Getting Bills, Paying Bills

It's no fun to get utility bills, but it's worse to not get them.

This week I got my first electricity bill ever--when a guy came to cut off my power because I hadn't paid.  Fortunately, he gave me time to get things sorted.  Unfortnately, the bill he showed me was huge.  Even after I figured out it was probably genuine (not an automatic assumption)--several months' accumulation, when I thought it was being regularly paid through our office--it was still a shocker to find that electricity is at least twice as expensive as I thought.

I have received a couple water bills during my time here.  This is purely thanks to my neighbors who bring them over when they think of it.  (I wonder if the official deliverer even tries to bring bills to my house.  I work at home more often than not.)  This month's bill may be larger than normal, though--assuming I see it.  Last Friday the meter reader checked my water meter and then came to ask me if I had any broken pipes or leaking faucets.  After he left reassured, my guard apologized for his liberal use of the hose in filling the extensive termite holes under the house.  He said he thought I didn't have a meter.  (Is there an unlimited plan available?)

Both of these encounters naturally came right as I was trying to leave the house to go somewhere.  Also, the water meter guy gets the prize for the best mile-a-minute Swahili I've heard lately.

Meanwhile, I've actually received a cell phone bill--another near miracle, though it is starting to happen more frequently now.  Looking at the hefty charges, numerous fees, and the rate I'm paying for the priviledge of using this company, I'm wondering why this was supposed to be a good deal.  Think I'll go back to pre-paid scratch cards.

You just never know what you're being charged until several months down the road... when you finally see a bill!

Prayer Day

Yesterday was a world-wide Day of Prayer for our organization.  Here in Musoma, all of our normal activities paused while everyone gathered at the office to spend the morning praying together.  It was the first time for me to see our whole staff (national and ex-patriate) in one place.  It's a pretty good crowd!  The long screened porch "lunch room" of our office could just hold us all, which was good, because the rain had us scurrying to bring chairs back inside before we even started. 

The day opened with prayer (naturally), singing, and a devotional.  We sang hymns and praise songs in Swahili and English, and one of our Tanzanian ladies led us in a call-and-response chorus, rhythmic clapping provided by anyone so inspired.  (Most of us foreigners just concentrated on keeping a steady beat, leaving the fancy stuff to our more talented colleagues!)  As I joined in the short refrain after each of the caller's lines, I thought, "This must be what Psalm 136 first sounded like.  Done this way, the repitition is beautiful."

Afterwards we split into smaller groups and rotated between different rooms of the office, each room having its own prayer focus.  In this way we lifted up Bible translation needs in our own Mara area, in Tanzania, in the whole of Africa, and around the globe.  Everyone was free to pray in his or her own language, to the glory of the One who created them all.

Part of our group.  Considering that our translators represent 9 different ethnic groups, and we foreigners come from 6 different nations, it's quite a mix!

On a personal note, I came to the event wondering how much spiritual/abstract Swahili I would remember (although most of the morning was bilingual).  I don't get much practice in Biblical vocabulary by going to the market or talking with my house help!  Nevertheless, I found I could follow along just fine; that was very encouraging.  On the whole, our prayer day was a great community/team experience for me, especially since I'm not part of the normal office work.  Plus, the thought that we were also joining our colleagues all around the world is inspiring.  May God answer our prayers in mighty ways!

Retreat to Lukuba Island

Musoma is a nice place, but it's not exactly a tourist destination. There's just not much "to do." We do, however, have one nice place: Lukuba. And Sunday I got to go for the first time.

A few of my teammates put together a day trip to the island and invited me to join them.  The timing was perfect; I needed a get-away.  October was pretty busy for me.  The schedule I was keeping for a few weeks threatened to do me in.  Last week was better in terms of my schedule, but I still felt worn out, the stress of the previous weeks catching up with me.

What a blessing to go to a quiet, pretty place and simply relax!  The privacy sets you at ease.  (Generally speaking, leaving your house means being on display to lots of curious eyes.)  The lunch we were served was delicious, too.  It was like being at a restaurant... something I haven't done since going out of town in September.  I spent the day sitting in the shade on the beach and climbing around the rocky island.

The island is about an hour by boat from Musoma.  Here is my first view of the retreat area.  There are lounge chairs and a hammock along the beach, and tucked just behind the trees are bandas (small cottages) for the lucky people who stay nights.  (Maybe next time...)  The banda on the far right is the little dining hall.

See the monkey?  I took this looking straight up from my chair on the beach.  I was amused, but also nervous.  Sure enough, one of its offspring later peed right on my head!  The cute little buggers are everywhere, and we were careful not to leave our stuff out for them to get.

I went exploring with a simple goal: Get as high as possible, preferably climaxing on a boulder not covered in branches (in order to enjoy the scenery).  I succeeded.  The rock where I found myself commanded a nice view--almost 180 degrees--of our side of the island sloping down to Lake Victoria, with the mainland in the distance.