Christmas newsletter

Dear friends and family,

On a recent ministry trip I came across a young lady, her selfish father did not want her to marry but wanted her to stay home and work. Father went to the witch doctor and a curse was spoken, within the day this lady was unable to walk. Now she is un-attractive and also unable to work. 12 years in a lying position. She was carried to a ministry outreach put on by TTN. After the ‘Jesus’ film she called for prayer. My good friend Meshach prayed the prayer of salvation and for the curse to be broken. A week later, back in the same village teaching, guess who came to church, still weak but she was walking all on her own. A curse was broken both in spirit and in flesh, Amen. The devil is a liar.

Ministry
Working with TTN – (To The Nations, www.ttnministries.com ) missions team has been a great shift for us and gives us the freedom to work with other mission groups as well. TTN has been in Zambia since 1974. Their small team has planted 600+ churches; they have years of experience with lake and river ministries, mass crusades, equipping rural clinics with medical equipment, and ministering to 14,000 patients yearly in the local hospital. There are plans now to push north into Tanzania.
Hosting outreach teams is also a big part of what we do, you personally or church groups are most welcome. Come to be challenged, changed and go home with a broken heart and some souvenirs too… Let us know when to pick you up at the airport. Bring a willing heart and an open spirit and we’ll take care of the rest. Well, maybe you should bring a few things…

Family
Jette is busy home schooling the girls, which they love. Naomi goes to her little Zambian friend most days to play. We have a beautiful home and a great community of friends. My heart, however, continues to long to be out in the nations around the globe. One season at a time…

Furlough?
We will likely take a short furlough from May to September. Vacation, well, although we need one on a beach, the local fishing dam may have to do.

My Tid Bit –‘The Cross’
Our flesh despises the cross but allow it to embrace you. Our soul alone cannot embrace the cross, nothing in our flesh wants to die but all self must be crucified so that we may walk ‘In’ Christ and ‘In’ the power of His resurrection not of our own. Cling to the cross and stay within its shadow, there is only one, follow not our own. Jesus came to die, shouldn’t we?

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A big thank you for all your prayers and support in the past year, it means so much! Keep it all coming.
Much love from
Rachel, Acacia, Mikaela, Naomi
Lyle and Jette

Website: www.lylejettehall.blogspot.com
E-mail: jettelylehall@yahoo.com


Two Address Changes
Support address:
Uzima, P.O.Box 982, Concordia, MO 64020, USA
(Make checks out to Uzima, attach note designating the money. Also for direct wiring check web site)

NEW mailing address:
Halls, TTN, P.O.Box 81157, Kabwe, Zambia

Dansk Julebrev

Kære familie og venner.

Jeg har netop oversat Selma Lagerlöfs Kristus-legende “Flugten til Egypten” til engelsk for at bruge den til vores juleaftensgudstjeneste. Selv om det jo er en legende, var det alligevel en påmindelse om, hvor fantastisk julens budskab er. At Himmelens søn blev en af os, og fra første færd oplevede livets barske vilkår.

2009 har været et interessant år. Dog ingen flytninger eller retssager og (næsten) ingen brækkede knogler, hvilket jo er ting, der fyldte meget i 2008!

Besøg…

I februar fik vi besøg af mine forældre og fik bl.a set Victoriavandfaldet for første gang. Det var en kæmpeoplevelse.

Brændt…

Maj blev rigelig varm for os, forstået på den måde, at vi havde brand i vor garage og 2 containere. Der gik mange ting tabt; dog er det Lyle der mærker det mest, da stort set al hans værktøj gik op i røg. Vi har nu genopbygget værkstedet og den ene container er blevet indrettet til klasseværelse, da jeg nu underviser hjemme. Det går rigtig godt; vi lærer alle noget nyt hver dag. Yndlingsfag er natur/teknik og højtlæsning. Lige for tiden har vi kalenderlyset tændt og laver julepynt, når vi læser højt. Vi bruger et engelsk system, mens fredag er dansk-dag.

Naomi er lige fyldt 3 år og er bare skøn og sjov. Hun bliver passet hver dag i skoletiden hos sin lille zambianske veninde Sophie.


Kære julemand…

Pigernes ønskesedler reflekterer i år på en sjov måde deres personligheder. Rachel (11) ønsker sig flere kæledyr eller bøger om dyr. Acacia (8) ønsker sig en hulahopring eller højhælede sko, Mikaela (6) et skateboard eller en fjernstyret bil. Naomi vil være ballerina-prinsesse.


