Arusha (Rogers)

On Saturday evening (8/4) we checked into our hotel in Arusha. The next 4 days in Arusha were spent mostly with our good friend, Rogers. It was last October 2017 that Rogers walked me down off the mountain, Kilimanjaro because of my severe altitude sickness, fever & sore throat. He took such great care of me during our descent and the day after he visited me at our hotel. All this while Bob was still on the mountain reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro with our head guide Raymond and fellow hikers, Jagadish and Max (plus our cool crew of porters). After last year's visit to Tanzania, Bob & I stayed in close contact with Rogers via messenger and What's App phone calls. We were excited to see him again on this year's visit. I'll never forget that 1st big hug from Rogers when saw each other at our Arusha hotel. He joined us for dinner there Saturday night and for each breakfast, and supper while we stayed in Arusha (8/4-8/7).

On Sunday he took us to morning service at his church. 

Rogers has a great voice and sings in the church choir. He was also the lead singer for our group of porters & guides on the mountain last year.

This past year Rogers was working hard to become a Safari Guide. He has been working for years as a Kilimanjaro mountain porter & it's extremely hard work to do year after year (& many times a year). Animals and safaris is where his passion is. When we visited Rogers he was excited to tell us he had been hired for a safari the month before for 5 days. He said it was so fun! And he was hopeful that maybe this same company would hire him at the end of the week for another safari trip. This was GREAT news to us and we were ALL excited about this possible break for Rogers to become a full time safari guide. Safari guide is a much desired job by many in Tanzania.

We had many laughs while together with Rogers those 4 days but we also had some concern for Rogers health. He casually mentioned he'd been having stomach pain the past several months. Rogers agreed that seeing a good doctor at the local hospital was needed. Bob and I were happy we could take him that Monday and we were able to meet with the doctor during his exam. Rogers also had a stomach ultrasound. It was determined Rogers had gastritis and was started on 2 prescriptions for treatment. In the next 3 days that we were with Rogers he was getting some relief and our concerns faded.

On our last day together Rogers drove us an hour & 1/2 to Moshi. Moshi is where Johnson is going to college and we were excited to meet Johnson that evening at Mweka.

The drive to Moshi with Rogers was so memorable. We sang, reminisced about last year and discussed the hope for Rogers future job as a safari driver.

We stopped to take some photos together. I am forever grateful for these cherished pictures because it was 2 days after we said good-bye to Rogers that we learned Rogers passed away. I can not express or describe the complete shock, confusion, disbelief and panic upon this news by phone (Raymond had called us). This could not be true!!!! We had just talked to Rogers on August 8th and he sounded good, he said he was feeling good and he said he GOT the job for safari driver that would start the next day (August 9th). By phone Rogers thanked Bob and I again and again for supporting him and he said "I really believe I will have my own safari business one day".  He also said "I will let you know every step of the way how everything goes. I love you both."

"We love you too, Rogers. Can't wait to hear about this safari trip when you return. Have fun! Good-bye."

Dear Rogers... this is so hard to understand... still today as I type this I can't believe you are not here for me to call or for Bob to text. I'm sad we won't see you again in Africa with your bright smile, positive attitude and endless motivation. I'm heartbroken you don't get to live out your dream as a Safari Guide here on earth. I know you would be THEE BEST guide as you enjoyed telling others about the amazing animals of Africa. 

I'm so thankful for our time together in 2017 and for the precious 4 days together this year. I'm thankful for your impact on your family, friends, tourists and us. You will NOT be forgotten, Rogers. 

I want to mention that we don't know positively what Rogers died from but it sounds like it was a heart attack. It's possible that the stomach symptoms were indicators of heart issues or disease. This is just a guess because all we know is that Rogers woke up on August 9th with severe chest pain and was not complaining about his stomach (instead crushing chest pain). His cousin tried to get Rogers to the closest hospital but was unable to arrive before Rogers passed away. Rogers was only 28 years old. His parents, plus sister and 3 brothers are from the village of Marangu (not far from Johnson's grandparents). We were able to visit Roger's family on Saturday, August 11 to share in their grief, to share our stories of Rogers and tell them how much he was loved by us and others. It was a very difficult visit. Sadness will be overwhelming for a long time when you think of Rogers & how he is missed.

I know you loved God, Rogers with all your heart. I find comfort knowing how you lived out your faith and that right now... YOU are not sad. You are joyful in God's presence and in the company of others who have gone before. We know you're singing in heaven. You are a beautiful angel.

You are one of our angels, Rogers.