God Gave Pastor Mbasha a Car

There are times when things happen and all we can do is say, “That was God.” That’s how I feel right now. I wrote a blog entry a little while back titled “Pastor Mbasha.” In it I wrote about Pastor Mbasha, a man who has become a wonderful friend of mine. I wrote about the distance he travels to church on his bicycle…while carrying his family on the bike.
From the first time I visited his church I have not stopped asking the Lord to provide a vehicle for him. Pastor Mbasha has believed with me that the Lord was going to give him a car. In faith he had a parking spot made for his vehicle at his church…out of rocks. He even gave his vehicle a name: New Revelation.
When we would talk about his vehicle we wouldn’t say “if you get a car” we would always say “when you get a car.” I wasn’t able to see how it would work out for him to get a car, but that didn’t stop me from praying and believing…Pastor Mbasha believed as if the car was already his and he was just waiting to pick it up. With faith like that all I could do was believe too.

One day my friend Gail emailed me and told me her husband and a few co-workers at his job read the blog entry about Pastor Mbasha and wanted to give some money towards a vehicle. The money was sent to HWC…the ministry I am serving under…then it was wired to Tanzania into a bank account we helped Pastor Mbasha open.
I asked Pastor Mbasha if the money was enough for a vehicle…he said yes. A couple days later Pastor Mbasha and his wife Janet got on a bus and went to DarEsSaalam…a city approx seven hours away…to purchase a vehicle.
I didn’t know it at the time but the vehicle Pastor Mbasha wanted to purchase cost more than the amount of money he had. But he went to DarEsSaalam because he believed that God would help him get his car.
He looked at vehicles in his price range…they were not in the best condition and were in need of many repairs. He had no plans of buying a car that would break down a short time after purchasing it…he wouldn’t even have the money to repair it. After searching long and hard he found the car he wanted. It was $3000 more than what he had to spend…but Pastor Mbasha believed the money sent to him would be enough to purchase a good vehicle. So he talked to the owner. The owner…a Muslim man…asked Pastor Mbasha why he wanted that car so bad. Pastor Mbasha explained that it was a good car and he knew God had something good in mind when He gave him that money. Pastor Mbasha explained the whole story about getting the money. The Muslim man was impressed. He told Pastor Mbasha he wanted to be part of this blessing from God… he sold him the car. Not only did Pastor Mbasha have enough money to purchase the vehicle but he had enough left-over to purchase a rack and have it installed on the roof of the car, and buy two new front tires and a second spare tire…in Africa most vehicles have two spare tires…and still enough money to pay for the registration documents.

Pastor Mbasha and Janet stopped by the orphanage on their way home from DarEsSaalam in their car. We had such a wonderful time rejoicing with them. The next morning we went to his house…I was speaking at his church…he told us that when they arrived home after leaving the orphanage there were over 50 people waiting for them at his house. The people were cheering as they drove up. They had a party. Everyone kept saying that God gave Pastor Mbasha a car.

I didn’t write that first blog entry about Pastor Mbasha because I was trying to get people to send money. I wrote it because my heart was touched by his devotion to serve God and the great lengths he goes to as the pastor of a handful of Maasai. The members of his church are not rich. They live in wood and mud houses out in the middle of nowhere. His first year there as pastor…before he built the church building…they had services under a tree sitting on rocks. They still sit on the rocks when church is over and everyone is outside chatting.
I am so glad I was at his church to see him drive up in his vehicle. To describe how his church members reacted when he drove up would not do the moment justice…the joy…oh the joy…it was too precious for words. Jodie and I cried as we watched. They all knew what this moment meant for the Mbasha family…God gave Pastor Mbasha a car.

I want to thank Jim and Gail for their generous hearts. Thank you for seeing what I see in Pastor Mbasha. Thank you for sharing it with others. One day when we stand before the Lord you will see the fruit of your giving towards this humble African Pastor whose heart is fully committed to living for God. This vehicle is a tool that will be a blessing to others. Pastor Mbasha is already planning trips to remote villages where no one wants to go…you’ve made an investment that will last for eternity. Nakushukuru Sana (I thank you very much).

