Tanzania the story continues

Tanzania Revisited


Having spent many hours in front of a tv watching nature programs of every description on Africa I could not believe we were there right in the middle of it all,,,,,you could walk just five minutes out of camp and there you were right in the middle of nowhere,,,,,when you see all around you the most amazing things it gets you thinking about our God of creation. He who gave so much to detail and variety and providing all the evidence of creation to those who do not believe in Him, and leaving it up to them to make up their mind( not even to mention Jesus Christ)

There were times when I would go out by myself and sit and wait for the landscape to come alive and invariably it did ,,,,,,,when you are still then other things start to move, all kinds of creatures great and small. Way in the distance you will see a splotch of purple and as it nears it turns into a Maasai.

The Maasai have a god called engai and that he is a god just for the Maasai and then again not for all of the Maasai but an individuals clan within the tribe. Apparently the Maasai do not see themselves as a nation just clans and this maybe why they only have fives seats out of four hundred in parliament,,,,,,why would they vote for any one outside of their clan and why would anyone outside of their clan vote for them?????,,,,and yet they are the largest tribe in Tanzania. We went to two other villages to meet relatives of the Maasai who were working in Kenya,,,,,,they would sing and dance a welcome in the middle of the compound. The compounds are similar to each other but vary in condition of repair some are “house proud and some are not At one Maasai kraal we received gifts,,,,,bracelets and necklaces and Connie received a pair of beaded shoes  no one had any idea what made Connie so special( except me)

There is a lot of romance surrounding the Maasai and there is a danger as a missionary or aid worker to fall for the romance when in reality they are ordinary people going about their own ordinary business

As is the case in all of Africa much of our time was spent sitting around waiting for someone to come before we could go onto the next thing,

When the day arrived for our safari we waited two and half hours for the official guide to come, they were bringing extra vehicles so that the whole team could go together eventually we decided to make a move and that one group would go ahead that day and the other would go the next day,,,,,,after we had been driving for sometime time three vehicles were coming towards us to pick us all up. That would make it three and half hours late by the time they reach camp and then four hours by the time we waited for them to catch us

Eventually we get to the crater and as we descend from the rim there in front of us, laid out in all its glory, an extinct volcano of massive proportions .The sky is filled with just enough cloud to give us perfect temperatures and shade from the sun and gradually different animals come into view,,,,,,the pictures speak for themselves, and so I won’t.

We leave the crater on a very scary mountain road which probably ages a vehicle by ten years as it labours up an incredible incline,,,,,,,, you look back over where you have come and pinch yourself and ask yourself,,,,, were you really there ?

Almost everywhere we traveled the roads were unbelievably bad and the thing that always surprised me was how few cars were broken down on the side of the road and those that were mainly had flats. One day we got stuck in the mud,,,,, what a fiasco,,,,, no amount of grunting would get, the thing to move even with help from the Maasai,,,,,, so we had to walk home,,, about 2 1/2 miles . As we did so the light was failing we had to cross two running rivers one we managed before dark the other after dark,,,,,,you are not supposed to roam after dark because of the wild animals eeeeeeeeeek! But we made home anyway,,,,,,, the next day there was evidence of elephants in the area namely a mountain of elephant poo and broken trees ,,,,this really is Africa

There were trucks wrecked and on their sides and these were due to overloading and drivers falling asleep,,,,,,,and other than that we left and arrived safely,,,,,thank you God

Two of our Americans were robbed in Tanzania, one as we were coming into Arusha and the other as we were leaving, a video camera and over a thousand dollars was taken in the two attacks and this always leaves a bad taste in your mouth

The mission was long and tiring and taught us all more about ourselves and each other than we ever expected. On our last night together in Nairobi ( a Maasai word meaning, a cold place) we had a kind of debriefing where some strong words and gentle words were used to express some very intimate thoughts and feelings about people and events throughout the trip

Connie and I were ready to be at home,,,,,,,(home Kisumu),,,,,,,,funny how home becomes a home don’t you think?:)



Connie adds:

Thanks for all the prayers we felt them as we traveled. John has covered our trip so well I will not add more.