with the occasional vehicle joining the queue behind us, while the lorries awaited help, which came in the form of a chain that another lorry then used to pull the stuck lorries, with some difficulty, out of the mud. We could have turned around and taken an alternative, longer, route, but that road is being worked on (to eventually make it a tarmac road, which will be amazing) and I had grave doubts about how good it would be if construction vehicles were using it. In fact, we’d earlier made a decision not to go to another Bible college en-route to Makete that would have involved using that road, because we’d heard reports that it might not be in good shape. So instead we waited as the rain fell, and then stopped, the skies cleared and then started to dim as evening approached. Two and half hours later, with much relief, we were able to resume our journey. But this now meant that it would be dark before we arrived. Some would call it an adventure, but driving on unfamiliar roads, engaging 4WD to avoid getting stuck in mud, in the dark and the rain, was an adventure I could have done without. With only a mile to go, we slipped into a dip and almost got stuck – the wheels were spinning and the mud was flying and we were going nowhere. Konga got out, examined the situation, suggested that if I turned the wheels hard to the right I might be able to gain traction and get out of the dip, and with a sudden lurch it worked!

We all wait for the lorries further down the road to get unstuck. Spot the cow!

Kitulo National Park

With relief, we finally reached the new tarmac road that starts on the edge of Makete and runs all the way through to Njombe, and a guesthouse Konga had stayed in before had vacancies and hot showers that actually worked. A trip that should take no more than about 4.5 hours had taken us about 8. But we had arrived safely. I ate, showered and collapsed into bed, snuggling under the blankets to keep warm as Makete is about 7460 feet (2274 metres) above sea level, and hence rather chilly at night.

On Wednesday morning we drove the short distance to the place we would be meeting with the Kinga CBO. Only a couple of people had arrived, but by the time we got going with the seminar we had around 15 people in attendance. After a substantial breakfast (chapattis, egg, samosas and milky tea) we got started. Once we had been formally welcomed by the chair of the CBO and introductions had taken place and a brief Word given, we were invited to continue. We began with a Bible study on the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, providing an opportunity to listen to the Kinga Scriptures and discuss the fact that distribution of the Scriptures is about more than just getting people to buy books, it’s also about helping people to understand what they are reading. So then we moved into hearing about what they have done so far in terms of distribution and discussing what else could be done, including how they will use the two new motorbikes they had just received from a partner organisation of SIL, which have been provided to support their distribution activities. We also talked about how to use the New Testament, making sure they all understood how to use footnotes, discussing the value of pictures and showing them the glossary at the back. Then we explored the Kinga Bible app with them, showing them how to download it from Google PlayStore and download the audio and create memes (putting Bible verses on nice backgrounds) to share on social media. We finished by mapping out their language area and places they felt hadn’t been reached much yet, discussing how much it would cost to get there and working out a budget to make initial distribution visits to those places. We will put the necessary money into the CBO’s bank account before the end of the month, ready for them to start using in May when the rainy season should be coming to an end. We hope and pray that they will use the money as planned and that their efforts will bear fruit.

A sunny morning as we waited for people to arrive, Makete

In the middle of all of this, we had lunch. At that point the rain was pouring down, and I felt sorry for the lady unloading big hotpots of food from the bajaj (motorised rickshaw) to bring them into our meeting room. As we saw the line-up of dishes, Konga and I looked at each other. When Konga had been communicating with the CBO about the seminar, he’d told them to arrange for a ‘normal’ breakfast and lunch, but what had been provided was definitely not normal, and we wondered what the bill would be. As feared, it turned out to be more than twice what we had budgeted per person! And then we had problems getting the receipt at the end of the day, involving another half hour’s delay when we wanted to be on the road for the two plus hour trip to Njombe. So we didn’t leave until 6pm, meaning that once again I had to drive along unfamiliar roads in the dark (it gets dark about 7pm). At least the roads were tarmac this time, but as it got dark it began to rain and there was also low-lying fog for much of the way, which made for tiring driving conditions as I strained to look ahead through the blur of the windscreen as the inefficient windscreen wipers swept backwards and forwards.