Udbrændt…

I oktober deltog vi i en workshop om stress og udbrændthed. Der blev vi for alvor klar over, hvor tæt Lyle har været på total udbrændthed, og det påvirkede naturligvis hele familien. Det går heldigvis den rette vej nu. Vi arbejder nu sammen med en missionsgruppe som hedder To The Nations (TTN, www.ttnministries.com ). Lyle har været på flere ture til nære og fjerne landsbyer, hvilket er, hvad han virkelig trives i.


Hus og have…

Vi har malet vores dejlige hus og nu, hvor det er regntid, forsøger vi os også med at få en have stablet på benene, eller hvad man nu gør med en have.. Vores husdyr tæller for tiden to hunde, en papegøje, fire marsvin, en vildand, en slange og en kameleon foruden fisk i akvariet. Ikke nok, synes Rachel!


Orlov…

Vi går og leger med tanken om at holde orlov til næste sommer og komme til USA og Danmark engang fra maj og de næste fire måneder. Så hvis nogen kender til et hus/sommerhus i Nordsjælland, som bliver ledigt i aug/sept, hører vi gerne fra jer!!


Juletanker igen…

Jeg er for tiden ved at øve sangen “Mary Did You Know?” sammen med en missionærkollega. Den har en fantastisk tekst, som igen minder om, hvor usædvanligt dette barn var, som vi fejrer. Forhåbentlig har du også noget i din hverdag, der kan minde dig om den egentlige grund til at vi holder julen.

Vi vil også sige en kæmpestor TAK for al jeres forbøn, opmuntring og støtte i årets løb!

RIGTIG GLÆDELIG JUL OG VELSIGNET NYTÅR!
Ønsker Rachel, Acacia, Mikaela og Naomi samt Lyle og Jette


Adresseforandring!
Halls, TTN, P.O.Box 81157, Kabwe, Zambia

Email: jettelylehall@yahoo.com

Fradragsberettigede gaver kan sendes til os via Missionsfonden. Giro 613-9450, mrk.5109 eller Netbank 3433-3332142437,mrk 5109

Desværre må Missionsfonden ikke oplyse givers navn til os, så vi kan ikke takke jer personligt for jeres gaver. Hermed en stor TAK!

New Address

Please note our new mailing address:

Halls
TTN
P.O.Box 81157
Kabwe
Zambia

Our newest family photo.

Hi everyone,
Sorry our blog has not been updated in such a long time. We don't have internet at our house at the moment, so trying to fix that. We are all doing well, Jette is now homeschooling our children, and it is going very well. The remodel of our house is nearly finished, so that is good news.
Hope to be able to do more frequent updates once we get better internet connection.
Love from the Halls

Lyle's Week With the Maasai - Part 3

Day 5
Up at 6 and ready to go on a hunt with the fearless warriors. But in view of the fact that we did not go at 6, I can write a bit more in my journal. I guess 7 will have to do. I have been shown how to throw their spears; I need some practice I can assure you. These guys are good. They also use small little bows and even smaller arrows. Not sophisticated like my compound bow back at home. Their bows look like something little boys would make and they are about as accurate as it sounds. It is the poison that makes it lethal. They say the animal goes down within 2 minutes no matter where it is hit.
After the hunt-
Within the first few minutes in the bush we spotted our first prey but to no avail. As we walked we spotted lots of wildlife around but with my spear in hand and his tiny arrows, one must get within twenty yards at best to get a good chance.
As we walk on my Maasai friend tells me stories of different hunts that he has been on. “Just six months ago” he said, “We killed 4 elephants not far from here, I will take you to see one of the skulls.” “I was with a few others with only our spears and dogs brought them down”. He said, “The ‘tembo’ is a very dangerous animal for if they do catch you, you are finished. But we are Maasai, we fear nothing.”
I was not sure to be proud of him for his bravery or ashamed of him for poaching the elephants.

We returned home empty-handed, except for a tooth I broke out of the elephant’s to keep as a souvenir. Mark, our Maasai host, shared more of his personal story. “After I received Christ, I cut my hair. In this culture when a boy goes through his circumcision ceremony he does not cut his hair until he becomes an elder in the community around the age of 30. The long hair is not required but it one way that these young men, now warriors get some respect and where they get their identity. After the ceremony we all go to the bush and learn the ways of the Maasai. We are taught by the elders of the community. We learn the ways of the bush, we learn to hunt, make spears, survive, and we learn about women. We also learn of the superstitions and the does and don’ts of just about everything.”

