Pioneer meeting and Circuit Assembly.

We made another trip to Dar Es Salaam for our annual pioneer meeting and circuit assembly. Since the English congregation from Arusha travels so far, (a 10 hour bus ride) the brothers there accommodate us. We were happy to stay with a sister from Austria who has lived in Dublin for the past 6 years, and is now spending 2 months in Africa. Judith was very welcoming and looked after us very well.


We had an interesting (!) experience on our way to the pioneer meeting on Friday! We called a sister to ask for a ride and they told us that we could jump in the back of the truck they were taking to the meeting. This is a normal mode of transportation in Africa so we were happy for the ride. The only problem being, that the minute we got into the back of the truck, the heavens opened and it down poured! Nate, Aaron and i were soaked. It rained so hard it was pouring off us! Again, we are in Africa so we must accept these things. The only problem was that I had an interview on the pioneer meeting! Needless to say we made it through and laughed about the experience afterwards!


The 3 days were so encouraging. Nate did the soliloquy about maintaining a balanced view of alcohol which went really well. The funny thing was that he was helping in security and parking and because of the rains they gave him a huge Kilimanjaro beer umbrella to carry around both days!! The D.O reassured everyone in his concluding talk that Nate was only acting in his part!


The days were all full of encouraging talks and experiences. We left feeling very encouraged and ready to start back in our assignment. One highlight was attending with many of the international servants that have been serving here and helping build the new Branch in Dar. Now that the branch is just about finished they have all received their new assignments and are leaving Tanzania. They were all interviewed and spoke about their different assignments. Many of them have served many years in many different countries. It is encouraging to see the adjustments they continue to make to fit into their new assignments.