Tanzania Partnership

Do you remember the Sunday School class of six years olds who wrote letters to Humphrey , the six year old boy from Tungamalenga for whom their class prays each week? Dr Randy Hurley carried those letters with him earlier this month when he traveled from Minnesota to Tanzania, and he delivered the letters last weekend when he visited Tungamalenga. Today, he brought home to SOTV the letters pictured above! Humphrey sent cards and letters back to his friends at SOTV. Humphrey is six years old, speaks his tribal language (Hehe) and is learning to speak Swahili in primary school. He knows a few English words -- hello, good bye -- and still he has painstakingly printed four beautiful letters to his SOTV friends. "Hi Dean. Asante sana [thank you very much] for your greetings. May God give you health. Love, Humphrey. 2011." Like many six year olds, Humphrey lost a couple baby teeth since we were with him last August. Thanks be to God for this amazing partnership which brin...

Both Dr Randy Hurley and Amy Schulz have posted a few details from their first week at Ilula Hospital. Here's Dr. Randy's reflective comments about childhood in Tanzania: We have met a number of amazing young people here: ones that want to "grow up to be doctors and lawyers and such..." teachers, business people, those that can helpthis community progress and prosper. After working in the pediatric ward at Ilula, it strikes me that these children have such a gauntlet that they need to surpass in order to achieve these dreams. First you have to hope that you've been given a mother that is sufficiently well nourished to carry you to term, allow for good cognitive development and without complications such as malaria...and that she has access to a hospitalthat can safely deal with any complications that could occur at delivery. You need to hope you get a mother that does not have HIV and a family that can provide enough nutrition for appropriate brain development....

Today, two SOTV members boarded a plane with other healthcare professionals headed toward the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania. Dr. Randy Hurley, co chair of Shoulder to Shoulder, a nonprofit organization that supports healthcare in the Iringa Diocese, particularly at the Ilula Lutheran Hospital, leads the team of doctors, nurses, medical students, public health students, an occupational therapist, and a physical therapist. Dr. Randy has taken almost yearly trips to Tanzania since his first in 2002 with a team from Shepherd of the Valley. Amy Schulz, a physical therapist, is taking her first trip with the medical team. Randy, Amy, and the rest of the team will be working shoulder to shoulder with staff at the Ilula Lutheran Hospital for much of their time in Tanzania. They will be visiting Tungamalenga Parish the weekend of January 22/23. Please keep Randy, Amy and the whole medical team in your prayers. Amy will be blogging about her travels at Safari Njema 2011 and some members of the ...

What happens when you pair up a Sunday School class of six year olds in Apple Valley, Minnesota, with a six year old boy named Humphrey in Tanzania? Cool stuff, that's what. As part of the Rafiki kwa Rafiki [Friend to Friend] program at Shepherd of the Valley, which was introduced in November when our Tanzanian guests visited, each class was given a Tanzanian friend for whom they pray. Kim English's class is praying for Humphrey Kahwage. Kim's class prays for Humphrey every week, and many of the children remember him in their prayers every evening, too. They're also learning about Humphrey's life in Tanzania. They know that when we go to bed at night, Humphrey is about to wake up for the day. They know that while we have snow here in Minnesota, it is sunny and hot in Tungamalenga. In December, Kim's class made Christmas cards for Humphrey, drawing wonderful pictures and adding stickers, sharing lots of good wishes. The card above says, "There is an ai...

Last August as SOTV members visited our partners in Tungamalenga, we were often asked to sing for the congregation members gathered as we visited from village to village. We sang something written recently by Nate Houge, "The Work of God." The work of God, the work of God, the work of God, it is not done. The work of God, the work of God, Oh, let his kingdom come. On our visits to Tungamalenga Parish, it is easy to see the work of God that is not done. There are many children who still need support in order to get an education, the clinic needs medicine and more training for staff, there are ten village chapels in various stages of construction, the leaders of the microfinance cooperative ask for mentoring and training in administration and bookkeeping. These are the feet, these are the feet, these are the feet of Jesus. These are the feet, these are the feet, Oh, let his kingdom come. The grandmother in the photo above is from a remote village halfway up a hill, around the...