Steve and Barnabas in Tanzania

Morning Parade with Kilimanjaro peaking out between the building and the tree. I would like to apologize for missing the last two weeks.  It was due to a combination of factors.  My computer once again succumbed to the heat, dust and travel conditions of living in remote areas that are difficult to travel to and from on a weekly basis.  I am using a computer that is based on Windows 8 so everything is different.  Now add the fact that the school needs the end of year student report in a completely different set up from the previous letters.  So different in fact that I had to reprogram all the database functions to create the data they wanted.  They delivered their end of year tests to me four days late and still expected me to produce them by Monday despite the fact no one was willing to come in on a Saturday to review them (they actually tried to tell me it was against the law in Tanzania for teacher to work on Saturday).   Add to all...

This week has been a great cross section of what life is often like here so I thought I would do a discussion of major events of each day this last week.  This blog will hopefully illustrate some of the frustrations of being white in Tanzania as well as many of the frustrations with individuals/groups but it will also  hopefully show how some are really great as well. Monday:  I typically stay in Singida, the nearest town, through Monday morning because when I need to purchase medicines it can only be done on Monday morning.  This particular week I don't need to buy medicines but I do have to pick up items for the site.  So I got up like normal at my hotel and had hot water for my shower but not much water pressure.  After that it is time to pack everything up in my two bags for the trip home.  One bag is nothing but the computer and it's accessories.  I don't normally eat breakfast on travel days just to prevent stomach problems so I was ch...

This was another good week of work.  School is out so I have a lot of projects I need to complete before the kids come tear everything up again.  I guess I got job security that way. I will start off with my Saturday afternoon project after spending a very long morning responding to emails.  Things are really picking up here.  We have a group coming over in September of this year and already two groups starting the process to build teams for 2017.  The Full Dimension Ministry wish list is going well with lots of items already funded.  So I wanted to relax for a little while and I have had a picture of a bracelet on my computer for awhile now and had not figured out how they made it.  Fortunately I brought everything I needed to make the attempt.  I am using a bead made of cow bone as the button.  This caused two significant deviations from the picture I was seeing.  First the hole is so small I could only get the very thin yarn to ...

Just over a week back in Tanzania and still have not made it all the way back to the village but have gotten back to work and fun.  The first couple of days were spent in Arusha with William and Martha Makali and getting back into the swing of things.  The first task was getting over a head cold I brought with me from the states that really got bad on the plane and then on the second day in country I decided to rest it out  barely crawling out of bed that Saturday.  I did however have to go into town on Friday before so I could get the operations phone Mpesa account unlocked.  Every four or five months I have to visit a Vodacom shop to prove I am still who I am with passport in hand or they lock my  Mpesa account.  That apparently happened while I was in the states so had to fix it my first day back.  William and I also had to test drive a vehicle that is going to be on the market some time soon from one of the Assemblies of God missionaries. ...

This was another full week on site.  I had planned to head out early Monday morning but they sent an order for medicines in by text so I had to wait until the pharmacy opened Monday morning to go buy those items.  After getting the items and stopping to buy some bread for meals I was on the Noah bus (named because most of them are Toyota Noah minivans).  Once again we had to wait until we had a full load so it was about 40 minutes before it took off.  At the drop off in Katusha they tried to charge me for my backpack this time since I had other bags.  Argument lasted about 10 minutes with me not paying them anything before getting on the Piki Piki (motorcycle) headed out to the village.  So after the medicine delay, waiting on the bus to fill up and 3 hours of actual travel time it was around noon when I arrived. I had planned to jump right on painting the inside of the main cistern tank.  However, it had rained again.  So the first thing I had ...