Mark went on, “I was in the bush for three years but a number of my friends stayed in the bush for up to seven years. It is during these years that we are completely free to roam the world, no responsibilities. If we want to go to the big city, we can go. We are tough and people respect us and fear us.”

“After I became a Christian I cut my hair as a sign that I was not holding on to these traditions of our culture but that I was now a follower of Christ. No one could understand why I did this. I was no longer respected among my friends or even the elders of the community. My friends actually killed six of my cows in an attempt to get me to fight back. When this did not work I was asked to leave my boma. After a short time I was allowed back to help with shepherding responsibilities.”

“Some time later I was told that a girl had been selected for me to marry but I refused and told my dad that she was not a believer and I can not marry her.” “My father became angry and beat me; I ran away to the bush and lived mostly on my own for a year. I made my way into Kenya which is just a few mountains away.”

Mark was used to the bush; he can live for 7 days without water. He might be a Christian but he is still Maasai.
When he returned home he found that his younger brother had married the girl he was suppose to marry.

As the months went on, Mark met a mzungu (white) women who was working in the area. She saw his heart and his potential. She sent him to Arusha to do a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. Mark says it was during this time that he really saw a transformation in his life. When he returned home to the Serengeti plains he truly began to share his faith throughout the local bomas.

He started three home groups which are now small churches. They do not meet in a church building; just under the local Acacia tree. A good place to start. Too many church plants have started with buildings, and when you look at many of these churches they are just limping along depending on the wazungu (white man) for support. Over my time in Africa I have told many a pastor wanting a building “if you can’t worship God under a tree, you will not worship him under a roof.” The thinking is that if they have a building then they have arrived and are successful pastors.

Mark went on in YWAM for further training and this is when I, Lyle, met him. I was teaching in a DTS and he had been sitting outside the classroom hearing my teaching and this is when he approached me and said I must come to his village and teach his people. I was drawn to Mark, his big smile and the spark in his eyes. I could not help but love this guy. So here I am a year later sitting under an acacia tree teaching his people.

When I follow and watch Mark today, I see that he is now respected and honored in his community. Once an outcast but now a respected man. Most do not understand his behavior but they do agree with it. They are drawn to his sacrifice and servanthood. An example we all need to follow.

Mark shared his heart with me about wanting to build a clinic here as well as a school. There are no clinics for miles and miles. Most just die in their home or on the way to the nearest clinic, a full days walk away. “No one goes to school here”, he said, “very few can read much less write, so even reading the scripture is not possible.”
(I will say that they may not be able to read words but they are master readers of the bush and if you can not read the bush here you will truly not survive.)

Back under the acacia tree:

We are once again in the seminar, pastor Ezra is speaking on The Touch of God and prior to this I taught on Deuteronomy 28, which talks of the blessings and curses of God which are all based on our obedience or lack thereof. Not only the Maasai but many cultures across Africa are based on blessing and cursing.
If I were to talk in a western setting of God blessing your dog or cow or shamba (garden) we would probably agree with that, but it would not be relevant. However, here it is so understood and people listen. Find a key to the soul of a culture and bring redemption and freedom to it. So often we preach on things that are irrelevant to our audience. We may have their ears but we don’t reach their hearts.
People are hungry here for something that they can hold on to. Locked in by traditions, superstitions and witchcraft their spirits are as hard as the ground they are sitting on. We all need fresh rain from God.

Q&A
After the session and a meal consisting of rice and beans, I was asked to have a Q&A time. Sure I said. These times are my favorite. I learn so much during these times about who people are by the questions they ask.
Lots of questions of the white man’s world but then the questions of witchcraft come in and how do they deal with it. One question was asked “You as a missionary, what do you do if someone comes in to steal from you, do you just sit there and let them come in or do you fight back?” My answer was I would likely do exactly what they would do if someone came into their boma to steal one of their cows. They all laughed and gave a cheer.
After and hour or so, Mark closed the session and said, “lets go Simba and drink some chai at my mothers hut. Once again my eyes had to adjust to the smoke and the darkness.

