The Wedding

The auction



The Congregation (click on it to see it larger - I love this shot)


Wedding Decorations


Too many fat Americans atop mud bricks equals disaster


Curious Little Boys



The view from the mountain top church


Everywhere else we went the kids were all over us. These ones just stared and smiled.

It is interesting that yesterday was the fullest day we have had so far, considering that we only did two things - ride in the car and go to the wedding.

We were told that the trip to the village would take about two and a half to three hours. Um, try four and a half. We spent the last two hours thinking we were almost there. The first two miles were on a great paved road. After that we turned off and headed up into the Uluguru Mountains. If you look at a map of Tanzania, we hardly moved an inch, but that is understandable when taking into account the condition of the roads.

We spent four hours each way on a single "lane" dirt path through the mountains. It has been raining here since Monday, so the potholes were massive and the fishtailing pretty constant. The only vehicles on the road were our two landrovers and the "buses" that they use here (think full-size van on steroids) that have so many people stuffed inside that many are hanging out the windows and several more clinging to the top or standing on the back bumper. For the first couple hours there were constantly people on the side of the road who we had to take special care not to hit, as the shoulder was either a cliff, a house, a massive tree, or a herd of goats. It is worth noting that Pastor Haffermann does not break for chickens. Just like my parents and the squirrels at home. My blood pressure shot up every time we went near one! He made more of an effort for the goats however. They got a warning honk.

Imagine that you are inside a salt shaker. Not just any salt shaker, but the kind they have here that are always completely clogged because of the humidity. When people try to salt their food, they shake the dang things like their lives depend on it, just to get a few measly grains out. We were inside that salt shaker for over eight hours yestrerday. We were hitting our heads on the ceiling, landing in other peoples' laps, and once, I was almost launched into the front seat (from the very back). Everybody had to duck because my legs went flying through the air over their heads. I eventually landed facing the back window in my own seat.

The village we went to is inhabited by the "poorest of the poor" as our pastor said. There was nothing, and I mean nothing for many miles. The road we drove in on, which is the only road through the mountains, eventually ends up in a state park that people fly into rather than drive. They live on top of the Uluguru Mountains and Pastor Haffermann simply reffered to them as mountain people. They engage in subsistance farming and are very distrustful of outsiders. At the last church we went to, the people were all over us from the moment we stepped out of the cars. Here they huddled in groups and stared. Chellie brought some little gold star stickers like your elementary school teacher had. I went over to a group of three boys and put one on each of their chests. They smiled at their feet the whole time, but as soon as I walked away, every other little boy in the village was on them, madly whispering and grabbing their shirts to see for themselves. They all got one eventually.

They had a bathroom right next to the church for us to use. It was very new and made of nice brick. I was the first to go in. When I saw the mud floor and nothing else, I was confused. When I saw the 3X3 inch hole, I informed the rest of the group that I did not have the required equipment to aim like that, and promptly went behind the little brick bathroom to take care of business. The other girls followed suit.

The wedding was for two couples. It was a ten minute segment of a full three hour church service in which many baptisms also took place, but it was still a very big deal. The couples all wore outfits cut from the same new cloth and looked very nice. I'm sure it was a big deal to have any new article of clothing around these parts. Afterwards there was an auction (because we were there with our big American wallets) but the big items were a goat and a rooster. Dr. Strickert outbid our pastor for the goat and presented it to one of the grooms. It went for 40,000 shillings, which is about $40. It turns out that man was the one to donate it (a massive sacrifice) and having it returned with a church blessing was a big deal.

Phil won the rooster and gave it to the other couple. Dr. Strickert was whispering the numbers in his ear during the bidding since we have only learned such useful phrases as "I am a mechanic" and"he/she is from Denmark" and not numbers. He ended up making Phil jump from nine to twenty, which provided a lot of entertainment for the villagers and was the highlight of Dr. Strickert's day judging from the look on his face.

Today we are going to the Masaai cattle market. Pastor Haffermann has promised to keep me away from the slaughter area, so hopefully I don't stumble upon anything that will give me nightmares for the rest of my life.