Habaro za usiku?

It has been a very busy few days. On Saturday morning, we drove to a youth prison. I learned that it was the only youth prison in Tanzania. It is for those between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. When we first arrived, he listened to the head officer talk about the prison. Unlike most of the other prisons, there was no wall surrounding the complex. Instead of using militaristic methods, this prison uses psychological methods. Instead of having an officer/prisoner relationship, they want it to be like a father/son or teacher/trainee relationship. Because the conditions are better there then other prisons, the youth are less likely to run away. The prison also helps them finish their education if they need to do so.  After his talk, we donated a laptop to the prison. However, I was the one who got to hand it to him. So when he saw me pulling it out of my bag he got so excited and he remembered my name from our introductions.  We also donated a soccer ball and pump. After giving the donations we were given a tour. The dorms were a little tight and the mattresses were just on the floor, though each on did have a mosquito net. The youth get their meals through a small window but it sounds like they only get one meal per day. Though I am sure the conditions at the youth prison are better than other prisons, I do not think that the conditions there were not as nice as they wanted us to believe.

After visiting the prison, we walked a little ways to a Maasai cattle market.  Seeing all of the cattle and people for was crazy. I observed that the larger the wholes in the ear the older the person was or the more status he or she had.  I learned that some people come from eighty miles away. There were also goats and sheep. The sheep have really fat tails because that is where they store water instead of a hump like the cattle.  It was really hot that day so we found a place to get a pop and drink it in the shade. We order some goat to be roasted as well and placed an order for some chips mayai. Chips mayai is basically French fries in eggs. It is a little greasy at times but not to bad. After our sodas, we walked around the market some more as we waited for the food to be ready.  Once it was ready, we trickles into the little huts. To wash our hands, there was a teapot and some soap, which we were pretty sure was meant for laundry. Someone would pour the water on your hands, and you would dip your fingers in the soap, get more water poured on and then let them air dry. After eating our chips mayai, Kadhege cut the meat off the goat neck and leg. I liked the leg meat much better because it was much leaner. Kadhege is a young man who works as a teacher at the seminary who goes around with us. He translates for us a lot. We are really appreciative of all that he does for us.

On Sunday, we drove to a Maasai village for church.  Driving up, it was interesting to see a cell phone tower among the rather traditional houses. When we arrived, we were served tea and flat bread as we wait for more people to show up for the service.  Surprisingly, the congregation was mostly made up of women and children.  This church had a synthesizer. There were several different groups that sang. The funniest was the lady that lip-synced to a couple of songs. Paster Herb, our contact, gave the sermon and captivated the people. As a group, we sang a few songs we had prepared.  During the service, we stood up front to be greeted too.  The service lasted about three hours however, it does not feel like that long because of the energy. For a about half an hour after the service, we stood outside greeting people. The children were really shy at first. Once they gathered their courage, they would come and touch our arms. They loved stroking our skin. They also enjoyed feeling our hair. Most of all they loved pretending not to want their picture taken and them giggling when they looked at their picture. They even attempted to take pictures as well. We were served lunch after this fellowship.

Monday was our second day of classes. Learning is pretty intense and overwhelming at times but I like it. After afternoon class, we took donations up to the orphanage. It was like Christmas morning for them. There was something for all of them, stuffed animals, books, coloring books with crayons and colored pencils, balls, and more. We were having as much fun as they were. Well that is all I will write about for now. I will write about yesterday and today with tomorrow.