I began to ask Mark’s mother about her life, “no one has ever done that” she said. I asked her “If there was anything you could do in your life what would you like to do?” I was expecting a different answer, but she simply said “I would like to build a new little house for myself.” Mark began to explain “In this culture it is the woman who builds the house. Once married, the bride builds her own house. Here she raises her own kids and even raises goat kids and calves. There is no room for her husband in this house for he stays in his own house. He will only come to his wife’s place for a few moments of romance now and then.
I asked about circumcision of both the boys and girls. For the boys circumcision happens between the ages of 8 -12. For the girls circumcision only happens when they are given away in marriage. Some girls are promised away in marriage at the age of eight but mostly girls are around the age of 12 before they are promised away to a Maasai warrior.

Circumcision – boys and girls

We talked further about girls’ circumcision, the why’s, the how’s, the if-not’s; and what if she refuses? In short, the girls don’t refuse because they do not know any other way. This is just the way it is here. She does not know to say no. Every girl is circumcised, it has been this way for generations, there is no other way.
We talked of the health issues around the girls’ circumcision. I asked of the attitude from the men if a girl is not circumcised, is she considered unclean? I learnt that a man will not accept a girl as his wife unless she is circumcised.

I asked Mark and he himself agree with girls’ circumcision. We talked a bit about it and in the end I put together that this was the first time he has ever heard there was a problem with it, and that there might be another way. He has not yet been shown or taught another view. So now Mark was full of questions wanting to do what is right. We turned to scripture and found nothing about women’s circumcision so we concluded that if it is not in scripture then maybe it is not good to practice it. We also concluded that though this practice may not be healthy or necessary, this does not make it a sin. It is just an unhealthy traditional action that has cost many young girls their very lives.

In the bigger cities this practice is looked down on, there is even a law against it though it is still practiced out here in the Serengeti plains of Maasai land, it is just the way it is.
I, as a total outsider, need to not condemn them for this practice but rather try to understand them though I may not agree with them. My job is to approach this from a constructive viewpoint. Not arguing from my western viewpoint. It is amazing how deep and personal one’s conversations can get over a cup of chai in mom’s mud hut. Bringing in a new idea or new way of thinking is not even easy in a western setting.

Just look at the church and all our different interpretations.

Some say baptize by sprinkling, others say only by submersion while yet others say baptism is not even necessary. This issue alone may be enough to raise a few hairs and split churches. Many are not open to change, even if they see the truth in the change but due to traditions and pressure from position and status we stay in our practices.

In this small, dark and smoky hut we talked of many things while we filled up on cups of very sweet tea. The bride price for girls here is the price of about 3-4 cows and/or 6-10 goats or sheep. Young men marry somewhere in the age of 18-24. You don’t see many teenage boys around, since most of them are in the bush during these years. Their diet consists of only meat and blood mixed with milk of the cow. They will only eat this for years and not get any vegetables at all. Hard to imagine really. When they return home after these years they will marry and within several years they will become an elder in their community.

After several hours of sitting on a smoked cow hide and smelling like smoke ourselves we left mom’s little mud hut. Pastor Ezra said later he was shocked about all the things he heard in that little hut. As darkness took over the skies Pastor Ezra and I continued to talk about worldviews. Just how does one bring change from this type of worldview into a biblical worldview without one’s own opinions getting mixed up in it all? Nearly impossible.

9pm
Off to our evening meeting under an almost full moon. It is a cold night and all were wrapped in their colorful ‘table cloths’. It was a time of celebration and dance. I joined from time to time in their ‘dance of the leap.’ They all laughed at this white man in his clumsiness; at least I stayed warm... That night I shared more about obedience living as a Christian.
About 11 pm we were off to our beds with the sounds of the howling hyenas. They did not seem very far from our little hut where we slept. Pastor Ezra felt a bit uncomfortable with the hyenas so close I thought it was quite nice as I fixed up some of my t-shirts to serve as my pillow. I do miss my big bed and soft pillow and nothing against Pastor Ezra but Jette makes for a lot better sleeping mate!!!

Day 6
Up early again to see my neighbors plowing their field dressed in the deep red wraps. Against the morning sun this made for some good pictures.

Back in mom’s hut for morning chai we talked about the value system of the Maasai. I was told of the five highest values, but this was from a man’s point of view. I was able to talk to a woman later on and we will see their 5 highest values as well.
But from the men’s side the number one value is: The cow and everything that surrounds the life of his cows. The blood, meat, milk, skin etc.
Number two value, the witchcraft that is so intertwined in the culture of the Maasai man. This is where all blessings and curses come from as well as their source of power and protection.
Number three value was their circumcision.
Number four, their traditions and number five was their chief.

