~Today's blog post is written by Carole England, the only member of our group who has visited Mtera Parish prior to this trip (2008).
Mtera Parish has seen many changes and today we were witnesses to God’s great love throughout the world. We are so very blessed to be in this relationship, shoulder to shoulder, Bega Kwa Bega - St. Paul Lutheran and Mtera Parish and its five preaching points. My heart is warmed by what I’ve seen today, and in my 2005 and 2008 trips. God is working here in Mtera! This is my last trip I’ll make to Mtera but now there are young people excited to help carry on the partnership. I invite you to come and see. Life for you will never be the same. I will give you a snapshot of our Sunday (July 28) worshiping with our sisters and brothers in Christ at Mtera. We woke up hours before the alarm to roosters outside our window and a Muslim chant happening in town. Laying in bed it felt like the Tanzanians never sleep. We got up and dressed for church with no running water. The bathroom in our rooms were African bathrooms. The room had a bed and a chair but most importantly a fan to cool down. Mtera is very hot year round. Some walked and others rode back to the church for breakfast at 8:30 only to find out breakfast was at the Tanesco office buildings across the street. Breakfast was the usual of boiled eggs, Spanish omelets, oranges and other items including mandazis. These were a hit with everyone! But mostly the young people who have tried to eat them every day. Church started roughly at 10:00. Choirs from various preaching points, the Iringa choir and Mtera parish choir praised the Lord with singing and dancing. There always is music and when there is music there is a natural feeling of dancing and singing. This is something very hard to describe because this joyous reaction in not found in our churches. You can’t help but move with them. Some from our group took videos and they may be seen at some point at St Paul Lutheran. This Worship was special in the fact it was the first service in their new church. It isn’t completely finished needing a cement floor and glass on the windows. They continued with a Liturgy very similar to ours except in Swahili. Pastor Msigwa was a very good translator for us. More people wandered in as the worship continued. There was a time when all the children came forward for prayer before they left for Sunday School, which was in another building. Lessons from the Bible were read and then Pastor Carrie read the gospel in English and Pastor Msigwa read it in Swahili. Pastor Dale and Pastor Carrie shared in the sermon focusing on the text of John 17:13-23. Talking about how we are ALL the body of Christ and distance does not affect that. They shared our mission statement, “Sharing Christ’s love with joy” and that we share this together. Pastor Dale talked about the trees that were planted by our St. Paul group in 2008. The tree has grown and they have taken good care by watering. A plaque sits by it that says it was planted by their friends of St Paul Lutheran. He compared it to our partnership and how we can care for each other by prayer and support so together our ministry grows like the tree. Pastor Carrie said we have many differences but we are much the same, brothers and sisters in Christ. She shared an Eastern African saying, ”a mighty river has many streams”. We, St Paul Lutheran and Mtera Parish are the streams flowing to the mighty river. We were presented with a gift from Mtera. It is a picture of our group taken the night before when we were at Mtera for dinner. It was framed and given to our church to show you that we really were here with the Mtera people. We in turn gave them the banner to hang in their new church building, the stole for Mtera’s Pastor, the pocket crosses and a St. Paul Lutheran baseball cap for another interim pastor. I’m not sure if Pastor Jeffrey liked to wear it. He would take it off each time Pastor Dale put it on him. We did introductions of ourselves. Tyler led us, as a group, in singing "I've Got The Joy Down In My Heart", that even included hand motions and turning around. I think they were impressed that we actually did a little movement with our song. Church Worship ended around 12:00. (Never complain about the length of our worship at home!) We took a 15 minute break and came back for a fundraising meeting. Some honored guests from around the area were there. Those who have given and plan to give for the completion of the new church and other projects. Around 2:00 we were served lunch and then headed back to Iringa. The ride was quiet with everyone tired and reflecting on the last two days. Once back at The Lutheran Center some walked to the market to pick up shirts they had made for them. Others rested and others visited in the front lounge of the Lutheran Center. Dinner was served at 7:00 with the group from St. Andrews in Mahtomedi. Our group then gathered to reflect on our experiences of the trip. Everyone had a wonderful time and appreciated the experiences of the entire trip going home with a new perspective of cultures, life and community. Tomorrow we leave Iringa and ride to Dar es Salaam. ~Carole England An update from Pastor Dale: This will be our final blog post of our trip. Thanks to Carole for that excellent summary and description of our time worshiping with Mtera yesterday. We did leave Iringa early this morning (Monday 7:00 a.m.) and rode the bus again to Dar es Salaam. It was an hour faster going back to Dar (only eleven hours!). After a nice final dinner together at our hotel, and saying goodbye to the Clark Family who leave on their family vacation to Zanibar, Copenhagen, and Switerzland at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow) we are now all safely settled in our hotel rooms. Tomorrow we spend a relaxing day in Dar, shopping, eating, and swimming in the Indian Ocean before ending our evening at dinner at the SeaCliff Hotel, near the airport. Our flight from Dar to Amsterdam departs at 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday. We are scheduled to arrive in Minneapolis Wednesday at 12:30. We are eager to return home to our families and friends and to share our experiences. This coming Sunday, August 4, there will be a special time of sharing from our group members during the usual sermon time. We hope you can make it. It will be good to see you. Thank you again, on behalf of all of our group, for your prayers, love, and support. See you soon! ~Pastor Dale
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Today's blog post is written by Katie Edwards and Nova Kroschel.