African Culture

Last night in Swahili class I asked my teacher if we could talk about African culture. I want to have a better understanding of the African culture here. I have also been curious to know how I’ve been doing with all things Tanzanian up to now. I am glad I asked him. I learned some new things. First let me say that I am happy to report that I have not done or said anything to mortify the Africans we have met.
My teacher answered a few things I’ve wondered about. One of them was this: When we visit someone’s house is it ever a brief visit not involving food or beverage. The answer to that question was this: When you visit a person’s house you are expected to have at least something to drink. You cannot visit someone without having at least a soda. But in most houses they will serve you more than a soda. In Tanzanian culture if you go to someone’s house they need to serve you something and sit and talk to you for a little while.
That explains a lot to me. I have story after story of visiting someone’s house and then staying there for a whole meal…even when we were briefly stopping by.
Here is an example: Jodie and I have been looking for a place for Steve, a man from California that is moving to Tanzania to volunteer at the orphanage for a year. Eli’s pastor said his neighbor had a place to rent so we “stopped by” the pastor’s house because he was going to take us over to look at this potential place for Steve. The pastor had company when we got there…two other pastors were visiting. We sat and chatted for about 30 minutes. Afterwards we walked over to look at the house. During the walk back from looking at the house the pastor asked us what kind of soda we would like…I have learned not to refuse a soda when asked…that day I choose a Coke. We returned to the pastor’s house, sat down, drank our sodas and chatted. After about 45 minutes the pastor got up and went outside. We followed Eli outside to look at his new living quarters…he had recently moved into a room at his pastor’s house. After leaving Eli’s room we walked to the van to leave. The pastor’s wife came over and told Eli in Swahili that they were preparing a meal for us and wanted us to stay…we had already been there for two and a half hours.

Another question I had was about the way people greet each other. Greetings can take a long time. You can spend five solid minutes just greeting someone. Our Swahili teacher told us that greetings are extremely important…especially to the elderly. There is a woman that cooks and sells food by the road where our teacher lives. He said that if he does not greet her then she will call him names…not nice ones. When she leaves at night to go home sometimes it is after 10pm and if he hears her calling goodnight to him, he will get up and open the door to wish her a good evening.
There is a man that works at a store I go into every now and then. He thinks I am fluent in Swahili because of the way I greet him. I have the greetings in Swahili pretty much down. Habari yako? Habari za tangu jana? Umeshidaje? Habari za kazi? Mwishowa juma ulikuwa je? The list goes on. I love greeting people…mostly because I have something to say in Swahili. But that is not the only reason why. I appreciate the respect the greeting represents…you are worth my time to ask how you are doing, how your family is doing, how work is going, how your day is going, how your weekend went, how you are feeling…the list really does go on.

I ran over a hedgehog

I have been living in Tanzania for six months. Everyday I feel more and more at home with my surroundings. My life has changed so much here compared to life in Southern California. But just as I begin to think that I am adjusting to life in Tanzania, something will happen that brings everything back to the reality that I am living in a whole new country and life is not at all like it used to be. Here are a few examples:

