Free range chickens
by Judith Anderson
On the 29th of July I will get on a plane with other members of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church and head to Tanzania. I am going back for the second time and counting the days as I prepare with shots, purchase a new suitcase, and figure out the best way to use all the things my camera can do. I am taking a different, more talented camera on this trip.
This charming hen and her chicks posed for my old camera on a sunny afternoon as they roamed free in the yard around the church in the village of Tungamalenga.
Free range chickens, as the ads in the Sunday paper say, are really the best. In Tanzania free range is honestly, FREE range. There are no fancy grasses for these chicks to peck in and pull up some lunch.
The chickens we eat in Tanzania are prepared and taste differently than the way I do them at home. Both kinds are prepared for the family with the anticipation that they will be enjoyed.
This type of chicken was offered up for auction after Sunday morning services. The congregation members there do not all have cash or a check to place in the offering basket. Many bring offerings of firewood, groundnuts, or a chicken. After the last hymn is sung, the congregation moves outside for the auction. I placed my bid and bid again to raise it over another's. I soon owned a chicken! It found its place at the home of the Doctor to decide if it would be stewed or let back on the range. The enthusiasm of the congregation to raise funds for their church is marvelous to observe.
It is the simple acts of daily life that calls me back to visit one more time, to walk bega kwa bega with our brothers and sisters in faith.
Judith Anderson first traveled with Shepherd of the Valley to visit our Tanzanian Partners in 2012. During that visit, she was affectionately named "Bibi Jude" by our friends. [Bibi means Grandmother in Swahili.]
On the 29th of July I will get on a plane with other members of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church and head to Tanzania. I am going back for the second time and counting the days as I prepare with shots, purchase a new suitcase, and figure out the best way to use all the things my camera can do. I am taking a different, more talented camera on this trip.
This charming hen and her chicks posed for my old camera on a sunny afternoon as they roamed free in the yard around the church in the village of Tungamalenga.
Free range chickens, as the ads in the Sunday paper say, are really the best. In Tanzania free range is honestly, FREE range. There are no fancy grasses for these chicks to peck in and pull up some lunch.
The chickens we eat in Tanzania are prepared and taste differently than the way I do them at home. Both kinds are prepared for the family with the anticipation that they will be enjoyed.
This type of chicken was offered up for auction after Sunday morning services. The congregation members there do not all have cash or a check to place in the offering basket. Many bring offerings of firewood, groundnuts, or a chicken. After the last hymn is sung, the congregation moves outside for the auction. I placed my bid and bid again to raise it over another's. I soon owned a chicken! It found its place at the home of the Doctor to decide if it would be stewed or let back on the range. The enthusiasm of the congregation to raise funds for their church is marvelous to observe.
It is the simple acts of daily life that calls me back to visit one more time, to walk bega kwa bega with our brothers and sisters in faith.
Judith Anderson first traveled with Shepherd of the Valley to visit our Tanzanian Partners in 2012. During that visit, she was affectionately named "Bibi Jude" by our friends. [Bibi means Grandmother in Swahili.]
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