CHRISTMAS 2014 (pre-celebration)

Merry Christmas!!

This Christmas season was very different from last year! There was no big gathering at the Fortes home, and our regional superior was needed at one of our remote SMA parishes "in the bush", so we didn't have a celebration in our regional house either. I decided I wanted to do something to celebrate Christmas with our neighbors. I found a nice little artificial Christmas tree in the market. I had bought some pretty homemade ornaments at our local charity craft fair last month, and there were just enough to decorate the tree nicely. I made a garland chain using construction paper, and one of the previous lay missionaries who lived in my house had left a set of lights. Perfect! I was very pleased!!

The Saturday before Christmas Mama Ana came to my house about 10:30am and began to prepare a Tanzanian meal. Although we only prepared a traditional rice dish, beef in gravy and a cabbage dish, we weren't finished until almost 2pm! Most everything was done outside. Mama Ana is used to cooking over an open charcoal fire, so that is how she cooked the rice. It is possible to buy packaged rice here in the supermarket that has already been cleaned but it's much more expensive. We used the basic rice which needs to be cleaned to pick out the stones and other foreign objects, and then washed to get rid of the sand. A special pilau seasoning is added to the rice after it's cooked, which gives it a unique taste. This dish is prepared and served by the local women on all special occasions here in Tanzania. Dinner would have taken much longer, had I done all of this myself! I did help in the kitchen with the beef, gravy and cabbage. After all of our guests had eaten, Mama Ana and Mama Dani even washed the dishes outside! We all tend to do things in ways that are familiar to us.

Ana crushes garlic

Mama Ana washes the rice

Mama Ana cooks pilau

Kelement supervised as I cut the cabbage

Together, Mama Ana & I cook the meat and cabbage

After dinner, Corine played her flute and we all tried to sing Christmas carols in English. I was the only American in the group so the songs that were most familiar to me were a bit of a challenge for the Dutch in the group, and especially for the Tanzanians. Fortunately, Mara brought song books from the chapel and everyone did their best. We did have a nice time. A few gifts were even left under the tree so Ana tried reading the name tags and distributed the gifts one by one. It was very special to see the delightful expressions on the children's faces when they saw the Christmas tree lit up and the shiny gifts underneath. This was something very unfamiliar to them.

Mama & Baba Dani & little Dani

Corine holding Little Angel Joakim (see the star above?)

Corine plays the flute

Ana opens a book for her & Kelement, while Kelement is happy to just watch

Ana tries to read the name tag

A gift for a very special person

Mara enjoys some time with our little angel, too!

Corine receives another kanga (you can never have too many!)

Corine's girls made this batik (which will be made into a skirt)

Moni (niece of Mama Dani), Mama Dani & Dani enjoy some special photos

Mara receives a gift because she's special, too!

Venant, our parish catechist & his family

Now it's time to play!

We all enjoyed the day and our time together!

FAMILY OF OUR WATCHMAN

Mama Dani just 2 days before giving birth to Joakim

I've become pretty good friends with the watchman of our new church, and his family. I know the watchman's name is Dionis, or better known as Baba (father) Dani, but I only know his wife as Mama Dani. It is the custom of both men and women in Tanzania, to take the name of their first born child, whether it be a boy or a girl, and carry that name indefinitely. That is not their legal name but it is the name used by anyone who knows them. Baba Dani worked as a watchman for our SMA compound before construction of the new church began. During that time I became friends with his wife and son. I did a posting on this blog of Dani's first birthday in February, which was celebrated in the container which is now used for the storage of building materials.

When Mama Dani brought home their second child from the hospital, I had come to their home for a visit, not knowing yet that she had given birth. Dionis' bibi (grandmother) was staying at the house with little Dani and she shared the good news with me. I was happy to be able to hold the brand new baby when he was first brought home. 

Joakim with Great grandmother (Dionis' grandmother)

Photo was a gift from Dionis' cousin

We are all sitting in the house of Mama and Baba Dani. The house has only one room. This room has a double bed and a table. All of Mama Dani's dishes are piled up at the foot of the bed and their clothes are stacked on the table. The whole family sleeps in the bed. When a guest stays over, Dionis sleeps on a mat on the floor.

About a week after the baby was born, Dionis came to my house and asked which name I liked for the baby. I said, well, since he was born on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Aug. 15), he should be named in honor of that. The father of Our Blessed Mother is named Joakim, so I said I liked that name. The next time I went to their house for a visit, I was told that they had named the baby the name I chose. I felt very honored!

