We left the KIA Lodge this morning and went to the town of Moshe. There we attended church at the Lutheran Seminary Chapel at Maramaku Universary. We were introduced to the congregation and smiled and nodded because we did not understand a word of what was being said. Pastor Melissa was embarassed to be asked to explain what we were doing there. She represented us well, so I don't think she needed to be embarassed at all. The offering was very different than anything with which we are familiar. During the service, people came forward with their offereing and placed it in one of several baskets. We were told later that each basket represented the area where they lived. People gave whatever they could. After the service, there was an auction of 2 chickens, 3 liters of cows' milk, assorted vegetables, bags of mangos, avadacos and stalks of sugar cane. Many of the people greeted us warmly after the service.
After church we came to the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro and checked into our hotel where we had lunch. After lunch, we went on a great hike where we were shown how many local families live. They have small plots of land, so they grow corn, bananas, coffee, avacados, sunflowers for oil and everything they need mixed all together. There is no space to leave rows between the plants. The hike ended at a waterfall. It was a fun afternoon and it really did feel good to get out and hike after spending much of the past 3 days sitting in one form or another. Tomorrow we head for Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito Town).
We've been thinking of our friends Jan, Chelsea and Tracy who have been unable to join us yet. One flight was cancelled in Chicago and another was canceled in Amsterdam. Hopefully they will catch up with us tomorrow.
Carole and Steve
Did Jan, Chelsea, and Tracy finally aarrive? As excited as we are for all of you, our concerns still rest on their safety and the joining of the group. They will need to be pampered (for a day) for all their trials.
ReplyDeleteSo . . . . who got the beds and who got the tents?