Email from Africa
Pastor Helland and Debbie will be in Africa from June 18 through July 8. Check this page beginning June 23 for highlights of this trip shared through
emails from Pastor Helland.
Itinerary
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Habari za mchana! (What is the news with you this afternoon?)
Nzuri Sana Sana! (The news is very, very, good!)
Here is our tentative itinerary for the trip with some links included to some of the places we are going. The itinerary will certainly be flexible and subject to change, dependent on many things that are unknown to us! It is Africa and this will be an adventure. It is our plan to email an update when possible and maybe even add a picture.
We ask for your prayers both for those of us who are making the trip as well as for those whose lives we will hopefully have opportunity to impact through this trip.
June 18: Leave Minneapolis
June 19: Arrive in London Day tour of London Leave London
June 20: Arrive Dar es Salaam by way of Nairobi, Kenya
Tour and Lodge in Dar es Salaam
June 21: Usa River, Tanzania (close to Arusha)
Visit the Selian Lutheran Hospital
http://www.selianlh.habari.co.tz
Lodging at the ADRA Center Orphanage
June 22: Continue tour in Arusha
http://tanzaniatouristboard.com/places_to_go/towns_and_cities/arusha
Weather forecast for Arusha:
http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Arusha/forecasts/latest
June 23: Safari at Ngorongoro Crater
http://www.ngorongoro-crater-africa.org/index.html
Lodging at ADRA Center in Usa River
June 24: Depart for Morogoro
June 25: Depart to Iringa. We will be housed and headquartered out of the
Lutheran Center in Iringa on the nights of 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, July 1, 3 and 4.
http://www.wikitravel.org/en/Iringa
http://www.spas-crossingbridges.org/iringa.htm
http://www.tumaini.ac.tz/history.htm
Weather website for Iringa:
http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Iringa/forecasts/latest
June 27, 28, 29: Travel to St. John’s companion congregation at Muhunga. We will be
leaving our traveling companions at this point to go on to Muhanga on our own. We think that we are staying with the Pastor of the church in Muhunga.
July 29, 30 and July 1: Lutheran Center in Iringa
July 2 and 3: Safari to Ruaha National Park
http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/ruaha.htm
July 3 and 4: Lutheran Center in Iringa
July 5: Travel to Dar es Salaam
July 6: Explore Dar es Salaam. Leave Dar es Salaam. Arrive Nairobi, Kenya. Leave
Nairobi, Kenya
July 7: Arrive HOME in Minneapolis by way of London and Chicago.
Emails
June 18, 2008
We are packed and ready to go! Just having a little lunch before we head to Augustana Lutheran Church in West St. Paul where our group of 14 will be gathering at noon. We will be checking each other's packing at that time and making sure we are ready to go!
We started the day with devotions on our deck! We have decided that in addition to the devotions that our group will be doing together, led by our leader, Don, we are going to do our own devotions as well. We are going to read Paul's letter to the Philippians, just the two of us. If you want to make it a project for yourself, we will keep you updated as to where we are in the letter and you can read and meditate along with us!
This morning we read Chapter 1 verses 1-8. We reflected together on what it means to be a servant. And we spent time thinking about the Christians in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania as fellow saints with us in relationship with Christ.
Thank YOU for YOUR partnership in this adventure!
June 19, Thursday
London, England
We hooked up yesterday with our group at Augustana Lutheran Church in West St. Paul and got all organized. Everyone showed up and all was well. After a brief gathering time we went outside to Augustana's Prayer Labyrinth. There we spent time in prayer. We thought of things we wanted to let go of for the trip as well as prayer for the trip itself.
Then a group picture and we were on Augustana's bus and heading for the airport.
All went well in our boarding and we were soon on our plane to Chicago. Before we knew it we had taken off and landed and we were boarding for London. The 8-hour London flight happened. Some of us slept, some of us read, some of us talked. We continue to get to know our traveling group - they are nice people.
"Spring forward" time wise was a bit of a shock and it was morning before we knew it. A subway ride into London city and now we are spending six hours of sight-seeing before heading back to Heathrow airport to head to Africa.
Its time to grab a bite to eat! Its almost lunch time for us, but only 5:00 in the morning for you!
We will check in next from Africa!
Saturday night June 21
Yes, we did leave London! Since then we have been on a non-stop pace!
We left London to Nairobi, Kenya Thursday evening and flew all night! The plane to Nairobi was wonderful - Kenya airlines with multicultural wait staff who were very outgoing and accomodating. Then it was a quick switch to another smaller plane and off we went to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
So...arriving on Friday morning we went straight to our accomodations - a hostel hosted by the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania. We rested in the morning and then it was off to lunch at the Luther House and toured the Catholic Cathedral next door. Heading out once more, we stopped by the Indian Ocean where we were entertained by a local school which was being held under a tree on the beach - their permanent location! They sang great songs to us in English and recited the alphabet stem to stern.
Then, back to finally shower for the first time before we went out to dinner. Dinner was an adventure! Our driver seemed to have an agenda of his own! He took us to a swank place where we knew we did not want to be. Then it was a matter of convincing him to take us to where we did want to be and finding it for him. It is Africa! We did find it! No, actually it was not the first miracle of the trip!
But...the meal was great pizza complete with indigenous African drums and dance entertainment. Just a teaser - the pastor of St. John's was the first one drafted by the group to come onstage and shake a little (insert here your word).
