Tanzania

Tanzania Blog 2007

TANZANIA MISSION TRIP 2007 EMAIL UPDATES

Jambo! (hello in Swahili)

Sorry in the delay about getting news to you about this adventure, but we just found an internet location and the time to send you off this mission trip update.

First, I am afraid there are not words to describe all we have experienced in just the short amount of time we've been here. It's not about the travel details, the weather or even the elephants and giraffes we saw, it's about the people we met. We all have had a tear or two come to our eyes, some for joy and others for sadness.

One of the first things we did after we arrived in Iringa was to go to the market place. We saw every imaginable type of shop, from fabrics and tailors, metal workers, and large tables piled high with vegetables and fruit. Even one large table piled three feet high with dried fish (minnows) may have been sardines.

Pastor Gary Langness took us to a bike shop and he negotiated a good price on two brand new black bicycles, about $80.00 each. The gifts we received from all of you paid for the two bicycles. Saturday we will bring the bicycles to our pastor in our companion congregation. More to come on this.

Introductions are very important here in Tanzania. We met with the Bishop of Iringa and his staff. We brought greetings on behalf of all the members of our church. He shared with us the vision for partnership between the church of the Saint Paul Area Synod and the Lutheran Church in Iringa. The Bishop was very excited to hear about our going to Ng' Ang' Ange our companion congregation and he said they are very excited and waiting for us. He said that our visit and the many like ours would build a lasting perception of Americans as people who care about the people of Tanzania. Politics and religion are very closely related here

After our visit with the Bishop we walked to an elementary school were some 50 + children sat politely on benches and sang for us. We presented the teacher with gifts we brought on your behalf. The sidewalk chalk was much appreciated as well as the pencils.

Today (Thursday) we went to the orphanage that is sponsored by the Lutheran church in Tanzania. The facility was outside of town. We traveled through some of the poorest of neighborhoods to get there. Yet, all along the way our bus was greeted by big smiles, happy waves and shouts of welcome. The director of the orphanage was away for a meeting so we met with Julianna, a 20-year-old women from Berlin, Germany. She volunteered a year of her life to work at this orphanage. The kids loved her.

There were maybe 40-50 children who had been abandoned by their parents or their parents had died. Their ages ranged from 4 years old to some in their mid teens. Some of the elementary age boys were painting a classroom with a bright turquoise paint that was splattered more on them than the wall. They had a new well for water provided by a group of Minnesotans led by "Curt the water guy" from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Roseville. It's a hard life for the children there. They work hard at the orphanage when they are not in school. You wouldn't believe the outside cooking area that they had for preparing the meals each day. It was very primitive.

I asked Julianna about her choice to volunteer to do this and she shared how moving this was to her and how the children were shy and hardly would look at her the first weeks she was here. Now, she knows each of them by name and love them all. I commented on how hard it will be to leave them when her year is done and she turned her head to cover tears welling up in her eyes.

The photos that are attached are of a few of the places and people we visited in the first days. There are literally thousands more to share when we return. Our next days are going to be at a Ilulu hospital and a secondary school and then off for the weekend at our companion village Ng' Ang' Ange with two new bicycles, maize and rice and many gifts from all of you at RLC to our new friends here in Tanzania. Lastly, thank you for your many prayers. To think that the members of these churches here are praying for you in Minnesota and you are praying for them is truly a "God moment." Today, we had 250+ secondary students sing to us "God is Good!" and the response was "All the Time!" and that the gospel truth.

Love you all!

Chris Kay
Ada Kischner
Vivan Howatt
Cindy Bjerk
David & Karen Dudley
David Hanson

P.S. The chicken and monkey pictures are especially for Pastor Watson.

Jambo! and e-mail # 2

We are still alive and well except for having way too many meals of rice, beans, peas, pasta and potatoes. This is not your carb free diet. All carbs ... all the time. I'm desperately longing for a hamburger. I've secretly wondered if the village would miss a cow. Our Iringa guesthouse has been our home base for trips out and around the area. Each day we become more familiar with the lay of the land, the customs and the people. Our Swahili is still very limited but fortunately for us their English is very good.

Ilula Health Care Center
What we are experiencing here is a real life look at how the church can be effective in changing the world. Each day we meet faithful people who care deeply about how God's love is lived out in the world. On Friday, we went to the Ilula Health Care Center. We had a tour and learned about the importance of providing basic health care. We meant many moms with their babies. They would wait in line to weigh their babies to see how they are doing. One emphasis in their work is with AIDS education and treatment. In fact a lot of their work is in educating people on good health care. A green 12x12x40 foot shipping container from Global Health Ministries, Fridley, Minnesota arrived by truck. We watched, as birthing kits, clothing, and medical supplies were unloaded by hand. All assembled and packed by Minnesota volunteers.

The hospital administrator shared with us that most people coming don't have the money to stay at the health center. A private room costs about $1.10 a day. When you think of a private room you need to look at the picture to understand just how Spartan a room this is. As he shared with us the needs our hearts were moved and we reached into our pockets and every one of us gave our own gift to help those coming to the health care center.

