Monday 8th September
At 4.40am my alarm rudely interrupted my sleep, jolting me
into wakefulness to catch the 5.30am bus to Mpanda. Mpanda is the main town of
the Katavi region, in the west of Tanzania, and it is where one of our regional
offices is located. The team there are working with several different
language communities and I was going to help them do
workshops in two of them, Bende and Pimbwe, which would aim to encourage the
distribution and use of some Scriptures recently printed in those languages.
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| The journey is marked in green, from Mbeya in the south to Mpanda further north-west. Map source: commons.wikimedia.org |
The only problem is that Mpanda is a day’s bus journey away, and then getting to the language areas concerned includes yet more travel. I was not looking forward to the journey! It didn’t get off to a very good start when half an hour into the ride our bus knocked the side mirror of a smaller bus, which led to a long argument and fisticuffs and our side mirror being smashed in revenge. Somewhat further into the journey we were directed to pull over because the president was passing through! I took this opportunity to find a toilet (a long-drop in an abandoned, tumbledown house) and after just a few minutes a dozen or so big, shiny, 4-wheel-drive vehicles sped past at an alarming rate of knots – the president and her entourage. Altogether the journey took 14 hours, resulting in the usual problems of dehydration and swollen feet. On the plus side, we were right at the front with good leg room, I had control of a window, there was more than one toilet stop and as we passed through Katavi National Park I glimpsed giraffe, elephants, two herds of buffalo and some hippos’ noses.
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| Crazy traffic in Tunduma, a town on the Tanzania-Zambia border. Lorries queue up for days, even weeks, waiting to cross the border, and bajajs (motorised rickshaws) abound. |
Mpanda is also home to a good friend, Karin, who I have known for over 20 years. (Wow, is it really that long since I studied at All Nations Christian College, which is where we met?!) We lived together for a few years in Mbeya, before she married a Tanzanian colleague of ours. Work took them to Mpanda for a while, then they returned to Mbeya, and now they’re back in Mpanda, and I hadn’t seen Karin for about one and a half years. Now you know what the bus journey is like you may realise why we hadn’t managed to visit one another, despite being in the same country! So this work trip gave me a chance to finally see her again. Her husband met me at the bus stand and we used a bajaj to get to their home, as their car was at the garage. It was a relief to finally arrive and lovely to see Karin after such a long time.
Tuesday 9th September
Mpanda is much warmer than Mbeya and I struggled with the
heat, but thankfully it cooled off overnight and I slept through the noise of
the dogs (I must have been tired!) and was able to enjoy a relaxed morning with
Karin before heading to the office. My colleagues were waiting for
me: Abdul, who I had travelled with from Mbeya, and Elya, who is the Literacy
& Scripture engagement Coordinator for the languages served by the Mpanda
office. We set off in the office’s Land Cruiser, with me driving, picking up
the Bende translators and a couple of other people en route. After a short
stretch on tarmac we turned onto a dirt road, which in large part was very
good. I was sad to see all the trees and bushes that had recently been chopped
down and the swathes of land that were being cleared for farming in what was
once a wild, untamed area. The road climbed upwards, so that by the time we
reached the village of Mwese three hours later, we were about 1700 metres
above sea level, which is the same altitude as Mbeya. It was a relief to be
greeted by the cool evening air and know that I’d get to enjoy an Mbeya-type
climate for a few days, before returning to Mpanda and going onto the hot Pimbwe language area for the second workshop.
It was my second visit to Mwese and since the last time
electricity had arrived! The guest house was unchanged, except for having
power. Power also meant that a loud mill, where people bring their maize to
grind into flour, was operating most of the time, directly opposite the guest
house. However, that kind of noise is highly preferable to loud music, which is
a problem I’ve struggled with in many places I’ve stayed on my travels, and I
somehow managed to fall asleep to the throbbing of the machine.