Today we left the Iringa Lutheran Center at 7:45 in anticipation of another great adventure. We were not disappointed! First I would like to share a few words about the roads here in Tanzania. The road we are taking today to Mtera is all paved. That was not the case the last time a group from St. Paul Lutheran visited here. They are mostly two lanes, but those two lanes can quickly become 4-5 lanes depending on the type of vehicles that are moving along at the time. Please note, the size of the roads don’t change, just the number of vehicles on it. Imagine a highway with 4-5 vehicles going down the road with several passing at the same time. Sometimes it feels like we are in a cartoon, with cars coming in all directions. In all fairness I must point out that most of the vehicles, ie, pikipiki (motorcycles) and the bajaj (3 wheeled canvas sided vehicles) are much smaller than what we generally see in traffic in the US. Even most delivery trucks are much smaller. There is very little of what we consider the shoulder of the road and very often people and animals walking along the sides in both directions. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way! Vehicles DO NOT stop! They do honk a lot! Tanzania also has road construction and we knew that there was going to be a relatively short stretch of that on the way to Mtera. Road Construction here does not look like US road construction. They don’t detour you off to another paved road, they detour you off on to a rough trail. We get full body massages as we drive over all the lumps and bumps! I am sure that if our Coaster Bus ever had good suspension it is definitely shot. We had a very scenic drive to Mtera Secondary School. Some of the things we saw on the drive were animals such as donkeys, goats and cattle being herded down the side of the road, oxen pulling a large tree branch, a goat being transported on a pikipiki (motorcycle) donkeys pulling wooden carts of supplies, and many people carrying supplies in baskets or buckets on their heads. The diversity of housing along our drive is amazing! The housing here gives a whole new view of making do with what you have. I could go on and on about that, but I will save that for another post. After about two hours we arrived at the Mtera Lutheran Secondary School, where we were greeted by the entire student body even though it was a Saturday. We were given a tour which Nova is going to share with you at the end of this post. After the tour we were served brunch before we left for Mtera Church. The school is a short distance from town. We were greeted at the church, shown around the area, and then went to unload our bags at the Empire Inn in Mtera. We took all eight rooms that they had. Pastor Dale commented right away that it exceeded his expectations. It was clean and had screens on the windows. The rooms had a bed and a chair. It had a tiny bathroom with a squatty potty and a shower which were in the same spot. There was no sink. Unfortunately, most of the rooms did not have running water in the shower, but we didn’t know that until in the morning when folks tried to shower. Be sure to ask Steve and Carol about the chickens outside their room when you see them next. After leaving our bags in the Inn we went back to the church where we were served lunch. Yes, lunch, even though we had brunch two hours previously. This was our third meal of the day. Following lunch we once again boarded the bus to head to the Mlimani preaching point,one of 5 preaching points from the Mtera church. We soon learned just how remote this preaching point is. It was during this trip that we experienced the true meaning of Bega Kwa Bega! We quickly left paved roads behind and ended up on very bumpy, sandy trails, not really roads at all. We have had an amazing driver for this trip and he was masterfully managing the trail. We were soon in for a trip of a lifetime! We were dodging bushes, trees, low areas and at one point a herd of cattle. Cattle also do not have the right of way in Tanzania! Our driver just kept honking his horn and driving forward until all the herd had scattered. We certainly could have used the Land Cruisers that we used on Safari at this point! The drive seemed to take a very long time, but we were assured that we were almost there. We were out in the middle of nowhere! There were no buildings in sight and it had been a little while since we had seen one. At that point we were trying to drive across an area on the trail when our coaster bus got stuck in the very fine sand. (Think of the very worst situation you have been involved in being stuck in the snow and triple it!) The back wheels were just spinning. So, all but two people got off the bus. At this time we had our group of 16, the driver, the guide, 3 additional pastors, and an evangelist on the bus. The plan was for the men to push the bus forward. It was a great plan, but the back wheels were too far down in the sand. The rear axle also needed to be dug out. Men and kids were trying to dig out sand with their hands. Some folks were pulling dried corn stalks from the surrounding area to put under the tires. The evangelist started walking to get tools to help with digging out the bus. By this time we were taking lots of pictures and making comments about who had an AAA membership! Off to the side of where the bus was stuck was a water hole where two local children were watching all of the action. They turned over the bucket they were using to collect water and sat down on it to watch. Soon the evangelist was back with one shovel and a hoe. Then someone else arrived on foot with an ax. By now the word has spread and more people are showing up on foot to watch the show. In the meantime there is much conversation about how we ended up in this situation! Some were making mental notes about how much water we had and how much daylight was left. Thirty minutes from the time we drove into this goofy situation we were back on the road because of Bega Kwa Bega, folks shoulder to shoulder, managed to push the bus out and we continued on our way to the preaching point. Members of the community who came to help stayed behind to work on the trail, so that we wouldn’t have the same problem on the way back. We continued on our way to the preaching point. Our visit there was very short, because we didn’t want to drive back in the dark. We were greeted warmly by the members of the preaching point, but the youngest children cried when we tried greeting them. This was certainly different from our other stops. We decided that they had never been