In addition to the travel blog available below, this link will take you to a video filled with footage from Vision Trip 2012.

The Long Goodbye

Our last full day in Tanzania was just that… full.

We began the day by visiting the Amani Home for street children.  This amazing place provides a loving community where children are rescued from city streets and given a new chance at life.  Check out the link to their website.  I have visited here many times over the years and I whole heartedly recommend supporting this incredible outreach. 

We spent the rest of the morning at Building A Caring Community (BCC) centers.  Our Lutheran partners operate eleven small BCC centers around Moshi town.  Each center provides all day care for special needs children.   These are the forgotten children of Tanzania, often left in the dark corners of village huts with parents incapable of caring for them.  BCC is a profoundly important ministry.

At the second BCC center we visited we found three bright Cornell University students volunteering there and they ended up spending the rest of the day with us. We offered to give them a ride on the magic bus to their host home in Moshi, which led to the three of them joining us for lunch.  By the end of lunch we were all friends so we visited their host family home with them and we spent the rest of the afternoon together.  We met more Cornell U. volunteers at the coffee shop in town and a group of them joined us for dinner.

Before dinner we climbed up through the coffee farms and fields of maze to Kilimakyaro Lodge for cold drinks.  The beautiful landscaped grounds of the lodge sit right at the base of the mountain and if you are fortunate, the clouds will part to reveal the mountain from this vantage point which feels so close to Kilimanjaro. 

So it was that our expanded group which now included a contingent of Cornell University volunteers, sat outside under the mountain, with the snow covered peak of Kilimanjaro in full view as the sun set in the west.  The odds are well against such a blessing, especially on the final evening of such a rich and meaningful journey together.  This is Tanzania.  A country in great need but a magical, holy place that somehow always finds a way to give more than she receives.

Our final morning will be spent packing up and saying our goodbyes.  If you have been reading this blog you will not be surprised to hear that we will depart for the airport several hours earlier than necessary so we can return to the orphanage to spend time with the babies there.  We will be home soon…

Agape Means Love

This morning I looked at our itinerary and was pleased to see it would be a nice slow day.  Again, I should know better by now.

We began by driving out of Moshi toward Agape Lutheran Jr. Seminary.  This is the first time we have gone this direction and the landscape changes from the dry foothills to a gorgeous mixture of deep greens and golds surrounded by mountains.  Agape is a Lutheran boarding school for the brightest young people from about the ages of thirteen to twenty-one. 

We toured the beautiful campus and stepped in to visit a class full of young physics students.  The older students became aware of our presence and asked to gather in the large cafeteria so that they could sing for us.  Standing in front of these incredible young people who represent hope for this country as their songs of faith washed over us was an unspeakable blessing.  I could barely speak as I stood on a bench to thank these kids for welcoming us in this way.

Everyone in our group placed a stone into the foundation being laid for the chapel being built on the campus.  The new church will seat 1,000 people and the students are helping to construct this holy space on the very location where the local tribes would make sacrifice in the old days.

Next, we made our way to Ashira Lutheran Parish.  This congregation has a fascinating history connected to the establishment of the Lutheran Church and the work of the German missionaries.  Back in the day this hilltop location was the sight where the local tribes disposed of dead bodies.  

The word Ashira is derived from the English pronunciation of the Chagga word for “place that stinks." Imagine telling people you are a member of Stinky Lutheran!  The chief figured that by giving the pesky missionaries this cursed ground they would soon disappear.  More than one hundred years later and the Lutheran church thrives everywhere you look in this region.  The gospel can take root and grow wherever it is planted.

We had a fun visit through a busy local market on our way to hike down to see the beautiful Marangu Falls. Oscar, our magic bus driver, had to wait until the road was cleared of a giant tree blocking the way.  The guys made short work of the big tree with nothing but an axe.

On our way home we stopped by the rock quarry at Uchira to watch the amazing women carry large stones on their heads up the steep narrow trails leading from the bottom of the quarry far below.

