Mormon Helping Hands - Dar es Salaam - August 15, 2015

 The Dar es Salaam District Missionaries.  Fun and hard-working.  So willing to do anything that is needed.



         WE SO ENJOY BEING                        WITH THE                            MISSIONARIES!!!!

 From left to right:  Elders Lopeyok and Arudo, Elder and Sister Wilson, Elder and Sister Smith, Sister Mayoli and Alinyo, and Elders Harvey and Nkhoma.  They have so much fun but when they do training at District Development Meeting, they rise to the occasion.  At the end of a meeting you feel a need to go home and study some more, work harder, love more and serve better.

Every year the Dar es Salaam District finds a large project to do with Mormon Helping Hands.  This year they chose a hospital.  There is a very large Government owned hospital that required a great deal of cleaning around the hospital grounds.  Members brought their own tools, shovels, rakes, brooms, pitchforks, and of course pass along cards.  We have been told there were about 120 volunteers.  They worked the whole morning and got a great deal accomplished.  Many hands make light work.

Elder Wilson       

               ElderArudo                  Elder Lopeyok and friend waiting for area assignment for work!               

What a joy it is to be able to serve side by side with the members of this district.  I saw several people stop to read the sign that was placed in the center park area of the hospital grounds.  It is a quiet place where visitors and family members can go for quiet reflection.

Dar es Salaam's Beautiful Peninsula

 Just out for a walk along Dar es Salaam's beautiful peninsula.  You can see everything from dugout fishing boats to yachts.  There is a lot to see in the area from fancy hotels and restaurants to the humble fishermen working for food.  There is a long natural pier that you can walk along and just take your time enjoying the atmosphere.

We had a great time with Elder and Sister Clayton and Elder and Sister Smith.  The weather was perfect for seeing the sights, with a pleasant breeze blowing in off the ocean.  The sand is white the water is clear and the sky is blue.  It was exciting to watch everything that was going on, from fishermen hard at work to those that were just relaxing and enjoying themselves.  Some walked down to put their feet into the waters of the Indian Ocean while others

 were parasailing across the water.  We were able to watch one young man, hanging onto his sail and standing on something similar to a surfboard.  We watched the wind pulling him over the waves.  It was quite a sight to see.  He would go so far and than return to the place where he started and do it all over again.  It really was breathtaking.

 There are several fun places to shop on the peninsula, one of them is called Slipway, it is a collection of small shops where you can buy anything from sandals, woodcarvings, to Tinga Tinga art.  Everything is handmade.  Nearby there is another shopping plaza that is also fun for shopping.  They have a bookstore, chocolate shop, jewelry store, a supermarket, but the store I like is a shop where everything is handmade by a special women's organization in Dar es Salaam. They make bags, purses, clothing, placemats, coasters, etc.

There is a community on the peninsula that is called Oyster Bay.  Many people live there that work for different embassies.  Many of the residences have signs outside their property identifying the nations that reside there.  Naturally, we were able to find the Canadian Residence.  This was fun for us to do because several years ago Elder Wilson's brother was living here with his family while he was working for the Canadian Government.  We are so grateful for having the opportunity to serve here and have met many members who have fond memories of  them.

The Ladies in Tanzania

 The Ladies in Africa love to dress-up, they like bright colors.  They love modern as well as traditional styles.  They even dress up to go shopping.  You can see them walking their children to school.  With a babies on their backs or in their arms often with another by their side.  They walk tall and proud.   They walk with                                            their heads held high!   They often                                             carry things on their head.                                              They are hard working women!

Nairobi, Kenya Trip - MLS Couples Conference

Can I just say this was a great trip!!  We arrived in Nairobi in the late afternoon just about the same time as another MLS Couple from Mwanza, Tanzania.  Upon on arrival we were greeted by Elder Shakespeare and Elder Horner. Elder and Sister Shakespeare are serving as LDS Humanitarian missionaries and Elder and Sister Horner are serving as MLS missionaries but they are serving in Kenya.  They took us to the flat where we would be staying with some of the other MLS couples and three of the couples who serve in the mission office.  When we got there, we were greeted by Elder and Sister Banks who also serve in Tanzania in a city called Arusha.  In total  there are  5 MLS couples in the mission right now.  Three serving in Tanzania and two serving in Kenya.   That evening the couples from the office had a spaghetti dinner for us and we just had a good time getting to know each other.  On Wednesday morning we were up and ready to go to the mission office for our MLS Conference with the Mission President and his wife.  It was a wonderful meeting full of instruction, inspiration, sharing of experiences and the love we all had for those we are serving.  We soon learned that we all were serving where we were supposed to be and that each was having a totally different experience even though we were all assigned as MLS missionaries.
That night we ordered pizza and continued to share.  The next morning we got to see more of Nairobi, it started early in the morning at Nairobi National Park for a game dive.  We started early enough that we were able to see this beautiful sunrise.

We saw many of the animals not the least of which was a big baboon!!!!!!!!

There were Cape buffalo.

                     The giraffe were graceful as always!!!!!!!
                         This looks like a whole family having

                                            breakfast together!

                               

   

            Zebras

  with their families!

                                Then of course, the overly friendly big baboon! 
                                 

But that is a story for another day.

SCHOOL HAS NEED FOR WATER

President John Mwingira, 2nd Counselor in the District Presidency, took us to a village where the Church has a water project. Water for homes and buildings is stored in large tanks. However, this village does not have city water. The Church installed the tank and a system of eaves troughs to gather water.

The eaves trough runs along the side of the roof and into a pipe that drains the water into the storage tank. It is a rather effective system if it rains. To supplement this, the Church will be drilling a well around the back of the school and pump water into the tank. Readily available water is a great blessing to the students and teachers.

The school is a public high school with about 1000 students. It is very crowded. In Tanzania, the students wear uniforms. They go to school quite early in the morning. This is one of the classrooms. We met two students working on problems from an English chemistry book. The surroundings are humble and the materials they have are rudimentary and in short supply.

In one of the classrooms, we saw a English lesson written on the caulk board. All students learn English. In general, the young people speak English better than the adults.

This will be our second  Transfer 

Transfers can be challenging.  When you work so closely with each other you are almost a small family.  They all are of one purpose.  They all love the Lord and are here to serve.  

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA DISTRICT

Elders Nkhoma, Ojjogolo, Eveson, Emannuel, Steed, Lopeyoke

Sisters Mayoli and Isiche

TRAFFIC IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

Traffic is an amazing thing here in Dar es Salaam.  There is no way you can predict how long it will take you to get from one place to another.  Because the traffic is always unpredictable.  If you are stopped at an intersection people will walk between cars to try to sell you things.  Pikipiki drivers drive between rows of cars to get ahead of everyone.  Vehicles will go off the road to get around any number of cars and then cut in, in front of someone who has been waiting even longer.  It is amazing what you might see when sitting in these long lines waiting for an opportunity to move.  

We watched this guy for quite a while.  He had plastic bags he was hanging on the side of the truck from the valves that release the gas.  He would than empty it into a large water container.  If the truck would move he would jump on the back of the truck and ride until it stopped again.  We found out when we mentioned this to a friend, that it was okay.  The trucks are coming back from "up country" where they empty their load.  While heading back to reload these guys just empty out the tank the rest of the way before the truck can refill.