Friday marked the end of another great week of classes. I feel like I’m finally teaching and the students are finally learning. I walked into class a few minutes early and some of the older students were working problems on the board. I taught them earlier in the week how to find the volume of cylinders. They were practicing using the equation pi x r^2 x h on their own. These students are highly motivated and get excited about learning. That makes for one happy teacher.
For my afternoon class I shared pictures of my home, family, farm, friends, and Notre Dame. I also had some pictures from some of my travels in Europe. They are pretty fascinated with life in America and ask a lot of questions. I have been asked about my wife many times. They also want to know what tribe I come from.
Much of the fresh produce that the priests eat here are gifts from the villagers offered at Mass. They take seriously the idea that the first fruits are to be given to God. The line at offertory is always long. No plate is passed. Everybody walks up to the altar. If you have money to give, there is a box up front. If you have eggs, corn, pumpkins, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, or onions, those are set at the foot of the altar. If your gift has four legs or wings, it too is brought up to the altar for a blessing by Father.
I enjoy helping Marietta, out cook, prepare lunch or dinner. She enjoys the company. Her English is pretty good, so she has been teaching me some Swahili. She lets Charlie and me be creative in the kitchen. Taking a pumpkin that was given at Mass, Charlie made a pumpkin cake and pumpkin soup. I took the seeds, salted them, and baked them. The priests were especially impressed with the pumpkin soup, which was served for dinner last night.
To celebrate the end of the week, Charlie and I prepared a fire outside. We gathered wood and dead branches and lit the fire as soon as the sun set, which was around 7:00pm. We invited the students to sit with us. We had a great night of joking and laughing and sharing. Charlie shared his pumpkin cake, and I passed around the pumpkin seeds that were still warm from the oven. Our friends expressed their desire to travel to America and see our homes and families. Charlie and I were told that we were going to be missed when we leave. I hope we have more nights like this before the students leave for holiday.
We woke up early on Saturday for 7:30am Mass. After a quick breakfast Charlie and I set off with Christopher and Rueben to visit Rueben’s family in Lostete. This walk was the longest yet- about 16 km I was told. We saw elephant trails along the way and fresh elephant tracks in the dust. Elephants are around, and I know that I will see one in the backyard before I leave. Being such large animals, I don’t know how they hide so well. We climbed up and slid down some steep hills, scaled large rocks, and hopped across streams. These hikes are not walks in the park!
After dodging several downhill-running donkeys, we finally arrived at the home of Rueben. We were ushered into a hut where we were given tea and cobs of corn to eat. It felt nice to sit and rest in the shade. As we sat there, goats and chickens ran around outside the door. Rueben’s family lives in four little huts that are surrounded by a fence. The huts and fence are made entirely out of natural materials (sticks, straw, and mud), and all the floors are dirt. The huts are impressively built, but they are n0t too big. I had to squeeze and duck to get in the doors. We were given a tour of each hut and the fields that surround the home. There is no electricity at all out there. All the cooking is done over a fire pit.
After the tour, Rueben indicated that he wanted to give Charlie and me gifts. We tried to kindly refuse, but we soon realized that “no thank you” was going to get us nowhere. Plus, we knew it would seem rude not to graciously accept the gifts. First, we were given small, wooden clubs that were hand-carved and painted black. Next, Rueben’s mother presented us with wrist cuffs that she made with hundreds of little white beads and pieces of bone. Then she gave us each a neckpiece that was also made by her. Mine has a leather base and is decorated with many different colored beads and seeds. It is very intricate, and I can tell that a lot of time was put into it. Rueben’s family comes from the Maasai tribe, and these are traditional pieces of jewelry. We later learned from Fr. Comfort that these pieces are presented to a woman before a marriage can take place. He said that they are very valuable and highly sought after.
On our way home, we stopped at the home of another student named Kiba. Again we were seated for tea. We didn’t stay too long, but once more we were presented with a gift. Kiba’s mother gave us a plump hen. I carried that chicken under my arm from Kiba’s home to an out station where Fr. Comfort was saying Mass that afternoon. We gladly accepted a ride back to Kitete with him, chicken and all. It now runs around the parish with the other chickens. It will make for a delicious dinner some night.
Once more I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people I have met. I know Kiba’s family needs that chicken more than we do. To have meat at a meal for most of these families is pretty rare. For some, it only happens twice a year- once for Easter and once for Christmas. Rueben or his brothers will one day need to give their wives-to-be cuffs and necklaces. Giving these gifts to us is a sacrifice made on our behalf. I will always remember and greatly appreciate what I have been given (and that includes all gifts, tangible or not, edible or not).
On Sunday we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi, and when I say celebrate, I mean it. I attended Mass with Fr. Cyprian in Kambi ya Simba (note spelling correction from previous posts). As expected, Mass was very long, well over three hours. Children received the sacrament of First Holy Communion, and Father gave two homilies for the price of one! I brought along my journal and wrote my own homily for the day. The church is a big one that seats many people. Still, over a hundred had to stand along the back walls for the entire service. I was sore from sitting on the hard bench, but I wasn’t about to begin complaining.
Following Mass we participated in a Eucharistic Procession. This was by far the largest that I have ever seen. It was the longest as well. I would estimate that there were easily
700+ of us processing from the church to the village center of Kami ya Simba. The First Communicants led the parade followed by little girls in white dresses. The first girls were wearing angel wings, and the others were tossing flower petals as we walked. Next came Fr. Cyprian with the Monstrance under a simple tent made of a white sheet and four branches. We stopped at four altars along the way, and we sang as we walked form one to the other. After the fourth altar, 18 of us packed into the Land Cruiser to drive back to the church. Fr. Cyprian sat in the front seat still reverently holding the Monstrance containing the Body of Christ. That was definitely the most holy (and crowded) ride that I have ever taken. The day was long, but I enjoyed it all. The Church has many faithful disciples out here in rural Tanzania, and it has been a privilege to share in the liturgical and spiritual life that is very alive here.
Willie, one of our friends and first year students, was among the many to make his First Holy Communion on Sunday. The celebration continued at the school after we got back home from the procession. We had a party. The food was plentiful, and we enjoyed sodas and even a cake. I participated in the cake dance. We danced and sang as we carried the cake to the head table where Willie was seated. The cake was cut into small pieces, and Willie fed each of us a piece after our names were called. We would clap and sing until the person walked up to the table to eat the cake after his or her name was called. The night was fun, festive and definitely memorable. We sang and laughed and danced. There was a lot of joy at the school that night.
My Grandma celebrates her birthday tomorrow, the 17th. Happy birthday, Grandma! I love you. I look forward to celebrating with you after I get home in July.
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