Gerry, Ulric & Annabel - Tanzania
Prayer Letter February 2006
I have bought a wife. She cost me 50,000Tsh (£25) and she is young and very attractive. However she is not to be mine, although it is legal to have a second wife here. One of our guards announced that he wanted to marry, but didn’t have the money for the dowery. We helped him out and he is now a happy man.
As some of you know, Annabel's contract was due to end next year, so the time has come to consider what we do next. There were a number of possibilities, but the door has opened for us to go to Abuja, Nigeria. For Annabel there are plenty of challenges on governance, and for me there are a number of opportunities, including getting involved with the International Church, which currently does not have a pastor. We have had a fantastic four years here and it will be very sad to leave. Current timetable is to leave after this semester after term ends and the 'Laser Open' sailing competition this June.
This year we had a fantastic Christmas party for 150 university students at the Dar Es Salaam Yacht club overlooking the Indian ocean. No turkey or Christmas pudding, but plenty of BBQ chicken and fish and rice, followed by party games. A number of our students are Congolese refugees, so it was really good for them to have a good meal and somewhere to go on Christmas day. The English service continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Our aims this year, apart from lively, relevant, short services, are more student led bible studies and setting up a graduate group, who can help with the running of the church. It is interesting why people come - was talking to a young man on Sunday who said he came because our service was short!
There has been very little rain for a long time here. The level of Lake Victoria (source of the Nile) has sunk dramatically and much of the north of the country are becoming like desert. This is not helped by over-grazing and mass de-forestation. For the rural people that means livestock dying (and hence their savings), and for city people like us it means no hydro-electric power. We have had very little power here in Dar Es Salaam for a number of days. It is terrible for business and effects all areas of life from traffic lights to contents of fridge-freezers - imagine the effect. The very rich by and large
are insulated from this as they have generators. For everyone else it is a disaster.
Tanzania now has a new President and government. It is early stages, and no one knows what its flavour will be, but for the donors it will mean building new relationships. Development is so dependent on individuals, so changes will mean that some areas will now progress faster, and others perhaps no so well. Tanzania is one of the few African success stories in terms of peace, stability and growth over the last few years - pray it stays that way.
"African friends and money matters" is a must read book for anyone interested in mission or development. It gives an extraordinary insight into community minded African culture and how this effects their view of money, and contrasts with our Western selfish individualism. It explains why Western financial attitudes regarding saving, budgeting and financial planning are so counter-cultural here! Buy from www.amazon.com.
We don’t have satellite telly, so rely on DVD's. The girls favourite dvd is: "Here comes a Tractor"; ours is; "Desperate Housewives", thanks to Annabel's sister Clare.
Gerry
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