• I was speaking at Pastor Mbasha’s church on Christmas Day. A few minutes before I got up to speak a bug that I have affectionately named “the flying black golf ball” flew into the church. Pastor Mbasha was praying a blessing over the word I was about to share and I heard a buzzing sound kind of close to me so I opened my eyes…there it was right between Eli and me. I grabbed Eli and he opened his eyes and started to laugh. He whispered “Don’t fear” to me. I made a face and he said it again. Then it flew in a different direction. Eli (my interpreter) and I stood up to present the Christmas message. As I began speaking “the flying black golf ball” came back and buzzed around my ankles. I thought it was going to fly up my skirt. Trying not to panic I began to kick at it while speaking. There was a Maasai man sitting in the front row. He noticed what I was doing. Crouching low he quickly came forward and knocked “the flying black golf ball” down and brushed it away. I was so thankful that he came to my rescue that I hardly paid attention to the swarm of wasps flying around their nest inside the church just above my head.
• The other night we were coming home from Swahili class. I was driving on a dirt road. I was not driving fast but a little hedgehog came out from the bushes and tried to cross the road just as I was driving by. I felt a slight bump as I drove over him. Jodie informed me that I ran him over. I felt bad so I put the vehicle in reverse so I could see if I smashed him. As I backed up I felt another slight bump and Jodie informed me that I rolled over him again. I looked at the spot where he was lying and he was curled up in a ball….he didn’t look smashed at all. The next morning I went back to that spot and he was gone. I convinced myself that he survived being run over twice…even though Eli kept telling me that an animal came during the night and ate him.
• Someone told me that after living in Tanzania for six months I would be fluent in Swahili. That has not happened. I think if I were a more diligent student I would be farther along but all of our African workers want to learn English and they are always practicing their English on us. But in spite of not being fluent at this point we do continue to practice and work at it…just not as much as we should. The other night I was driving out the gate to run to the market. I thought I would inform the guard that I would be back shortly. In Swahili I meant to say, “I will return quickly.” But instead, my pronunciation didn’t come out exactly as it should have and I told the guard, “I will return my love.” I knew something was missed in the translation by the huge smile that came over the guard’s face. The next day I asked Pastor Mbasha what I said to the guard and he informed me…through laughter…what I really said.
• One day after visiting with Pastor Mbasha and his family we were getting ready to leave. Janet, Pastor Mbasha’s wife, came out carrying a bag with fresh eggs for us to take home. I took the bag and put it in my backpack. I forgot about the eggs…for many days. I threw my backpack around and didn’t give those eggs a second thought. One day I woke up and smelled something terrible. I emptied my trash and took my dirty laundry to the laundry area and still the smelled did not go away. I looked all over my room and finally discovered the smell was coming from my backpack. I put my hand inside and felt something wet. I turned my backpack over to discover all the eggs had broken and egg yolk was covering everything that was inside. I threw away everything except my international driver’s license. I tried to clean it off and then laid it out to dry…it is still a mess. I placed my backpack in the burn pile...I loved that backpack.
• When we were packing and purchasing items to move to Tanzania I bought more of some items than others. I thought that I had purchased plenty of hair conditioner to last at least seven to eight months. But I find that I wash my hair more here. My hair has also grown out quite a bit and requires more conditioner. I ran out of conditioner about a month ago. I bought some conditioner at a store in Arusha (about and hour and a half away). I had to buy it even though I cringed at the idea of spending ten dollars for a bottle of conditioner that was so small. The first time I used it I thought it was odd that I had to use so much when washing my hair. But even more odd was how my hair looked after it dried. Now I have always had a lot of body in my hair but even I was taken back when I saw the frizz and extreme bulk of body in my hair. I brought non-frizz gels with me from America but they just help with the initial scary frizz the conditioner creates…it doesn’t help with the extreme bulk of body frizz. Adding on top of all this frizz is the fact that I am desperately in need of a hair cut…the dead ends do not help with the frizz factor. My mom so lovingly came to my rescue and mailed me a package with hair conditioner in it…the wonderful saloon brand that will be just what my hair needs…but her package is lost in the mail.
• I know that I have already written a blog entry about the mosquitoes. But I need to mention them again. You see we have had rain…good rain…for the last few months. The rain is a very good thing here but with the rain there has been an increase in mosquitoes. They are everywhere…all the time. Before the rains we could count on them to be out in large numbers heading towards evening time, but now they are out in large numbers all the time…day or night. It also seems like they don’t mind the bug spray as much anymore. The Avon brand “Skin So Soft” does nothing for protection. I probably spray myself with bug spray at least three times a day…and still end up with multiple bites. My feet, ankles and legs have permanent scars from those little guys. I try not to scratch them but the bug spray irritates the bites so they swell up and really itch…sometimes I just can’t help but scratch. I was hoping that my new frizz hair would help serve as a net to catch the mosquitoes before they had a chance to bite me.

New Year

Toward the end of the year I like to evaluate the past and think about the future. As 2007 was approaching I found myself reflecting on the many things that took place in 2006. I have been looking over my personal journal and even some of my blog entries. It has been quite a year…and I am not even talking about the obvious…I’m talking about what has taken place in my heart.
I have a tendency to be hard on myself when difficult situations occur. I know what I am supposed to do and yet when I am not the person the Lord has called me to be I get frustrated with myself. This year I wrote scriptures in my personal journal to remind myself that God has not given up on me and that even when I fail the Lord’s love is always there.
There is something about putting our trust in the Lord even when we struggle and things don’t appear to change.
BUT THINGS DO CHANGE…God does something in us. God can help us to see Him in the midst of life’s struggles…God’s word brings hope…His word brings life…it changes everything.
As I have been reflecting on so much this past year I have been encouraged by the word of God. The Bible is living and active…it gets in us and changes us. I am confident that God will help me in my weaknesses and in His great patience and love He gives me the grace to grow in the midst of struggles.
I have a prayer box my friend Freya gave me. It has a place for prayer requests and answered prayer requests. I have written a prayer request…this year instead of getting frustrated with myself when I don’t do exactly what a situation calls for, I will turn my mind towards the word of God and fill it with the words that bring the change I am longing to see in my life.
I often think about the day when I will stand before God. I want Him to be pleased that I trusted Him to do in me what His word promises. God gave us promises in His word because He wants us to believe Him for so much…things that we can’t do on our own…including those heart struggles.
I am entering 2007 with a stronger desire for God and His word…a stronger desire to please Him and live according to His word.
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”