exposed to people from outside their area. The church was made of sticks, but the blocks for the new church was built around it, so it was a church within a church. The new church doesn’t have a floor or roof yet. It is part of their long term goals. They need more bricks before they can move on. They also want to build a school for the kindergarten children in the area. This would be a one room building. The children all have to walk to school and they want to keep the youngest ones close to home for one more year. This is completely understandable after seeing how far it is to walk to school! We left the preaching point and made it back to Mtera without incident. This time we got off the bus and walked across the area we had been stuck in. The bus made it across thanks to the helpers who had stayed behind and worked. At 8:00 PM we ate our 4th meal of the day and then headed to the Empire Inn for a memorable night’s stay. ~Katie Edwards We went to the Mtera secondary school yesterday. Out of 365 total students, 149 are sponsored by Bega Kwa Bega. The students welcomed us with several songs, led by their choir. They are pretty similar to our choirs, but it's fun to see how much energy they have compared to American high schoolers. We went to the principal's office to sign in and learn a bit more about the school before going out for a tour. We were shown several classrooms, including one for visually impaired students. The braille typewriters they have were partially funded by our church. Most of the buildings and supplies they have are old, but they make do with what they have, and are slowly saving for renovations. We met some students who are sponsored by people in our congregation, and learned what they've been doing so far in school. They don't choose classes like we do in high school, instead having several core classes every year like math and geography. They are also required to pass examinations to move onto the next grade instead of passing automatically. The students seemed very committed and one girl told how she wanted to go to university and become a pastor. While their school is very different from ours, I got the feeling that those kids are much the same as we are, with big hopes and dreams for their futures. And now those dreams are going to be possible because of people who were willing to sponsor them. I will always remember how despite all our differences, the students are essentially the same as we are. ~Nova Kroschel **We're back from safari! Gabe, Sam, and Chris share their experiences in today's blog post.**
**Be sure to read to the end to view some of Chris's amazing photos!** "The journey was jaw dropping (literally) but as we were on those land cruisers we saw just how small we really are and how animals are a big part of our world as well. I THINK ALL OF US WISH WE COULD GO AGAIN. With their new airstrip they are planning to build they hope to increase the visitor number and allow access to more of Africa to their safari." ~Gabe Clark "The first word I can think of for this experience is ridiculous. Not because of the animals, bandas, or even the hospitality. But because we had the bumpiest bus ride of our lives making me need a chiropractor after this trip. Everything that we saw was other-worldly and will surely be cherished memories for all of us for the rest of our lives. The hospitality was incredible with the staff always offering to help (including pulling out your chair for you) and always wanting to be of use for someone. Even the candle-lit dinners at night were organized to perfection with the food being cooked over real coals and having a staff teach us about the different stars in the sky. My favorite animals we approached were the lion couple on the second safari. They weren’t the least bit concerned about us being less than 20 yards away and gave us many great photos (some weirder than others) that really showed the beauty of the animals that we encountered. Overall, I’d recommend everyone to go and do this yourself even for just a single day, but I’d wait until next year when the new airfield is finished so you can fly in from Zanzibar instead of taking the back-breaking bus ride that we had to endure. This trip has been a dream come true and this just made it all that much better." ~Sam Kroschel "They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” If that is the case, you will need a lifetime to read the anthologies we have written in the past 48 hours in the Mwagusi safari camp of the Ruaha National Park. How do you describe color to a blind person? That is what it feels like to summarize the safari experience. For the first timers in our group, it felt like we were living in a Disney movie. For the veterans it was affirmation that their memories are real—that they, too, had experienced this indescribable adventure once before. For all of us, we left this place in wonderment and deep appreciation for God’s creation and for the hard work of the people who took care of us, so that we could see it with our own eyes! The adventure began Wednesday morning with a 7:30 departure from the Lutheran Centre in Iringa. The 3.5-hour drive in the cruiser bus provided many “deep massages” (i.e. bone-jarring). Surely, after dropping us off at the park, the bus was headed to the nearest auto shop to have every bolt re-tightened. Thankfully, we arrived to the park safely and in good health around 11:15. We had another hour’s drive through the park to the place where the safari camp Land Cruisers transported us the rest of the way to the Mwagusi safari camp, the first of now a dozen or so businesses in the park. We arrived right before lunch, in time to stretch out and relax in the viewing area of their dining hut. As we received our orientation, we could see a herd of impala walk into the Mwagusi riverbed, oblivious to our presence. After the delicious lunch we were escorted to our personal “bandas”, an open-air hut with, in the front, a low stone wall, polished cement floor, and lounge furniture; in the back, a private bathroom and shower; and in the middle the sleeping quarters—a spacious, carpeted canvas tent, left open during the day and zipped up at night. The entire space is covered by a timber A-frame and thatched roof. After a couple hours’ respite the moment we had all been waiting for arrived—the first of three multi-hour safari drives. Spread out across three custom-built Land Cruisers—trucks with three rows of raised cushioned seats, shaded with a metal bimini, each with a driver and guide—we departed around 4:30 into “the bush.” These