Friday: Work, Worship, and Celebrate!

Work

Friday was another busy day finishing up the system. We started the day off by cutting the holes in the styrofoam rafts that will eventually hold the plants in place as they float on top of the water. The scrap styrofoam provided hours of entertainment for the children in the backyard. Needless to say, this will be the closest thing to snow many of these children will ever see. There was a great turn out of local brothers and we all worked very hard planting new seeds, cleaning tanks, and finishing up final details.

Worship

After lunch, we gathered for Church. Fridays, are the day of worship here since this is also the day of worship for Muslims. It was a sweet time of reflection on The Greatest Commandment found in Mark 12.

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28‭-‬31

We discussed the importance of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Allowing this vertical relationship with God to fuel our horizontal relationships with our neighbors. Lord willing this garden will allow many people to receive nourishment for their physical being, but more importantly to receive spiritual nourishment for their souls through the Gospel! Finally, we celebrated the success of this project and God's faithfulness throughout the week.

Thursday: Work Day!

Thursday Day 8: Work May 31, 2018

The work today consisted of making a pump house out of cinder blocks for the air pumps that oxygenated the water for the fish. Two of our local friends mixed the concrete without the help of a mixer. Everything is labor intensive. A little sand, a little water, a little concrete a little mixing. Cinder blocks that were not the correct size were whittled to the right size with a machete. The machete is also used to measure distance and dig a hole for the poles.

While some were working on the pump house, Jason went to the “lumber yard” for poles and bamboo. The wood is transported on top of the Land Rover. The poles are used in the place of 4 x 4s. The polls are actually small trees that are about 15 feet long and have all limbs removed. The poles will be used for the shade cloth that will be draped to cover the plants during the hot days.

Bamboo is used to tie the poles together, and to support the shade cloth. Conventional hammer and nails and used to secure all the wood. The shade cloth is secured by zip ties.

The kittens have found the fish so a covering is made for the container that is holding the fish. While all people seem to be working on different projects, a professional soccer team from Tanzania stopped by to see the project. They are in town for a provincial soccer match tournament. The winners receive a prize of approximately $5,000. They were an extremely nice bunch of guys who spoke only Swahili.

While the men were working, our host was leading a Bible study with four young girls complete with balloon art for headwear.

After the shade cloth was hung everyone gathered together for a time of prayer and for lunch. Lunch consisted of rice and boiled chicken. Typically, chicken would be only a monthly affair. Once served, the women and children sat under shade trees while the men sat together under the hut. The men always eat first and the women eat later. Often not eating what they had just prepared. It has been a very productive morning.

Thursday Day 8: Afternoon Bible Study

Andrew led a time of Bible study under the hut from 2 Timothy 2:1-10. The word of God spreads by Paul teaching Timothy and Timothy teaching others. The aquaponics project is an example of people teaching Adam. Adam taught Steven and our host. And, all the men of the community teaching other men of the city. Paul references a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Being a soldier is difficult. There is hard training. The spiritual battle is one that we suffer in together. An athlete must follow the rules. A Christian must play according to Biblical rules. In other letters, Paul calls it obedience of faith. The farmer, the hardworking farmer gets the first fruits of the garden. Our host will do likewise. There is a reward in the end. God will provide the growth.

1 Corinthians, Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God will give the growth. Be faithful to share the gospel. 2jTimoth 4:7-8 says I have fought the good fight (the soldier), I have finished the race (the athlete), I have kept the faith…and afterward, the reward that awaits the victor. One of the believers continues to share from 2 Timothy 2:11-15… “the crown of life is worth suffering for.”

Our evening finished up the community center teaching ESL from 5 pm until 7 pm. 

Wednesday: Fishing Trip on Indian Ocean

Fishing on the Indian Ocean

There was very little work today. We arose early and were on the water, the Indian Ocean by 6:00AM. Our host has a fishing boat that is about 30 feet long. Fishing is a way of life for those in this coastal town. Each morning, an army of boats-sailboats, small dugout canoes and a variety of others head out into the Indian Ocean to practice a livelihood that has been around for thousands of years. I could easily count dozens of boats leaving the bay for the depths of the ocean. 

Our boat is called a dowl. Hanging from the back is a small 15 HP trolling motor. An added "feature" is the sail that is currently wrapped around the mast that is made from a long then tree trunk. The boat has seats along the edge, and I have been told that is has carried close to thirty people in the past. Today, there are only ten. Besides the seven Americans (our host, two college graduates who have been leaving here since February and our four team members) there are three from Mozambique. There is the captain, his first mate and a local believer and teacher in the ESL class.

The captain of the boat is responsible for getting the motor chained to the boat, fueling and driving all day. The first mate handles all other aspects of the trip including dropping the anchor, but most importantly he sits in the bottom of the boat and bales water for the entire day. 

Our fishing location is approximately a two-hour boat ride. The seas are very choppy today with ocean spray keep us all soaked for the duration of the trip. The windy day added to the size of the waver that crashed against the boat all day. The front of the boat dipped and rose then crashed into the sea with each passing wave forcing some into the Dramamine pills to keep their equilibrium at bay.

Fishing consisted of trolling lures along an island which was the location for several hours. As the tide sank, it revealed a sandbar where locals would walk from one island to the next transporting goods, setting and catching their own fish in traps. From a distance, the people appeared to be walking in the water as they traveled from one island to the next.

The main fish that was sought was known as "GTs" which stands for grand trevallies. They are known to be very fast and one of the hardest fighting fish in these waters. Our local teacher caught the first of two GTs on the day. Adam caught the second with both weighing approximately 10 lbs. Steven hooked another large fish which he fought for 7-8minutes. This fish tested Steven's strength but eventually broke the 80lb braided test line that was on our reels. Although disappointed, this provided a bit of excitement for the day. Two other fish were caught but were not landed. One of those was a small King Mackerel that fell off right as he was being hoisted into the boat. The day provided only one fearful moment. As we moved closer to the shorter, our boat hit one of the large rocks that lie just below the surface. The tough old boat handled it well, but it did provide a moment of angst. 

As we headed back to that bay to end the day, we can say honestly that it was a very exciting adventure. As things quieted down for the trip back, we noticed that our captain had fallen asleep at the helm. His hand was still steady on the motor and pointed back to our bay.