The trip was not especially long or hard to arrive at our guest house. The trip out to a new church was different. This church was located 5 kilometers off a main road. When the weather is dry, this trek is not a problem -- the usual "road" was more of a foot/cow/motorcycle path. But when rain is thrown into the mix, it becomes a challenge of great proportions. There are two types of soil here that you do not drive on when it rains. The first is a dark brown/black soil that, when wet, is "slicker than snot" as some have said. The other is an orange clay that is as slick or even slicker when wet. Four wheel drive does not help much. It is like driving on solid ice. You have almost zero control of your vehicle. Both types of soil take days to dry out to make driving feasible again. The latter orange soil "paved" our way to the church.
Then the rain started -- and continued.
The 5 kilometers to the church consisted of up and down traverses through semi-thick trees and small farm plots -- all plowed and planted -- making the soil even harder to drive through. After sliding much and experiencing several near stoppages in holes, we made it to the church.
This is the history of the the church that was given to us:
"Emmanuel Laizer, another of our Maasai partners, attended school in Tanga. He pastors a church in the Losimingori area. Some of his members moved to the Tanga area near the town of Handeni outside a small village name Kwamatuku. After they moved, they asked Emmanuel to come and help them begin a new church in their area as there were none. This church started with one family. They met under a tree for at least a year. As they worked together over time, many came to know Christ. Then the youth of the church decided to cut down some trees and fashion a building out of tree branches, mud, and grass so they could meet even when it rained. Then they asked God to give them metal roofing and He answered with enough pieces to finish their roof. In 2013 July, the building was completed".
In this worship time, there were 53 adults and 20 children.
We took Bibles which we traded for Maasai jewelry.
They enthusiastically asked us to bring more Bibles with us on our next trip.
Emmanuel sent us this history, via Gmail, and written in Kiswahili.
We read the Kiswahili and then saw that Gmail would translate it into English.
So, for fun, we chose this option.
To say the least, we got a few laughs out of their "translation".
Their translation of the area of the church location was "the underworld".
Here is an excerpt:
Dear Goto Timothy see in the picture I have
just taken to the underworld Korogwe we go Sunday.
The history of this church is to be. When I was in college Tanga 2009, I
can kuwaanzisha the church to re-open the Tanga region Handeni district village
to the underworld.
So we were able to go to a church in the "underworld" and deliver light (the Gospel and Bibles) to this most "desolate and unreached" place.
How many others have been able to start and/or attend a church in "the underworld"?
