Only three days in and we’re quite taken with the corner of Africa known as Tanzania. Particularly the Kigoma region, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. We still have much to learn and explore among the red-dirt lanes, straw-thatched roofs, and lush green fields.
Harold & Coni greeted us with the perfect amount of TLC, including Christmas music playing, a wonderful warm dinner, and an evening to just talk and laugh and share about our Father’s work in each of our lives since we were with them in Cape Town. The next morning Jason & I attended our first Sunday service in Swahili. The accapella music, accompanied only by the amazingly rhythmic hands and feet of the clapping and dancing congregation, was refreshing to the soul, to say the least. Jason did a fabulous job as he presented the morning message on Colossians 3 – the difference the world should see in those who have been redeemed. His first – but not last – time with a Swahili interpreter . They asked to hear from me as well and I was able to tell my brief memory of the first Christmas I learned what it was all about … when I was 5, my mom and dad (Mama & Babe – only Swahili words I know yet) gave me a storybook called “The Christmas Donkey” – my personal treasure, and I still remember the innocent awe I had when I realized why we celebrated.
Yesterday brought an unexpected change of plans. Harold has been in quite a lot of pain from a kidney stone, and had to be hospitalized night before last. He and Coni left yesterday for Nairobi, Kenya, the nearest facility that has the means to care for him. Internet and power's been down so we don't have more news yet, but we’re hopeful to hear that he won’t require surgery. For them, this means the obvious pain and set-back of whatever it takes to get well. For us, it means we’ve found ourselves the unsuspecting master and mistress of a home in Africa until they return. Jason will likely be teaching on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we hope to be involved in Christmas preparations this week with the local community of believers, but with that does come the internal challenge of seeking creative and pro-active means of using our week in a place that is still so new. So, soon it will be our turn to welcome the weary travelers with some TLC … until then, we will be immersed in this new world and look forward to our Father being glorified despite/through this turn in the road.
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Silver Cup
There once was a magnificent Kingdom ruled by a great King. The King’s son was soon to be married and the King wanted to give him a gift worthy of a Princely wedding. The King was a master craftsman gifted in shaping lumps of precious material into the most beautiful objects. He decided to create silver cups for each of the guests to drink from at the wedding feast. He set to work on finishing 1,000 silver cups. When he finished, though very tired, he smiled with satisfaction knowing this was a good gift for the Prince’s wedding. The King wrapped each cup individually and then covered them over in the cellar to protect them until the wedding.
Now this King was not without an enemy. Upon learning of the Prince’s wedding, the King’s enemy sought a way to ruin the gift the King prepared for his son. He knew the cups were made of such quality that nothing would be able to destroy them – the workmanship was too fine and the superiority of the metal to any of his own weapons that any attempt to damage the cups would be futile. However, he knew their value and purpose would be lost if he only uncovered them and exposed them to the elements of nature. Several weeks before the great wedding feast, this enemy made his way to the cellar through cover of shadow and darkness, and unwrapped each precious cup.
The eve of the wedding came and the King took his son to the cellar to present him with his gift. But as they arrived they saw the cover had been pulled back and each cup exposed. The enemy had thrown dirt and oil upon them and the silver had begun to tarnish. The King cried at the loss and then called his servants to take the cups away as they were no longer worthy to be drunk from by even the lowliest of men, let alone used at a royal wedding. But the son looked at his father with a soft and quiet heart and said, “Father, let me take the cups, and each one will I carefully take time with. The quality of the cup is good; I will remove the tarnish and redeem the cups. I will restore them to their original value.”
The Prince did just that. All night long he washed and scrubbed each cup. Removing all of the sludge and dirt, he scrubbed so hard his hands bled. The blood mingled with the water was the perfect combination to scrub away the dirt. On the morning of the wedding the sun peaked over the hill and gleamed over 1000 perfect silver cups.
The King came to the Prince and rejoiced with him. “You have restored my gift, you have redeemed the cups. Truly they are once again worthy for the royal guests to drink the royal wine.”
Now this King was not without an enemy. Upon learning of the Prince’s wedding, the King’s enemy sought a way to ruin the gift the King prepared for his son. He knew the cups were made of such quality that nothing would be able to destroy them – the workmanship was too fine and the superiority of the metal to any of his own weapons that any attempt to damage the cups would be futile. However, he knew their value and purpose would be lost if he only uncovered them and exposed them to the elements of nature. Several weeks before the great wedding feast, this enemy made his way to the cellar through cover of shadow and darkness, and unwrapped each precious cup.
The eve of the wedding came and the King took his son to the cellar to present him with his gift. But as they arrived they saw the cover had been pulled back and each cup exposed. The enemy had thrown dirt and oil upon them and the silver had begun to tarnish. The King cried at the loss and then called his servants to take the cups away as they were no longer worthy to be drunk from by even the lowliest of men, let alone used at a royal wedding. But the son looked at his father with a soft and quiet heart and said, “Father, let me take the cups, and each one will I carefully take time with. The quality of the cup is good; I will remove the tarnish and redeem the cups. I will restore them to their original value.”
The Prince did just that. All night long he washed and scrubbed each cup. Removing all of the sludge and dirt, he scrubbed so hard his hands bled. The blood mingled with the water was the perfect combination to scrub away the dirt. On the morning of the wedding the sun peaked over the hill and gleamed over 1000 perfect silver cups.
The King came to the Prince and rejoiced with him. “You have restored my gift, you have redeemed the cups. Truly they are once again worthy for the royal guests to drink the royal wine.”
