Tanzanian Drive-Thru

Last weekend (May 1-4) we were able to get away to Mwanza for a short trip. It is a 3 hour drive on all paved roads. Mwanza has many things that Musoma does not, including supplies (certain canned goods, cheese, bacon, etc.) and restaurants (Chinese, Indian and Pizza). It was a lovely trip and the weather was beautiful. We stayed at our friend Naomi's house-- check out this beautiful view of Lake Victoria!Between Mwanza and Musoma is a little area called Kiabakara. It's not quite a town-- I think it's most accurately described as a produce stand with a nearby village or 2. Local farmers stand on the side of the road and have buckets of fresh produce. The selling process was culturally stressful to us for such a long time. Then a few months ago we were traveling home from Mwanza and started to really appreciate not getting out of the car to do our produce shopping! Now it's often one of the highlights on the drive back from Mwanza. Here's how it works. First, a car or bus pulls over between the 2 speedbumps (these mark a "slow zone"). This is an invitation for all the women to approach your car (or bus as you can see above) with buckets piled high with produce. You choose what you want, bargain the price, pay and take the fruit through the window. Sounds easy, huh? It usually is. Sometimes, though, you get someone who is being really pushy about their rotten bananas and will actually put them inside your car trying to get you to buy them. Oh, another fun thing is to just tell one person what you want (ie: naomba ndizi na matango-- I'd like bananas and cucumbers). They'll call out NDIZI! or MATANGO! Then 3-4 people selling those items will run to your car so you're more likely to buy theirs. It's quite the event.
We can usually tell how we're doing on the culture stress scale by how we look at this event. If we're homesick and culture stressed, the Tanzania Drive-Thru is really overwhelming. When we're doing well, though, it's a lot of fun!

-JLR

Expectations of a Missionary: Rejecting the MHC

So, the last article I wrote concerning poverty and missionary lifestyle got me thinking about a slightly related issue I’ve been bothered with as of late.

It has to do with expectations of a missionary; both his own expectations of himself, as well as others’ expectations of him. Specifically, in regards to the concept of the “missionary hero”, and how this concept changes these expectations. William Carey. Adoniram Judson. Hudson Taylor. David Livingstone. These and more are our “missionary heroes”.

I find hearing about the lives of these missionaries to be extremely encouraging. The reoccuring theme that I find so encouraging is the constant response of faith to suffering. And so it’s interesting that the very thing I find so encouraging is also the thing that bothers me the most. And here’s why. The problem is not the missionary hero’s response of faith to suffering, and the application of that needed encouragement to my own faith, it’s this: that others expect on some level that those sufferings will be the same today (or very similar), and if they’re not, then the modern missionary does not measure up. Plus, I find that I have those same sort of expectations of myself, whether I want to or not. I’ll call it a missionary-hero complex (MHC).

These missionaries never went on furlough.

These missionaries never took a vacation.

These missionaries never saw their families again.

These missionaries lost many of their children.

These missionaries lived with malaria, and a lack of drugs to treat.

These missionaries had to travel by boat for months on end.

Etc.

Should I compare myself to this?

This is what Dr. J. Herbert Kane says:

We usually think of the missionary pioneers as making a great sacrifice when they went to Africa and Asia in the nineteenth century. This is not altogether true. When Hudson Taylor arrived in China he didn’t find any indoor plumbing, central heating, electric light, or telephone service. So what? He didn’t have them back in England either. Where then was the sacrifice?...There is a sense in which today’s missionary candidates make greater material sacrifices than their predecessors a hundred years ago. This should be borne in mind when we are tempted to criticize the younger generation for their reluctance to forego the amenities of Western technological civilization.

Thoughts? Thanks for reading.

-T.M.

Please check out Blood:Water Mission

If you haven't checked out this website before, I highly urge you to do so; and if you have, please do so again:

http://www.bloodwatermission.com

Blood:Water Mission is an organization founded by the lead singer of Jars of Clay, Dan Haseltine, "committed to clean blood and clean water to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa through the linking of needs, talents and continents, of people and resources."