We finally arrived in Njombe and started to look for a guesthouse. The second place we tried turned out to be suitable, and I once again ate, showered and collapsed into bed. The next morning we headed to the Lutheran Centre for our meeting. We had met with the Bena CBO back in November, when we were able to give them MegaVoice players (solar powered audio devices) loaded with the Bena audio Scriptures for them to share around the community. So after the Bible study, we asked how the distribution of these players had gone. We were discouraged by the lack of implementation of some of the plans we had made at that previous meeting, which meant we didn’t feel it would be a good idea to follow the same strategy for the Bena as we had for the Kinga of mapping out the language area and planning trips. (That is basically the method we had used for the audio players, and it obviously hadn’t worked too well, which we think is largely due to the people in the group – their personalities, their age and being few in number. I guess we’ll find out whether it’s that or something else when we compare to how well the Kinga implement the plans we have just made with them.) So instead of the mapping exercise we asked that after they have met again they should share their plans with us for how they will use their two new motorbikes for distribution, and we will give a contribution to the fuel to get them started.

We also adopted a different food strategy in Njombe, giving them money to go and buy lunch for themselves, which meant we could stay within our budget. It turned out we had been more than generous with the 5000 shillings we gave them, as just across the road we got lunch for 2000 – 3000 shillings (less than £1)! This is what I am used to paying in Mbeya too, but last time we’d gone to Njombe we’d ended up at a surprisingly expensive café and so had left with the impression that food there was more expensive than in Mbeya, hence we had set a higher meal allowance.

We were able to finish in good time for the next leg of our journey to Kidugala. The Bena CBO thought it would be good if one of their leadership came with us to the Bible college, so that they could build a connection with them as it is within the Bena language area. So Ng’eve (who used to work with us many years ago) dropped everything and came with us – he didn’t even go home to pick up a toothbrush, but just came along as he was! Once again the road was bad, but bad in a different way. Before we had hardly left the town of Njombe, we turned onto a dirt road, which was pitted with small holes that were hard to avoid and made for a very rough, slow ride – much of the journey was taken at 20mph or less! At some point the road improved, but then we encountered a much worse problem. Slick clay. The car slid and slipped all over the road, despite being in 4WD, it was like driving on ice. I had very little control and crawled along at about 6mph! Thankfully it wasn’t like that the whole time, but there were long stretches that were, and I feared that we’d end up in a ditch or, even worse, hitting a pedestrian strolling along the side of the road oblivious to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to stop the car if it decided to slip in their direction. At least we were doing this journey in daylight! Thankfully we arrived safely at the college just as darkness fell.

On arrival, all I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes, but instead we sat and made polite conversation with the college principal while our rooms were prepared. We were provided with hot water to bathe and then invited to the staff room to eat. After downing some rice, chicken and avocado, I made my excuses and left them to talk over a cup of tea, while I retreated to my room, tucked the mosquito net securely around my bed (I had killed several of those little beasts in my room already and could hear many more) and read for a while before putting in earplugs (so that I wouldn’t hear the mosquitos) and falling asleep. Incidentally, there was no need to use mosquito nets in Makete or Njombe, as due to the altitude and cool weather there are very few mosquitoes there.

I was rudely awakened at 5am by the sound of the church bell clanging, but I dozed for another hour before getting up. We attended the 7am service for the college and secondary school students (there is a school connected to the seminary) after which the school students left and we took our place at the front of the hall to talk to the 120 or so seminary students gathered there. We discussed barriers to people reading and engaging with the Bible and the fact that one of these barriers can be language. We then talked about language use in ministry, showed them the various resources available in local languages (such as the New Testaments, Bible apps and audio Scriptures) and answered questions. We sold a significant number of Bena New Testaments, as well as a few in other languages. All in all it felt like a worthwhile visit and the teachers seemed to appreciate what we had to say.

Flowers in Kitulo National Park

Finally it was time to return to Mbeya. Konga learned to drive recently but has very little opportunity to practise, so I let him drive for the first hour along a good dirt road, before taking over when we reached tarmac. He told me how a lot of the driving instruction he had received was delivered sitting in a classroom or being one of several taking it in turns to drive a car. It wasn’t until he gave the instructor some extra money that he finally got some independent lessons until the instructor said he was ready to go solo. There was no driving test. I think I had every right to feel slightly nervous as I sat beside him, but it was good to see even within that hour how he grew in confidence.

When we reached the tarmac road we dropped off the person who had come with us so that he could catch a small bus back to Njombe (a more reliable option than trying to get a bus directly from Kidugala back along those dodgy dirt roads). Further on Konga and I stopped for lunch at a roadside café and then continued our journey along the sometimes straight, sometimes smooth, sometimes ruckled and sometimes potholed road back to Mbeya. I dropped Konga off near his home and finally arrived back at the office about 3.30pm. Some people would call it an adventure, but I was just thankful to be safely home.