rugged beasts would carry us around the park, through ruts and across brush without fail. All the vehicles traversed the same path, but each vehicle still had its own experiences. The guides were breathing encyclopedias of the flora and fauna, able to identify practically every bird and tree we passed by—not only telling the name but also unique characteristics, habits, and how it impacts the ecosystem. If a notable creature was sighted the guides coordinated with their cell phones and all vehicles rendezvoused. This first adventure was filled with baboons, impalas, cape buffalo, kudu, dik-dik, black-backed jackal, a young elephant by the road, numerous giraffes, a hyena, and a pride of young male lions lounging by a river. Exotic birds also surrounded us the entire way: ground birds like the guinea fowl and spurfowl; fliers like lovebirds, starlings, bee-eaters, rollers, social weavers, oxpeckers, hammerkop, and LOTS of hornbills; and birds of prey like the bateleur, black-shouldered kite, tawny eagle, and the majestic African fish eagle. Even the trees were captivating. The enormous Baobab tree skeletons were spread across the land, showing their massive trunks (most were devoid of leaves because it is the dry season). Sausage trees, flat-topped acacias, palm trees, and the very unusual candelabra trees reminded us of the diversity of this place. The drive back at dusk also treated us to a red-orange sunset reminiscent of home. We returned from our trek around 7:00. At 7:30 we were escorted down to the dry riverbed for a campfire and social hour under a cloudless, starry sky before dinner nearby at 8:30. A staff member gave an introductory, southern hemisphere-themed astronomy lesson. Using a green laser, he pointed out the milky way, several constellations, planets, and the southern cross. After dinner, staff escorted us all back to our bandas for safety. What animals would venture around our tents that night we did not know, but we all slept in eager anticipation of what amazing experiences we would have the next day. The morning came very early. The safari departed at 6:30am, so most of us were up before 6:00. The waning moon overhead provided enough illumination to outline the banda walls, riverbed, and trees, but the sky was still dark enough to make out stars. The view south presented a sight us “northerners” haven’t seen since the winter—Orion lay just above the horizon. The temperature was cool, even by our standards--probably mid-40s—so many wore pants, sweatshirts, caps, etc. By our return six hours later we would all be stripped-down to the minimum because the savannah was now a sultry 80 with a “winter” sun as intense as our summer one. This cruise had several of the same creatures—herds of cape buffalo, impala (lots!), a few elephants, zebra, and giraffe—but also some new ones. We drove down to the Ruaha river and spotted hippos, a few crocodiles, some herons, egrets, and a few other birds. Some special finds were an African Civet, waterbuck, black-faced vervet monkey, African Fish Eagles perched and in-flight, a giraffe bending over for a drink, a lilac-breasted roller dazzling us with its plumage in-flight. Our final safari set out in the evening in hopes of finding new animals and new experiences. Two leopards—one hiding in the brush and the other walking in the open—a mother elephant with her calf, a resting hyrax in a tree (looking like a leopard), several banded mongoose, slender mongoose, an orib (small antelope), herds of gazelle, some ostrich, a mating lion couple, and a herd of over twenty elephants moving together finished off our final memorable adventure. Our return drive in the twilight was a blend of cool breezes and a warm-colored sunset. Once again, we enjoyed a pleasant social evening and dinner on the riverbed, right outside our bandas. The cooks prepared their delicious dishes over coals right on the rocks under the starry sky. Stories were swapped about the day’s sites and experiences. Unfortunately, time marched on and before we were ready the evening was over and we all returned to our beds for a restful night’s sleep. After sleeping-in the group met for breakfast in the dining area. Every meal we enjoyed the presence of the camp’s founder and owner, Chris Fox. He humbly shared stories of his youth, history of his camp, answered questions, and shared his thoughts on the future of the park with the planned construction of a 2.5km runway under construction and possibly finishing before the end of the year. After packing up and enjoying some final views of the scenery it was time to board the land cruisers for a quick ride back to the cruiser bus and our departure out of the camp by 11:00. As we left the camp, a few of us took some final family pictures at the entrance signs—final proof that we really had visited this amazing place and been in the presence of the other-worldly creatures. “Safari” means journey in Swahili. Our stay at Mwagusi has been another memorable chapter in our larger journey here in Tanzania. We returned to the Lutheran Centre in Iringa early Friday afternoon. Our forty-eight hours into this strange paradise reminded us of the wonderful world God made for us, and our responsibility for stewardship of His creation." ~Chris Clark Today's blog post is written by Arlie Post, Katie Fetterly, and Caleb Clark.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” - Proverbs 16:3 The last few days were filled with the excitement and joy of meeting new people and exploring the beauty around us. Today we started our day with a little more business, but also hope for the future. We walked our way to the DIRA offices, which was an adventure in itself for part of our group, when Pastor Dale got a little lost. Hakuna Matata though, as Goodluck and Shedrack came to their rescue. Eventually all arrived in "African time". We began with an overview meeting with DIRA. Pastor Msigwa discussed the importance of conversation, not only for the big things, but making the time to connect on a personal level with people. The rest of the world can wait, the connection made with personal conversation is far more important. We were told some facts about the Iringa Diocese. They have 700 workers in the diocese and another 200 at the university. The diocese is comprised of 129 parishes and over 200 pastors. Each of those parishes also have at least one preaching point for a total of over 600 preaching points in the diocese. We spent a lot of time learning about the mission of Bega Kwa Bega. The founding principles are Prayer, Projects and Presence.