Then...a GREAT night's sleep. The first horizontal, it seemed for ages. We awoke rested and watched the monkeys on our roof for a bit, had breakfast, devotions (Rise, and shine, and give God the glory, glory!) and hit the road.
Saturday was TRANSITION DAY for us. Driving for ten hours through the countryside to the north we saw alternately grand majestic scenery followed by unimaginable living standards. We stopped for our first gas station bathroom and reality set in. No, they do not flush.
But, our group continued to bond over the course of the day and we arrived for dinner at the Uruhu Lutheran Hostel in Moshi. The meal was great! The next adventure was finding the orphanage where we are spending the night tonight. Between our leader, our driver, and an assistant, we got directions from locals along the way. But our accomdations, once again, our accomodations are wonderful.
Through it all, we have had only one chance to continue our reading in Philippians. But it has been wonderful to have that time together in the Word of the Lord!
June 22, Sunday
Yes, its Sunday! We definitely thought about St. John's Church as we were getting up this morning next to the Usa River. We pray that the morning went well back home. We stayed in cottages that were a part of the "'Cradle of Love Baby Home'". Their hospitaltiy was incredible.
We read again in Philippians 1 for our devotions this morning, thinking about different ways that the Gospel gets proclaimed as well as thinking about how our faith is something that progresses (grows) and sometimes shrinks. It surely is a dymanic thing. We are in the process of a growth time for us and our group!
Then it was into our two vehicles and off to visit the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center. This is a new hospital that is being built through the Lutheran Church that will greatly increase the health care in the Arusha area and beyond. The highlight was not only learning all about the wonderful improvement that is on the way for the area, but that our group got to pray a prayer of blessing upon it. It was great. The opportunity to bless it brought tears to a number in our group.
Then it was on to Sunday morning worship at the Arusha Community Church in Arusha. The church was multicultural to the max but had its worship in English. The sermon was given by a Baptist pastor from North Carolina who was on a mission trip to Arusha! The hymns were accompanied by a solo guitar and it made us happy that we are bringing a new guitar to Muhanga as one of our gifts from St. John's Church! We continue to hope and pray that it will be useful to them.
We just finished lunch at a Chinese restaurant and now are about ready to hop into our vehicles once again.
June 23, Monday
We began the day with devotions (still in Philippians 1). We focused this morning on the two phrases, "standing firm in one spirit," and "striving side by side with one mind." It was great when we realized the theme, "striving side by side" is actually the theme for the whole Companion Congregation effort - "bega kwa bega" which is actually translated - "shoulder to shoulder". We thought about the significance of these themes in our marriage as we are spending these important days, our group relationships, and our relationship with the Tanzanians as well.
After a quick breakfast we hopped into two Land Cruisers to head out to the Ngorongoro Crater on Safari. Along the way to the Safari, we stopped at a traditional Masai village. Here we had opportunity to be entertained in a traditional Masai hut - just the two of us and an older youth of the family, shop at the family's craft shop, and visit a kindergarten class in session. We were able to video a kindergartner leading the class in counting to 30 in English!
Then on to the Crater. On this Safari we experienced God's creation like we have never experienced it before. The Crater is a mountain that collapsed at the top to form a permanent zoo where a huge population of native animals now live. We accessed the crater through a rain forest which descended down into a great plain. We were able to photograph zebras, baboons, a snoozing cheetah, elephants, a black rhinoceros, warthogs, hippotomasuses, water buffalos, hartebeests, wildebeests, and many, many more. A highlight of the safari was seeing an actual kill by a lioness hunting for her family. One of our drivers said that he had led close to 1,000 safaris and experienced only five actual kills such as we saw. More on that later, complete with pictures of the lioness's skill, strength and cunning!
June 24, Tuesday
Our devotions this morning were from Phlippians 2. We spent time thinking about being of one mind - the mind of the servant after the example of Christ. We considered servanthood in marriage, one of the other, in our traveling group, one of the other, and ultimately of Christ in the world.
After a quick breakfast we got on our bus and headed for Arusha. There we visited "The Weavers", a group of native HIV/AIDS widows who weave and sell products to support themselves under the leadership of Linda Jacobson, a doctor's wife who has been a missionary in Tanzania for decades. We shopped at their table of goods and bought many items in support of them. Our fun purchase was a Cloth Noah's ark complete with pairs of African animals sticking out of the pockets (windows) of the ark, a shawl, and a small backpack. We thought about how ironic it was that one way for people from our country to be "in mission" with the people here is to shop their wares! How fun is that - engaging in mission by shopping! And, of course, supporting them with dignity.
Something I didn't mention, yesterday, was the visit to a traditional Masai Village where part of the experience was sitting in a small Masai home with one of the children of the Masai family who explained daily life in the Masai family in broken english. He respectfully requested a donation to the family after he had made his presentation and then took us outside to shop in his family's craft area. Again, we were struck how it is possible for people like us to support "in mission" people like them with dignity simply be shopping their wares. The boy was going to us the proceeds of the day to help in the costs he has of attending school.
Then it was back into the bus for an 8-hour haul down to Morogoro. It was our second marathon bus ride. To get from here to there in Africa often means traveling long distances. It definitely cuts down on how much you can do in a day - when most of the day is spent traveling. However, we see multitudes of people walking across the countryside along the side of the road and think about how much less they can do in a day even than we!
