Kiliview: Minis, Mvui, Majesty, Marriage and more…….

Mangoes

Lime tree

Psalm 145:1-5

I will extol you, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

Water buck

How can one sit in this beautiful land and not meditate on God’s majesty? This year we are experiencing “short rains” or Mvui which means rainy season. The brown fields and dormant trees are springing to life again. In the “short rains” it does not rain every day or even very long. In two weeks, we have only seen about half an inch of rain but wow what a difference it does make when we have had no rain at all since late July. Our grass is green and the flowers are prolific again.

Our porch orchid collection

Pam and John Bauer

We had a couple from Northern Illinois volunteering with us for two weeks. They, like all “minis” were a tremendous blessing to us here. The Bauers worked in RICE with Kent and Elisabeth and also with Pat in the primary school. Pam Bauer is a school teacher by background and John does finance. They were extremely helpful in RICE with math tutoring. After a long and productive week, Peggy took them to the National Park in Arusha. We all had a wonderful time seeing a different part of God’s beauty. We saw lots of animals and the beauty of the forest surrounding Mount Meru. If you decide to come and help us here, for about $50 you can also experience the wildness and beauty of this park that is only an hour distance from us.

Nope not California....Arusha Game Park

On November 19, the ladies had a “ladies’ day out” at the Arusha Christmas fair. We look forward all year to this event. It is somewhat like a local craft fair but even more exciting. We were able to find some wall hangings and pillow covers for the new RICE building, as well as some fun items of decoration for our houses. We also found some Christmas gifts for family at home. It was a lovely day away.

Crowned Crane

Fresh lemons on our tree

Elisabeth, Pat, and Sara

As we returned to the Village, Pat, Sara, and Elisabeth got ready for a teacher’s Send Off on the mountain. Kent and Peggy stayed back to “watch the Village”. In order to participate in this particular send off, the ladies purchased cloth to have dresses made. It was all great fun. A “sendoff” is when the bride’s family organizes a party somewhat like a wedding to “send the bride to the groom’s family”. There are bridesmaids and the bride has formal dress but not white. The party nearly always has lots of soda … soft drinks…. And lots of “chagga food”. Chagga food is a Chagga cake (whole roasted goat with grass in the mouth) and banana stew, and rice and rice pilau and chicken with other dishes. No one goes away hungry. The party is fun but can be a very long evening beginning around 6pm and often going past mid night. Many of the parties are way up on the mountain on obscure dirt-path roads so coming down in the dark is always covered in prayer. All arrived home safely. goes away hungry. The party is fun but can be a very long evening beginning around 6pm and often going past mid night. Many of the parties are way up on the mountain on obscure dirt-path roads so coming down in the dark is always covered in

We are getting ready to celebrate AMERICAN Thanksgiving just like most of you. It is a much anticipated event here in Tanzania as most of the preparations to have it sort of authentic are made way in advance. My dear friend Sue Kennedy sent me with beautiful paper Thanksgiving napkins and even a festive hand towel when we were in the States in October. They are out and ready for use. We ordered the “big bird” from Kenya thanks to the generous donation to the women’s ministry fund for missionaries! Turkey is a big deal here and thus a BIG expense. Yesterday as the ladies traveled to Arusha to the fair, we decided what each would make. We are having the works…. Even found a can of $4.50 cranberry sauce here!! Mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie and pecan pie, fruit and STUFFING both inside the bird and outside so everyone gets what they like. Thanksgiving, being an American holiday, is a work day here at Rafiki, so we “make it work”. I am cooking the turkey so after noon, I will move my computer and thus my office to my porch to oversee the final roasting of the bird. We have our meal around 6:30pm to make it a leisurely affair to attend AFTER our work day. As you are beginning to see, we do NOT lack for much out here. The biggest deal I guess, is being away from family and friends. But we certainly have good friends here too.