The Bassett Bulletin

Glad I Had My Sea Bands!

"What?!" you might be asking "are Sea Bands?"

Sea Bands are a beautiful little invention (by I have no idea who, therefore cannot give credit--they are sold at Walgreens, though!) that saved me from being miserable much of our time in Tanzania.

First off, our drive to Kigoma, Tanzania was over four hours long and we drove south along Africa’s Rift Valley on curving mountain roads, ongoing switchbacks, and avoiding potholes, goats, cattle, bicyclists, and soforth. I would have for sure been motion sick on this entire drive if I had not had my Sea Bands.

We arrived in Kigoma and several days later found ourselves aboard The Wings of the Morning, a mid-sized sailboat, bound for the remote village of Kagonga. 

The particular Thursday we found a faint wind—not strong enough to really fill our sails—but due to a storm in Congo Lake Tanganyika was pushing up some large swells. The Wings of the Morning rocked side to side—port to starboard, port to starboard, port to starboard—even though I was wearing my Sea Bands I was most definitely sea sick. I stayed on deck to catch every cool breeze I possibly could and focused on taking long deep breaths. After what seemed like forever to me, we dropped anchor and I scrambled for the rowboat that would sweep me to solid ground. Well, those swells seemed even larger in a small rowboat and my stomach could handle them no longer. I will spare you the gritty details.

More about the Sea Bands later…

This “film trip” (as these evangelism and encouragement trips have been nicknamed) was a wonderful experience! Kagonga and the neighboring village have been visited before by the crew (Harry and Ruth Johnson, Luke Johnson, Emaneli, Danyeli, and a few others whose names I cannot remember). There is already a group of believers that fellowship together between the two villages and a pastor and his family, so the goal of these trips is not to begin a new church there, it is to encourage the believers and help with ongoing evangelism within the villages.

We stepped foot on the beach and were greeted by all the kids who were excited to see us. Their faces were smiling. I would have enjoyed smiling back at them except all I could think about was to sit down and calm my stomach. They were probably thinking that they’d never seen a green-tinted m’zungu before (either that or they’d never seen a ghostly-white looking m’zungu before! I wasn’t quite sure what color I was at that point…)

We were led to a shady spot and soon one of the Tanzanian men on the trip was leading the kids in games. They played some familiar games and also some unfamiliar games (to me, anyway) and then he pulled out a book with some fabulous pictures for the kids to see as he told them a story which led into the gospel. This man did such an incredible job with the kids.

Once he was finished we ate some supper and then the crew began setting up the film equipment. I observed the well-oiled team as they set up the poles, strung the white fabric screen between the poles and secured them upright. In the meantime the generator, projector, dvd player, speakers, and everything else was being set up. Curious onlookers began to gather and as the sun set behind the Congo mountains over Lake Tanganyika. Music was played until it was time to begin the first night of films. 

The feature presentation? The Hope. 

What a great film to show as it presented the gospel starting in Genesis. We stopped it in the middle to continue the second night and showed a different film to close the evening.

To my delight, as we rowed back over the water to the sailboat, the swells had settled and I figured the gentle rocking could potentially rock me right to sleep. It did.

Morning came and we again headed for shore for another day. Today was the day we were to head to the neighboring village to catch up with some people there and bring them the promised soccer ball. The neighboring village was much too close to sail, so we took the footpath around the point—what a beautiful hike! 

On arrival we were greeted and various people were visited with by Harry and Luke. We stopped at the house of one of the elders of the village and visited with him. He pointed out a clinic building and house for staff and told us how it has been sitting there empty since there is no one willing to move there to serve them and surrounding villages with medical care. The kids crowded at the two doorways of his house and looked and looked at us as the men talked. When the soccer ball was handed over to the elder of the village their eyes grew excited. Once our visiting was finished we headed back around the point and made our way back  to Kagonga for another kids program and another evening of showing films.

Our two days there were a wonderful experience and exposure! Another highlight was enjoying a meal of kasaava, rice, beans, fish (tiny ones like sardines that you eat whole—skin, bones, head and all!) and lenga-lenga with the pastor and his lovely family.

On Saturday morning I woke in my bunk and noticed the boat was barely rocking. The lake was smooth. A bit later a strong breeze off the land picked up (off the land meant no waves or swells) and we knew our sail home would be smooth and swift! Our time in Kagonga had been wonderful and what a nice way to end our time there! I was very happy. We took on another passenger and her little child, prepped the boat for sailing, and off we went. The sails filled and we were swept along down Lake Tanganyika. 

 

Other than the film trip to Kagonga, highlights of observing the work in Tanzania were:

• Visiting the new church two hours from Kigoma.

• Getting to know Harry & Ruth and Luke & Gina and their kids better.

• Seeing this bit of the western side of TZ and the opportunities there for serving the Lord.
• I appreciated getting to visit the home of a young lady suffering from malaria with the local women where we gathered in her small mud brick house and sang, prayed, and encouraged her both practically and spiritually.
• I got to attend a girls club in which Ruth teaches the girls from the Word and also teaches them practically by making things with their hands that they could potentially sell. The girls range in age from 8 until they get married.
• We met and worshipped with the believers at the church in Kigoma on Sunday. They send their greetings to our Christian friends in America.
• Finally, we visited the site where Henry Stanley, the reporter from Britain, finally found Dr. Livingstone after about three years of no news from him. Of course the famous words of Henry Stanley are recorded: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Two magnificent mango trees shade the place where a stone memorial stands marking the spot. We spent some time in the small museum which records the part Dr. Livingstone took in abolishing the slave trade and helping people see the value God places on human life.

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