There was no place for us to eat along the way on this long drive and few places to stop for the "bathroom". That was a challenge! So far we have not gotten sick, but we have three in our group of 14 down sick this evening. The 11 still standing are waiting our turn! Although traveling this distance was challenging to us under these conditions - we ate by snacking our way through the 8 hours as there was no way to prepare sandwiches, etc. - yet our circumstances were nothing compared to what we saw amongst the peoples in the "villages" and random "homes" along the way.
Tonight we are staying at a Swahili Language School which is where all missionaries to Swahili-speaking Africa pass through for a three-month immersion in the Swahili language. The most important phrase for all - Bwana Yesu asifiwe! - God in Jesus be praised!
June 25
Last night was our evening spent at the Lutheran Language School. We were struck by how more and more we realize that this "Mission Trip" is a mission into ourselves as much as into the world. It was a good thing to be lying in bed with people all around our room in their rooms talking and singing as they prepared to offer themselves on the mission field in Africa. It felt very much like we were sleeping on holy ground.
And we slept a long time! - it was a good night's rest. Cuddled under our mosquito nets, although the entire trip has been blessedly free from mosquitos. The conditions by American standards were "spartan" (we never could get the shower to work), but luxurious by Tanzanian standards.
As the three sick ones in our group continued to recover, our leader went down last evening. He was number four. Today he is feeling somewhat better, but describes himself as "tentative". We are still healthy and well (knock, knock!)
The sun rose to a clear sky this morning for the first time on the trip - no rain! Yay! We now headed west to Iringa and into the southern highlands. The trip began with devotions on the bus. We spent time thinking about Paul's words about Jesus having been given the "name above every name". And talked about how that name is "Son of God", Daughter of God" - the same name we will receive ultimately with Jesus in heaven. That is helpful to us as we experience the comparison of our little cocoon of affluence driving through great poverty. We thought about how it will be in heaven that all differences of the poor and the rich will be eliminated and those who suffered greatly in this life will rejoice in the same glory as those who were less disadvantaged.
Now - the southern highlands! Up and down! Round and round! Unbelievable scenery with very traditional villages and homes mixed in. The further we went the more the "highway" deteriorated but our skilled driver - Peter - continued to show us amazing driving skills negotiating huge potholes, every-present speed bumps, and the constant flow of large commercial vehicles meeting us on the steep inclines and declines. There is a constant flow of signaling going on between all the drivers on the road that take care of each other, along with an ever-present spiritual message painted on the backs of the trailers.
By 12:30 today we were in Iringa - the capital of our diocese. We arrived at the Lutheran Center of Iringa - a wonderful facility - again, by African standards - which has been built by our dollars in the St. Paul Area Synod. It is the headquarters for visitors from the St. Paul Area to the Iringa Diocese - it will be our headquarters for much of our remaining time.
This afternoon we are out and about in Iringa. We stopped in this Internet Cafe to check in with you and now hope to go out into the market to, again, be in mission by shopping the wares of those who are seeking to live independently as best they can. We will let you know tomorrow how are shopping went! We have a little shopping list........
June 26, Thursday
As we left you yesterday, we were about to go out shopping. The shopping was a bit delayed because it took 45 minutes for our e-mail to reach "sent". Sat and waited - Africa style! We have realized that while we are headquartered in Iringa there will be no pictures being sent. Sorry to those who were looking forward to that! But - we are taking many, many, many pictures and look forward to sharing a few in different ways when we get home!
Now, about that shopping yesterday. After we finished at the internet cafe it was off to the market. Actually, time did not allow us to venture far into the market. It was a bit overwhelming, but managed to bargain a bit for a few small things.
After resting for a few minutes in the Lutheran Center, we were called to a meeting with Dr. Paul Harris, who has been very influential in the Lutheran mission work in Tanzania. He updated us on two projects dear to his heart - first, a Christian radio station which they have been working on for two years with great obstacles but which they hope to have up and running by Christmas. The thought is that the station could reach as many as two million listeners in the surrounding area and would be a great boost to the Christian mission here both in terms of spreading the word about Jesus as well as such simple things as health care and legal aid. His other project was a unique plan to allow the people to obtain financial loans for small business enterprise. Both projects are important to this country. It is amazing the way our Lutheran Church is impacting this country even country-wide. A few dollars go an astounding way in Tanzania!
Then it was dinner at the Lutheran Center and back to our rooms for our first real personal time where we were able to process a lot of what we have seen and heard together. At the same time, the fifth group member went down sick. The other sick ones continue to gather strength and they are excited that they are done! We tend to think the illness has more to do with traveling together than anything about Africa. We work together, shoulder to shoulder, to help each other through! The best is cheering when a sick one returns to the group! Yay!
The two of us are still healthy and well!
After a good breakfast this morning, we were joined by a wonderful local Lutheran pastor who served as our escort for the morning. We headed onto the bus to visit the New Hope for Needy Children Home. This is a Christian orphanage that primarily serves little baby boys up to teen-age boys. Conditions, by our standards, were desperate. But the smallest efforts on our part made big impact. One of our group gave the older boys a baseball and played catch awhile. We noticed that at the end, the baseball was given by a younger boy to the oldest boy in the group. And the oldest boy smiled.
