Final Blog Post - Worship at Mtera | Return to Dar | Heading Home!

~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