Easter Hills

Easter here was a mix of America and Tanzania. I'll start on the American front. We started with soaking our brown eggs in dye that I bought on sale last year in Texas. We don't have white eggs here, and I was a bit concerned the colors wouldn't work, but they did great. We used rubber bands for stripes and letter stickers to make the word "Easter."

The yearly photo of the kids in Easterish apparel and their eggs. Jack wore this same shirt last year, but this dress is new for Tessa. It was her reward for overcoming thumb sucking. She and I went to the "mtumba" (used clothing market) to look for a dress and found this reversible one before the clouds ripped open with rain. $3.00 for "two" dresses!

On Saturday we joined other missionaries for brunch, worship, an Easter play, and an egg hunt. Both kids were very excited. We only have one handled basket, but Jack was happy to use this bucket. When I peeked inside to see how many he had found I laughed to see two yellow egg-shaped passion fruits sitting alongside the eggs.

It's great to relive the wonderful moments of childhood while watching our own kids enjoy the same traditions, even while we live in Africa.

The Tanzanian side:Easter festivities began on Tuesday with a three day evangelical crusade in our neighborhood. Several choirs participated, but this one was especially vibrant and active. I still can't quite believe how Tanzanian choirs move so amazingly and sing at the same time. This lady with the cloth was so moved she jumped up from the audience and joined the choir waving her kanga and dancing. If you look closely, you can see that she is ululating - Tanzanian women, in a show of support and enthusiasm, yell out in a shrill voice while wagging their tongues from side to side.

After the crusade our church had four days of celebrating Easter. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays here. On Sunday, church was a massive event with about 6 branch churches of the African Inland Church of Tanzania all meeting at our little neighborhood church. Our church is far too small, and is still being built, so other churches brought chairs, and canvases were hung for shade. At least 4 choirs sang and danced.

At one point, the music and dancing were so compelling that many people jumped up and joined in, moving through the choir, singing along, waving cloths, and ululating. You can see Tessa standing at a pole in front taking it all in. Last week, both she and Jack joined our little choir and danced along.

Two ladies from a visiting choir. Choirs practice for hours to get their harmonies and movements synchronized. Many choirs make sacrifices to pay for matching outfits. Although we personally prefer choirs without accompaniment, church members seem to enjoy keyboards and electric guitars with a good loud PA system, which you can see over her left shoulder.

I had to include this picture of this older lady because I was so impressed with how she kept up physically with the cardio-workout movements. Watching her reminded me of how I feel when I see senior citizens skiing in Colorado, "Gosh, I hope I can do that when I'm her age!"

Children frequently sit on the ground because of lack of seating. These kids had the best seats in the house - right in front of the choirs!

We hope your Easter was filled with your loved ones, moments of laughter, and constant gratitude for our Savior who has redeemed us. As we say here, "Amefufuka kweli kweli!" (He is risen indeed!)