Tuesday in October: Arrival Day
Ahhh Tanzania. The delicious cool breezes. The darkness of the night illuminated by the twinkling lighted trees of the airport perimeter. I am greeted by my Tanzanian family. Pastor P’s enveloping hug. M and his shy smile. And Kalifa who greets me with a hearty Ooolala and tells me his wife is waiting for me in Ketumbiene. Every morning I would greet her with this greeting as she appeared from the kitchen arrayed in Ooolala splendour. The thing that speaks most joyfully to my heart is being known. The weariness of my traveling falls away in the presence of this family.
Wednesday
My Psalm for today is Psalm 90 and it becomes my prayer as well as we begin our detail gathering.
Psalms 90: 1, 16-17
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
16 May Your deeds be shown to Your servants,
   Your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
   establish the work of our hands for us—
   yes, establish the work of our hands.
May this day be all for Your Glory as You establish the work of Your hands through ours.
The Details
I made a map of Arusha filled with my four favorite places and realistically the only four places I know: the airport, our hotel, Mt. Meru hospital and Sable Square where I keep my Grant’s gazelles. Today I am introduced to the Clocktower. Built in 1957, it marks the ‘exact’ center of the 10,000 km Cairo-Cape road. When traveling, I rarely know the specifics of where I am on the earth. It is a surprise to me that there are 5,000 km on either side of me. It has always felt like I was more south. A map completes my education. Curious.
This trip is not a medical clinic team trip but rather a whirlwind gathering of details to be accomplished. Today we will shop for all the things needed for a newly built Lodge: the sheet shop, the appliance store, the router wonderland, the bed barn and the pavilion of paint, for a start.
It is bustling in downtown Arusha on this sunny, 78°, not too hot, day. It is the same temperature at home with only the slight variation of 55% humidity here. The breezing cuts its edge as I breathe deeply of the blessings all around me.
The appliance arena commands our first appointments. I see a sign: Power your culinary edge. Those of you who are familiar with Clifton Strengths, will smile with me. We do our strengths on every trip. It gives us a common language for building each other up. As part of every strength, there is a ‘power and edge’, a snapshot of the unique gifting the strength empowers. Today, we are powering our culinary and bathroomy edge.
The corner showers and tile ignite my imagination…perhaps I will move my bathroom renovation up my own list.
There is a bathtub in the shape of a gigantic cereal bowl fit for the whole family. My dogs couldn’t get in but oh how they would have fun…actually I don’t see how anyone could get in… curiousier.
My K has an eye for details that astounds me in its complexity and completeness. It ventures into every arena, pivoting into the adjacent without effort. She is as future thinking as she is firmly planted in present realities. She has a comprehensive plan for what is needed now and what will be needed later; cost, warranty, style, longevity; Sinks, tile, stoves, toilets, furniture…
I stand in awe of her at every turn, marveling at her giftedness. When I revisit my Psalm of the day, I realize that I am really in awe of our God Who has called and equipped her so magnificently.
In the late afternoon, standing in the furniture store listening to the wisdom of the team, I feel a bit obsolete, like my mind is in need of some capacity building to be more useful.
His purpose for my particular gifting on this trip has, admittedly, been elusive. His message in Psalm 90, again, informs my thinking and is reinforced by another random sign: Heaven’s Beauties glow naturally.
Today, as He establishes the work of His hands through ours, He does not need me to be another visionary mastermind with an uncanny ability to cover all the details. He invites me, instead, to celebrate and champion the heavenly beauties He sets before me. He invites me to shine with the natural glowing that comes from open dialogue with Him. Open dialogue with my Mastermind as He builds His work through His masterminds. How marvelous!
As the Psalm says, He has been our dwelling place in all generations and so it is true today as well.
Thank YOU.
TanziAnne