Another gift was a stack of frisbees. The boys weren't very good at it at first, but caught on immediately. After touring the "facility", we stood in a circle, hand in hand with the boys, and our group offered a blessing upon the boys and the staff and the work that was going on there. We prayed, the Lutheran pastor interpreted, and the whole group resounded at the end with a mighty "Amen!" Nice.
As we left another of our group handed over a bag which was not opened. But they will like what it contained - soccer jerseys, medical supplies, toys, school supplies, and other goodies. We will all imagine the scene as the goody bag is opened. As we left we noticed our leader pressing a significant donation into the hand of the lead staff member. That kind of support comes out of the fee that we all paid before we left.
Next it was off to visit the local pastor's church, church office, and parsonage in Ipogoro. This was especially moving to us as we were easily able to put ourselves in his shoes as fellow church workers. This is the partner congregation of Augustana Lutheran Church in West St. Paul. Augustana has made a great impact upon this congregation and community including the gift of computer and printer. The congregation has grown to over 2,000 members and they are now, without USA help, building a new sanctuary that will house 1,000 worshippers. Absolutely amazing for this small town.
A quick lunch at "Hasty Tasty" restaurant - Iringa's fast food joint - more about that later.
The last event of the day was a visit to Tumaini University, another amazing place that was begun and has received wonderful support from the St. Paul Area Synod. We had heard about it, but nothing compares to seeing what a few benevolence dollars can do in an effort like this that will ultimately, again impact the entire country and even beyond. The prime minister of Kenya, we were told, is a graduate of this University. Thank you for your benevolence dollars! We will tell you more about the University, complete with pictures from a walking tour, at another time!
Another dimension to this "Mission Trip", we have realized is to see how our dollars have preceded us and accomplished much and how appreciative the people are to see some "flesh" on the dollars. The flesh is us. We are energized to do more. And we haven't even gotten to Muhanga yet!
Now it is down time again this afternoon. Sorry about the length of this report - there is way too much to share!
June 27, Friday
We began our day today with devotions. We read from Philippians 2 verse 19. We thought about how Paul sent Timothy to the Philippians in the hopes of hearing news back when Timothy returned to him. And we thought about how that is exactly what is going on with us. We have been sent to Tanzania by the church in the hopes that we will be able to bring news back to Lakeville. And it will be our intention to do so!
We had time this morning to shop a bit more in the market - supporting these wonderful entrepreneurs. We stopped by a batik shop and looked for material for a dress for Debbie and her colleague at Minnehaha to be used in next year's fine arts festival. We were successful and even found a shirt for Gregg. He will wear it when he presents back home!
Then we stopped by to drop the material off at the Bega Kwa Bega office where the housekeeper is also a seamstress. Debbie was measured for her dress which will be done in three days. One of our group members served as her colleague to give the second set of measurements.
Then it was back into the bus by late morning to head out to the Neema Crafts Centre
www.neemacrafts@gmail.com This is an Anglican Christian center that offers employment opportunity for people with disabilities including the deaf. These, of course, in this economy are the poorest of the poor. We toured the facility watching the people making their wares and then ate at the restaurant and shopped at the gift shop which is the means whereby the wares are sold. Another fundamental philosophy of the place was recycling - glass bottles into bead work (we bought a glass clergy cross), elephant dung and used paper into notecards and on and on and on. We felt very good about supporting this mission - gifts for family members back home will be forthcoming!
After our Neema lunch it was on to the Huruma Lutheran Centre Home for Orphans and Neglected Children. This is an agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania also supported by St. Paul Area Synod benevolence dollars. We offered a brief introduction and prayer of blessing and then were treated to a short program by the students ("Jesus Loves Me This I Know" - first in Swahili and then in English!) Then it was time for gifts. We opened up our bags and spread our goodies out on the floor and the children respectfully descended into the pile to pick out their favorites. We passed out some extra cross necklaces made by St. John's children.
Then it was time for play. Volley ball with beach balls, Duck, Duck, Grey Duck in Swahili, soccer, and playing on the swings. They found out that we had a music teacher on board and one of the older boys brought out a Christian CD that he had been instrumental in composing and recording at a local studio in town. It was amazing! We listened and danced and bought! 2 copies!
After a short tour it was time to leave and there were tears in the eyes of a child or two as a result of such a great day. The staff leader asked for yet another blessing upon the facility, which we did. And then back into our bus.
Now we are preparing to leave for Muhanga tomorrow. We know that we will be two or three hours into the mountains which will require us to sleep two nights in extra duty sleeping bags with which we have been provided. We have been assured that we have a four-passenger four-wheel drive with six passengers planning to ride and luggage and gifts to boot.
Again, Muhanga is one of the most remote congregations of the diocese. We will leave electricity behind and bring our own bottled water. But we are told it will be the highlight of our trip! We again ask for your prayers.
We leave tomorrow, Saturday, in the morning and will get back Monday afternoon. You will not hear from us again until then.
If we haven't mentioned it, we were surprised to find out that we will be providing the Sunday morning sermon! Yes, a little preparation has been accomplished along the way.
Tonight we are having a "sending worship service" as we send each other out into our respective towns and villages.
Farewell!
June 28, 29, 30
WOW!
NOW THAT WAS SOMETHING!
