For the past two weeks I was in Tanzania with a team to help design a master plan and a handful of buildings for a theological school and university. The school had some great people working for them and were a pleasure to get to know. One of the administrators was on Idi Amin's hit list during his reign and had to flee Uganda. He had a great outlook on life and had a great sense of humor. There were also volunteers from The States who came to help us with this project. There was Stew and Jess who are a young couple from Colorado and just plain great people, Willie who enjoyed every moment in Africa good or bad, Glenn who had great insight and enjoyed doing sudoku puzzles during down time, and Richael who was a straight shooter that never left you guessing where you stood with him. The team worked well together and we got a lot done in the short amount of time we had. It was actually pretty fun and by God's grace that 11 people could eat, work, and sleep in a four bedroom house for over a week working on a project. Living in community is great. I could probably write more about the specifics of the project, but if you are like me you skim blogs for the good stuff(or just look at the
pictures.)When we finished the final presentation we went on a safari at Ngorongoro Crater. It was alright I guess. Actually, it was pretty amazing. Ngorongoro crater is an old volcanic crater where the top collapsed and formed a huge opening. In the crater were lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebras and a lot of other animals which I am sure are special in God's eyes, but weren't as seeked out for as the big ones. The next day we went to another park and saw baboons, monkeys, impalas and giraffe(s)(I am not sure if Giraffe is plural already) which are pretty fascinating. Seeing the great range of animals from the bizarre to the amazing, up close and some only a few feet away, as well as the trees and different landscapes, and then at night, staring up at the stars and seeing the milky way and constellations, I was thrown back by God's creation and in some odd way it deepened my appreciation of Him and life. It also made me envious of the incredible faith one must have to believe that all of the balance of the universe and complexity of life could have came from an explosion and a single celled organism. (Sorry, I had to make a sarcastic remark at my former beliefs created by public education and not questioning it. That's right kids, question authority. It is scary what you will believe when you don't.)
Now, quickly on to less controversial topics. One of my favorite memories of Tanzania would probably be the night before we had to leave. A few of us went to a local market for something to do. A student from the University that we worked on showed us around. The market went all through the village and we went
down a maze of alley ways and ended up in market square pretty far into the village. It was nice not to be in a tourist trap and instead get a real feel of African life. At the market I bought some sandals that the Maasai people wear(RE:picture above to get an idea of who the Maasai are.) The sandals are made of used tires, which I guess are eco-friendly and good for the earth, but they sure are hell on my feet. A lot of the people in the market got a kick out of seeing me with these sandals on. One Maasai came up to me and pointed to my sandals and gave me a nod of approval. I mentioned to him that I liked the bracelet he had on his ankle(i guess that would be an anklet) so he offered to sell it to me. I don't know if it was a legitimate offer, or if he was being nice, but it was a fair price. It's interesting to think of how many miles this anklet has traveled by foot on the Maasai and how those travels are now brought to a screeching halt since I sit at a desk most days.Below are more photos from the safari....
if you can't read the van it says
if you can't read the van it says'pimp my ride' and 'Go to church.'
Hillarious
Hillarious
