The Brouwer Family

This past Sunday the ladies at Fumagira Baptist Church asked if they could come to my house to visit. May not sound like a big deal, but wait until I explain the trip!

These ladies left the village of Fumagira at 8AM. They walked six miles to the town of Igoma. There they rode a dala-dala (mini van used for public transportation.) Unfortunately that vehicle broke down and they had to catch another. This dala-dala dropped them off in the middle of Mwanza city. From there they took another dala-dala to our section of town, Bwiru. However, this vehicle also broke down. After finally arriving to Bwiru - some 12 miles from Fumagira - they walked a mile up the hill to Ibungilo Baptist Church. The pastor's wife, Justa, then led them a mile back down the hill to our house. They arrived around 1:30PM. Now those are some persevering friends!!

It is customary here to serve food and chai (tea) to your guests. When we finished our tea and banana bread, we sang some traditional songs (mapambio.) Afterward I gave a short devotion. We had a lovely time chatting and getting to know each other better.

One highlight of the afternoon was when the baby Lisa Newland was holding wet all over her! I wish I would have had my camera to catch her facial expression! She handled it like a veteran though.

They are already planning our next visit. They want me to teach them how to bake banana bread. Yikes! How do I do that without an oven!!! Guess I need to work on learning how to bake using a charcoal camp stove like they have here. Any suggestions???