Joakim's grandmother (Mother of Mama Dani)

Dani holding his new brother

He ain't heavy, he's my brother (picture taken 12/5)

 At first, Dani didn't know what to think of his little brother, who was taking all of his mother's attention. Now, he's grown quite fond of him and tries often to hold or carry him whenever the opportunity presents itself. It makes me laugh to see how Dani tries to carry Joakim the traditional way.

KELEMENT'S BIRTHDAY

"Happy Birthday Kelement!"

Kelement, the son of our catechist, turned 3 years old on November 23rd. I knew that Kelement's mother would not be able to bake a birthday cake, since she doesn't have an oven, so I invited the family to my home for a small celebration. Due to my inability to communicate well, I didn't realize our party would include many of the neighbor children. All of the children came dressed in their Sunday best, only an hour and a half later than planned, which is pretty common here.

Kelement received a rubber soccer ball from Fr. Tony, and I gave him a small blue ball which lights up when it's bounced. We knew how much Kelement loved to play with balls. Unfortunately, he spent most of his time trying to keep the balls away from the girls. Since I hadn't planned any games for the children, we sang "Happy Birthday" and Kelement blew out his candle. We cut the cake and all of the children sat on the floor to eat. I'm glad that's the way they are accustomed to eating since I didn't have enough seating for all of our guests.

Kelement feeds his sister

 It's traditional here for the guest of honor to feed all of the guests a piece of cake, but Kelement only fed his sister. I don't think he liked the idea of feeding all of Ana's friends.

The family thanked me again and again for hosting the party. They said it was the first time their family had ever celebrated either of the children's birthdays in this way. It always brings me joy to see how much happiness such a small gesture can bring. Ana turns 7 in January so I'll be better prepared with a couple of games for her party.

Bye! See you again in January!

NEW S.M.A. CHURCH

The church at the present time

The middle of January 2014, work began on the new S.M.A. church located behind our S.M.A. compound in Bwiru. It will be called the Bresillac Multipurpose Center, in memory of our founder, Bishop Melchior de Marion Bresillac (1816-1859). The building will house our parish church and sacristy, as well as two classrooms, a few small offices, a storage room and two restrooms. The worship area will also be used for meetings, receptions, and so forth; with a seating capacity of approximately 1000. 

Breaking stones

Fr. Tony checks on the progress

Before the foundation could be dug, it was necessary to use dynamite to break up the large rocks which were scattered throughout the property. The rocks were then broken down into smaller pieces by hand...very tedious work! The smaller rocks were then used in the construction process. Because I know very little about building construction, I won't go into much detail. I will let the pictures do the talking. The foundation work began in early June.

Corine & Mara talk with Guido, the general contractor

Pouring the concrete floor

Women also help with carrying water and bags of cement

While the work on the building is being done, Mama Dani, the wife of the watchman for the property, and Mama Elina, prepare food for the workers. Mama Dani is over 8 months pregnant in the following photos, and she went into labor just two days later on Aug. 15th. This was due, in part, to the fact that little Dani, who was only 18 months at the time, fell into the well and almost drowned. Luckily, one of the workers saw it happen and pull him out.

The well used for making cement, that little Dani fell into

Mama Dani & Mama Elina preparing rice for the workers

Elina with her little sister, and Dani

Serving the workers

The sacristy

Building the classrooms and staircase which will lead to the offices upstairs

The worship area

Braces placed to support the floor of the upper level

Staircase

The floor of the 2nd level where the offices and restrooms will be built

Due to heavy rains, a rock fell & crushed part of the classroom wall

Building the upper wall of the worship area

Classrooms below & construction on the offices & restrooms above

The women assist

Fr. Hugh Lagan, Fr. Tony Gill & Marga visit the building site during our SMA Meeting in December

Men burn the stones to make them easier to break up before repairing the damaged wall.

Construction is at a stand still at this time as we try to raise funds to build the roof. Anyone interested in contributing can do so through the S.M.A. Lay Missionary house in Takoma Park, Maryland. Just make a note in the memo line of your check (payable to SMA Lay Missionaries) "Jean Dowell - building fund". The check can then be mailed to 256 Manor Circle, Takoma Park, MD 20912. We hope to begin using the facility by February or March, and hopefully we will be able to celebrate our Easter Mass in the new worship area! Thank you for your interest in our work.