These are areas (poverty, the need for clean water, the need to fight HIV/AIDS) which we have witnessed firsthand here in Tanzania. We assure you these problems are very real.

God bless.

-T.M.

Missionary Haircuts

Where do missionaries go when they need their hair cut? Guys often revert to the buzz cut or some variation. But for us girls, the answer is a bit more complex. If traveling to a major city is a possibility, then a side trip to a real salon is not out of the question. I did this when we were in Dar following language school.

But what if one doesn't have such plans on the horizon? The answer is to find the person in your town who would do the least suckiest job. It must be an expatriate (Mzungu) since I have yet to meet a Tanzanian who knows what to do with my hair besides touch it with an astonished expression on their face! Here in Musoma I have become the resident hair-cutter. Not that my skills are profound or that they wouldn't embarrass the likes of my hair-stylist friend, Sunshine. Still, I pride myself in dabbling in most things artistic or crafty and I can do some of the basics pretty well...

My challenge was what to do for my own hair. I was getting bored with my hair, so I started to hack it off. I layered the mid and bottom levels and cut long bangs, but I still needed someone to cut a nice straight line for me at the bottom-- about 3-4 inches shorter than it was. I found a great helper. Kim was quite nervous, especially when I told her how much I wanted cut off, but she did a good job. Here are a couple of the "result" photos. No negative judgments, folks, unless you've cut your own hair and did a better job than this! It sure beats having "Missionary Hair," which is one of my most profound yet superficial fears in being a missionary.

The front-- just for the record, the sides are NOT uneven. Tim and I had trouble getting a good picture because of the angle I was sitting at and the light and all that. This was the best of the many we took! It is actually quite even on the sides in the front.

The back-- it curves down a bit in the center. I haven't decided if this is a problem yet, since it seems to lay well the way it is. Any thoughts?

-JLR

(photos deleted March 2011)

A Tale of Two Situations: Rich and Poor

So, the question I posed around a month ago was, “Who should a missionary live like?”

75% of you answered that the missionary should live like the people he’s serving, while 25% said that he should live with less than the average American. But what does that even mean? My desire is not to fault anybody for their answers, as I merely wanted to use the question to spark some discussion. A little background information: The CIA World Factbook ranks Tanzania as the 5^th poorest country in the world with around a $600 GDP-per capita. The United States is ranked as the 3^rd richest nation in the world with a GDP-per capita of around $37,800. Just a note: that’s 63 times the GDP-per capita of Tanzania. So, how should a missionary live?

Jeana and I have experienced a struggle in regards to this question. How do we handle appearing to be extremely rich in a very poor country? In regards to the first question, it seems we could err in two extremes: (1) Try to create a mini-United States here in Tanzania. Buy a new Toyota LandCruiser. Try to keep up with all the newest entertainment technology. Bring shipment after shipment of items from the States. (2) Sell everything we own. Walk or bike everywhere. Live in a mud house and eat ugali every meal, every day.

Both of these extremes are potentially wrong. In the first, we may be denying the fact that we live in Tanzania, and are trying to compensate by creating an area of “comfort” for ourselves. In the second, we may be denying that we come from the States and the people we are ministering to know this. In fact, in this area of the world, at least, it is very offensive to try and live like the people do. People think you’re crazy (and not in a good way). You lose your effectiveness in ministry. But you also lose your effectiveness in ministry by being greedy and hoarding your wealth. Then, what is the right thing to do?

I’ve been reading in 1 Timothy lately and Paul has some things to say about all of this. In 6:6 he says, “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment...” and in 6:18-19 he says, “ [The rich] are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Paul points out several pertinent things in this chapter, mainly that God desires a certain type of heart. Hearts consecrated to Him, concerned with His kingdom, hopeful on Him, thankful, humble, content, and generous.

It seems then that the best thing to do is any circumstance we’re in is to have this kind of heart. Whether we have a lot or a little. It seems more effective to minister by providing work for Tanzanians, helping them financially when their kids get sick, or giving them food when the rains don’t come. To be generous with what we’ve been given by God for the purpose of extending His hand of mercy to the poorest of the poor.

-T.M.