Church in Ngarenaro

Today the group went to church in Ngaranero, a slum on the outskirts of Arusha. We first took a tour of the village. We meandered through narrow dirt paths, that were full of rocks, ruts, water, and drainage. Watching your footing was a necessity as the paths were very uneven. We also had to dodge other people on foot along with piki-pikis (motorcyles) that used the paths as well. The houses were very close together and the path just meandered around aimlessly. It was hard to keep any sense of direction on which way you were going. We finally found a pump in an open area where people were paying to get some water. They carried the water in large plastic buckets back to their homes. There were several stores and places of business in the village. We found it interesting when we saw a guesthouse called the Obama Bar & Guesthouse.

Later, we went to the church, a small building that held about 40-50 people. After a wonderful worship service which included a special performance by the choir and the childrens' choir, Stan, Connie & Ricky all shared a brief teaching with the group. Carol & Vernie taught the children--they had about 50 kids crowded into a small room about 10 x 10 feet jammed with wooden benches. At the end of the service, after the children had returned to the main sanctuary, they had all the children come up to the front and the entire congregation prayed for them. I thought that was unique and special. The pastors prayed for protection, guidance, blessing, and wisdom for the children. I guess this is something they do every week.

Then we went out to eat at an Indian restaurant called Big Bite. The entire team ordered several entrees and shared them amongst the team. It was very filling. We enjoyed butter chicken, veggies and rice, garlic rice, grilled spicy chicken, tofu mixed with cheese sauce, and tofu with spinach, and naan--a thin flatbread. It was all delicious. We were joined by Polycarp, our interpreter, and Peter and his daughter, Rachel. Peter was the pastor of the church in Ngarenaro.

Then we came home and had a double wedding vow renewal service. Stan and Connie were commemorating 5 years of marriage, and John & Sametta are getting ready to celebrate their 10th anniversary. We bought several dozen roses and held the service out in Steve's back yard in front of the bird of paradise plant. Peter officiated and his daughter Rachel was our flower girl. Each spouse repeated their vows to one another and the guests "trilled" in the background, making a joyful noise to celebrate the event.

We then had a delicious dinner of spaghetti, homemade bread, and some poppyseed cake.
Now some of the team is watching a movie, while others have gone on to bed to get some much needed rest.

Tomorrow we are going out in the town of Arusha to do some souvenir shopping. Please pray for our safety and that we can find the items we are looking for. Many are shopping for thank you gifts for our benefactors who helped us get here to Tanzania. Let us take this moment to thank all of you for your monetary gifts, your words of encouragement, and your prayers.

We appreciate you!