Tanzania Team Travels

Sunday September 30, we attended a church service at the cathedral in Singida. It was an amazing experience, in many ways. One thing we did not expect was that the service would be centered on, and largely delivered by, the children of the congregation. Many, many children stood in front of a packed (extremely densely packed!) sanctuary (700 people regularly attend a service) and recited memorized Bible passages, and groups of them sang as well.  It was a real treat to see all the smiling young faces praising God and sharing of their faith. After the 3 hour 30 minute service, the children all seemed to want to meet us. We shook hands and exchanged greetings with countless children, and many adults too. During the worship service we also had a chance to introduce ourselves and extend greetings from the ELCA, the Minnesota South, and from Mount Olive. This short post cannot convey all of what we felt but take a look at the photos and you will get a taste. The top photo ...

Monday October 1, the Travelers had two parts to our day. The first was spent visiting the church in the small town of Ikhanoda, the government-run (public) school in the town, and having a chance to meet with, pray with and eat a meal with the leaders of the congregation This church, Ikhanoda, like many churches in Tanzania, once ran primary and secondary schools. Over the years, the government "confiscated" them and began to run them, requiring that all children in primary school attend the public schools. Churches could still operate Kindergartens, so Ikhanoda church did, holding classes in their church building. The government decided the church did not meet the standards required, so now the church children must attend public Kindergarten until the church can get their space to meet the requirements ("roadblocks") and then hire a qualified teacher. Well, Ikhanoda congregation is doing just that - reworking their old church building while, at the same ...

One of the early goals Sherry had when planning this trip was to set up a day when the two women from Mount Olive would join with women from our companion congregation in Kijota to do a sewing service project.   For many months, the sewing day was put on the itinerary for Friday October 5, but the details were unknown.   Sherry tried to arrange things via e-mail, but due to many circumstances – not least of which is that the leaders of the congregation do not have e-mail! – the project itself was not known before we arrived, and the number of participants and the kind of equipment they would have to work with was unknown as well.  In our first meeting once we arrived in Sengida, the district staff told Sherry that the women of Kijota would be there for the sewing day (still, unknown numbers and equipment) and that they were counting on Sherry to bring the project, including any fabric and other materials.   Sherry and Karen immediately started planning, ...

On October 4, our trip continued with two of the themes which we've certainly begun to recognize: Giving Gifts, and Surprising Blessings. In the morning, Pastor Glenn was able to teach preaching again, and when he was finished, he gave gifts to the soon-to-be-graduates in the pastoral program.  You may not know (I didn't, until this trip) but Glenn wrote a book on how to write a sermon.  So, for the people he had been teaching, who will be going out into the world soon to preach, he gave them a copy of his book.  He signed each book to the recipient.  We're sure that some of Tanzanias future Lutheran leaders were among the class. As part of our final meal in Kiomboi, Sherry gave a gift of a quilt from Mount Olive to the wonderful cook at the Minnesota house, Margaret (Mama Getu). Margaret then gave us a tour of her house, which was built and furnished using funds which many, many grateful Minnesota Lutherans have given her over t...

October 3 was a day of going separate ways and reunion. First thing in the morning we joined the whole Institute for a devotional service. Then we had a short, and productive meeting. Then breakfast. And then the Travelers went to separate tasks. Pastor Glenn taught a two-hour class on preaching. He said the students were sharp, engaged and extremely ready to learn. Sherry and Karen went back to the Kindergarten in Ruruma. They saw the children at the end of their class day, and presented them and their teacher with gifts. Pencils for the kids. Pencil sharpeners and one of the bags which were handmade at Mount Olive.  The kids loved the gifts, the attention, and certainly the ladies who gave them. Mark and I, meanwhile, worked in the computer classroom, setting up the wireless router we had bought. We were successful in getting all the faculty and staff laptops connected to Wifi, and the staff members were all delighted. We were al...

Big day. Far too big for a short post and a few photos. But I will try. First thing this morning (October 2, 2018) we went to the district office and participated in morning devotions with the staff. Then we had a short but productive meeting with Bishop Alex. Our schedule changed again, so we will get to do more. Here are the other four Travelers with Alex. Then we checked out of our hotel and drive about two hours to Kiomboi, where the Lutheran Bible Institute is. We moved into our rooms, ate a late breakfast and discussed our schedule with pastor Mpumpa, director of the institute, and Pastor Dr. Sypyrian Hilinti, assistant to the bishop. The majority of the Day was spent in Ruruma, which has the distinction of being the place where the first missionaries brought the gospel to, and soon after baptized, the first members of what has become a vibrant Christian community in central Tanzania. The people of this church welcomed us with song, gifts and a historical tour of the ground...

One of the plans we have for Tanzania is to help the school at Kiomboi with their technology. Part of that plan is to use some of the funds which were donated to purchase wireless capability for the computers which Mount Olive bought and installed for the school in 2011.  In Arusha, after leaving the ALMC, we went to an electronics store to make our purchase. The  interior of the store looks much like such a place in the US. The neighborhood was more unusual, to us, but typical of what we saw throughout Arusha.  When we arrive in Kiomboi we will determine if there are other needs we can meet. The funds which were given and the budget for the trip are certainly generous enough to allow us flexibility.