Today, just after breakfast, we took a trip to Matyazo. It is a village in the higher elevation hills near the Burundi border and Lake Tanganyika. It’s a place I’ve been to several times over the years and have really fallen in love with it for several reasons. First there is the beauty of the land scape. Next, there is the church there that is large and worshipful. Next there is the climate which is normally cool and dry, even when it’s wet outside. Then there is the German mission there which runs a hospital and orphanage. It’s just remarkable work that these folks do to care for the people in this region. In particular, the care that is given to the infants at the orphanage is extraordinary. 
I admire them very much for the work they are doing here.
Lastly, there is the COFFEE! Yes, they grow coffee here, and as many of you know I love coffee. To be honest, I’ve not tasted coffee directly from Matyazo before, but it just the idea of being around all these coffee plants that are shaded by banana trees. With the rolling hills, it makes for a pastoral scene. All in all, it’s a soothing environment. I was grateful to have the day off from computer work and enjoy the views there and along the way from Kasulu. I hope you enjoy the pictures posted here. As I’ve mentioned before you can click on any photo to view a larger version of the picture.
At this time, Cathy and I are sitting at the table of the guest house we are in while Shaw is down at the Bible College linking up with his students from Belize through the on-line education site. It’s pretty amazing to be out here in rural Tanzania and still be able to be in direct contact with people in other countries, in this case South America. I praise God that we are able to be a part of this project. It is our hope and prayer that it will serve KBC, the Diocese of Belize and others well in their leadership training and spiritual formation.
Tonight we will spend the evening with Bishop Makaya and then get ready for a morning of worship followed by a get together and celebration together tomorrow night at the compound. I’m particularly looking forward to worship tomorrow. We will be going to Mususi “B” church which is the second church for the Musuri area of Kasulu. It is a recent church plant. Cathy and I will sing and give testimonies. Fr. Shaw will deliver the sermon. It should be a good morning together with the people of that parish. My hope is that we touch lives and hearts by the Holy Spirit and bring a blessing of hope and encouragement to that community.
It’s time to go for dinner now so I will say goodnight to you all and hope to do one more post from Kasulu tomorrow night.
Bill
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I hope you had a chance to view the video of KBC I posted a little earlier today. It’s in the previous post.
Today was the final day for me to work on the KBC computers. It was also the final day for Rev. Shaw to meet with students to go over the on-line program he has in development. It will be interesting in the days and months ahead how it shapes up to meet the needs of the students and faculty here at KBC. Keep praying for Shaw and that process as it has potential to be a great asset for them.
For me, it has been a perfect week. Everything went along so smoothly that I had extra time to do a number value added things to the computers and the network. I also had time to do some enhancements at the diocese office, one of which was to straighten out a problem they had with their wireless network. Once that was done, I was able to get the Bishop’s computer on the network again and get all of the computers communicating with the office printer. They are quite pleased to have those things fixed now.
So with the major work done, we are going to take a trip to my favorite place in Tanzania. We are going to Matyazo tomorrow morning. Matyazo is up in the hills about half way between Kasulu and the Burundi border. It’s about and 1 hour and 30 minute drive. It is coffee growing country, and you know how much I LOVE coffee. But the real reason I like it is because Matyazo speaks to me. I love the air there and the feel of the country side. I admire the work that the German missionaries are doing there with the hospital and orphanage. And the drive there is beautiful. I’ll definitely be taking pictures along the way and post them tomorrow night. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us as well. It’s been raining here quite a bit, although most of the rain has been at night and has slowly cleared out by the morning. I’m hoping it will be the same tomorrow for our trip as it is raining pretty steadily now at 9:30 PM.
It’s time for some tea now and then a good nights rest. Blessings to you all.
Bill