I am coming home, but I have toilet paper!!!!

First I hope and pray everyone is safe.  The Corona Virus continues to dominate my news feed and Facebook wall.  From humor to apocalyptic predictions it is all there seems to be to talk about right now.  While I have tried to  post things on Facebook not related to the virus or at least somewhat tongue in cheek humor (all those posts about the goats not following safe distance rules could have been about people here as well).  

Tanzania has experienced their first case, a Tanzanian woman who traveled out of country, when she returned she passed through the airport screening process no problem but a couple of days later started to have symptoms. They have tracked down everyone she encountered and tested/quarantined them.  But then another two cases who were in country and did not meet her.  Then another 3 cases.  Today we are up to 13 but what is missed is that is 13 out of 273 tested. 

In a country like Tanzania this will be a devastating virus when it gets a strong foothold.  Some of the reason is because people will not do what is asked but some will be because they simply can’t.  When you get into rural areas like the one I live in, people rely on the social network of visiting people, sharing tasks and work.  It will be impossible for them to do things alone.  While they have come a long way in getting cell phones and internet, they still rely mostly on what people have heard and share.  They also need the social aspect to handle the work of some of their tasks.  The old show (about to show my age) called “Hee Haw” the women washing clothes by hand were always in a group gossiping.  There is a reason for that.  It helps a tedious, mundane unwanted task go by quicker.  It is not like throwing clothes in a machine and walking away until it beeps.  It is hours of work to hand agitate and rinse out clothes. 

Even shopping is a social activity because they often need help carrying the bags of things they buy.  It is common to see two women carrying a side of one shopping bag because it is so heavy.  Going to gather firewood it is both a social and a safety aspect to go in groups because of the potential of wild animals or snakes.  They go in groups to gather water from one location for the whole community.  They bring their kids who carry buckets back and forth on their head while the oldest keeps filling buckets. 

Some aspects are not as necessary as those mentioned but culturally will be hard to break such as men holding hands as they walk.  Kids who are desperate for physical contact constantly draped all over their friends.  Kids sharing seats because gatherings don’t have enough for them all.

While the country has told all the vans (dalla dallas) to only carry people that can find a seat, that still puts 18-22 people in one van depending on the seat arrangement.  People here don’t have another way to go into town and sell their farm goods or to purchase bulk food for the shops or families. 

They live in one room houses, sometimes as many as 8 people.  They often have other people’s kids living with them.  It is common for adults that are unmarried to live with their parents in the same house.

What I am trying to say here is that it will take a complete reworking of their cultural beliefs, transportation, lifestyle, housing etc. etc. to stop the spread of the virus when it takes a foothold.  It will take over the cities first but when it gets to the rural areas it will not be stopped.  I fear for this country when that happens. 

Not to mention what will happen to their economy.  Tourism is a major factor and farming is second.  Many of the larger industries in country only exist with outside leadership and financial backing.  The best schools in country all are part of various mission projects without financial backing from outside the country.  This virus will affect all travel and restrict the ability for the outside resources to continue, especially since many of the countries that this financial backing comes from are going to be struggling with a broken economy going forward.

So please pray for everyone who will be affected by this virus as it continues.

My personal situation.  Unfortunately, I am still on a tourist visa which means I must eventually leave the country.  With all the countries surrounding Tanzania shutting down their borders, I have decided to return home.  It was not an easy decision for me.  I feel there will be enormous ministry opportunities here in the coming months.  But I also must obey the immigration laws.  If I had a residence permit, I would stay and try to put my management and engineering skills to use especially those skills I learned working in the environmental sector remediation of contaminated buildings.

I leave Saturday, that was the first flight I could find a seat on.  I understand on Sunday all flights except Ethiopian will be cancelled.  I have no idea what my travel home obstacles will be, but I am expecting to see some.  I fly through Amsterdam and Atlanta before getting to Greenville.

I have spent much of this week, cleaning the house for my departure. The kind of cleaning that requires I remove everything from the house to really clean it.  Kind of like I expect a barracks inspection.  I have been making Reading with Barnabas Bear videos and posting them online for the kids back home.  I am going to take the raw materials from a lot of books I have here (pictures and unedited videos) to make some more while at home.  I have also had to cook my own base food (bread) because I ran out of things to make sandwiches on Sunday and did not want to ride in the vans with everyone to get more groceries.  I am so looking forward to something other than pasta for dinner.  I have gotten good at a simple flour, water and oil flat bread.

The hardest decision was deciding that because the flight home was an “at risk” behavior I would self-quarantine for 14 days at a local hotel.  Fortunately, I was able to get a decent price on an extended stay with kitchen area so I can do some of my own cooking.  This decision was made because I normally stay with my parents who are at risk because of their age and the fact they live in a retirement community.  While I don’t fear things for myself, I would hate myself if I were the cause of someone else getting sick.

I have no clue how long this pandemic will last, just like all the experts.  So, I have no clue when I will be going back.  Because of that, if you are donating money to my personal support I understand if you want to stop or you may need to stop because of your situation during these tough times.  I appreciate all your support in the past and understand. 

I hope to do some ministry while home, though not sure how that will look while not putting my parents at risk.