I have been writing these e-mails with Debbie seated close at my side and I have tried to use "we" in describing our experience, but today I feel the need to separate us out - the experience was definitely different for each of us!
Yes, we have arrived back in Iringa, safe and sound!
Our trip began Saturday morning and we drove in a four-wheel drive until 3:00 in the afternoon. The road gradually narrowed until it turned into a "cow path" with alternately 18" potholes and 18" mounds! Up the mountain sides besides! Up and down around and around, bouncing all the way! Averaging maybe 2 miles per hour for the last kilometers. We do have attempts at pictures!
Our driver's name was Esau - an excellent driver, but even he was taken aback by the road to Muhanga! At one point there was a "bridge" over a river. As always, he stopped the vehicle and walked ahead to inspect. He came back to say that he would drive this one alone while we watched from behind! We stood behind while a female passenger we had picked up on the road prayed in Swahili. Yes, he made it across and beckoned us to follow!
Many more stories to come of the "road to Muhanga! The road was difficult - the scenery absolutely breathtaking!
The welcome was amazing! The people of Muhanga had been working to welcome us and opened their arms to us even before we entered into "town". Singing, dancing, arches, hugs, all the way! We will have many stories to share with all of you when we return home. So this e-mail is just to let you know we did it and to give you a taste.
There isn't actually a town of Muhanga. It is way too mountainous. Instead, we arrived at the grounds of the church and the pastor's house. The rest of the people are scattered in homes around the mountainsides. We don't know how we will ever describe the beauty of this place - pictures will surely not do it justice, but pictures we do have! The rest of Saturday included a welcome at the church, tea at the pastor's house, and a wonderful dinner.
The entire trip we were accompanied by Hopeman, a former evangelist and now secondary student who speaks English to some degree and has been indispensable to us ever since we landed in Dar es Salaam, the District Pastor of the district in which Muhanga resides, Pastor Lubawa, and an Old Testament professor from the University, whose name, ironically, is Pastor Mhanga! These four people along with our driver were all indispensable to the success of our trip.
Saturday night we slept soundly!
Sunday was a whirlwind. Up for breakfast and then off to church - starting fifteen minutes late! Not many people in church as we started at 10:15 - maybe one-fourth full - but by the end of the four hours - yes, that was four hours - the church was packed with standing room only and every window was full of people peeking in from outside. Church included singing and dancing and greetings and my sermon which I did with Pastor Mhanga's translation and two baptisms which I did and Holy Communion which I helped serve. Through it all Debbie and Hopeman, who also sat upfront with the pastors, worked at trying to get pictures and video. They were also part of the sermon when I got to the part where I requested them to join me to sing, Thank you, Thank you, Jesus in Swahili! At the very end they gave us gifts and we gave them the gifts provided us by St. John's Church. Yes, it was a wonderful four hours. We will tell you more.
After church they had an auction in which people who are not able to contribute in the offering bring items from home to auction off. The proceeds are then added to the offering!
The rest of the day included Debbie giving a guitar lesson to 2 people with 50 onlookers on St. John's guitar gift followed by a 45-minute walk one way to view the village primary school. In the meantime, I sat in a meeting for the rest of the afternoon with the pastor whose name is Pastor Msuva, Pastor Lubawa, Pastor Mhanga, the Muhanga church treasurer and a lay task force for partnership comprised of four people. We discussed possible support from St. John's over the next three years that could have huge impact upon the Christian ministry in this village. Again, more information will be forthcoming.
We got to see a small portion of the results of our Animals for Muhanga emphasis. The result was the purchase of 36 pigs that have been distributed around the parish to the members with new pig pens built for them all. The pastor got two - we have pictures of the pigs and the pen!
Sunday night sleep did not go as well - too much excitement spinning in our heads!
This morning we awoke as we had the day before. We stayed in the guest room in the pastor's house. The roosters in the pastor's yard begin crowing on time at 4:00 a.m., it seems. So we awaken and then back to sleep! We had our usual meal of cooked bananas - I want Debbie to make some the next time the boys are in town! - and tea. And then it was time to say our farewells. Again - an extended event with thank you's, many hugs and some tears. Guests are a rare treat for the people in this remote hamlet.
Truly, mission was accomplished with more mission yet to come. In partnership with St. John's Church. This could not have been accomplished had it not been accompanied by much prayer. Thank you!
We loaded up our four-wheel drive vehicle with we three pastors, the driver, Debbie, an additional passenger, and three live chickens which had been received as gifts. No - we did not get one of them! On top of the vehicle went luggage and gifts - including huge bunches of bananas. We were a sight to see!
The ride home was as eventful as the ride there - more information to come! One little snippet was that on the way to Muhanga when we had made it through a particular treacherous little stretch of road Pastor Mhanga, the Old Testament professor, got out of the vehicle and spoke with the fellow who lived nearby who had come out to watch us pass. Pastor Mhanga suggested that he could use logs and wood and prepare the road. So when we came by again on our way home - yes, indeed the road had been renovated with wood and logs - actually a very nice job. But the man stopped us asking for his pay!
Pastor Labawa asked him to send an itemized invoice to the district office and the Lutheran church of Tanzania would, indeed, reimburse him for his materials and work. How many surprising ways can we be in mission!!!
We are home.
We are resting.
Talk to you tomorrow!
