Day Five: "The Schedule"

We are having wonderful days with John! Seeing new places, meeting old friends, making new friends, and sharing our perceptions of all these things.

One of our ongoing jokes is "The Schedule."  The Schedule is an ever-changing document that details our appointments each day, even down to who is coming to dinner each evening.  With so many different activities and hosts throughout the visit, The Schedule is a necessary thing.  And every time someone asks John what he will be doing during this visit, he responds with mock seriousness, "Let me consult the schedule."

We have added a few things to the original schedule at John's request -- a meeting with a member of the church staff who oversees the vision implementation, a meeting with a staff member who oversees human resources management.

John explains very well the cultural differences in the way Americans and Tanzanians view time.  Americans, John says, use the clock for time.  Tanzanians use events.  For instance, Americans will say that we have an appointment at 9 AM.  Tanzanians will say it is after breakfast.

To fit in everything John wants to do during this visit, we are observing American clock time and we are keeping to The Schedule.

Here's what we did today:

We met Pastor Paul Harrington for a tour of Luther Seminary in St Paul. Beautiful campus!

We enjoyed sitting in on a class on the Gospel of Luke taught by Matt Skinner.  The topic of the day was Luke 8:1-3, a discussion of how women are portrayed as followers of Jesus.  John told the professor he enjoyed the way he included discussion and the students sharing ideas in the class.

After chapel, we took a quick look at the bookstore, bought a long sleeved clerical shirt, and then met Rev. Rolf Olson for lunch.  Rolf is a great example of how so many people are touched by their encounters with John -- he was John's teacher at Tumaini University one semester about nine years ago.  They keep in touch and Rolf asked several weeks ago about getting together with John during his visit.  We discussed The Schedule and decided this day's excursion would be the best fit.

John enjoyed the eight stacks in the theology library. "So. Many. Books."

The death mask of Martin Luther was a serious thing.

There's an old, old log church on campus.  Pastor Paul had to trade in his driver's license to get the key. 

John in the tall pulpit.

As we toured campus, John remarked at how many, many people Pastor Paul seems to know.  Hugs here, hugs there.  [I think Paul and John are two of a kind.]

After the seminary, we stopped at the Harrington home. Margaret's beautiful artwork caught John's eye.

Pastor Paul proudly showed off his pop can collection.

"Is this for exercise?" John asked about the treadmill.  He wanted to try it out, and Pastor Paul enjoyed showing him how fast it could go.  Then they both hopped on while Margaret and I cautioned, not too fast....

Kids, don't try this at home.

We had another quick stop at the grocery store, caught up on email, missed a connection to chat with Addy.

John even had time for a short rest before dinner guests arrived.

It was so fun to have Kim and Dean with us tonight.  Kim is an enthusiastic Godzone (children's ministry) volunteer, and Dean has been pen and prayer pals with Humphrey Kahwage for four years.  

Again, our guests learned and sang the song about walking together with God on our journey.

Right now, John is on the phone with a friend from California.

Tomorrow: we spend the morning at Rosemount Elementary.  Mrs. Kelley's kindergarteners will show us their morning routine, and we'll join  a second grade class for conversation and a demonstration of the Smart Board.  Then a tour of the school with Nurse Jeanne Fifield, our host. In the afternoon, Paula Swiggum will take him to St Olaf College in Northfield, where he will meet with Tanzanian author/professor Joseph Mbele and with students he has met in Tanzania.  In the evening, another round of guests.

We are so grateful for all who are making these days delightful.

Asante sana.