Wednesday 10th September
At about 9am we arrived at the church where we would hold
the workshop. I was disappointed by the turnout – over 15 people had been
invited but only 8 turned up. I learnt that part of the reason for not inviting
more people in the first place was simply that there aren’t many Bende people
in church leadership, as Christianity is not the dominant religion for this
people group. This poses challenges for the best way to use the Bende
Scriptures as church congregations are made up of people from different
language groups, however they can still play an important role in homes and in
evangelism.
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| The church where the workshop was held |
The focus of the workshop was the pastoral epistles, particularly Titus and Philemon, as these letters have recently been printed together as one book in the Bende language. We started with a couple of hours of teaching on how to read Bende, particularly focusing on features of the language that are different from Swahili. For example, Bende is a tonal language, unlike Swahili, and so certain marks are used (e.g. ^) to indicate these tones. If the wrong tone is used, the meaning of the word will change, or the word becomes meaningless. After a bit of reading practice, we plunged into the background of Titus and its structure and then one of the Bende translators read the whole letter aloud, from start to finish. Having now grasped the context of the letter, we began to work through it passage by passage, which allowed lots of opportunity for participants to practise reading Bende. As we went we also identified Bible handling principles and applied them to our study of Titus.
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| Reading the Bende Scriptures and discussing in groups |
At lunchtime, participants were given money to go and find food for themselves at the village centre, less than a 100 yards away from the church. Several of us went to the same café, where I chose ugali (maize cooked with water to form a firm stodge that you eat with your hands), dagaa (tiny fish) and cabbage.
On my evening walk I passed by farmland being burned ready
for another season of planting and I could feel the heat of the flames as I went
by. I find this practice somewhat terrifying, as I wonder how they prevent the
fire from spreading where it’s not wanted. I found out later that they clear
the edges of their fields first, before burning, so that the fire won’t spread.
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| Clearing farmland ready for another season of planting |
Thursday 11th September
Day two of the workshop seemed to go well, with participants getting used to the teaching format and growing in confidence in reading and in answering and asking questions. We also had three more people join us, which was encouraging. We continued to work our way through Titus which, despite being a short letter, is full of practical guidance for living, motivated by God’s grace towards us in Jesus Christ.
I chose rice with greens and chicken in broth for lunch. I
think this means I have now exhausted the menu (except for beans, which aren’t
a great idea for me to eat). The food might be simple and limited, but it
tasted good, and a banana with the rice was a delicious accompaniment. If
you’ve never tried the banana-rice combo, you should!
Friday 12th September
The workshop continued well and we finished on a positive note as people shared what they had found helpful. It was encouraging to hear them say things like:
- I’ve grown in confidence and will teach those around me.
- I’ve learned things I didn’t know about teaching. I would just take one or two Bible verses alone [without considering the context], but now I’ve learnt how to explain things well.
- I’ve been to college [by attending this workshop]! What we’ve learnt will be a guide for me. There are things I didn’t know, but now I do, and I will teach others so that we can correctly handle the Word of Truth.
However, it was also discouraging to hear them share how the community may react as they try to teach others and distribute the Bende books – they said some people will just think they attended the seminar to get money, especially because a white person was there, and they won’t understand or accept that this wasn’t the case and that the books and teaching are for the benefit of the church and community.
Discussing Paul's letter to Philemon
We finished around 4pm and I was hopeful that we’d get back
to Mpanda before dark, but that was not to be the case. A few kilometres down
the road, where we stopped to buy a strip of rubber to firmly tie down the
luggage on top of the Land Cruiser and to buy some bananas, someone noticed
that a tyre was leaking air. Some young men had a hut where they mended
vehicles, especially motorbikes, and despite the fact that our jack was missing
its turning-rod, they managed to jack up the car and take off the tyre. A
careful inspection revealed that there wasn’t a puncture, instead where a
previous puncture had been plugged it had temporarily been leaking air and then
resealed itself, which is apparently quite normal, and usually you don’t even
realise it’s happened.
