I bless the rains down in Africa...

You knew that one was coming eventually.

It started to rain tonight. As I am typing this it is still raining and has been for the past hour and a half. Could this possibly be the rains that Tanzania has so desperately been praying for? I can only hope so. It is a full moon outside tonight, though you cannot tell that the moon even exists because it is so dark here. The darkness covers everything around leaves to the imagination everything. I wonder if I will be able to notice a difference in the landscape tomorrow when I wake up? I can only imagine that I will. With the short spurts of rain that we have had in the past the ground seems to suck it up faster than any SHAMWOW!! cloth ever could.

Yesterday we went to a Maasai village to worship. It was the first time that anybody had worshipped in their new church that Luka built. It was an interesting ride as we packed the four Wartburgers, PH, Luka and three other Tanzanian pastors into the Patrol, which is supposed to seat 7 including the driver but really only seats 6 comfortably. The crowding was nothing new for any of us, as we are used to hauling over maximum capacity on a regular basis. When we got there the Maasai choir gathered around and sang all day long as we waited for the service to start. The choir wasn't necessarily the best sounding choir that we have heard (not that they were bad by any means whatsoever) but they were definitely the most energetic choir that we have seen to date. Apparently they have learned every song by listening to a cassette tape or by composing the songs themselves. There was some form of a dance or another to every song. During offering they even had this way sweet single file line of synchronized dancing and singing. I was able to capture some video, so when I get back to the states I can remember what it was like....Yay for me and modern technology.

My brain clicked in yesterday as I sat listening to the choir sing. I had studied African-American churches and even been to a couple services, but it finally dawned on me the reason that Maasai singing sounded so familiar. The gospel choirs in the big African-American churches back home are taking their cues from the very music that I now listen to several times a week. I realize this is a "Duh" moment for some people, and it really was for me when I thought of it yesterday, but as I sat there I suddenly tied closer to home than ever before. Being here I am not learning about Tanzanian culture, I am learning about American culture. I have to question and understand my own culture before I can even begin to try and understand Tanzanian. This further solidifies the fact that when I come home and people ask me "What is the culture like in Tanzania?" I will have to honestly answer, "I have no idea."

Perhaps I have said this before in an earlier post (and if I have I apologize, though not really because it's my blog and I can repeat whatever I feel like...so there...HA) but in order to understand culture one has to under why people do things, one has to understand motivations, the meanings to rituals and just everyday life. Sure when I get home I will be able to tell you some differences between the way Tanzania does things compared to home on a superficial level, but there is just no way that I can understand the depths and complexities of any culture in three months, nor three years. I realize that when people ask "What is the culture like there?" they are truly asking "What are the differences that you noticed between here and there?" but being the person that I am I put weight to words like culture. Culture is a philosophy, it is the way of life for a particular society.

So much can be said about the way that people respect one another here just by taking a look at the language of Swahili. The word for stranger is the same word for guest (mgeni). There is no distinguishing between like and love in Swahili, because it is the same verb (Kupenda). There are so many examples like this in the language that give tiny glimpses inside the culture. This is just the language. You could spend decades just researching and hypothesizing about the culture through the language alone, but then you would be neglecting a major factor. The people. What are the people like? Are they really friendly because they are really truly happy, or are they happy because if they didn't try to be happy all of the time they would be so incredibly depressed. It is amazing how many people mistake powelessness for indifference.

I am reminded of Luke 12 where Jesus talks about not worrying because worrying does nothing for you, ever. From what I have observed, though I make absolutely no conclusions, people take this to heart here. Many have realized that if they worry about their current condition they will do nothing but worry, and worry equals inactivity. Inactivity equals certain death. Tanzania is a country, definitely not unlike the US, where people have to work hard to make ends meet from one day to another. The difference here is that it is out in the open that people are starving and are living in poor conditions, where it as back home it is disguised by putting people in certain parts of town or confining them to alleyways and bridges.

What one will notice here in Tanzania is the fact that religion is held so highly. Both Christianity and Islam are held onto closely and their traditions, rituals, and disciplines are kept as best as they can be. I am reminded of Karl Marx when he said that religion is the opiate for the masses. I think what Marx hits on can be taken in many different ways. The first way that most people see the quote as Marx is saying that religion is just a drug that people buy into and is nothing but fueling an addiction. Perhaps that was what Marx is saying, but I would like to give ol' Karl's beard a little more credit. I think what Marx hits at her is that religion is an opiate, a narcotic, it is morphine for people in pain. People hold onto God to get them by their hard times, to numb the sharp pains of being poor, hungry and powerless. From what I see here, if people are using God as their way to remedy their agony, then thank you sweet sweet opium. Religion is something that is needed here and everywhere, for without it the masses would surely double over from dolor.

Peace,
PHW