The day ended with dinner at Bishop Shao’s home.  Several dignitaries from the diocese were there and the food was fantastic.  After dinner we stepped outside for prayers and a group picture.  The bishop shared a heartfelt and personal reflection about what a blessing our partnership in the gospel is to the Lutherans in this region and the thousands of people they serve.  We held hands and prayed under the stars, under the mountain, in the presence of a gracious God we knew to be smiling.

Warrior Lutherans

We enjoyed a Spirited worship service on Sunday at the predominately Masai congregation of Karansi Lutheran Parish.  As you would imagine, the Masai have added their own flavor to traditional Lutheran worship, even by Tanzanian standards.  The Masai choir jumped and yelped while singing about the grace of God in their native language, which actually seems more fitting than the sullen looks we often see in American Lutheran churches singing about the very same thing!

Elder member of Karansi Lutheran

By the time the service had ended, our entire group was adorned in Masai jewelry and I was wrapped in several layers of Masai blankets in an effort to transform this group of wazungu (white people) into Masai. 

By the time the offering auction had ended outside, the little church had been transformed into a cafeteria where we all shared a delicious lunch.

Health Caring

Back up the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro we went to visit Machame Lutheran Hospital.  There is an immediate realization that there is a vast difference between the medical care and facilities we take for granted in the developed world and what we are seeing here.  Paint is peeling from the walls.  Plastic chairs are fitted with wheels to create makeshift wheelchairs.  People sit on wooden benches waiting to be processed through admissions.

Even so, it is quickly apparent how crucial this hospital is to the entire region.  We see Masai women who have walked miles to receive care and even to give birth.  A man recovers in one ward after being gored by a Cape buffalo.  Another from being bitten by a hyena! 

Since healthcare is a hot topic at home, we asked what the entire cost of giving birth in the hospital would be.   The answer is fourteen dollars! 

Next we visited the new nursing school, which is part of the hospital campus.  We listened to the personal stories of a few of the students, which were each filled with tragedy and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to a hopeful future.  By the grace of God, each of these stories led to this nursing school where a new future has begun.  These are not great comeback stories, they are resurrection stories and members of our group have been inspired to support this incredible place.

We saw some brand new babies with their proud mommas in the maternity ward and then we headed off into the forest with Mr. Muro on his holy mission to provide palliative care to dying people wherever they may be found. 

Mr. Murrow leads the way.

We ducked into a small, dark mud hut where we were warmly welcomed by a man who had lost both legs to a mystery infection.  The man was a mason by trade and was thrilled to receive a baseball cap from Jack and Elaine and a bag of basic cooking supplies from our group.  Two things I noticed in that dark little house.  One was how happy the man was.  He had a joyful welcoming smile and was grateful for what he had in spite of his circumstances. 

The other thing I noticed is how important Muro’s work is on this mountain.  There are fourteen hundred such patients scattered throughout the area surrounding Machame Hospital and Muro knows exactly where each one of these people is to be found. You know flashier people than Muro, but you don’t know anyone doing more necessary or meaningful work than he is doing, day in and day out.

We ended the day hanging out with the family of assistant bishop, Rev. Dr. Shoo, at their lovely home.  Here the girls encountered the first African dog we would allow them to touch.  Dr. Shoo’s wife Janet made a lovely apron for each of the gals in our group.

Ye of Little Faith

I should know better by now than to doubt Tanzania. 

After a peaceful and relaxing evening at Ndutu Lodge, we set out for the vast Serengeti. Our two days in the plains were exhausting and wonderful.  The ride to get all of the way out into the serengeti from the Ngorongoro lands is a hot, dusty, bone jarring, marathon of a drive. 

On our way, we were fortunate to spend time sitting in the middle of large groups of elephants, watching them interact with one another.  There were babies and old bulls with everything in between in a group of about 30.  Just shutting down the engine and sitting right in the middle of one of these large groups is a blessing pictures cannot capture.