July 1, Tuesday
We awoke this morning with mixed feelings about our Muhanga experience. We had conflicting thoughts as well. There are so many ways in which St. John's Church could be of help to these people and we could have an even greater impact on this village than we already have. But, on the other hand, this is a very joyous people in their current circumstance. Because of their remote habitat, they have no difficulty with AIDS/HIV. Illness is not a problem in Muhanga. In addition, they have very few deaths due to any cause. They have not had a funeral since February! Their babies do well in child birth, the children are well cared for as toddlers, and the adults seem to live long lives. We saw no evidence of disease or ill health. There was much happiness.
It is our hope that whatever we do in support of Christian ministry at Muhanga we would do as little as possible that would disrupt this idyllic existence
After a quick breakfast in the Lutheran Centre, it was off to visit the Pommern Secondary School, a "junior-senior high school" in our terms, which is supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. It is a private school. It is the school which Hopeman, one of our guides on this trip, attends. Normally this school caters to students up to 20 years of age but Hopeman is one of only 8 out of 780 who is older at the age of 36. Hopeman served us well as our guide.
On the bus I shared as our devotions Philippians 3:1 - rejoice in the Lord. And we rejoiced in the Lord that we were all back on the bus together again and Debbie led us in the chorus, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!" We were off on a good note.
We began the visit at Pommern with a session with the Headmaster of the school explaining to us the structure of secondary education in Tanzania. Debbie will have much more to say about that at another time.
20% of the students at this secondary school have their yearly fees paid by scholarship. A scholarship is 250-500 US dollars. St. John's supports 11 students scattered amongst a variety of secondary schools. It happens that one of Pastor Msuva's children attends Pommern. We did not make connection.
The secondary schools are boarding schools. Conditions were relatively nice, although there is no water available at the school and the electricity is supplied by solar panels which provide inconsistent power. As always, meals are cooked over a wood fire. There is a computer lab, however the first computers were donated in 1989 and the total number of computers is only 13, ten of which are broken down because of no surge protection and the inconsistent power. 3 computer for 780 students. Tough.
The class size varies from 26 or so - very manageable - to 108 in a room the size of "Mark" at St. John's. The large class sizes, of course, are due to large numbers of students and relatively few teachers - especially in a private school where salaries are not as high as at the government secondary schools.
There were buildings for the various departments - geography, language, science and such and dormitories for women and men - we have pictures!
Our over-all impression of this experience was positive from the perspective of the quality of the students. We visited a class of students and they graciously allowed us to interrupt. They seemed very positive in attitude, self-motivated, respectful, clean, organized, working neatly with fine penmanship, thankful and grateful for the privilege of education.
We concluded our visit with a donation from our pool of funds and a prayer of blessing upon their work which they requested from us.
As we were preparing to leave, one of the students received a cell phone call that his mother had passed away. He was devastated. Who knows the full extent of the impact of this death upon his family and his own education? Our bus was headed in the right direction so he boarded the bus with us and two of our group counseled both him and a friend in the back of the bus until we were able to get him to the first stop of his journey home. When he disembarked he left tears in our group, but we cheered the group members who were able to extend their love to him. I believe he will remember this day the rest of his life. God provides opportunity for mission.
We are more and more aware of the need for scholarships for secondary school students. Depending upon the student and the school this would be the $300-$500 fee each year for six years for one student. We have met some of the students St. John's sponsors. My hope is that we can sponsor more students yet.
We will talk.
It was another day in which the "mission nature" of this trip came alive in unexpected ways. Not least of all is for some of these students to see "in the flesh" the kind of people who support them. The opportunity for them to see the source of their support means more to them than we can understand.
Now we are planning on taking a break tomorrow to head to our second safari at Ruaha National Park. We will be out of touch for a day, but we will be in good hands and look forward to connecting back with you. The group has adopted me as the official photographer. I am the only one with the "big lens". I am warming up my trigger finger. Giraffes, here we come!
July 2 and 3, Wednesday and Thursday
We arose Wednesday morning ready for a break. It was time for Safari! Onto the bus we went to head west to Ruaha National Park. On the bus we spent time thinking about Philippians 3:8, where Paul writes from prison about how he has come to "regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord." Still reflective from our experiences in the remoteness of our companion congregations, we considered how unimportant earthly possessions really are. And were strengthened again in the knowledge of the importance of Christ Jesus as Lord.
The ride to Ruaha was a modest version of the road to Muhanga, but this time in a bus. The road turned to dirt almost immediately and then gradually narrowed as the morning passed. While everyone is back to being healthy, we take lots of Dramamine for the long, dusty, difficult bus rides.
The ride was well worth it when we arrived at our "camp site" at Ruaha National Park. We were greeted with a nice lunch and assigned and escorted to our "Bandas". A Banda is a grass-roofed hut enclosed on the inside by a tent. The miracle for Debbie and me was that we were told that this was going to be the first night that we would sleep in separate accommodations - she with the girls and me with the boys - but when we got there they had a private Banda, just for the pastor and his wife! Nice!
The late afternoon was spent on Safari in a seven-passenger safari 4-wheel drive. The experience was dominated by giraffes, impalas, yellow baboons and a gluttonous lion resting after feeding on his kill. Yes, pictures will follow!
