Hot, humid, sand, mangos, rice, mosquito bites, Islam, traffic jams, Indian Ocean, and the Holy Spirit – welcome to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Dar Es Salaam is the capital of Tanzania but my experience here has been vastly different from Kampala. We are staying on the outskirts of the city in one of the poorest areas. The western amenities that I enjoyed last month are not with in arms reach, but rather take a long and undesirable pilgrimage to the city center.
This month my team, Remnant, is partnering with a small Assembly’s of God church in the center of an Islamic community. The area is 95 percent Islamic and our reception has been interesting. In Kenya and Uganda we were usually greeted with big smiles and “How are you?”, but here it is mostly blank stares or complete ignorance. I talked to the head pastor about this and he said that it comes from ingrained hatred towards Americans in the Muslim faith. He went on to say this community sent over 400 men to fight against the Americans in the Iraq war.
I don’t want to paint a completely dark picture because we have had a lot of success with the children. After being here for a week the children that we pass by everyday on our way to the church have really started to warm up to us and in-turn their parents.
There is a lot of spiritual darkness here from the Muslim faith and witchcraft. As a result we spent a lot time in prayer and worship this week to provide a spiritual covering over this community and us. We also started an English class for members of the church under the request of the pastor. My Swahili has steadily been increasing. This is actually the first month in Africa where I am in area where Swahili is spoken.
The head pastor, Pastor Mgaya, has been a blessing for me to meet. He is a professional engineer with degrees in civil and public health engineering. He has used his career to independently support his church and numerous other churches that he has planted. I have been blown away by the humble life he lives and the extraordinary things he has accomplished through the Lord. It has definitely opened my mind to how a life of both engineering and ministry is possible.
Just a heads up. On the 19th I will be traveling back to Kenya to spend a week and half doing MANistry with all the men from my squad (14 in all) working out in the bush with the Maasai tribe. The Maasai tribe are world renown for their crazy cultural practices and initiations.
