Jeffrey and Kristin Lee on the Road: Trip to Arusha, Tanzania (October 2016)...

I traveled to Arusha, Tanzania via Kilimanjaro Airport. I have been to Arusha before in December 2009 when Joyce came to visit with us to take the safari to Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara in 2009. Click here to see this blog post.

The primary purpose of this trip was to provide assistance for E3 Empower Africa, an intended BAM to help Tanzanians with empowerment through energy, education and entrepreneurship (hence E3). This entity was established last year and has been operating pretty much like an NGO. Now they try to run it like a business and asked for help.

I interviewed the management team and all staff. I provided my feedback throughout the week, and a one-day training for Korean staff. Also, I had a debriefing session with David Kim, CEO and his father Sungsoo Kim, who moved to Arusha a few months ago with his wife and is now acting as an on-site advisor. Moreover, I shared the Word of God during their weekly devotion time.

I attended Arusha Vineyard worship service on Sunday. I also joined Mr. Kim and David in the newcomers' class for the church. The pastor was David and his fellow pastor from Port Elizabeth, South Africa was also David. They shared the doctrines of Vineyard Movement. I had no issue about their doctrines, such as holistic view, relationship-emphasis rather than activity or program focus etc., until I heard that they believed in prophesy and being prophetic. Also, they were describing the bible as the menu at a restaurant. Hmmm... I am not sure about that. At any rate, I enjoyed fellowship with them and others.

I stayed at a room within the compound where the E3Empower Korean staff community was staying. Mrs. Kim, David's mom, did her best in serving the cooked meals throughout the week. Very much appreciated. By the time I left, they gave me a letter full of notes of appreciation for timely coaching sessions that I provided. Praise the Lord!

The Kilimanjaro Airport serves two major cities in the western part of Tanzania: Arusha and Moshi. Arusha is the base camp city for all safaris with the population of 350,000 people. The city was undergoing many constructions, particularly roads, thus spreading dusts all over the city. But, Jakaranda flowers were painting the scenery beautifully.

Meanwhile, Moshi serves as the case camp town for all climbers to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest standing mountain in the world at 5,895 meter high. Along with four of my friends, I climbed this mountain to the summit in 2011. Please click here to see the blog post for the Kilimanjaro climb. It was one of the most significant achievements of my life on earth.

So, I had already experienced what is most famous for Arusha and Moshi, there was nothing much to do for sightseeing or pleasure. But, Mr. Kim took me to Cultural Heritage Center and I found a lot of African arts that were fascinatingly beautiful. It was established by an Indian Tanzanian for his private purpose, but the center displays African arts on a consignment basis. Also, the center houses many shops and restaurants where people can shop and dine. The entire center, built in the shapes of drum, spear and shield, has many sculptures on the lawns and by the pathways. It was an interesting place, making my trip worthwhile. To learn more, please browse www.culturalheritage.co.tz.

In particular, I found one artist's works fascinating, but the center staff would not release the information about the artist: John Mahui (?). I was told that he is an Irish artist living in Arusha. He not only paints but also makes sculptures. Gorgeous!