Evening supper was outdoors at banquet tables spread on the dry river bed of the Sand River by Lantern Light. Nope, sorry, no pictures will do justice to that event! Any walking about in the camp site was by escort only due to the wildlife living in the midst of the Bandas!
This morning we were awakened at 5:45 a.m. by a personal wake-up call from outside our tent complete with coffee! And then it was off to a 4-hour morning Safari starting at 6:30 a.m. beneath the dawning light. Yes, God is good! Perhaps especially in the countryside of Africa!
The morning experience started slowly but ended with a rush. It was dominated by yellow baboons, a rare leopard siting once again feeding on the kill, lion twin brothers, elephants, many giraffes, hippos and crocodiles. And of course birds everywhere. We took a break mid-morning for a catered breakfast on the hood of the vehicle complete with table cloth and hot coffee. How ironic it was when we returned to our Bandas and the girls discovered yet another elephant peeking into their deck on the front of their Banda! Yep! Yet another photo opportunity!
How soon the primitive experience of our companion congregations began to fade in our hearts and minds! We struggled with the transition. On many levels.
In a different way we had been carried into a short experience of paradise no less impressive than our time with Muhanga, but totally different. We feel like we have been riding an emotional roller coaster. Our leader has done a wonderful job of giving us intense difficult experiences of mission followed by breaks that offer a little sense of "reprieve" and overwhelming beauty. He has done well.
We are heading back to our room here in Iringa for a shower and then it will be supper at a place that caters, to some degree, to tourists but is known for a 2-hour wait after ordering! It is Africa!
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July! Nope, no fireworks are planned that we know of! We will report!
July 4, Friday
Yes, we had a good supper last evening! It was a bit of a hike into the heart of Iringa, but we arrived safe and sound! "Shooters" was the place. We believe it is so named in English because of the availability of the billiards table! The whole group ordered pizza! Two options - cheese or sausage. It hit the spot.
Then it was back to our rooms to begin to sort through our clothes to separate what we will donate to the Lutheran orphanage for adult use and what we will give to Hopeman, our constant companion. We will keep enough to wear for two days. We look forward to this mission opportunity as one of our last.
Then we awoke this morning to the July 4th holiday and my sister's 60th birthday! Pretty quiet here, although one of the other female chaperones brought fourth of July sox for each of the females on the trip and distributed them around to the various doors of the female rooms at day break. Happy birthday, America and Connie! We love you!
After breakfast we headed to the head office of the Iringa Diocese of the Evanglical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. This, of course, is comparable to the head office of the Saint Paul Area Synod back home. We received a presentation from the General Secretary of the Diocese. He is an up and coming young man with great wisdom coming from poor African roots. An amazing man.
Having been to Minnesota himself, he affirmed how important it is for people like us to get out of places like Minnesota with all its affluence to see how much of the rest of the world lives. Especially the sub-Saharan environment. Once again he was pleased to have us seated with him and after the presentation and much questions and answers we joined in a circle holding hands and asked God's blessing on our mutual churches. He lingered, holding my hand with one hand while he greeted the rest with the other. Our arriving, again, "in the flesh" was very significant to him. He was especially impressed that Debbie and I had made to Muhanga, laughing as he agreed that there actually are no roads to Muhanga and that we had been close to the end of the earth! Much more sharing about the Lutheran church in Tanzania from his perspective at a later time.
Now we are into our last shopping excursion of the trip. We have already revisited the Neema Shop, you remember that it is the Anglican shop with wares that have been produced by the local disabled community. We will stop for a quick lunch at "Hasty Tasty", yes you have heard about that place, too - we are becoming locals here now, even getting stopped in the street for greetings by some of the locals!
We may not be in touch again for awhile - our journey home now begins. We will check in if we can, but otherwise know that we are safely stowed away on bus or plane or parked in an airport!
July 5, Saturday
Upon the completion of our shopping yesterday afternoon, including more support of Neema Crafts, we headed back to the Lutheran Centre to work on dividing up our clothing. Our whole group included as part of our "mission" the donation of our clothing to adult orphanages through the Bega Kwa Bega office. We also donated my hat, jacket, and a couple warm tops to Hopeman, our constant Tanzanian companion. All of the members of our group are down to our last outfits!
Then it was back to the Iringa Diocese headquarters to witness a choir practice of the Iringa Diocese choir. The choir practiced outside and are a group that has traveled the world. We were impressed, although their music was markedly different than the folk music we had witnessed in Muhanga. Debbie especially appreciated the opportunity to spend personal time with the director and received copies of music to bring back home to Chancel Choir and school. They took up an offering among us to help support their work.
The evening ended with a "Last Supper" at the Lutheran Centre which included some Fourth of July celebration, including standing to sing the national anthem after which Hopeman and the staff stood to sing the Tanzanian national anthem. The event included the reception of "glow in the dark" bracelets from one member of our group for all to simulate a bit of fireworks. We also distributed them to the Lutheran Centre indigineous staff. Nice!
In addition, the supper included our final farewell to Hopeman, including a cake that Debbie had coordinated, the few items of clothes, cell phone cards, and an offering that had been taken up among our group. He was deeply touched. As were we.
This morning it was back into our bus for the day-long ride from Iringa to Dar es Salaam. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the Mikumi National Park, a wonderful setting for a light lunch eaten outdoors with more animals in view.
