Bill Schrull
“How lovely on the mountain are the feet of Him who brings good news..” OK, so maybe my feet are not really on the “lovely” side, but they are nicely striped.
Today we left Kasulu for Kigoma, where we are staying at the Coast View Hotel again. But wait! I forgot to report first on yesterday. Yesterday was our last full day in Kasulu. It was filled with various tasks like filling up my friend Daudi’s car with petrol. Then there was a run over to Festus’s house to help him properly setup the new Presonus RM mixer he purchased from me (which I brought over from the USA). He was having trouble getting it setup with his Windows 7 computer, so I brought over my Macbook which I already had setup with the mixer drivers to first determine that the mixer unit was working correctly. It turns out that he just did not have the drivers loaded for the mixer. Once we got those in place, it started to work properly. We also updated the firmware of the mixer to make sure it was up-to-date with the latest drivers and control software. I was really glad that we got it working well for him. I’m looking forward to hearing some of the recordings he produces with the system.
There were a few other things to iron out at the Bible College network including a quick fix of the wireless repeater in the teachers lounge room that was not quite configured correctly. My fault on that but fortunately we discovered it today just before our “fair well” lunch with the teachers, so I had a chance to fix it before we left.
All in all, this has been perhaps the best mission trip here to Kasulu we have ever experienced. Everything, and I mean everything has worked out perfectly, with little or no stress and plenty of time to complete the work we were send here to do. I can’t say enough about how grateful we are to all of you who have been praying for us and for our friends at KBC and the Diocese. And they are so grateful to you all as well. At our fairwell lunch at KBC, they expressed how much they appreciate the work we have done over the years to help KBC to have a window into the larger world with the computer systems and Internet access. As the posted photo’s show, they are making good use of the systems for everything from biblical studies to word processing training. And again, this is not only for students at the Bible College but also for people all around the Kasulu region. I’m just grateful to the Lord for having been given the resources to be a part of this blessing. And there is more! I’m coming home with plans for more ways we can minister to the people in this region. I can’t wait to bring the challenge to our mission committee at St. Paul’s. (This would be a “heads up” to anyone on the committee reading this post).
I will leave you this evening with a heart felt thanks for all that you all have done to keep us in prayer; for St. Paul’s and the mission committee and the wonderful support (especially financially) that had allows us to bring the blessing to KBC and DWT, and of course to our Lord Jesus who is the author of all the good things we have been a part of and have experience here in Tanzania.
Bwana wetu asufiwe! Asante Bwana Yesu.
Canon Bill
I did not get a post in last night. I had a call from one of my customers back in the USA with a big problem of all of their systems not restarting after a power outage. So I spent the time I would have been posting walking through the issue with them and eventually getting all of their computer system back up and running. Bwana wetu asifiwe! I was actually able to use remote control software to view and control their systems from here in Kasulu. Small world.
Yesterday we traveled to Shunga village to do a site survey for wireless networking and Internet for the clinic (really it’s unofficially a hospital) that is run at least in part by German missionaries who have been involved in medical missions there for a very long time. They are hopefully going to have higher speed Internet available to them via 3G cellular soon. There is a new cell tower that went up next to their facilities that should be going live this fall. So our job for the day was to a walk about the grounds with Felix, one of the German nurses to find out where they would like networking and Internet access for the doctor’s and staff members. We’ve got a good idea of what they initially would like for access and also some idea’s about what they could do in the future to extend networking access through out the various buildings in the clinic compound. I’m hoping to use Google earth screen shots of the area to formulate a plan for them. The idea is to give a well thought out plan to those coming from Germany to facilitate an installation for them.
We arrived in Shunga at about 11 AM and finished our survey shortly after noon. Then we had lunch with the doctor’s and staff, along with Rev. Fred Kalibwami, a long time friend of ours from our first visits to Kasulu. Fred is “retired” now, but like most of us, you never really retire, especially from ministry. Fred was there to help out with some accounting issues at the clinic. It was great to see him. Cathy and I were not sure where he was and had not seen him in a couple of years.
The drive to and from Shunga is one filled with some beautiful scenes and vistas. It’s a trip we had done once before for a 100 years of the Gospel Jubilee that was help there a couple of years back. I was glad we had the chance to go there again, partly because of the scenery, but also because I admire so much what the missionaries and doctors there are doing to bring vital medical care to the indigenous population.
After returning to Kasulu, we got together with Emanuel Bwatta to finalize some business items regarding the Bible College. And then after some time to clean up from the dust and dirt of the day (did I mention the dust out here in Kasulu?) we went out to dinner with Daudi Ndahana and his wife Olivia for dinner. We love being with Daudi and Olivia. Like Rev Fred, we are long time friends and have a special place in our hearts. It’s more like family than just friends. Olivia brought cooked chicken along with her for us to have with dinner (try doing that in a restaurant in the USA). She cooked chicken because, as you may recall, I was given one at Kagunga village. The only problem was that apparently my chicken ran away sometime during the past week. Really, I think it just ended up in someone else’s pot (I think Daudi and Olivia think the same thing). No matter. She made chicken for us, so we ate!
So that was our day. It was full and it was wonderful. Even the late night call from my customer did not seem all that out of place or inconvenient. And I was grateful, VERY grateful that I could help service them from here.
Today is our last full day in Kasulu. It’s 7:24 AM, so we are off to morning chapel. I’ll write again tomorrow morning. Until then.
Mungu ni mwema!
Canon Bill