In the eyes of the man, the family is important but does not really have too much value. The children are valued the least. More time and energy is spent on their sickly looking cows than on their own children. And it is noticeable. These kids are undernourished, full of worms and covered in flies. Many times in rural areas like this, the kids are curious and want to see the mzungu (white man), touch him, watch him, etc. This usually does not bother me so much, it was the same for me as I grew up in Liberia. But here these kids were dirty, covered in flies and basically, they were repulsive. It is not until these kids grow up and go through the rites of circumcision before they are considered of any worth by both the family and the community.

Back under the blue tarp and acacia
My spirit is troubled today, are they really understanding and receiving? Superstitions and traditions run so deep. After speaking again on Christian living, I challenge the 300 plus to bring their ‘jujus’, power beads etc, “bring them tomorrow and we will surrender them to the Lord first and then we shall burn them so all can see that you are turning your back on these things.” Everyone knows about witchcraft and how it works, it is real and it is powerful here and this is why people follow it. I just wish the power of the Holy Spirit would come down and overpower all this stuff; I wish I knew why this does not happen more often. If these folks could just see the power of the Holy Spirit. These cultures are power cultures and anything or anybody that has the most power they will follow. Do any of their prayers do anything for them as they wear their juju around their waist? If anything, it keeps them in bondage and continues to give authority to the evil one. We shall see here in a few days if anyone actually brings any of their jujus. It will be a big sacrifice to do this, if not for the juju itself but for the others who will be watching, the peer pressure even in this society is difficult.

Late afternoon once again I take the Mkuki (spear) and take a walk to the valley. The valley floor is covered in aged Acacia trees, reaching their long arms to the heavens. What a glory displayed, this rugged valley has so much beauty to behold, a pen cannot explain. I sit in a small opening, my eyes and ears alert to any wildlife that may show its beauty. The shadows are now as long as the day is old.

As I sit here I ask the Lord once again that I be granted a time in my life to live in such a place as this. Surrounded by wilderness, perhaps I am dreaming again. Sitting in the shadows of the setting sun, I am asking God what it is that would allow the presence of God to be a reality in these communities. Two things come to mind, one is that this land needs to be cleansed, generations of idolatry and witchcraft have cursed this land and its people and secondly, that this deliverance will come through true worship. We can preach and teach all week long but until the land is cleansed through the spirit of worship we will not witness the real presence of God and his lasting power.
The true and sad fact is that millions of Christians across these African nations still hold on to their witchcraft and juju beads. Often you will notice a bible in one hand and juju beads in the other.
I have prayed what seems like a thousand times for that wisdom and possibility to reach into these scattered people groups to bring in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit that is so desperately needed.

Lyle's Week With the Maasai - Part 2

Day 4
Up early to see my surroundings; a few men are guiding their yoke of oxen as they pull the plow behind, preparing for the upcoming rains. Mark soon joins me and off we went to his mother’s small cow-dung hut. Mark disappears inside and welcomes me. Easy for him to say, I can’t see a thing in here. Through this black doorway I go, head down (low ceiling) I bang along till I come to the central room of the small hut. I greet mom and get seated on the bed which is sticks of wood covered with cowhide, no mattresses here. Mom stocks up the fire and my eyes adjust to the dark and with the small fire I am able to make things out. There is only one small hole in the wall and this is it’s the single source of light. It lets the light in and lets the smoke out. After my eyes stop burning from the smoke, the place becomes quite cozy.

Some culture
Over a cup of chai (milk tea) I ask Mark to tell me his story. He was born to the second wife of his father who had passed away some years ago. He is one of 60 children. His father had 6 wives in all. It is common to have many wives in the rural Maasai communities. He told me of the chief a few hills over, ‘he has 32 wives’. So how many children does he have? “Somewhere around 200,’’ he said. “He is a powerful man; he has a thousand cows or more”.
Each of Marks ‘6 mothers’ has their own hut. When married, each wife builds her own hut. It is here where she lives and raises her children.
Where a particular family lives is called a boma. It is like a yard as we know it. There is the main common hut which all family member use. Then there are the small huts for each wife. The boma or yard is fenced in by thorn bushes and branches of acacia trees. These thorns are to keep the cows and goats in during the night and keep the lions and hyenas out. Every time there is a new ‘wife’, the boma increases in size.

