Behind the Scenes

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shoes packed for the children at Huruma Orphanage

Some seasons in our partnership are very public, like when we have guests and schedule gatherings and meetings and dinners, or when we celebrate our partnership in worship, or when we make announcements, temple talks, and staff informational tables in the narthex on Sunday mornings.

This is not one of those public, eventful times, but there's still lots going on in our partnership this summer.

We've ordered a motorcycle to be used by the pastors of Tungamalenga Parish, and we're about halfway through the three month wait for it to be delivered.

We're collecting a very few, specifically chosen gifts to distribute among our partners when we visit in August. Often, we are able to take ten or more suitcases full of medical supplies, t-shirts, Bibles, school supplies and other practical gifts for our friends. Limits on luggage for this trip mean we're traveling light and having to choose wisely. We're limited to taking mostly letters, prayers and good wishes, along with some cash to purchase necessities in country.

We're also preparing to host visitors in the fall. For the third time in our partnership, we'll have Tanzanians coming to Shepherd of the Valley. It's such an honor and opportunity for us! And we want to make the best use of the short time they will have here, so there's lots of discussion and scheduling and coordinating involved.

Our university students will be continuing their studies this fall. Some schools start in September, others in later October. Some of our students are ready for internships or will be doing what they call "fieldwork" and so there have been many emails exchanged with thanks and with some requests for additional funding.

And finally, this blog is making its debut. We hope it will be a place where we can share stories and news about the great things God is doing through our partnership. At first, some of the items posted on this blog might sound like old news to those of you who have been involved from the beginning, but please bear with us as we hope to create an archive of partnership information that will help anyone new to the partnership get a sense of what we do and where we've been. And please send us your feedback. Asante sana. Thank you.

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