On the week-end the schools were not in session so we were free to do whatever we wanted. What do you do when you are isolated on the fringes of the most poverty stricken and oft times dangerous area? Andrew, the handyman at the Mwangaza Centre where we were staying, asked if we would like to join him at his Church, a Lutheran Church within sight of the Centre. During the service, the pastor made a statement and recognized us, asking in various languages, what language we spoke. Upon reply he greeted us in English and asked that we introduce ourselves. I rose to introduce the three of us and to tell why we had come and what we had been doing. A three clap, in unison, applaud followed my brief speech. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would agree it deserved a three.
The service had three collections. One, a collection of money fror the few who had money to share. Another, a donation of food items. Then, after the service, the items donated were auctioned off in the yard outside the Church.
In the afternoon we walked back to the Church to listen to the children sing during their Sunday school. Andrew is their Schoolteacher. As in the morning, again we were asked to introduce ourselves. I tried to use a mix of English and Swahili to express myself. The giggles clearly indicated my weakness in Swahili verbal skills.
After the practice Andrew asked if would care to go along with him to a vocal competition at another Church. I asked how far it was. "Just a short walk" he said. A half hour into the walk I asked him how much further it was. "Not very far now" he said. A half hour later I was getting tired and so asked him how many more minutes. "Only 15 or 30" he said. Well, we had walked an hour so it didn't make sense to turn back now, so we continued. Our short walk lasted 2½ hours through some of the most beautiful but concerning areas. We had passed a small outdoor bar where some men, obviously drunk, were trying to get money from us and insisted we must have cigarettes on our persons. I think Andrew was a little concerned as well. Fortunately he spoke their tribal language and were permitted to continue our trek. Along the way we walked along some paths that were more like the Africa I had pictured than the ones we had previously been on. The paths were bordered with heavy foliage of large leaves, some banana trees, others, I know not what. We being three white naïve Americans and a mild mannered black man passing pedestrians, some carrying knives, did not leave us with an entirely secure feeling.
Happily, we had made it just in time to see our cook Rachel's group perform. She was part of the group from the Church we attended that morning. We listened to their performance and one other and then I insisted that we must start back so as to get to our destination before dark. Andrew, concerned for our welfare now, found a friend who would drive us back to the Centre for 4000 shillings (about $4.20). We gladly paid 5000.
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