Finally in Mugeta

Thanks to Wikipedia for this photo.

Leaving Dar es Salaam should’ve been easy: about a two-hour flight to Mwanza, a few hours’ drive through Bunda to Musoma to pick up my Residence Permit, then back to Bunda on the way to Mugeta.

I arrived at the airport about nine am. Going through security should’ve been easy, after all, I’d flown across the Atlantic Ocean, part of Europe, over the Mediterranean Sea, followed the Nile River into Africa and safely arrived in Tanzania. During those many hours, the keys that locked my luggage travelled in my skirt pocket. That morning, I put my luggage keys safely inside my last packed suitcase and clicked the final lock. As I passed through security and they asked me to open one of my suitcases, I realized where the keys were.

So, there I was trying to get back into my shoes, stunned by what I’d done. I am so grateful to all the people who are praying for me, because, in that moment, I relied heavily on the grace of God and the goodness of the airport’s security guards. To my relief, the man operating the camera took another look in my suitcase and waved me through. My Grandmother Warner told me that events like this make for good stories to tell. I hope you are able to laugh with me over this, after the fact of course!

I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the airport before my scheduled 11:30 am departure. Then I saw Delayed until 1:00 pmbeside my flight. The flight did leave at 1:00 pm only to have the pilot tell us, shortly after take-off, that we would be returning to Dar es Salaam due to a problem with the cabin pressure. Musoma, that day, was now out of the question.

My 4:00 pm departure brought me to Mwanza in time to view a portion of southern Lake Victoria with its islands and its fishing boats bathed in the rays of the setting sun. Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second largest freshwater lake by surface area. Lake Superior is first.

It would be another day before I set foot in Mugeta, and then another 10 hours before I saw it in the daylight. I didn’t realize there would be so many mountains in Tanzania. Many look like they had handfuls of brilliantly coloured rocks dropped on them; big rocks tumbled together, jutting into the sky!

The red sand road to my home washes into gullies when it rains. An attentive hound dog, with a good howl, keeps watch here.

There’s a heavy-laden orange tree in my front yard and three more in the back. The first corn crop of the season is being harvested; the next crop will be planted in April. The markets are filled with fresh vegetables, avocados, mangos, papayas, and watermelons direct from the farms. I saw my first Tanzanian rainbow today.

Guidebooks and documentaries don’t do this country justice. God has indeed blessed Tanzania and her people! Amen

Please Note:

This article first appeared in the January 18, 2024 edition of the North Simcoe Springwater News (www.springwaternews.ca)