#1 - "Karibu"

#1 - Karibu

I used to love hearing the word "Caribou" because it reminded me of my favorite coffee shop.  Now, after these weeks in Tanzania I love this word  "karibu" (spelled a bit differently) because it reminds me of the deeply welcoming nature of my family here.


"Karibu" means welcome.  You hear it often. "Welcome to Tanzania."  "Welcome to our home."  "You are welcome for dinner."  But its more than welcome (and this isn't official, but it is my official observation) it is something like "you are not just a guest here, this home, this country, the meal - I fully share what I have with you."

During our house to house visits I never got tired of hearing the words "hodi hodi," followed quickly by "karibu."  In lieu of a doorbell, "hodi hodi" is the sound you make to let someone know you've arrived.  You always say "hodi" in a pitch an octave higher than your normal voice. If the person is home, they don't have to check to see who it is first to make sure its an acceptable visitor.  No, they respond "karibu" because everyone is welcome.

This is the "take away" of this entire trip for me.  You are welcome.  Here I am, a stranger from an altogether different culture and language, and these people have welcomed me in a way that is beyond necessary.  When I enter someone's home, they take my bag, so I don't have to carry it.  They send me home with beautiful produce from their gardens that they could have sold at the market or used to feed their families.  They call me their pastor and they name their children after me.

Sometimes I try to imagine how we would welcome visitors from Tanzania to our church.  Would we pull out the proverbial red carpet and do our level best to make sure that they felt truly at home?  Would we send an entourage to the airport to greet them with bundles of flowers?  Would we invite them into our homes and consider it a blessing just that they passed through our doorway? I hope so, but I'm not altogether certain.

I am in love with this Swahili word "karibu," but more importantly I am in love with the people who use it so frequently and who so genuinely mean it.

This word, more importantly the sentiment behind the word is how I know that today is not really goodbye, but "I will see you again."  I also know that whenever it is that I return there will be a warm welcome from these brothers and sisters awaiting me.

Until then ....