Later we visited Iringa University and had an inspirational tour of the campus, saw where Pastor Dale used to teach and saw how they are developing young new entrepreneurs and new ideas to improve their country. After a delicious lunch at Neema Crafts Cafe we toured their workshop where they employ and empower disabled adults to create many products that are sold in the gift shop as well as shipped to several others around the country. Not only do they get paid, their children have scholarships to school and they have found sustainable housing for over 70 families. We truly have seen how our commitment to our sister congregations and DIRA'S vision for the future is being fulfilled by our trust in the Lord and has been guided by his hands. Our hearts are full and our hopes for the future of the parishes in the diocese are high. We cannot wait to see what our future brings. -Katie and Arlie ***And now a word from Caleb Clark about our experience at the Huruma Orphanage*** It is hard to put into words what this orphanage was like and what it embodied. It is so much more than an orphanage, it’s also a daycare, a school, a safe place, and a place where kids can be kids. In the brief amount of time that we were there, we got a small tour, a brief history on the center, and what I think was most important, time to play with the kids there. I can’t speak for others but Sam, Gabe and I grabbed a soccer ball and went over to a few pipes attached together that resembled a soccer net. While we were over there we had fun just shooting the ball into the net while someone tried to block it. It is absolutely amazing how happy and friendly these kids there were, there were a few kids that came over with us and joined us in just messing around. They were shooting the ball and kicking it better than some of us. As for the history on the site, it was founded in 1994. Its purpose was to help kids who had no parents and to keep them off the streets and from getting into trouble, ie robbery, drug abuse, alcoholism, all that kind of bad stuff. It has since grown and is currently accommodating 94 children. Only around 70 are orphans, the rest are just kids whose parents cannot provide for them and the orphanage can. Some of the children there are also victims of abuse and needed a safe place to stay and the orphanage is a safe place. If you are looking for a specific place to donate in Tanzania I would highly, highly recommend donating to this magnificent site. They will take your money and put it to good use, providing free education, food, and a place to live for children in need. Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a great day. - Caleb Clark ***We will be off the grid for a couple days now as we leave for safari at Ruaha National Park early tomorrow morning. We will return Friday evening and post another update.*** Today's blog written by Joanna Kroschel!
As I write the blog for the group on Tyler and my 18th wedding anniversary, I am thankful for our thoughtful church family that brought an anniversary card halfway across the world to help us celebrate. Asante sana! Thank you very much! This morning we got to sleep in, then had a leisurely breakfast of eggs, toast with Tanzanian jam, smoothies with fresh fruit, and fresh coconut and pineapple purchased by the Englands and Clarks at the local market. It was delicious! Afterwards we boarded our trusty coaster bus, announced our attendance by calling our family animal sounds (moo!), and drove down the “13 bump hill” toward Ilula for a visit to the Ilula Lutheran Hospital. We had a competition on this drive to see who could get a picture of the most interesting thing being carried by a pikipiki, or motorbike. Chris saw a casket but couldn’t get a picture of it fast enough. A love seat ended up taking the prize. The Tanzanian ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. When we arrived at Ilula Hospital, we met with Frank, the hospital accountant. He graciously stepped in to be our tour guide when our original guide was busy. He patiently answered our 20 questions and then took us on our tour of the hospital. Unlike U.S. hospitals, each area of the hospital is in a different building. There are about 200 patients cared for each day. One of the first things I noticed upon touring the Ilula Hospital campus was a sign on the Ilula Institute of Health and Allied Sciences Building saying it was donated by the Peter J. King Family Foundation. This foundation also has ties to United Hospital, my employer back home. Such a small world! Upon returning, I did more research on the Foundation and learned it has many ties to Tanzania and the Iringa Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. I encourage you to check out their great work. Ilula has a 3-year nursing school on campus with 155 current students. Some live on campus in on campus housing, while others live at home or with family nearby. They have 16 teachers. Like most places, they are short on teachers and I was encouraged to join their staff. Our next stop was the triage area. Unlike the U.S. with our big waiting rooms and fancy flat screen TVs, this was simply an open aired hallway with some benches, old wheel chairs, and a vintage stainless steel hospital gurney. The triage area was staffed by nurses and a doctor that determined the course of action for each person. All hospital care is paid for a la carte. Registration is 3,000 Tanzanian shillings, which is equivalent to $1.10 in the U.S. Once the doctor determines the plan of care, the patient presents to that building. The laboratory is in one building, imaging in another, and the operating room, or theater as it’s called here, is in another. The Ilula Hospital has a simple x-ray machine and an ultrasound machine. There are no CT machines, MRIs, or mammography available here. Those scans, if available, would be done at a larger regional hospital such as the ones in Iringa or Dar es Salaam. The price for each test is listed on the door to that room. We commented during lunch how there is such a lack of transparency in U.S. We could learn a lesson or two from the Tanzanians. Since my background is in stroke care, I inquired about the number of stroke patients they see. He said high blood pressure and diabetes is on the rise, so they are seeing more strokes. People arrive much too late for rescue treatment though. They had one ambulance that serves a population of around 50,000 people from surrounding villages. Unlike the U.S., most people arrive by private transport from up to 100km, or 62 miles away. While we were there, the ambulance was not in use. That was amazing to me. Most people here do not have private vehicles here. Transportation to the hospital would likely be on foot, motorbike, or 3-wheeled taxi called a bajaj. The care provided at Ilula seemed to focus on maternal and child health. The government has done a lot of education to encourage women to receive prenatal care and to present to the hospital prior to labor to receive care. I was surprised to learn that could mean arriving 2-4 weeks prior to the due date. He reminded us that many women had to travel 100km with unreliable transportation to get to the hospital, so they couldn’t just leave when labor began. After all the speed bumps and rough roads, we women agreed that contractions on a motorbike would not be pleasant! With the average life span in Tanzania being about 60 years, the focus on reproductive health and that of children seemed to make sense. They had rooms for child and reproductive health, vaccines, HIV prevention, antenatal care, and family planning. Another big difference we learned was that families provide the food and linens for the patient while at the hospital. Frank wondered how we could provide food for the U.S. patients. We explained that care is much like a restaurant and hotel where patients order what they want to eat and rooms are cleaned daily. He commented that that sounded expensive. We agreed. Very few people have insurance in Tanzania. Instead, they pay out of pocket. Even though the cost of tests and procedures are very cheap by U.S. standards, it is very expensive for Tanzanians. If patients can’t afford to pay, their hospital fees are covered by the hospital employees via the Poor Patient Fund. Each morning the employees have a daily prayer and take up a collection. He estimated last week’s needs were around 200,000 shillings, or about $75. The BKB does help contribute to this fund. We had another delicious lunch in the guest house, where we were befriended by some stray cats. It took all their might for the kids not to pet the cats. Although it would have been cheap, we didn’t want to risk needing to use the hospital for rabies shots. After returning to Iringa, the group took a short, but steep hike up Gangilonga Rock. Gangilonga is the Hehe word for “talking stone.” We got a great view of the city, and took tons of photos. We wrapped up the evening with a fabulous dinner at Saivilla, just a short walk from the Lutheran Center. We had another great night of visiting and sharing life stories. In addition to learning about the Tanzanian culture, this trip has given us the blessing of getting to know members of our own congregation better. Bwana Yesu asifiwe (Praise the Lord!) – Amen
