Final words

We have been kept very busy the past several days and arrived an hour and a half late for our dinner at LJS on Wednesday. By noontime yesterday, it was clear the surgery schedule would again keep us late, so we called LJS to tell them not to make dinner for us, which allowed us to visit the Arc hotel for our meal. A table was quickly arranged for the 11 of us on the patio with a breathtaking view of Mount Uluguru looming over the valley. Different dishes were sampled by the team and we enjoyed a relaxing several hours under the African stars. Surprisingly, the temperature dropped to the low 60’s as the evening waned and we actually became chilled. Everyone welcomed the quilts on our beds last night!

The invitation from the Aga Khan has expanded into two evenings that will involve the whole team. Adam will be speaking tonight, Thursday, and the entire team will be attending, along with two of our interpreters, Nova and Godfrey. After the presentation tonight, there will be a question and answer session, followed by socialization with “bitings”, the local word for appetizers.

The following night, the President of the community is hosting us in his home for dinner. Barbara has warned us that there is a definite class in the Muslim community and that there will be a high table that will include her, Cindy, Adam and Doug. The rest of the team is of a lower rank, so will be seated separately.

When Barbara spoke with the President yesterday, he marveled that there will be a group of Christians joining his group, saying that has never happened in his lifetime. He went on to say “But this is so important in our world today, that we learn to understand each other.” We are going in the hope that we can build a relationship that will allow us to show Christ.

Tomorrow will be our last day at Mazimbu, but it will be a very busy one. We had to move one surgery from today to tomorrow because the patient’s blood pressure was too high. That gives us five operations for tomorrow, which will take all day. The following day we arise at 5 am and after a short journey, we will see the sun rise over Mikume National Park. During our safari we will see the animals of Africa in their natural setting. And the following day, Sunday, we will worship at Bishop Mameo’s church in Morogoro before our return home begins with the 3 hour trip to Dar es Salaam. If time allows, we will post pictures from Mikume, but this will probably be the last blog we will have time to share.

Thank you for your prayers and support of this vital mission. Until we see you again, kwa heri, farewell.