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| Loading up the Land Cruiser ready for the journey back to Mpanda |
This palaver set us back by some three quarters of an hour and so darkness overtook us well before we reached the tarmac road. The lights of the car proved to be rather weak, so my eyes grew tired from straining to look ahead, trying to see potholes and people and vehicles without lights in time to slow down and avoid them, as well as occasionally being blinded by other vehicles coming towards us without dipping their lights. It was with great relief that we arrived in Mpanda and I found out that our office manager there would take over driving for the last stretch and drop me off at Karin’s house. I arrived there about 9pm and enjoyed a plate of salad and fruit, a good chat and a refreshingly cool bucket bath, before going to bed.
Saturday 13th September
I woke with the light, and as soon as I heard Karin going
out to see to the dogs, I went out to find her and asked to be let out of the
compound (which is walled and gated for security reasons) so I could go for a
run. The morning air was fresh and cool, but I was a sweating like a pig by the
time I got back! The rest of the day passed pleasantly (though very warmly!)
and included a chance to visit the site where Karin and her husband are
planning to build a conference centre for youth ministry and also an orphanage.
Sunday 16th September
Mid-morning Karin walked with me to the bus stand, where I
met up with my colleagues ready for the bus trip to the village of Manga in the
Pimbwe language area. The bus was somewhat rough around the edges, with ripped
seat covers and windows that no longer sat well in their frames. The seats were
rather narrow and leg room was limited, especially as the handbrake (a literal
handbrake – a block of wood with a handle) was pushed under the seat in front
of me (which was the front seat of the bus) ready to be swiftly grabbed and put
behind a wheel if we stopped, so I didn’t have much space to put my feet. After
rattling along for about three and a half hours we arrived at our stop and got
on the back of motorbikes to take us to nearby Manga. Unfortunately, my
motorbike driver had misunderstood where we were going, and so he took me to
the guesthouse owner’s home, rather than to the guesthouse itself, which was a
few minutes outside of the village. We all had a good laugh over the mistake
and I enjoyed seeing something of the local surroundings as we rode through the
arid landscape along grey, sandy paths between thorny hedges – if we’d gone
straight to the guesthouse we’d have just been riding along a wide tarmac road
for a few minutes.
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| 1. On the bus. 2. Guesthouse bedroom |
I had a late lunch with Elya at one of the little cafes near
the guesthouse. Like most cafés, it was a single cement room with a couple of
plastic tables and a few plastic chairs and with a net curtain hanging in the
doorway. Just outside the door, two ladies were doing the cooking – the usual
fare was available, ugali or rice, with greens, beans or meat. We had a good
chinwag before taking a short walk with one of the Pimbwe translators to check
out the workshop location – the Baptist church. The pastor turned out to be
extremely talkative, so it was hard to get away for a much needed rest, but after excusing ourselves there was still time for me to go for a very warm walk as dusk turned to night.
Back at the guesthouse I enjoyed a refreshing cool bucket bath and a quiet
evening with a sermon and cross stitch.
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| The arid landscape around Manga |
Monday 15th September
Day one of the second workshop. It felt so different to the
workshop in the Bende language area. Not only did we have a full turnout, but
the character of the Pimbwe people is different – they speak much more openly
and directly, making it easier to gauge their understanding and making the
interaction more dynamic. It got very warm in the afternoon, but most of the
participants valiantly stayed alert and engaged.
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| Lively group discussions |
Back in my bedroom I dealt with a few emails while I waited
for things to cool off a bit and then went for a brisk walk along the road; the
sky was shaded softly in the pastel colours that are left after a sunset. On
returning to the guest house I discovered there was a power cut so I had to
wash, eat and spend the rest of my evening in the dim light of my travel solar
light. Unfortunately, darkness also provides mosquitoes with a great
opportunity to bite you unawares! Although I hadn’t seen many mosquitoes, it
only takes one! Normally in a situation like this I’d retreat under my mosquito
net, but the net’s frame was broken leading to the net lying rather low, which
wouldn’t be very practical for trying to sit on my bed to do things! I
eventually resorted to watching an episode of a TV series that I had on my
external hard drive, while trying desperately not to scratch my itching mosquito-bitten
foot.
