Final Preparations Underway!

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.

• Day 1 - July 17 (Wed) - Depart MSP airport
• Day 2 - July 18 (Thurs) - Transfer flights in Amsterdam. Arrive in Dar es Salam
• Day 3 - July 19 (Fri) - Drive from Dar to Iringa (ten hour drive!)
• Day 4 - July 20 (Sat) - Get acclimated to and explore Iringa
• Day 5 - July 21 (Sun) - Drive to Migoli. Worship at Migoli. Return to Iringa.
• Day 6 - July 22 (Mon) - Hike to Gangilonga Rock and/or Isimila Stoneage Site.
• Day 7 - July 23 (Tues) - Overview of Bega Kwa Bega and Iringa Diocese including visits to Huruma Orphanage and Neema Crafts.
• Day 8 - July 24 (Wed) - Safari at Ruaha Nat'l Park. Half day of game drives.
• Day 9 - July 25 (Thurs) - Safari. Full day of game drives.
• Day 10 - July 26 (Fri) - Return to Iringa. Visit markets again. Prep for Mtera visit.
• Day 11 - July 27 (Sat) - Travel to Mtera (overnight in village)
• Day 12 - July 28 (Sun) - Worship at Mtera. Visit Mtera Secondary School. Return to Iringa.
• Day 13 - July 29 (Mon) - Departure. Drive from Iringa to Dar es Salam.
• Day 14 - July 30 (Tues) - Explore Dar. Possible Beach day. Evening departure from Dar.
• Day 15 - July 31 (Wed) - Transfer flights in Amsterdam. Arrive home in Mpls.

Here is the roster of our Trip. Please keep us all in your prayers!

• Tyler, Joanna, Nova, and Sam Kroschel
• Chris, Kim, Caleb, and Gabe Clark
• Pastors Dale and Carrie Stiles
• Carole and Steve England
• Katie and Will Fetterly
• Katie Edwards
• Arlie Post

That's all for now. Watch for more updates coming soon!

Pastor Dale