Kilimanjaro Journey : A Time of Thanksgiving in Katesh

Over Thanksgiving Week we headed south leaving Mt. Meru and heading towards Mt. Hanang. Katesh is a village that rests below the third tallest mountain in Tanzania. Lulu is our National Church Planter and CHE partner who lives within this area. He has a lovely family that we were able to meet and spend time with while within the area. What a blessing it was to see Lulu in his element. He is gifted and called by God to minister to his people and the people groups who live around him.

We were there to encourage some of the CHE projects in the area. I was also there to explore additional people groups and schools. Seeing another part of the country is always an adventure. The short rains have come to the area so things are green which is always lovely to see along the hillsides. The first night Amy and I climbed on top of the car for an amazing star show!

For fun Lulu let me ride with him on his pikipiki!

I have always wanted to ride one. Lulu is a very good driver and I knew he would take good care of me! I was unsure how I was going to pull it off in a skirt but I did!

Here are the kids of the school that we visited. I have such a difficult time describing the magnitude of work here to do in the areas of education. Martin was a man who opened the school. He is a man of God and has a passion to educated and minister to these kids. Which is very rare to find. I hope that we can partner in the coming year. When the children begin to sing it always brings tears to my eyes. The voices ringing pull at my heart strings of the young minds that need to be invested in here in TZ!

Here are some of the goats of the CHE project in the village. We helped purchase a group of goats. They then begin to have babies and the project is to keep one and give one and so on. This helps build stock.

This was one of our tables of Thanks. My wise Grand-brother Bob wrote on my facebook that "Thanksgiving is not a menu, it is a state of heart through an eating experience." I could not have put my Thanksgiving experience this year in better terms. I am grateful for my time of Thanksgiving with the believers around Mt. Hanang but these words were good for my heart to read again.

One thing is for sure the menu was not that of what one might think of when you sit down at a Thanksgiving Table. This is no turkey to the left but beef with bone. My mouth waters at the thought of pumpkin persimmon pie but the menu was at the bottom of thoughts as I watched with a humble spirit as the meal was shared. I am truly blessed to be of encouragement to my brother and sisters.

This is the home of one of our church planters and where we were on actual Thanksgiving Day. We arrived early in the morning expecting to have chai encourage and be on our way back to Arusha. We should always know that these visits are always all day affairs with our lovely friends. These visits mean so much to them and they always bring out their best. It is always a very humbling experience to be served in this way when they have so little.

This lovely lady Neema my friends is an inspiration. She is the one who lost her husband to cancer while I was on furlough. Her and her husband are church planters in the area and now she carries on the work with Samweli which is the house where we were. The three of them continue as faithful workers in their village area. Neema has such a joyous spirit and her husband through his death and Christian Funeral has made a huge impact in the area. We were all visiting when the rooster that had been pinned in the corner was carried off to become our Thanksgiving Dinner. We then knew we were in for the day visit! I followed the chicken and the women for preparation and fellowship. Neema and I are sitting in the cook house. Below are the kids helping to clean the rice before it is cooked and then there is ALL the chicken being cooked. I was blessed with the neck on my plate. Insert the above phrase: "its not about the menu, but the state of heart during the eating experience. My heart was there but man my stomach didn't want to be! Many of you experienced indigestion but we won't go into what I experienced!