Karibu sana! (You are very welcome)

So far I have visited three villages during my time here in Tanzania: Nzali, Chilonwa, and Mwitikira.  For my first trip out, I accompanied Rev’d Emmanuel and Buck Blanchard, director of Mission and Outreach for the Diocese of Virginia, to Nzali and Chilonwa.  For the second trip, I tagged along with Rev’d Emmanuel, Bill Parnell, Archdeacon of the Diocese of New York, and Judi Counts, affiliate of the Global Women’s Fund, to Mwitikira.

Motorcade welcome at Mwitikira

While I can hardly claim to be an expert, each village visit followed a similar trajectory.  To start, we were welcomed by dozens of people, shaking hands, exchanging profuse greetings the moment we hopped out of the land rover.  The rector of the parish then received us at his home for conversation and food.  Samosas and these lightly fried doughnut things for breakfast, Chicken in a sort of broth and rice for lunch.  Afterwards, we typically went down to the church where we were formally welcomed by the rector.  An opportunity for us to introduce ourselves, who we are and what we do, to the parishioners followed.  Gift-giving and performances of song and dance from various church groups rounded out the visits.

Many at Mwitikira came to greet us

These parishes are models of incredible Christian hospitality.  Not going to lie, I felt pretty uncomfortable at first.  The overwhelming welcome of a large group of people, getting dance-dragged through the crowd by an older gentleman trumpeting what looked like an antelope horn, being served first before elders of consequence in the life of the parish, receiving simple and elegant cloth as a gift—me, some young adult from the US!  At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, this hospitality seems a bit like God’s grace: a free gift, in many ways undeserved but completely accessible.

Walking to the rectory at Chilonwa

I don’t feel like I am deserving of God’s grace, but that’s the loving nature of God for you, He extends it to you anyhow.  In the same way, I did not feel deserving of the grand hospitality I received, but that’s the loving nature of the village parishioners for you, they extend it to you anyhow.  The only thing you have to do is accept it.  Open yourself up the experience and trust God to do the rest.

Singing and dancing in the church at Mwitikira 

So yes, the customs were quite unfamiliar to me.  And yes, I suspect that I will to some degree continue being a little awkward when I visit these villages.  But in spite of these things (or maybe because of them), I came to feel quite welcomed by the people who received me.  I am a stranger, they didn’t know me, I didn’t know them.  But now, even if only in a small way, they do know me, and I do know them.

Goodbye performance at Nzali

I am very much looking forward to our next trip to a village parish.  In fact, Rev’d Emmanuel suggested that I visit on a Sunday so that I can get a small taste of what “every day” worship looks like in a village.  That would certainly be a gift.

Heading home, dusty dirt road

Oh, and Pro Tip: if you yourself ever have the opportunity to blow into (play?) an antelope horn, I found the most success by buzzing my lips like I was playing the trumpet.  Cheers, Jonathan!

To see more pictures, please click here