Tanzania Partnership

Bishop Blastone Gaville Just this week we received a letter from Bishop Blastone Gaville of the Iringa Diocese. Greeting Pastor Rick Summy and all friends at Shepherd of the Valley, he recalled his visit to Minnesota a year ago. Bishop Gaville at SOTV in 2017 He wrote, "It was so great and good news to receive the letter from the Senior Pastor of SOTV and to see a group of the folks in August. Just after receiving the letter, I remembered a good time we had during my stay with you in US." Bishop Gaville had just been out to visit our partners in Makifu and Tungamalenga Parishes, the letter continued. " I had very busy days in both parishes." In Makifu, he dedicated the new pastor's home, placed a cornerstone at the new chapel in Kisilwa, and visited Ikwavila and Malunde. He baptized 14 people. The next day he visited Tungamalenga Parish, starting the day with worship and the dedication of the new chapel at Namelok.  Attending

At Shepherd of the Valley on August 12, we prayed, we walked, and we gave money to support water projects in Ikwavila and Mpalapande, Tanzania. Every gift of prayer, walking, and funding is a blessing. Why did people walk three kilometers up hill to fetch a bucket of water on a hot, hot day?  Why, when we have a perfectly good spigot and all the water we could possibly want right within reach? We walked to remember our friends in Tanzania. The girls and women in villages like Mpalapande and Ikwavila walk every day to collect every drop of water they use for cooking, drinking, washing, and watering their gardens. Girls spend so much time each day collecting water that they often are not able to attend school. We walked to experience in some small way, the reality of their daily life. Carrying water is hard work.  A five gallon pail weighs 40 pounds.  We used the water that was collected to water the gardens around the c