Pastor Carrie and Pastor Dale preached at Migoli and two preaching points, Changalawe and Izazi, so I (Kim Clark) offered to give them a break and draft the blog today. I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into as I volunteered too early in the day to realize how hard it was going to be to summarize today, but I’ll do my best. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been as excited to go to church as I was this morning. This was the whole point of traveling 20+ hours in an airplane and a 12-hour van ride to Iringa. It was another 90-minute drive out to Migoli, and our van was greeted about a mile from the church with a piki piki (motorcycle) that was decorated with white ribbons. Quickly other piki pikis joined, also adorned with white ribbons. The riders waved branches and the drivers honked their horns loudly. It was a little like a Palm Sunday procession and a little like how we did Peace during COVID in the St. Paul Lutheran Church Parking lot, although think louder and more boisterous honking. Everyone in the village knew we were close by. When we pulled up to the church, we were greeted by several people singing, dancing, shouting, and clapping as we climbed off the bus. Overwhelming doesn’t near describe the feeling. What a celebration for just simply us, travelers from Wyoming, MN. I was given a branch to wave as well, and I got to join in the party happening in front of me. As I stood there, with my palm branch in hand, the feeling of realization began to wave over me – I have been praying for the people of Migoli since we joined St. Paul Lutheran in 2014, and all of a sudden I’m here, shaking hands, fist bumping, and high fiving the members of one of our sister parishes. Here we were, all of a sudden, sharing the love of Christ with joy, together. We were moved from the bus into Pastor Agripa Mgaya’s home, where there was an abundant spread of food in front of us for breakfast. These people have so little, and here they were sharing food for 16 people. Breakfast also included Mandazi (similar to donuts). I’m not sure what the current count is, but as of this morning, Caleb has eaten 15 Mandazi, and Sam was up to 10. Pastor Agripa’s home is situated right next to the church. There is no glass on the windows, so the joyful prelude music spread over us as we ate. I was tapping my feet with the music, ready to join in the dancing. Clearly, I have an opportunity back home to bring the energy level up on my prelude music to get people up and dancing before church! Before entering the church, we got to spend some time with the secondary students from Migoli. They were easy to talk with as their English was fantastic. They wanted to see pictures from our home. We showed them our frozen lake, and they couldn’t believe we can walk and drive on it in the winter. Several of the kids touched Nova’s and my blonde hair. Nova joked that she felt a little like Jesus with how many kids wanted to touch her. The church was packed. We sat up in the front, off on the side. Looking towards the back, at least half of the church was filled with youth from the secondary school. The other half was full of families with several young children, and only a handful of people were potentially old enough to be grandparents. When you picture Migoli as we pray for them, imagine a church filled with youth. The people that we partner shoulder to shoulder with represent the future of the church. The service was filled with different groups of people singing and dancing. Some songs were acapella, but most were recordings run through a small sound system, and the singers sang loudly, covering up everything on the recordings except the instruments. The music was loud, the dancing and smiles were huge and genuine. There was joy radiating out from the people in front of us. Pastor Dale and Pastor Carrie gave a combined sermon that was translated by Pastor Msigwa. Their sermon was about our mission statement – Sharing Christ’s Love with Joy. When Pastor Dale had a former student (Ezekiel Ole Sisine) translate this statement yesterday into Swahili, he changed it slightly, and meaningfully, to Sharing Christ’s Love with Joy, Together. That’s what we did today, we shared Christ’s love with joy with the people of Migoli, and the ability to do so was indescribable. The service ended shortly after the Lord’s Prayer, which we said in both Swahili and English and somehow, when we spoke it synchronously, we got to the “Amen” together, an unexpectedly touching moment of the service. Following the service, the adults stayed in the church, and Caleb, Gabe, Sam, and Nova went outside to play with the other children. They got out the soccer ball and frisbee that we brought with. The soccer ball is special – it’s a One World ball. It isn’t filled with air so it can’t pop. That matters because the soccer field behind the church was just dirt and was filled with rocks and burrs. All of the kids had a fun time playing together. There was a lot of laughter despite the language barrier as the younger kids did not yet know English. We left the ball and frisbee behind for the children of Migoli to continue to play with. Inside the church we shared updates. Migoli has 562 Christians between the church and it’s six preaching points. Some of Migoli’s goals in the next three years are to build a kindergarten in Changalwe (preaching point) to serve children from the Maasai tribe for their first 3 years so they do not have to walk as far to school, to complete construction of a church in Izazi (another preaching point), and to build a church in Nyamahatu (also a preaching point). We shared that we had called Pastor Carrie to serve our church last year, that we now have a preschool (St. Paul Lutheran Discovery Center Preschool), our bridging the gap financial goals, and our church’s joys and heartache through baby David’s life. Following the meeting, they served us yet another amazing meal for lunch. One of my biggest worries about this trip was not knowing what Gabe, a notoriously picky eater would eat. Turns out – he eats everything! That says volumes over how great the food tastes. After lunch, we said farewell and asante sana (thank you very much) to the church members, gave more handshakes, high fives, and hugs, and got back on the bus. We then had a chance to visit two of the preaching points – Changalwe and Izazi. We were greeted with more waving branches, singing, and clapping at both sites when we got off the bus. They shared more songs and dances with us – the Maasai at Changalwe had an incredible shoulder shake that they did while they sang songs of praise. At Izazi, we prayed over the foundation of the church, which has been dug at the site of what will be there new church. It was truly a day of worship, joy, and praise with new friends that we met at Migoli and it’s preaching points. What incredible love we witnessed today, and what a gift this trip has been to share Christ’s love with joy, together. Greetings from Tanzania! Today marked our third day here, and it was a delightful blend of cultural immersion and relaxation for our group.