The common hut is made of mud while the huts of the wives are made from cow dung. Not sure why, but there is no smell in the hut at all of dung, it is warm and well insulated. Once you are of a certain age for a young man, even before married, he will move out of his mother’s boma and build his own mud hut. Pastor Ezra and I are staying in Mark’s little mud hut just a stone’s throw from his mother place. When a young man marries, his wife too will build herself a little house and then they in turn will start their own little boma.

When boys are circumcised here, (I will talk of the girls also) somewhere between the age of 11-18, this is a very important stage in their life. There are 10 stages in one’s life and for each stage they are given a cow and/or a few goats. They keep these animals with the bigger herd until there are enough to start their own and then they will separate and put their own brand mark on their individual animals. I have seen a single herd up to 200-500 cows all belonging to one family.

It is quite common here that girls are married as early as 8 years old, but mostly by the age of 10. It is the responsibility of the girls and women to be cooking, to be at home taking care of younger kids and do most of the milking of the cows and goats. They are also responsible for bringing water to the boma. During the dry season getting water is not an easy job. Often they will go 10-20 miles for water. They bring it back on the backs of the “Maasai 4x4” which is called the donkey.

The men and boys are responsible for protecting the cows first, then the family. The cow is the highest value and it is believed by most Maasai that all the cattle of the earth belong to them. It was not that many years ago that the Maasai often had war against other nomadic groups claiming that they have stolen their cows a long time ago and now we want them back.
The men are responsible for hunting and carrying on the family line. I have seen young boys not much older than 4 years of age out all day with a small herd of goats. At the age of 6-8 these boys are taking young cows and up to a hundred goats and sheep for several days out in the bush or plains. With no food or water from home, they stay out with the herd. If they are out for several days generally a group of these young boys will travel together.

Amazing, I am still trying to get my 10 year-old to clean up after herself, and to think that if we were Maasai, she could be married by now or out in the bush for several days all by herself watching over a herd of cows. Am I missing something here……?? When the boys grow older and have entered the stage of manhood, this is after circumcision, they will be out with the cows for several years, not returning home at all. Moving throughout the plains with the herd. Living on meat alone.
Mark told me that when he was out there he was gone for 3 years, ate nothing but meat. He also said there are many times that they would be out of water for days, he said once he drank no water for 7 days. So much for the theory of dying after three days with no water. But then these are the Maasai, they can survive the bush.
It is often during these times where the boys will shoot a small arrow into the neck of a young cow and let the cow bleed into a bowl and they will then drink the blood. Often they will mix it with cows’ milk. This custom not only takes place when there is no water but at most celebrations the drinking of blood is part of the festivities. Mark said that he does not follow the drinking of blood tradition now that he is a Christian. Although he did ask me if I wanted to try it! No thanks, I’ll stick to Dr. Pepper…

12 noon.
Today is the first day of the seminar and people are beginning to make their way to under the tree and blue tarp. Most will be coming for the evening sessions once their cows’ are safely in their bomas. 12 noon is the official starting time but likely start at 2 pm. Concerning the subject of time, time is irrelevant here. One is really never late, if things don’t get done today, well tomorrow (or next week) is always coming. In our Western world time is of most importance. Time is more valued than even money in many cases.

In most cases in Africa people would rather spend the time than the money. So if I have to walk 3 hours to get home, well that is better than spending a few coins to take the local bus. Valuable time is always coming so what is the hurry? As outsiders the sooner we understand this cultural difference the less frustrated we become when people don’t arrive ‘on time’.

After our meeting and a goat-and-rice supper we make our way to a small boma to have our evening meeting. It was scheduled to start at 7, but it was just about 9 when we started. Overhead just outside the little hut was a nearly full moon, just about bright enough to read my bible.
The time started with singing and dancing. A time of celebration. Singing in the African context seems to generally always be a time of celebration or praise. Very little ‘worship’ songs as we know it. Seems to never be a time to settle the spirit down and worship, but everything is loud and busy right from the start.
I understand nothing of what they sing, their language is very different from Swahili, but I get in a dance with them and they all laugh at this mzungu. I shared this evening again, finishing up my story.
In the first session this afternoon I told the almost complete story from the beginning. Very often people only know about Christ and salvation but very little of the whole story before Jesus, the foundation of Jesus and the forefathers of the faith. And here in this culture knowing about the forefathers is a very important part of their social system. So today was trying to give a foundation of Jesus and salvation which gives him a place of honor and respect here in Maasai Land.

