Bassotu Again

Today we went back to the village of Bassotu for visitation in the morning and lunch and Bible study at the church in the afternoon. Lunch was interesting. We ate catfish and oogali. Oogali is corn meal that is boiled and stirred til it becomes so hard you cant stir it anymore. they serve it to you and its like a lump on a plate. it has no taste at all but they give you salt to rub on it and eat with the fish. heres the catch. you have to eat it all with your hands. but not your left hand. in tanzania your left hand is considered your "bathroom hand" so its... almost rude or gross to eat with that hand. That was an interesting meal. But a cool cultural experience.
THe Bible Study was very interesting, i enjoyed it greatly and i will tell you why. This church that Nate started in Bassotu was started about a year ago so everyone in the church is new believers who are very young in their faith. Terri, one of the men from the mission group that is here this week gave the lesson. it was about salvation, he talked about John chapter 3. And for us Americans who were there it was just a very basic salvation message. But for these people who are still young in their faith and in their doctrine it was very interesting for them. After the message Nate asked them some questions and then asked them if they had any questions. One man raised his hand and asked if you get saved and still keep drinking if you are still saved. Nate explained to us that drinking is a real big problem here. And also, another big problem that has polluted many of these people's minds is the belief that once you sin you are no longer saved. It was awesome to see their genuine interest in Biblical truth that i have not seen in awhile. Many questions followed after that and Nate and some of us americans were able to answer and help show these people the truth in Christ and Christian living. It was awesome to see. Another thing that i really liked was that even though this Bible study started at 3 and it was 5 oclock. people were still asking questions and still attentive. That is something that you would not see in america. It was exciting to see the wheels turning in the peoples heads. To see them increase in understanding even a little. I enjoyed it greatly