We completed our sighting of the “big five” (lion, leopard, black rhino, elephant, water buffalo) by catching just a glimpse of a leopard lounging high in an acacia tree.  We were doubly blessed by finding ourselves in the midst of a big portion of the great migration, which should have moved north of this region by this time of year.  Tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebras literally as far as the eye could see.  One single-file line of zebras stretched out for many miles through the long golden grasses of the plains in a scene so beautiful it felt like a dream.

 

At the end of our second day on safari everyone was tired but profoundly grateful for all we had witnessed.  I was secretly a little disappointed however, that we had not come across any Cheetah along the way.  We pulled down the vehicle roofs to close up for the long dusty drive toward the border when we saw a couple Jeeps off to the right. 

When we pulled up close to see what they were looking at we found ourselves just feet away from a gorgeous female Cheetah with three very young cubs!  We popped the roofs back up and sat with the Cheetahs as the young ones played with each other and ventured two or three feet in front of their mother to satisfy their curiosity by staring up at us!

After we finally tore ourselves away from the Cheetahs, we traveled out of the flat Serengeti and back up into the sweeping valley below the Ngorongoro range.  We stopped into a Masai Boma (village) where we were welcomed with songs and dancing and a display of vertical jumping done by the young Masai warriors.  Turns out, Masai got hops!

Click on the picture & check out that vertical!

Taken From Our Room!

Our group had yet to get a good clear view of Mount Kilimanjaro.  It is not uncommon for the mountain to remain hidden behind the clouds for weeks at a time.  As our tired gang traveled back toward our home base at the Lutheran Uhuru Hostel in Moshi, the mountain suddenly appeared in all its glory and stayed out the rest of the evening.  We piled out of the Jeeps and tried to freeze the moment in pictures but those who have been blessed to stand in front of this mountain as it reminds you how small you are in God’s good creation will tell you… you have to see it to believe it. 

Close encounter!

As for me, I was beginning to doubt that my group would see either a Cheetah or the mountain.  I was sure that our daughters were having an experience here that will last their entire lives but that experience would not likely include seeing a Cheetah in the wild or seeing the largest free standing mountain in the world. 

I was beginning to doubt… but I should know better by now.

Moving Day

Monday was moving day.  We got a lazy start and made our way out of the busy little city of Moshi toward big busy city of Arusha on our way to the red dirt town of Karatu.  The landscape changes radically from the tropical looking slopes with banana trees in the Machame region to the more arid, desert looking lowlands. 

After a few hours on the road we dropped into a verdant valley where we came upon the fertile little town of Mto Waumbu (mosquito river).  We spent some time with some old friends and haggled at the local Maasai market. We even tried the red banana, which grows only here.  We were excited to find ourselves right in the middle of a great migration of storks. There were so many of them that they painted all the trees white, which was cool... until we got close enough to smell the paint they were using!

We arrived at Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge, which is situated way at the top of one of the rolling green hills in this valley of farms, which always reminds me of Ireland.  This was the first time I have used this camp and I was relieved to see it is a truly lovely place.  Each tent has a great wooden deck situated with a spectacular view.

We were up early to make our way toward the Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive in this world famous wonder of nature (google it!).   The weather on the rim of the crater was rainy and foggy but by the time we reached the crater floor, the sky had cleared.

No one in the group could resist shooting a bunch of pictures of the first few zebras we saw which was proven ridiculous after a few hours of trying to run them off the road by the dozens, just so we could pass by.

Our day in the crater was nothing short of spectacular.  We saw all four of the “big five” animals it is possible to see in the crater and many other creatures as well.  The game drive turned PG-13 when we came upon a pair of mating lions.  The excitement grew when the lions decided to take a break and walk straight at our Land Cruiser.  When they got to within 3 feet of our vehicle Mia ducked down and began to roll up her window!  The lions decided they liked the shade of our car so they plopped down with a growl for a nap!

After overnighting at the peaceful Ndutu Lodge we begin our adventure into the great Serengeti plains.  We will be in search of the elusive leopard to complete our sighting of the “big five” but the success of this experience has already been more than assured!