Image Secondary School
We continued along some really bad, bumpy, rutted, red dirt roads (I sat in the back of the bus) for about 30 miles to the Image Secondary School. (pronounced Im/ma/gay) As our bus came down the road to the school, students were lined up along the road singing and dancing. 250+ students surrounded our bus and sang. It was hard not to have tears in our eyes as we walked off the bus to meet them. This secondary school is one of the best and is sponsored by the Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Education is a high priority for the church and the government. They had solar panels to recharge batteries for lap top computers for the computer class, however chalkboards are the only teaching aids in classrooms that hold 60-80 students. Everybody walks everyway and many students will come from miles away.

Road Trip to Ng'ang'ange
Saturday, morning our road trip to Ng'ang'ange (our companion congregation) started by loading the seven of us into two Land Rovers with our luggage tied on top, including the two bicycles for the pastor. With the recent heavy rains the red soil gets rutted and slippery. We dodged some fallen trees and had to back up for a truck that couldn't make a hill. About 40 miles into our 60 mile journey we reached a village that we were told was considered the end of the line. Our village is 20 miles beyond the end of the line!

Welcome in Ng'ang'ange
Coming into Ng'ang'ange was an experience like none of us has ever had before. The villagers lined up along the road on the way in, waving and shouting. As we arrived at the church 40-50 people in parade march sang and then surrounded our vehicles. Pastor Masula met us and we shook hands and hugged. (Yes, I have hugged quite a bit.) We then went up to the church, really a big open room with wooden benches. We had introductions and welcome presentations and lots of singing. They fed us well, you guessed it rice, beans, peas, pasta and potatoes and I'm afraid a few of the local chicken gave their lives for us that day.

Corn / Maize Distribution
Because of the drought and bad harvest there was a lot of hunger and malnutrition. Your gifts purchased 20 - 240 pounds bags of corn. They carried them into the back of the church and after our welcome people from the village and Chris Kay and I helped carry them over to the corner of the church. We opened them up and dumped them on the cement floor. A long line of people lined up outside with every imaginable kind of bucket and sack to carry the corn home. The people of Roseville Lutheran helped over 200 families with a four-five gallon container of corn. We scooped up buckets and filled sacks and saw the faces of those who you helped. God is good ... all the time!

Ng'ang'ange Preaching Points
We then went by Land Rovers to two of the six preaching points. Small churches just starting up, led by an evangelist doing village to village, family to family outreach. If they get 100+ people they can start up a preaching point church. Three of the six preaching points have church buildings under construction. Financial gifts given by Roseville Lutheran in the past years have helped get the basic construction started, walls, door and corrugated metal roof. The red bricks they make themselves, the rest of the materials have to be purchased.

Operation Bootstrap Africa Elementary School
After visiting the preaching points, we stopped at the Operation Bootstrap Africa elementary school. This is the school that about 4-5 years ago members of RLC raised $18,000 to build two classrooms and provide some desks. What a great feeling to stand in the rooms and talk with the headmistress of the school. We gave a suitcase of pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners and other school supplies that you sent with us to share with them. I cannot thank Diane Jacoby enough for seeing this vision for serving and how the people of RLC can make a difference in the lives of these young children.

Ng'ang'ange Partnership Committee
Later that evening, we met with the Partnership Committee and discussed the needs of the Ng'ang'ange. They read off an accounting of the gifts they had received from us and then shared how the gifts were used. We also discussed the 6-8 scholarships we have provided for secondary students from the village. We met two of the student who received the scholarships.

So we spent the night in the Pastors home. Remember, there is no electricity, no indoor plumbing. But they did have a brand new outhouse that was finished right before we came, a one holer in the floor. It rained all night long, which was loud on the metal roof. We all slept well and woke to the rooster crowing.

Sunday Worship in Ng'ang'ange
Dressed and ready for worship we headed up to the church at 9:00am. They start worship much like our 11:00am. The church begins about half full and after an hour of the three-hour worship it's packed full.

At the beginning of the sermon, I was able to announce that the gifts given by their sisters and brother in Christ at Roseville Lutheran would be used to finish construction on three of the six preaching point churches, which means cement floors, windows, plaster on the bricks and paint, a total of about $4,500 to complete these three preaching point churches. After hearing the translation the congregation exploded with applause, singing and yes! Lutheran's dancing, which went on for 4-5 minutes. After which we announced that the remaining $1,400 will be used to purchase new wooden pews/benches for the church. At hearing this the pastor in his robes jumped up and down in thankfulness. We were completely over whelmed by the response. During the announcements we were presented with gifts of plums, eggs, lemons, apples and four chickens. We then presented to the pastor a Swahili bible, clergy shirts and a photo book of Roseville Lutheran pictures. Lastly, Chris Kay rode the bicycle down the center aisle. Needless to say it was a very special day and we were honored to be here to represent our church.

Tomorrow's Road Trip
6:00am Tuesday morning we hit the road for northern Tanzania. More to come. We pray that everything is well with you and hope to be with you soon.

Love you all!

Chris Kay
Ada Kirscher
Vivan Howatt
Cindy Bjerk
David & Karen Dudley
David Hanson