Young cows learn to pull a plough by first getting used to pulling a heavy log behind them
Tuesday 16th September
Tuesday passed much as Monday had. Some of my favourite
moments included seeing the dynamic discussions taking place in groups and at
break times about things we were reading in Genesis, watching the red sun set
as I went for my evening walk, friendly exchanges with the guest house staff (a
lady with a young baby) and the cook where I got lunch (I’d put in a special
request for eggs to go with the standard rice and greens, so she’d kindly found
some to cook for me) and the feeling of camaraderie with my colleagues.
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| Abdul's turn to teach |
Wednesday 17th September
The workshop finished well. My prayer is that they would
have an ever-increasing desire to read God’s Word, after having seen how rich
it is and having learnt more tools to help them understand and apply it. A
highlight of the day was listening to the wonderful Pimbwe songs they composed,
which were based on what we’d learnt together – I was amazed at how they could
come up with unique tunes and good words in less than the forty minutes I gave
them and sing the songs as if they’d been practising them for weeks.
At some point in the day, the translator called me out of
the workshop to pay for the next day’s bus tickets as the agent had arrived who
was making the booking for me and Abdul. I coughed up the cash (about £8 per
ticket for the 250+ miles ride), was told we’d be given the tickets when the
bus came, and received instructions to be at the roadside for 5.30am.
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| 1. Interesting flowers 2. Little roadside stands selling oil |
Thursday 18th September
I awoke a couple of minutes before my alarm went off at 5am, brushed my teeth, packed up and went to check if Abdul was ready. I knocked quietly on his door – he wasn’t up yet! Apparently he’d been told there was a slight change and we didn’t need to be at the bus stop until 6am. Someone could have told me too – I could have had another half hour in bed! I went and stood outside in the fresh night air – for the first time since arriving in Manga, I even felt slightly chilly! Abdul emerged a few minutes later and we walked to the layby just across the road, where a few others also waited in the dark. We waited and waited, as the night turned to dawn, the sky softly turned to oranges and pinks and finally blue, and the sun rose over the horizon. The bus finally arrived just after 7am!
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| Sunrise while we waited for the bus |
Having run out of most of my own snacks, I enjoyed the
Tanzanian version of drive-throughs, buying food from merchants holding their
wares up the windows of the bus. First I bought peanuts, perfectly roasted.
Then vitumbua – these are something like a soft crumpet in texture but
greasier, made from rice flour and slightly sweet. They are delicious warm, but
less pleasant when cold. Then around lunchtime I got chipsi mayai (a
chip omelette), one of my favourite Tanzanian dishes, which was freshly cooked
and tied up in a plastic bag. I also picked up a couple of oranges at a bus
stand where I’d alighted for a quick toilet break; it was so refreshing to dig
into one of these late in the afternoon when I was feeling thirsty but
unwilling to drink more because there wouldn’t be any more toilet stops.
Most of the landscape we passed through was dry and brown,
with lots of scrubby bushland interspersed with occasional villages and small
towns. The pale purple bloom of jacaranda trees provided beautiful splashes of
colour against the otherwise drab background of dry season. We finally arrived
in Mbeya about 7pm. Abdul found himself a bajaj for the ride back to his home
(2-3 miles away) and I enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs on the ten minute
walk back to my house.
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| Roadside scene at a layby - lots of food vendors. You can just make out the purple of the jacaranda tree in the left hand corner. |
It felt so good to lie down in my own bed. I’d experienced quite the range of mattresses while I was away, most of which were rather thin or saggy, as well as got tangled up in different kinds of mosquito nets (though Mwese was mosquito-free, so no net was needed there) and had varying quality pillows. So a good shower and slipping in between my own clean sheets and laying my head down on my own pillows was a happy end to the day.
It has been another trip full of moments of sheer beauty and
joy and also frustrations and doubts. It is such a privilege to travel and
teach in this remarkable country. Where next, Lord?
Very interesting. Thank you.
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