I was speaking to Meagan, she is on staff with IMARA Ministry and from Perimeter church in Georgia. She drove out to Mairowa with us on Thursday and during the drive she and I chatted. She told me that earlier this summer she had gone back home for about 6-weeks and the first thing she did with a friend was to go get a pedicure. Her feet are never clean here.
That is so true. I am wearing sneakers all the time, yet even with that my feet attract dirt like crazy. It is only when you are in a culture like this where when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples that it shows how it should have given them an inkling of how he was lowering Himself to serve them (us). In our concrete world it loses a bit of the translation. For those who live in a place like Africa, India, the Australian outback, etc it holds more meaning. How much more of the Bible do we, as westerners in a developed country, lose when reading passages like that?
Now here is what I find interesting. When I return to Arusha, the capital of Tanzania and get settled in my comfortable room here at the Ilburo Safari Lodge, I kick off my shoes and tread around my room, my feet turn red. Well, the bottoms of my feet at least.
The floor is red and polished. I don't know what they use on it, but it is not paint.
What a picture it was for me. I am walking in a fallen world but when I come to be refreshed and recharged the Blood of Christ is what does that for me. The relationship that was created as a result of His sacrifice for me.
Please do not take what I just wrote as a statement of the lives of the people we serve in Mairowa or Kondoa. It was not.
I was looking forward to having one day off to be recharged. To be able to sleep in a bit, to recover and refocus. It took looking at my feet to realize that it is not my location, but my focus that gives me all that I was longing for.
Back to my time out in Mairowa:
It was busy as usual. By the time of our departure yesterday I had managed to take about 260 of the 360 sponsored children's photos. Some of the remaining 100 are off at school right now so I will not be getting photos of them, but I am hoping that during the medical clinic next week the remaining children will come through.
It was so funny to watch the kids today after I snapped this years photo and gave them a copy of their photo from last year. One little boy ran as fast as he could to the playground to join a couple of others who were oogling their photos.
I felt sorry for the children who did not come through the clinic last year. I had no photo to give to them. Many of them walked away with heads a little lower. Next year!! They will have their photo next year.
I heard from one of the workers out there that a Mama had come up to him a little upset that her child did not receive their photo. When he asked her if they had come to the medical clinic last year, she said no. He then explained to her that the photos taken now were not given out but would be at a later date. She understood and went on her way. I wonder how many of the children thought that magically the images were transferred from my camera to the envelope last years photos were being disbursed from.
Taking photos of the children has me touching all of them, literally. I take them from the table where their name is found and guide them to where I need them to stand. In doing this, I think the kid gave me a gift in return. Yes, I am sick. It's not to bad, a bit of a sinus infection, but I will survive.
Here is a quite a site for all of you picture. Yes, I know it will not be a stretch for most of you seeing me do this, but you will chuckle I'm sure.
Friday, our driver returned to Arusha after he dropped us off at the guest house with all our belongings. I did not realize that he was not going to be there in the morning to drive me and all my things down to the school. It is probably a mile to the school from the guest house.
In the morning I wanted to arrive early at the school to get a jump start on taking the photos of the children as they arrived. The other three women who stayed out there and the rest of the staff were going visiting so I had no help with all my "stuff".
Here is the list: One professional tripod in BIG 3-foot tall round case, my carry-on roller bag, video camera bag, stills camera bag, purse, two pillows and water. We are talking about 120 lbs of stuff. Yes, I trekked to the school with all that. People were laughing at me as I walked by and many of the men asked me, with a chuckle, where I was going. (It was only when I was at the school that it came to me that I should have told them I was walking back to Arusha.)
Needless to say, I'm a bit sore today. I have to admit I was thinking that if I saw a lion he would have a lot of equipment to get through. :-)
And now for the part you have been waiting for... more photos.
One of our sponsored children hangin' out at the guest house.
The family who owns the guest house. I have the Baba (father) in a seperate photo.
Mt. Meru and the moon. This mountain is beautiful!
Richard, our trusty driver.
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