I am back in my little mud house under the light of a flickering candle. My goat skin covered bed is not the most comfortable, but not too bad except for this board that runs right across the middle of my back and there is nothing I can do about it because pastor Ezra shares the same bed with me, so not a lot I can do but whine and complain about it…

To be continued.....

Lyle's Week With the Maasai - Part 1

Day-1, Saturday
The start of my week with the Maasai was to leave our new home in Kabwe, Zambia, first by bus then on a plane which in turn had several delays. Upon arriving in Arusha and meeting my hosts it was 1 am, and not 6 pm as expected. Coming back to Tanzania this time was with mixed feeling. The memories of trying to keep myself out of prison a few months ago as well and getting two of my friends out of prison were still too fresh in my memory. But that is another story.

For this particular week I was invited to be the guest speaker at an all Maasai seminar/conference. You may ask ‘just who are the Maasai’. The Maasai are nomadic herdsmen, a people all to their own. There have been many books written on these people. Known for their cattle, culture and courage they are likely one of the most popular and beautiful of the nomadic people groups. Tall, thin, sleek brown skinned figures. Although they are not always liked by other African people, they are respected by all. Their culture and traditions go back hundreds of years as they have roamed the central/southern African plains in search for grazing their livestock. In rural Maasai areas both boys and girls are still circumcised, and for a young man to enter into manhood he must prove his fearlessness by killing a lion alone with spear in hand. I am hoping that I will get a chance to go on a hunt during my visit to learn a few things. It is one thing to have a rifle in hand but a spear… A charging two-ton cape buffalo is enough to get you nervous at 200 meters much less 2 meters. I chased a hippo once, several years ago, with only a camera in hand, it all went well as long as I was the one doing the chasing, but soon the tides changed and he stopped and started chasing me. He was armed with 2 tons of body mass and two big tusks about the size of my left arm. This mzungu (white man) may not know how to jump as high as the Maasai, but I tell you I know how to run. I could have brought home the gold that day………….

Many Maasai have moved to bigger towns and cities and have done well in the business world, and due to the western influence some of the Maasai traditions have come to a stop but still the majority of the Maasai still live in bush country throughout Kenya and Tanzania.

I will spend Sunday here in Arusha town and then off on safari Monday morning to the bush which is about 8 hours north of here.

Day-2, Sunday
This morning in church I was asked to bring the message for the evening service, I spoke on ‘values’. Values is something I have been looking at in my own life in a deeper way. We say we hold this or that as a high value but when we take a closer, honest look at where most of our time, energy and money goes, it may be other things that in reality are our highest values.
Today I also met up with pastor Ezra who will be joining me on this trip. He and I worked together lots in Kigoma, he is an overseer of 118 churches, a dear man of God.
For dinner this evening we went out together with Gabriel our host here in Arusha. We went into a small hole-in-the-wall-place to eat meat, a favorite Maasai pastime. Gabriel himself is a Maasai, lives in the city of Arusha, he has taken over his father’s business and they have done well. They have built a beautiful home on the slopes of Mt. Meru which is about 12 thousand ft tall but seems quite small since it sits in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro at the height of almost 20 thousand ft.

Over our eating charred but quite good goat meat I asked Gabriel if he was coming with us to the bush to Maasai land. He was not too keen on the idea, he has found his place of comfort here in Arusha for he knows the hardships of the bush life that his kinsmen suffer out on the plains. He laughed and with a big smile he politely declined this mzungus invitation...

Day-3 Monday
Monday morning: here we sit and wait for our bus. Imagine that ‘wait’ in Africa. If one could only count the hours one sits and waits here it must add up to a quarter of one’s life. I guess it is not much different than my kin spending a quarter of their lifetime sitting in traffic. So I took this time to buy a few more supplies and observe the several thousand Muslims that have gathered to pray at a soccer field across the street, this happens to be the month of Ramadan.
This is likely where the driver of our bus is. Anyway what else can one do but sit and wait so why not write a little bit more about my week with the Maasai.