Upon arriving in Dar es Salaam, we checked into the TEC Catholic Retreat Center where we will spend the night. After checking in we headed out to the shore of the Indian Ocean where we treated ourselves to one more "Last Supper", this time the very last supper we will eat in Africa.
Tomorrow we board the plane for our two-day journey back home. See you soon! It is my hope to check in at least one more time on Tuesday, after we have safely landed back home.
July 6 and 7, Sunday and Monday
Sunday morning we awoke at the TEC Retreat Center and spent some time checking out their breakfast, Sunday morning worship service and grounds. And then it was back onto our bus. Our bus driver, Peter, who speaks limited English, is from Dar es Salaam. He took it upon himself to give us a short tour of the city which was his home town. It included a passing look at the new US Ambassador's compound which was very impressive.
Then it was back to the Indian Ocean for some photo op and wading in the sea. The afternoon was spent at "Slipway", where we had been before, that provides a market, shopping opportunities, eating, and even ice cream! WOW!
And then on to the Dar es Salaam airport. Boarded our plane for Nairobi, Kenya which, as usual, was a bit of an experience. Our leader, Don Marsh, as always used his experience and outgoing personality to call for supervisors and such as we struggled to get everyone on the plane with luggage to Chicago. The highlight of the Dar es Salaam airport experience was that Kelsey's luggage was there - had it been there since we arrived three weeks ago? Who knows? I got so excited I led a cheer and one of the local Tanzanian officials asked me if I was her Papa! Or why was I so excited? Part of the group experience! We have become family.
Then a transfer at the Nairobi airport to Kenya Airlines which once again was a treat. They do so very well. We flew all night and now have arrived early in London. As we arrived in the Heathrow airport we were immediately struck by the spacious accomodations, modern bathrooms with water that we could use to brush our teeth and wash our hands - we have left our bottled water behind! I had donated my hat in Iringa to our good friend and guide and future pastor of the ELCT, Hopeman, so Debbie made sure I got a new hat in London. The group has yet to see it!
We now look forward to boarding for an all-day flight over the Atlantic - Chicago, hear we come!
See you soon!
July 8, Tuesday
Yep, we are e-mailing this afternoon from the comforts of our own computer in Debbie's home office! The all-day flight from London to Chicago was smooth and uneventful. But we got more and more tired as time passed. By the time we got to Chicago, went through customs, and re-checked our baggage, any thought that we did not want to be home yet was gone. We were eager to arrive back home!
The short flight to Minneapolis was easy - the plane, for some reason, was almost empty. Upon arriving at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport many of our youth had parents and famiy waiting with tears in the eyes! Nice.
Our baggage arrived without incident and then their were final hugs all around in our group. We know that we will keep in touch and there will be a reunion meeting in August to which we are already looking forward! A number of the parents thanked me for these e-mails, as they had been accessing St. John's web site to follow our journey. It surely was my pleasure and part of my mission to offer the blow-by-blow of our journey.
Corey met us at the airport with camera ready to take a picture of Dad's "scruff" on behalf of his brothers. He rolled down his window in the car after a few minutes of driving, commenting that we surely did stink! Then he drove us through Arby's for a Beef and Cheddar sandwich and we made it home to Lakeville just as the wind and rain arrived Monday evening.
The phone rang as we walked in the door and it was Judy from church calling to keep me in touch with the fact that yesterday Barry Fick, our vice-president, had quadruple by-pass surgery. I have yet to catch up to that circumstance to verify for myself, but it was surreal to be reminded in a powerful way of what we had learned over the last weeks. When it comes down to the deepest level, it doesn't matter how much we have. The most important dynamics in this earthly life are faith, relationships, and health. These things are truly international in scope. We strive for the day when they are accessible to all.
My final e-mail will come from my church office and my office computer tomorrow.
We have only begun to process the experience....
July 10, Thursday
Final e-mail
Here is the promised final e-mail, one day late. I went back into the office for the first time yesterday morning and started the daunting process of getting caught up from being gone. It was last evening when I got around to wanting to do that final e-mail. I found it highly ironic that our internet at the church, which is highly reliable, was down! And it surely reminded me of our first internet experience in Iringa when it was so frustrating to pay for 1/2 hour of internet only to have the whole 1/2 hour taken up with attempting to log on to Yahoo.com!
But today our our access to internet is back.
I have found it difficult to re-enter my "normal" life. Perhaps some of the rest of the group have as well. Part of it is that, although I have been able to sleep, my sleep does not yet result in me feeling rested. Debbie convinced me this morning to spend a couple of hours looking at pictures. I did and it was wonderful therapy. I relived the trip and was reminded that I do believe that what we did was highly significant and important. And perhaps I deserve to be a little bit tired and even a little bit down as I re-enter.
This afternoon I am feeling better. I am very pleased with the good work that has gone on here at church in my absence. And I am getting slowly energized to begin to take my place as leader once again. I will hit the road running this week-end with a Saturday wedding and two Sunday baptisms. And I know that I will be reminded of why I do what I do.
Debbie and I have finished reading Philippians together. We felt that the closing verses of the fourth chapter were fitting closure to our Africa and Muhanga experience. "And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
God is good. God provides for the Christians in rural Muhanga thousands of miles away. God provides for you and me. God is good.
We look forward to sharing more of our Afican experience in an evening event in September. See you then! And until then, see you in church!
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