Sunday Morning in Dar es Salaam

All fourteen of the team joined together for the first time last night when we arrived in Dar es Salaam—the flight from Zurich with 11 of us arrived at 9 pm and the last three of us—the Houcks—arrived from Amsterdam an hour later. Tanzania has refined their procedures over the years and the process to get our visas and clear customs was very straightforward and efficient.

The first few of us who cleared passport control were scouting the carousel for any bags marked with hot pink tape. A quick count came up short. A recount—same result. For the first time in our 9 year history, 2 bags were missing. Both of Pati’s bags, checked through from her home airport in Northwest Arkansas, did not make the flight. Airport officials were able to use the computer to find out both bags were still sitting in Chicago. They will come over on the same flight, one day later.

Our first view of Dar through jet-lagged eyes showed some welcome changes in infrastructure. These changes, though, made the topography look a bit different so some backtracking was in order to find our beds for the night. Cindy gave the team a quick cultural orientation while Pati checked the team in to our hostel. We were finally showered and in bed a little after midnight.

Worship this morning was with a local Lutheran congregation. The 9 am service each Sunday is an English Language service. It is always a blessing to travel halfway around the world and meet fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Today’s worship was particularly poignant. We were able to share communion. And the lack of our daily routine and constant electronics sharpens our focus, giving the Word of our Lord fertile ground.

As the team collaborates on this posting, we are finishing up a luxurious English-style breakfast. The next several hours, during the 3 hour drive to Morogoro, can be the most challenging part of our trip so, until we arrive safely at Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) keep those prayers coming!