We started the day leisurely with a later breakfast at 8:30 a.m. The spread was simple yet satisfying. Harrison and his kitchen Staff prepared toast and Spanish omelets accompanied by hot tea, instant coffee, and refreshing mango, watermelon, and pineapple juice. Energized and ready, we set out to explore Iringa’s vibrant open green market, which is apparently one of the largest in all of Africa (the size of two football fields!). But before heading to the market we had a scheduled meeting with Haran Ngede. Haran is a long-time friend of St. Paul Lutheran who was part of our Mtera partnership early on. He remembers well his friends, the Millers, the Haselbauers, the Nordhausens, and Gerry Lidstrom, among others I'm sure. Pastor Dale greeted him on their (and the whole congregation's) behalf. Among our group, only Carole England had met Haran before. It was good for her to reconnect and for all of us to meet him. It was then, off to market! The market greeted us with a kaleidoscope of colors and a medley of aromas. Imagine the scent of freshly picked fruits mingling with the earthiness of spices, sun-dried fish, and the lively chatter of vendors. We met friendly local vendors and produce growers who welcomed us warmly and with the universal language of ... fist bumps. Despite the language barrier, these fist bumps and their hospitality spoke volumes as they patiently helped us navigate and understand Swahili phrases. After a morning of exploring the market and various local shops, we headed over to Neema Crafts for lunch. Neema Crafts is more than just a cafe; it’s a local hub for arts and crafts created by individuals with disabilities. Their mission is to change attitudes and transform lives through training and employment. Inclusion of these individuals is not largely accepted or practiced in countries of Africa, so it's an especially important mission that Neema has committed to. Over a delicious meal, we not only satisfied our appetites but also supported a worthy cause. Back at The Lutheran Center, Pastor Dale reconnected with a former student of his from his time teaching at Tumaini University when Pr. Dale taught in their theology department in 2012. Now, Pastor Ezekiel, his wife, Anna, and their newborn daughter, Toredo (God is good), made the 70km trip on motorcycle from Illambilole. Pr. Ezekiel translated our church mission statement (Sharing Christ's Love With Joy!) into Swahili for us, adding the word "together." It translates as "Kushirikiana upendo wa Kristo Kwa furaha!" meaning, "Sharing Christ's Love (Together) With Joy!" He liked it better that way, he exclaimed, as it indicates that all of us - in MN and in TZ - are in mission together :) Maybe it will catch on! The afternoon brought a rest period back at the Lutheran Center, where we caught up on news from home using the Wi-Fi available there. It was a chance to recharge before the evening activities, which included a rousing game of Moose Master taught to us by the Clark family. Supper at the Lutheran Center at 7:00 p.m. provided another opportunity for fellowship and sharing stories from our day. As we prepare to leave for Migoli tomorrow morning, excitement is building among us. We look forward to meeting our partner congregations, worshiping together, and engaging in meaningful partnership conversations over tea afterward. As we wrap up another fulfilling day here in Tanzania, we are grateful for our health and the warmth of the people we've encountered. Our journey continues, filled with anticipation for the days ahead. Sending love and greetings to all back home! Greetings from Tanzania! Today marked our second day of travel, and what a journey it has been. Our adventure began bright and early with a hearty breakfast at 6:30 a.m., fueling us for the long day ahead. By 7:00 a.m., we were on the road, embarking on what would be a 12-hour drive from Dar es Salaam to Iringa. The journey was more than just a drive; it was sensory overload. As we traversed through Tanzania's various landscapes, we were greeted by new sights, smells, and sounds at every turn. One of the highlights was our first glimpses of African wildlife in their natural habitat. Imagine the excitement as we spotted giraffes, zebras, baboons and impala! Around midday, we made a nice stop at the Tan Swiss restaurant, a familiar oasis for BKB travelers along this route. The food was comforting and nourishing, offering us a chance to stretch our legs and share stories from the journey so far. Shortly after leaving our lunch stop we stopped for a bathroom/stretch break and ran into another BKB group just leaving for home. They were from Prince of Peace Lutheran in Burnsville. Their Pastor, Paul, was happy to encourage us and bless us on our way (see above picture). The latter part of our drive brought us closer to our destination, The Lutheran Center in Iringa. Arriving just after 8:00 p.m., we were warmly greeted by the staff and volunteers of The Lutheran Center and Bega Kwa Bega. Names like Russ, Jo, Harrison, Kapaito, Frank, and Paul quickly became synonymous with hospitality as they welcomed us into our temporary home away from home. Now settled into our rooms, we are tired, but spirits remain high. The thought of a good night's sleep is a welcome relief after a day spent on the road. Tomorrow holds the promise of exploration within Iringa Town, starting with a leisurely breakfast at 8:30 a.m. followed by a visit to Neema Crafts for lunch and a tour. Despite the fatigue, everyone is in good spirits, thankful for the experiences of today and eagerly anticipating what tomorrow will bring. From all of us here in Tanzania, sending our love and best wishes back home. Until tomorrow's adventures unfold, safari njema (good journey)! Greetings