"We are all changed"

These remarks were shared by Jim Odland during Tanzania Partnership Weekend worship, January 24 - 25, 2015 at Shepherd of the Valley.

This service is intended to give you a glimpse into the colorful, vibrant and joyful lives of our brothers and sisters of Tungamalenga and Makifu parishes.  Like heaven, I think you have to be there to really experience it. 

I am honored to share a few observations about my time there this past summer.

There’s a constant pace in Tungamalenga with 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness each and every day of the year – constant commotion since people are outside in the temperate air, continuous crowing of roosters and the unusual sounds of the Islamic Call to Prayer several times a day.  The rhythm somehow provides our friends with joy, contentment and a general sense of welcoming peace that rubs off on all of the visitors we send there.

The people of Tungamalenga and Makifu parishes live hard lives to be sure.  There are virtually no cars.  They have no indoor plumbing or running water, drinkable or otherwise.  We were told that women in Tanzania walk an average of 4 to 5 miles per day carrying water jugs weighing 40 pounds, food, sticks, charcoal in what appear to be sacks that weigh 100 pounds or more - pretty much everything their families need is carried on their heads and backs.  They have no electricity or natural gas or appliances to do the ordinary, yet life preserving, chores we take for granted every day, such as washing clothes or preparing food for their families.  They cook their meals, including meals they made for us, and they wash their clothes in large pots over charcoal fires. 

Our dear friends in Tungalmalenga and Makifu parishes really LOVE music – they have no need for musical scores or sheet music or instruments – from young to old they can sing four part harmony for hours on end.  And when they do, the singing and the dancing that invariably accompanies it, melt away whatever tension they may be carrying from their hard lives and that release from tension can’t help but catch on with those around them.

The constant rhythm of their lives and their love of Jesus and their faith and belief in Him sustain them every day. These people live lives short in duration in very modest accommodations and yet somehow, somehow they know and love God and each other in ways most of us here will never know.  As our congregation president, Jenny Buckley, said to our Tanzanian hosts as we were preparing to come back to the States:

"At SOTV, we have something that we call our vision statement. It says: "we invite all people to experience the welcome, the transformation and the sending of Jesus Christ." Over the past week, you have taught us the true meaning of that vision. You have welcomed us. Through your welcome, we have seen the face of Jesus and experience His love.  We are all changed. And now it is time for us to be sent to go home, and we carry with us the love that you have shared with us and your welcoming hospitality and we will be forever changed. Thank you for reminding us and showing us what God's love truly means."

So – what can we here at Shepherd of the Valley do to show these friends half way around the world what God’s love truly means?  We can love them when we are here in Dakota County as much as we do when we are with them there in Tanzania.  Take some time to talk with some of the nearly 150 people who have been from there to get their observations.  Each of them has a life changing story to tell.  Even better, I invite you to go there sometime to experience it for yourself.  Like Jenny said for all of us who have already gone, “We are all changed.” I am sure you will be, too.