Dear Family & Friends,
It's 3 a.m. I was awakened by the barking of the guard dogs. Nothing to worry about. They were just "talking" to each other, but we sleep with our windows open so we hear all the night sounds of Africa---now there's a dark silence interrupted only by the cooing chirp of some unidentified birds. They seem to be "talking" to each other too. So after lying awake for a while, I decided I'd get up and "talk" to you was well.
I attended a Women's Bible Study in Arusha last week--the one I've been a part of every year. It's an interesting mix of women from various countries in Africa as well as Europe and the U.S. There were about 15 of us and they were wrapping up their study of Ephesians. This particular lesson ended with each woman telling what she has been struggling with lately and then the session ended with a time in which we all prayed for each other. Similar to all the previous Bible Studies----except this time the tone was different. In the past two years, the format has been the same but the struggles were random---someone was sick from Malaria or Typhoid, or someone was unsure of how God was leading them, or we prayed for the family of someone who had died, etc. But not yesterday....in fact, ever since we arrived in Tanzania, Tim and I have felt a palpable tension in the air---not at Makumira where we teach and live, but in Arusha, the main city 14 miles away where we attend church and do errands....where the Bible Study was.
There seems to be 3 causes: the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, an increase in terrorism and personal violence in Arusha, and the consequential effect of both of these on the Tanzanian economy. Because of the Ebola fear and increased safety risks, tourism is drastically reduced. Basically Arusha is the Safari Hub for Tanzania and much of East Africa, so when tourists stop coming, everyone feels the trickle down impact----and such is the case right now.
The husband of one woman in the Bible Study is a tour guide who has his own small tour company. She said there are not enough tourists for the big, established tour operators, much less for the small ones.
Another woman said her 2 adult sons are university graduates but they sit at home day after day because there is no work to be found. She and her husband sacrificed for their sons' education and now she questions if it was worth the sacrifice. (Others are also starting to abandon their hope that education is the way out of poverty.)
At the market place we reconnected with a street hawker who wanted us to buy another copy of the same batik picture he sold us last year---he said that because of the fear of Ebola, and the current attack on women by piki piki (motorcycle) drivers with guns, people are staying away. Some businesses have been randomly bombed. And yesterday the news headlines were about the kidnapping of a 6 year old girl named Glory who was found butchered in a field near the coast. (This last incident was 8 hours from our place, but the fear it evokes seems contagious here.)
Another Bible Study participant said that she just wakes with a feeling of anxiety everyday that she didn't use to have. She's started having boils all over her body and she said that only happens when her immune system is low. She feels that the anxiety and boils are related.
The women all agreed that they feel an uneasiness that's different from the past.
The book of Ephesians encouraged us to equip ourselves with the whole armor of God. We recommitted to doing that, and in addition we are planning to have a Women's Retreat on Saturday, October 25th. I will be leading some sessions on how to use self-talk to decrease anxiety, and a session on relaxation skills.
These are dedicated, Christian women who live in a very challenging environment. Their personal safety and that of their loved ones is threatened by things they can't control. The same situation occurs in the U.S. too, except that here there is no reliable infrastructure or systems in place to depend on. The things that help and give us hope back in the States don't exist here---there is no welfare system, or organized preventative health outreach, or effective, responsive police protection. The people truly are vulnerable and last week, 15 women spilled out those fears.
So as we wait for the students to return and classes to begin at Makumira, we ask for your prayers for the people of Tanzania, and for the upcoming Women's Retreat.
I hear the rooster "talking" now. It's not dawn yet, but this is the same rooster from last year that is a bit confused and stirs things up beginning at 4 a.m. (Tim thinks it needs some Melatonin!)
I am trying to post some pictures along with this---it's giving me directions in Swahili so no guarantee they will post!
God's peace be with you,
Tim & Diane