Noise - All the mosques are calling out with their calls to prayers, all those calls are mixed with the city noise of cars and people walking by, along with street vendors announcing their goods for sale. If I could just get my iPod to work I would listen to Don Moen, but I sit here in my impatient mood writing in my journal between these two black lines waiting on Mr. Bus Driver.

Our bus trip is now said to be 9 hours long, we head up to the Ngorongoro crater, which is a wildlife park, passing around the forest rim of the crater, we will head off down the slopes again into the Serengeti plains. The Maasai roam the plains with their cattle as they have for generations, long before the tourists ever showed up, the Maasai herds mingle with all the wildlife. The Maasai warrior herdsman follows his herd for days on end with spear in hand to ward off lions and hyenas.

I have travelled these main roads on several occasions but this time I will get off the main tourist route and head deep into the plains. Well, just in case Mr. Bus Driver shows up I had better go find a choo (toilet). No such thing as a toilet on these local buses. And you only get to stop when the driver needs to take a pit stop and that generally does not happen very often. One learns to just suck it up……….

Mr. Bus Driver being now 3 hours late, we were off to Maasai land in our dilapidated bus. Music just cranked up as we basically flew to make it to the town to Waso before the sun set. Upon arriving at the gate entrance of the Ngorongoro park I was by prior arrangements given permission to go into the national reserve for free, otherwise it is 60 bucks a day. Through the gate and up we climb to the crater rim. Looking below we can see the open grassland of the crater floor, the rim too high to see any wildlife on the valley floor but it is said that down there is the most concentrated numbers of wildlife in the world year round. We continue bouncing down the road towards the plains of the Serengeti.

I saw a small sign on the side of the road that announced a name of a small town that was 84 kilometers up a tiny trek off to the right. I looked at this road and thought how is it possible that road could be so long, the trail is hardly visible. Little did I know what lay ahead. We drove for another hour or so right to the entrance of the great Serengeti wildlife park. Now is was our turn to take a right and head not only 84 km down this hardly visible trek but we went nearly 184 km. Kilometer after kilometer we drove through open plains, nothing but grass as far as the eye could see.Not a tree or shrub in sight. Basically flying down this trek over the rolling hills dodging Thomson gazelles or zebras from time to time. For some reason these gazelles would try to get across the road before we passed, so they would dash off and race the bus and cut across this little trek, like they were going somewhere... There was nowhere to go, it was all the same as far as the eye could see. Maybe they thought it was their last chance to get to the other side. I am sure the driver would be more than happy to hit one so he could make some good soup that night.

During the migration season from February through April these plains are home to literally millions of wildebeests and zebras who give birth to their young during this time. They are all further north in Kenya at this time and will come south when the rains arrive.

We drive on, the bus comes to a halt and we all pile out and well, ladies on that side of the bus and boys on the other. No trees to hide behind so well you just forget about stage fright because who knows how long it will be before you get another chance. Back into our over-crowded bus we take off again. Note: if you ever take public buses in Africa do your best to get a window seat, trust me on this…

Not a town or hut in sight for hours but now and then you would see a Maasai or two walking somewhere. Their red garments can be spotted far off into the green hills. The Maasai (mostly men) walk for hours on end everyday. They can walk literally up to 40 miles each day. Our Maasai host Mark, whom we shall soon meet, walked to Arusha city once, it took him 8 days and it is at least 300 miles away. He took no food nor water, he just walked and survived as best he could.

The Maasai color is mostly red but there are many who also wear purple. Their cover is about the size of a table cloth, they wrap themselves up and use it as a head cover when needed. Their under garment is somewhat like a dress. Together with the beaded necklaces, earrings and spear and staff it seems to fit them perfectly in their exotic appearance.

After 4 hours of driving on this trek it widens and becomes an actual small road which takes us to the small outpost town of Waso. Here some of us pile off and the bus heads of again to another destination.
Here in Waso we are to meet our host Mark (his Christian name). He walked from his village today, only 15 miles away…. He said it just took him 2 hours. We met up with Mark with hugs and kisses and he said the land cruiser will soon be here to take us to the village. Well, after 4 hours the land cruiser did come to get us. Off into the night we drove, we could see the glowing eyes of wildlife dashing off into the night.

I was glad we left Waso town, I was hoping to go to the bush and not be in a small town, I like the bush. Although after a week in the bush this little town of Waso will be welcoming, where one can buy a warm coca-cola and get a tough chicken dinner with rice. But for now I am off to the bush to be with the real Maasai for a week and I look forward to it.