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Leaving Rajkot
We spent the weekend in Delhi with Peter & Heather Malakar, then took a 21+ hour train ride back here to Rajkot. Now it’s time to say goodbye and head to Tanzania. We are both sad to say goodbye to the Dave family, but also excited to be in Kigoma and part of the Kneppers’ life there for a couple months.
Hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. Devsmita decorated her first Christmas tree this week and it was great fun to be part of it with her – including a shining star at the top, reminding us of the manger where our King was born.
It would be impossible to explain how dear the Dave family has become to us. Their friendship is a new treasure, and we look forward to continuing it despite the miles.
Hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. Devsmita decorated her first Christmas tree this week and it was great fun to be part of it with her – including a shining star at the top, reminding us of the manger where our King was born.
It would be impossible to explain how dear the Dave family has become to us. Their friendship is a new treasure, and we look forward to continuing it despite the miles.
Inquiries
Everywhere we’ve gone in India and Nepal the question is “From which country?”. Most of the time it’s out of pure curiosity and nothing more. It’s like our question of “What do you do?” – but here in the East, it’s more important where you come from. When it’s a sweet giggling child who just wants to practice their English, or a young teenager who has honest wide-eyed fascination about where we come from, it can be endearing. In fact, one of the cutest things is the young teenage girls who practice their “Hello”, and then when I say it back, they giggle like they’ve been caught.
But unfortunately, many have also been tainted and jaded to see Americans as a source to take from. In one neighborhood, the children said “Hello-one-Rupee” as if it was all one word – a standard greeting. Another unabashed boy (and I’m not talking about the street begging children, mind you, but well dressed school children) TOLD me to give him ten rupees. An intellectual/emotional battle rages each time a young hand begs, especially in light of Scripture that tells us to give freely as we have freely received. Emotionally you want to believe that giving will help, but intellectually you know it will not. This was proven to us when we went to the Nepali village that as of yet remains un-jaded by tourism. We could see in living person the fresh innocence that these children still had and how zealously it needs to be guarded.
Perhaps the most interesting inquiry of all, though, was a Tibetan monk who stopped us and asked “From which country?”. When Jason said “USA”, he said “Oh, a rich country.” We instinctively bristled for what he would then ask for, but instead he said “I am from Tibet, so I have no country. You are twice blessed. You both have a country and it is a rich country.” He spoke with a toothy smile and then just walked away leaving us humbly chagrined.
But unfortunately, many have also been tainted and jaded to see Americans as a source to take from. In one neighborhood, the children said “Hello-one-Rupee” as if it was all one word – a standard greeting. Another unabashed boy (and I’m not talking about the street begging children, mind you, but well dressed school children) TOLD me to give him ten rupees. An intellectual/emotional battle rages each time a young hand begs, especially in light of Scripture that tells us to give freely as we have freely received. Emotionally you want to believe that giving will help, but intellectually you know it will not. This was proven to us when we went to the Nepali village that as of yet remains un-jaded by tourism. We could see in living person the fresh innocence that these children still had and how zealously it needs to be guarded.
Perhaps the most interesting inquiry of all, though, was a Tibetan monk who stopped us and asked “From which country?”. When Jason said “USA”, he said “Oh, a rich country.” We instinctively bristled for what he would then ask for, but instead he said “I am from Tibet, so I have no country. You are twice blessed. You both have a country and it is a rich country.” He spoke with a toothy smile and then just walked away leaving us humbly chagrined.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Fun with B&J
We leave Kathmandu tomorrow - back to India for a week before heading to Tanzania! A week that is already full and promises to go by as fast as this one did. It feels like we just arrived, taking in the mountains and the valleys that accentuate their heights.
We simply can not leave here without telling you about our friends Bea & Jan (pronounced Bay-ah and Yon). They are such fun and we have had a tremendous week with them as they've fit us in to their very full work weeks! They both work in Human Rights - Bea works for the UN and Jan for Peace Brigade International. Bea's work is focused specifically on the recruitment of children by the Maoist militia. Before that she investigated detention and torture. We have had several fascinating discussions with her in learning about the work she does, including travelling to remote villages to interview families whose children "volunteered" to join the Maoists. It can be frustrating to hear about the UN as a whole and wonder how much effect they can truly have when for the most part their decisions come with little or no enforcement. But as Bea shared, if even a few lives are better/saved because of the work they do, it is worth it. Hearing the real-life encounters brings a totally new dimension.
But they're not all work and no play ... oh no, we have had so much fun exploring the city by night, laughing over fabulous dinners, talking through life and faith and relationships, hiking out to Changu Narayan, and flying up to see Mt. Everest ... we are so grateful for all this week has brought, both in new experiences and new friendships.
We simply can not leave here without telling you about our friends Bea & Jan (pronounced Bay-ah and Yon). They are such fun and we have had a tremendous week with them as they've fit us in to their very full work weeks! They both work in Human Rights - Bea works for the UN and Jan for Peace Brigade International. Bea's work is focused specifically on the recruitment of children by the Maoist militia. Before that she investigated detention and torture. We have had several fascinating discussions with her in learning about the work she does, including travelling to remote villages to interview families whose children "volunteered" to join the Maoists. It can be frustrating to hear about the UN as a whole and wonder how much effect they can truly have when for the most part their decisions come with little or no enforcement. But as Bea shared, if even a few lives are better/saved because of the work they do, it is worth it. Hearing the real-life encounters brings a totally new dimension.
But they're not all work and no play ... oh no, we have had so much fun exploring the city by night, laughing over fabulous dinners, talking through life and faith and relationships, hiking out to Changu Narayan, and flying up to see Mt. Everest ... we are so grateful for all this week has brought, both in new experiences and new friendships.
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