EXCERPTS from the

JOURNAL of the IRINGA, TANZANIA visit

February 17, 2003.

Full moon over Karthoum! That got my attention, I hadn't slept well the whole trip; three very long sits. Another inch on the map and we see the outline of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's dark but that silhouette is a thrill. It says AFRICA.

Kilimanjaro photo courtesy of John Oswalt www.jao.com/africa. Used by permission

The luxury express bus out of Dar es Salaam gave us a sort of "Africa in a Nutshell" experience. Dar was the classic big city mess complete with squatter housing, open markets, and then those hawkers by the bus window. The scenery was classic Africa and got cleaner and greener as we distanced ourselves from the city. The bus was Africa, too. Two white people in the front seat (us) and everyone else black. The "luxury" bus was slow, hot, ramshackle and wonderful.

....arrived at the Mikumi Game Lodge 2 hours late but the "car" was there patiently waiting; a nifty customized Jeep type vehicle with two nifty drivers. This is colonial style Africa. The lodge was run by a British family and staffed by dozens of Africans. The whole thing was stereotypic: the drivers drove, the waiters waited, the game spotters spotted, the accountant accounted, in triplicate. They were all in their correct Safari dress. Proper!

....we hit into a whole herd of Impala. We just sat in our safari vehicle and watched- for 20 minutes- the animals gathered and divided and finally moved on through. What gorgeous creatures!

....coming into Iringa, so picturesque. First the baby Baobabs- by the hundreds. Then the gradual ascent into the mountains beautifully covered with green Acacia trees, the horizontal flat tops contrasting with the angle of the mountain. Iringa at 5000 feet above sea level has a commanding position on the plateau; this is a cosmopolitan city complete with shops and markets, flowering trees and the ubiquitous Eucalyptus.

Our hosts were perfect for the job. Breakfast was Big American by an excellent and organized cook, Eunice. Her husband, Pastor Don Fultz, did the devotions-Love your God; love your neighbor as yourself to get into the Kingdom. But the Kingdom is here, it is now. He really can pray, too. Eunice is a preacher's kid so some of their discussions got pretty clubby. I fell asleep somewhere between ecumenism and apostolic succession.

Don chose the church to go to on Sunday morning - Mkimbizi. A lovely site in Iringa "suburbs", a large, lovely building built by the parishioners. But the big draw was a new woman pastor, Mpindo, means "love". She had a new baby daughter "Blessing". They called her "Blest". Weren't we all.

....met Israel Katunda, he's been to St. Paul. What a guy, short, bespeckled energetic and cheerful. We later learned he has 5 adopted kids plus 6 of his own and lives on a retirement salary which has been cut in half by lack of funds so he gets about $10 a month. Every family of the diocese has been impacted by "AIDs" we hear over and over. He has adopted kids because of a brother who is dead and the families just try to accommodate as best they can.

....the crops look good, everything is green. Families will have a garden plot and may grow cabbage, potatoes, yams, beans, squash etc. but the main crop is corn for the corn meal staple food: UGALI.

"You know you're in Africa when you see banana trees in the corn field."

Idegenda - the culmination - the reason for the journey and the most planned and worried over part, by us and by them. Idegenda folks cut it from three nights to one because they were worried how to host us for that long. We fiddled around with gifts, worried about our health, the water, the food, the trip itself. Idegenda is not on any map.

....so lucky to have Bendito as our interpreter. He grew up in this community. He convinced Pastor Fultz that the road was better by a different route and off we went...to the mountain top!

....the welcome was overwhelming. The sights and sounds and smells were wonderful, we are surrounded by friends. Don't worry. Four church services, a wedding , four meals , a good bed ,a misty mountain sunrise, songs and dancing and a Goodbye fanfare, it was all over.

Where is Idegenda? I still don't know. Maybe Don does. I still can't put it on the map.

Submitted by Robert P. Nelson

Arlington Hills Lutheran delegation

February 16 to March 4, 2003