Last Friday we drove from Nyabange to Shirati, where we lived for 4 years in the 1980’s. We have been in Nyabange almost a week and have been doing repairs and cleaning the house, finding places to put our things, talking to old friends to get reacquainted. It has been a week of many feelings and memories. People ask us if we see changes. There are more houses in the surrounding village, so the population has increased. The main road has been built and transportation is much easier between towns. Yesterday’s trip to Shirati took us half as long as it used to, about an hour and a half.
Yet, life in the village is not easy. Many do not have cash-paying jobs and rely on their gardens to produce food to eat and a little to sell. Water supply is a problem many places. Our house in Nyabange is about one mile from Lake Victoria and there is a supply system, but the pump has been stolen and has not yet been replaced. We do not have “running” water, we have “walking” water. We are grateful for a water tank that catches rain water from the roof and provide us with a regular supply, just not in the pipes that supply the kitchen and bathroom.
Shirati is the placed where the first Mennonite missionaries entered Tanzania in 1934, almost 80 years ago. The tree where they built their first temporary house is still standing. It is also the location of the hospital that developed out of the early efforts to meet medical needs. Today it is a government-supported hospital that provides quality care. It also has a nursing school that has developed a good reputation. The church views the physical care offered at Shirati as a part of the gospel, the good news that God cares for people. They say that Jesus preached and taught, but he also healed physical illness, so therefore both are essential parts of the Good News of the Kingdom of God. And that is the gospel being presented at Shirati.
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