So, as I'm writing this little email it is Saturday the 30th. Things have been going well, but it looks like the rainy season is here, and it POURS water like nothing else. It only takes a few minutes for puddles deep enough to go up to my ankles. Which is a really bad thing since road repair here isn't the greatest thing ever, but I'm still alive, and my shoes are still un-drowned.
Last week was transfers, and boy was it hectic. I wasn't moved or even involved in anyway, I just got to watch the madness as my companion -who is a District Leader- had to get everything sorted out. We had one sister -Ziribagwa- from our group go home after finishing her mission. It was funny to hear E. Phokane call her the night before she left, she told him that she was nervous to go home. I kinda laughed at that. It was also really exciting for E. Clegg. He's been on his mission for 6 months and has spent the entire time in Dar Es Salaam, not just in Dar Es Salaam, but in Temeke (which is right next to my area Chang'ombe). He has been working with the same Branch the entire time and he was DONE. You could just see the tiredness weighing him down, and when we saw him at church the day after he got "the call" he was the happiest I've ever seen him.
So E.Clegg went, and E.Buthelezi (Boo-ta-lay-zee) got a new companion: E.Bailey who's coming from the Mombasa area in Kenya. I learned something very quickly the day that I met E.Bailey: Missionaries gossip like housewives. Worse even. It was great ;P. He told us this funny story about watching a guy (from their apartment) strip naked, attack some cars and people, then run full pelt (still wearing nothing) from a mob of angry people looking to smash his teeth in. There was one (completely unrelated guy) who was crossing the road in front of the streaker, who straight up Spartan kicked (or Yakuza kicked) the naked guy in the chest. The naked guy was laid out on the ground for a few seconds before he got up and ran away, the mob still on his tail. It was a pretty funny story when he told it, sorry if I don't live up to the humor. Oh, and apparently he had people come up to him naked to ask for money. I do NOT want to be assigned to his old area.
Speaking of asking for money, I already have to deal with that. There are people who will see me and literally stop me to ask for money. They'll walk up, shake my hand, then say something like "elfu tano" (5,000 TSh) and then I'll be like "bye". I had one guy stop me two days in a row in the exact same spot. The reason why people do this is 1: I'm white. Clearly I have to be rich (nice racism there, lotta fun), 2: I'm wearing expensive clothes. These white shirts really stand out, but it's still mainly the first reason. E.Phokane has never been stopped in the street. Sometimes when I'm eating lunch a handicapped person in a wheelchair will be wheeled up by a second guy (I have no clue why he's helping the handicapped guy) to ask us to buy lunch for them. The strategy E.Phokane taught me, was to just not look at them, they move on pretty quick. If it seems like I'm being heartless - well, I have two things to say: 1: I'm following mission rules by not giving the beggars money. 2: I don't have any money to spare. They give us enough to live on for a month and that is it. I am literally one step better than broke as a missionary - well, figuratively.
I had my first "fun" Daladala ride during exchanges, and during it I realized something: Extreme Sports wouldn't be enough for me anymore after that. Daladala riding is the best kind of extreme sport, the one that allows pregnant women and small children, and doesn't care about the "hands and arms in the ride at all times" thing. Anyway, I got to ride the smallest kind of Daladala, imagine a gutted van, include some of the most uncomfortable seats on earth, give nothing older than a 5 year old leg room, and leave space for people to "stand" and you have a pretty good mental image of the Daladala I was riding. We went down the most torn up and broken road I've ever driven on - at high speeds! I'm sitting in this thing, and I'm feeling detached amusement and terror, as well as actual pain, those seats were NOT good for my tailbone. While this is all happening I turned to E.Clegg (it was exchanges, remember?) and commented that I was having an Indiana Jones moment. It doesn't matter which one, just pick a car chase from one, and that's what it felt like. Still hate the Daladalas though.
It was really "fun" Friday night. We literally ran out of water. The water here is pumped from the city (or water company, not sure which) to these great big water towers in our yard, then an electrical pump pumps it into the house when we open a valve. So we ran out of water for some reason. Maybe we used up all our monthly allotment? That shouldn't be the case, this flat used to house 4 missionaries, and E.Phokane has never had this happen before.
I also got to experience my first trio for 24 hours as we waited for E.Bailey to arrive. It was...crowded - stuffy, I don't want to be in a trio for a full transfer.
