Green, David Tanzania
Green main pageJuly 2004 Prayer Letter (Acrobat pdf version - click here)
Dear All,
I’ve arrived! Two weeks ago I left Heathrow, spent a couple of days with new friends Ulric and Annabel Gerry in Dar es Salaam, then flew to Tabora on Sunday 30th, where I was met by Bishop Francis Ntiruka, who makes a point of meeting newcomers to his diocese, and by Crosslinks mission partners Giles and Annie Roberts and their two boys Tom and Jake. They, and all whom I have met, have made me feel abundantly welcome.
They have thoughtfully given me some space to get settled in. The Roberts family leave for England later this week; so their programme at present is full of farewell meetings, which have sometimes doubled as introductions for me. I have given my first two English lessons for students at the diocesan Bible School (so the TEFL Course which I did last October-March will prove to be useful), and starting on Wednesday I will have another day each week there teaching Old Testament – that will have to be in Swahili, which is going to be quite a challenge.
On Sunday I coped with preaching again in Swahili (a modest 20 minutes, and of course it had to be on the Trinity, being Trinity Sunday). Whereupon, in accordance with African custom, the vicar conducting the service gave the congregation a 5-10 minute review of my sermon – to emphasise the salient points, as he saw them. (I wonder how the lovely Cotswold parishes I have left would appreciate that practice?)
Other jobs so far: getting a bank account sorted, an email address, losing letters on this computer and having to re-write them, taking over the diocese’s overseas account onto my computer (help!! – it’s so easy when Giles shows me how. Just pray that I will remember the right moves).
The weather is lovely and warm – temperature about 20 C.(70 Fahrenheit) in the morning, rising to 25+ (80+) during the day – skies blue and the land fairly green. But this is the cool season. The rains, which were not very good, ended about a month ago: people got a maize harvest, but the rice failed. I am told it gets really hot in July – September, before the short rains in October/November.
Special thanks to those who have written to greet me here. And thank you, everyone, for your love and prayers. This comes to you with mine for all of you – and hopefully it won’t be too long before you hear from me again.
With much love and God’s blessings,
David Green
P.S. Hopefully, those whose email address I have will receive this letter soon; others, not so quickly. If you have an e-address, mine is
revdavidgreen@hotmail.com