Well, it has been a little over a month [in mid-May] since I returned to Tanzania to begin my new assignment serving with Siouxland Tanzania Educational Medical Ministries (STEMM). I am staying on the STEMM compound in the village of Mbuguni, about one hour from Arusha in northern Tanzania. It is the end of the raining season; everything is green and the flowers are in bloom.
STEMM is involved in many projects so my one-week training as temporary “Acting Country Director” left me drowning! Today I feel I have reached the surface and can breathe … and continue swimming — Lord, help me.
STEMM compound sits on a large tract of land that is used for farming. We employ six day laborers to plant acres of crops for use here and cash crop. They also take care of many acres of landscaping, which gives me a beautiful view when I look out my window. They are now planting watermelon, I don’t know how many banana trees and sweet potatoes. The bananas that are grown here are the sweetest that I have ever tasted. (Do you know how to plant a banana tree? Look it up — but the hole is dug by hand, 3-4 feet deep.)
STEMM also has a house on the compound with 11 children they take care of. The children range from age two to ten years old. There are two young ladies who live in the house, along with one lady who comes every day to help with the cooking, washing and cleaning. The children bring life and excitement to the compound. Every evening after the work is finished everyone joins in on a game of soccer, including the day workers.
The village of Mbuguni has very little in the shopping-for-daily-needs department. So once a week we take the drive into Arusha to shop for supplies. (STEMM has a Landcrusier so I don’t have to ride the bus!) Each week I have a long list to cover — from watermelon seeds, to banking, to buying fresh fruit and vegetables in the central market. We leave at 9 a.m. and arrive back at 8 p.m. with things left undone, no lunch or dinner, and a truck full of stuff. I sleep well that night.
My favorite thing each day is to teach the morning Bible study. There are about 13 of us with a few new believers, some not [yet!] believers and some who follow Jesus. It makes up a great study time with a lot of searching questions. I think it is one of the most challenging Bible studies I have ever taught; it’s great! God is moving in the hearts, minds and lives here — pray and say, “Hallelujah!”
The man who makes everything happen around here is Laurence; he is the Assistant Country Director. The Farm Manager, Chambua, and four guards who all live on the compound make the family complete. On any given day there are in total about 20 of us who live here. We live in the middle of nowhere and the compound makes up its own little village (along with dogs, chickens, goats, mama cow and baby, two turkeys and one duck). I think we have five different tribes with five different languages living all on one compound — just learning how to say thank you is a tax on my brain!
At the end of the day at sunset, after the football (soccer) game, I can sit out back and view Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru over a Coke and say, “Thank you, God!”