Ooh, here's something fun, E.Clegg left behind a lot of stuff when he left. I grabbed a little statue of a Rhino and a knife, but I'm not sure if I'll keep that second one. I don't really like the design.
You know, there are times when I feel like I'm playing Skyrim. In Skyrim whenever you wanna sell the useless junk you've hoarded (and it's Skyrim, everyone who plays it is a hoarder, there's no reason for you to be carrying 200 wheels of cheese and ten full suits of armor) you have to go to a merchant and sell it to them, but they only have a certain amount of money so there are some things you can't sell. I feel like that when the stores can't find change for me. Not just the little stores here, but the big ones too. Since it's cash only, it can sometimes be hard to get change. Ugh.
The stores here are really interesting. Some of them are like the ones we know back home, if you see those ones, just know that literally everything is expensive in it. The second nicest kind of store looks like a jail cell. It's a room lined with shelves where the owner displays his products, and bars over the entrance to keep anyone from getting in. I've gotten used to passing groceries through the bars, as well as money. Whenever I really think about it it's like some kinda shady deal. The third kind of store is literally a person walking around while carrying his wares or hauling them behind him in a hand cart (I thought handcarts were done with the pioneers...). With the second kind, you see: "Oh hey, that guy's selling ties" then you just wave them over, look through their wares pick what you want, then buy it. They aren't really big on receipts here.
Here are some other fun little tidbits about Africa (since I actually have the time to write about this now): All the power sockets have switches to turn them on or off, All the buildings are made of concrete, All the ceiling here are super high - can't touch them even if I stand on a chair, so maybe 13 feet? Basements and Closets aren't really a thing here; I use a wardrobe. Yes, I do sleep with a net thanks for asking. I haven't touched the ground properly since the MTC. I wear flip-flops (here after called flops) indoors, and while showering. I also have to take off my shoes before entering anyone's homes. Yes, my clothes do dry despite the humidity, you can stop with the jokes now -_-.
"E.Benson?" "Yes, imaginary other person?" "How has the work been going?"
"..." "E.Benson?" "It hasn't really been "going" for most of the week." From Monday to Thursday we didn't get any work done. Couldn't contact anyone, didn't get any lessons taught, nothing. Let me make this clear: it wasn't for lack of trying, but it wasn't until Friday where we finally got to teach S.Veronica (more on that in a moment) that the week started to pick up, but I did spend most of the week so far dying of boredom.
Okay, here's the happier news: we now have three investigators with a Baptismal Date. S.Veronica, B.Michael, and his son B.Joseph. The second two are more exciting, but the first one is longer, so I'll start by talking about B.Michael and B.Joseph. All I can say, is that it's the Spirit's fault. I lay the credit for extending a Baptismal Date on the first lesson to Him, and they accepted, so it's definitely Him (I've already heard the Elder Calhoun jokes). It wasn't even an argument or anything we mentioned baptism and what came out of my mouth was: "Would you like to work toward Baptism?" I got nods from both of them so the next question that I asked was: "Would you like to work toward the 21st of April for you Baptismal Date?" They nodded again. I hope they'll be ready by then, if not, so be it.
Now as for S.Veronica. She's been a familiar face in my emails for a very long time. She was the very first person I taught in the field, and she's been having some issues recently. We extended a BD (Baptismal Date) to her a week ago, and got a "non-committal" answer. So, on Friday (yesterday) I kinda went to the lesson ready to dig my heels in and get a firm answer "yes" or "no". Well, I dug in my heels, and then I backed off. I had to make it clear to myself and to her that we weren't trying to force her into anything and that it was her choice, we just wanted to be the ones to help her get Baptized. I then started praying in my heart as that was translated to her, and she ended up agreeing to that BD, and told us that she felt peace in her heart, so it would be fine to Baptized sooner, or later. She would be ready. I kinda want to do a high-five with the Spirit now that I think back on it. I'm really hopeful that she'll meet her BD.
That's pretty much everything up to Saturday. I'll add something if anything interesting happens on Sunday.
3/31
Well, yeah nothing happened today. We went to church, the power went out, I worked on some talks and emails (my wrists are killing me!), and I listened to some hymns. Slow day.
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| Shoes with 7 weeks of wear in Tanzania |
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| Chang'ombe Flat pics |
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| Typical dinner for Elder Benson |
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| Once a transfer splurge... Pizza Hut pizza with Elder Benson's favorite beverage! |
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