So it’s been awhile since we’ve written a blog post. Despite the break from the blog we’ve still managed to put out some MKLM newsletters. You can check out the links below:
Anna: https://mklm.org/our-people/missioners/profile-anna%20johnson/
Kyle: https://mklm.org/our-people/missioners/profile-kyle-johnson/
And we’ve
stayed quite active on social media. Our Family Facebook page can be found
here: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaKristineJohnson/
Also,
we sponsor a page for the many street dogs in Mwanza. We believe that teaching
people to be kinder to animals benefits everyone. Demonstrated compassion
speaks louder than words can and it is contagious for those who become wrapped up in
its embrace. If you want to visit our African Street Dog Facebook page, it can be
found here: https://www.facebook.com/africanstreetdogrescue/
After
about seven months in East Africa our family took a vacation to the island of
Zanzibar. It was a welcome respite from our life in Mwanza and we enjoyed
the great food, beautiful beaches, and exquisite hospitality that makes Zanzibar
world renowned. It was truly a beautiful and amazing experience for our family.
Like most “highs” in life, there are “lows” which inevitably follow. Whether it is simply the contrast with the the happy moment itself or if in fact it is something negative following something good, the feeling of sadness can sometimes be expected after a great vacation. With the end of this vacation signaling the start of school it was even a little harder. Still more challenging was that our son Collin came down with a bad bout of Malaria. Is there such a thing as a good bout? In any case, we knew that Malaria would eventually strike our family, but seeing the seriousness of its effects was still frightening.
Collin experienced nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and multiple days of a 103° degree fever. It’s scary for a parent to see your child that sick. We are grateful that we quickly figured out what it was and that the Tanzanian healthcare system (for all its faults), is very accustomed to diagnosing and treating Malaria. Collin was sick for an entire week and then it took him a whole week to recover. At the end of his “bout,” we celebrated his eleventh birthday and started school.
Anna and I are back at it and we will have more to write
about our work soon. We are immensely grateful for the prayers, for the moral
support, and for the financial support that we’ve received from friends,
family, and strangers alike. There is no other way to describe how we feel. We
are simply grateful.
One last note about Zanzibar. We stayed in Stone Town for
two days. It is a very unique place. The perfect blend of Africa and Arabia that
feels both exotic and welcoming. Stone Town was the main hub of the East
African slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. While I’ve
read about slavery in history books and I’m familiar with the US history
portion of slavery, I was stunned by what I learned about Zanzibar, whose wealth
was created from the tens of thousands of human beings who were bought and sold
on a yearly basis for over two-hundred years. There are three things that
profoundly stick out in my mind:
1) The slave pens. Over 70 men and an equivalent
number of women in a separate pen were kept in a concrete bunker with a cesspool that was cleaned by the tide. Many people died in the pens. For the masters,
it was how the weak slaves were culled from the strong ones. Sitting in the pens
with the ceiling just inches from my head, staring at narrow slits of sunlight, and imagining
being jammed person-to-person in the incredible heat and humidity was almost too
much to bear. So many people had died where I was so casually sitting. It is
truly sacred ground. This is why the Anglican’s built a church over the site
and placed the altar where the old whipping post used to be.
2) Dr. Livingstone. A crucifx made from the tree next to where he was buried hangs on the wall in the Anglican Church. Dr. Livingstone was a benevolent force in influencing people about the evil of slavery. His writing unabashedly described the horrible truths of slavery that appalled people and helped bring about its abolishment in Europe. His legacy is a reminder of how important it is to take a stand on social justice. Whether it is fighting slavery in the 1800s or standing up against the caging and forced separation of children along the US/Mexican border in the 2000s, if you (or we) don’t do it, then who will?
3) Legacy. There was a quote at the museum adjacent to
the church. It was from a man who lamented that a father wouldn’t give his blessing for him to marry his daughter. It was due to the fact that the man was descended
from slaves. The year of the quote? 2014. The legacy of slavery still exists.
And in fact slavery still exists. Gone away is the public auction, but the
labor that is exploited by companies that use or benefit from such labor is very much public. So are some of the companies that benefit from the exploitation.
As consumers, we must continue to expand our vision and to change our habits. If
not us, then who?
If you read this far. Thank you! We appreciate you. And now to end on on something more fun. Freddie Mercury from the Rock band Queen was born and lived in Zanzibar. There is a museum and a restaurant built in his honor. We didn’t visit it this time, but we will when we return. And finally, if you checked out the African Street Dogs FB page, Collin designed the logo on computer himself. It’s pretty cool!