from Tanzania! Our journey began with excitement and anticipation as we embarked on our mission to explore this beautiful country and connect with its people. Departing from Minneapolis, our group embarked on a series of flights that bridged continents and cultures, bringing us closer to our destination. The first leg of our journey took us from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, a nine-hour flight filled with movies, books, and lively conversations among our group members. A brief layover in Amsterdam allowed us to stretch our legs and prepare for the next leg of our adventure. From Amsterdam, we boarded another nine-hour flight destined for the island of Zanzibar. The anticipation grew as we crossed vast distances over the Atlantic Ocean and the African continent. Upon arriving in Zanzibar, a short fifteen-minute flight brought us to Dar es Salaam, the bustling capital city of Tanzania. At the airport in Dar es Salaam, we exchanged our US dollars for Tanzanian Shillings, readying ourselves for the local experience ahead. Our spirits soared as we were warmly greeted by Shedreck and Goodluck, our local drivers who, after packing us all tightly in our coaster bus, would safely navigate us through the vibrant streets of Dar es Salaam to our accommodation, The Wista's Inn. Despite the exhaustion from travel, our hearts were filled with gratitude and excitement for the journey ahead. After a few hours of restful sleep, we rose early on Friday morning to enjoy a hearty breakfast, fueling ourselves for the next leg of our adventure. Today marks the beginning of a ten-hour drive up the mountain roads to Iringa, and onwards to Mtera and Migoli. As we prepare to embark on this scenic route, surrounded by Tanzania’s breathtaking landscapes, we carry with us the love and support of our church community back home. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue this journey of faith and exploration. Each step we take brings us closer to understanding the beauty of Tanzania and its people. We are humbled and grateful for this opportunity to serve and learn. We should arrive in Iringa this (Friday) evening. We love you all! Stay tuned! On Sunday, July 14 our group was commissioned and our gifts were blessed as part of our Sunday morning worship at St. Paul Lutheran. The above picture is a blurry screenshot of our livestream because I didn't think to take a group photo! Here is the text of the Commissioning and we invite you to continue to review it and pray the words to it throughout our travels. We will do the same. Thank you! Asante!
Pastor: A reading from Romans 12:4-8. “4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” A reading from Acts 13:2-3. “2While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ 3Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” Each of us is called to live out our faith as Disciples of Christ. A special call has come to these fourteen people who are willing to represent us as they travel to meet with the members of the Iringa Diocese and the Migoli and Mtera congregations in Tanzania, who we partner and rejoice in ministry with. All: We, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, send you, with our blessing. We thank God for your commitment and willingness to go on our behalf. We promise to pray daily for you, your families, and those whom you will encounter on your journey. We ask that when you return you share your new information, experiences, and insights with us. Group: Thank you, our family of faith, for your prayers and support as we embark on this journey. We promise to pray daily for you, too, while we are away, and look forward to sharing with you the insights and deeper faith we know we will gain. All: We thank you, God, for the world you have given us to love, including the people and the land of Tanzania and the Iringa Diocese. We ask your special blessing on each of them and on these gifts they will bring on our behalf. Give them eyes to see and ears to hear the things that you would teach them. Grant them traveling mercies, and may they grow in faith and wisdom so that we, through them, may learn more clearly what it means to be members of your beloved global community of faith and Body of Christ. Amen, and safari njema (safe travels). Over a year ago, on March 19, 2023, an initial interest meeting in another trip to Tanzania to visit our partner congregations, Mtera and Migoli, was held. That meeting was well attended and from it sixteen members of our church ultimately committed to traveling together to Tanzania. As part of our initial meetings together the dates of July 17-31, 2024 were decided on for our trip. That seemed like a long way off at the time. Fast forward to today, June 13, 2024, only a little over one month from our departure to TZ! Much planning and preparation has happened over that past year, including a wonderful Tanzania Celebration Sunday in April that the whole congregation was able to be a part of! Now, final preparations are underway, including the application of our travel visas and packing!
This blog will be an opportunity for you to follow along with our travels. It will be easy to read and to share, if you have friends or family that may be interested in our travel experiences. In addition to regular updates here we will also post on our church social media (Facebook and Instagram). I recommend you bookmark this page and follow it daily (once we've left for our trip). Or, you will also be able to find the link on the home page of our church website. To fill you in a little bit on our plans, here is a summary of our travel itinerary.
Here is the roster of our Trip. Please keep us all in your prayers!
That's all for now. Watch for more updates coming soon! Pastor Dale |