Journey 2015: The Facebook Version, Part 2

By -

July 12 -- We were warmly welcomed to Makifu Parish, Kisilwa and Makifu villages yesterday. We met with Mfaume's102 year old grandmother and were blessed. Today, we go to Mahove for worship.


July 13 -- Today was a wonderful day in Mahove and Ikwavila, full of worship, fellowship, dancing, singing, giving thanks for all that God is doing through this partnership. A treasure in clay pots! Just when we thought we were too tired for a third village, we arrived in Mahuninga and the children's kwaya energized us again!


July 14 -- Today the group has the distinctive experience of visiting all nine village congregations of Makifu Parish. Going off road to Malunde and Isanga, finishing up with Makambalala. It's going to be great! [woke up this morning to swarms of tiny ants, ask Pastor Chris about the beetle when we get home. adventure!]


July 15 -- The group went on safari to Ruaha National Park this morning. Pastor John and I remain in Tungamalenga. This morning the partnership committee and I interviewed ten students who need scholarship support for college. Incredible stories.

Highlight of the day: holding a one month old Tanzanian baby, and later, a one year old, and neither cried or screamed at being held by the wazungu. Lowlight of the day: when the mouse jumped or fell from the rafters of the church office onto my head [shudder!] and then sat on the couch behind me, just looking at me with those mouse eyes.


July 16 -- Preparations for Peter & Jenny's wedding celebration at Mpalapande continue.... Absalum is building a modern choo [toilet] for the comfort of guests from MN and Iringa town, others are preparing an area for tents, and of course the women are cooking a feast.

July 17 -- the group is back from safari and ready to explore Tungamalenga Parish. Today, Idodi village congregation, Idodi Secondary School, and Namelok village congregation. Yesterday's meeting with the health committee has us really excited about upgrading the clinic to a health center. Fun fact: in most villages, the children shout "Wazungu!" as our bus passes. In one area near the Roman Catholic compound, the children yell, "Ciao!"


July 19 -- We're back from the villages, grateful for the experiences we had with our dear partners. Teary good byes today. We're heading out for a good dinner with lots of conversation to process amazing events. Tomorrow, a relaxed day in Iringa before we begin the long journey home.


July 20 -- posted by Bega Kwa Bega -- Yesterday in Iringa we held our second annual 'Scholarship and Education Summit' where leaders from both sides of the partnership evaluated the current state of... the program and made plans for the future. 

Items discussed included: 1) Developing protocol around University/Post-Secondary Scholarships; 2) Establishing a focused list of diocese-wide education related projects; 3) Creating a 'Scholarship Equity Fund' for non-partnered congregations

July 21 -- At Sea Cliff in Dar es Salaam -- worth all the traffic jams to feel this Indian Ocean breeze.

July 24 -- after a day at home, traveler Rachel posted -- Happy to be home but missing Tanzania. I uploaded a few photos from my phone. Eventually I'll get around to sorting out the 500+ photos and videos to post. Highlights of the trip: meeting wonderful people, being a part of a Tanzania wedding, and being three feet from a lion (and not being eaten!). I'm so thankful for a wonderful traveling group and love being back with my family.

It was a fabulous trip!  Thanks for reading along on our journey.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Idodi Secondary School

By -
Image
July 10, 2017 On Monday we headed out to Tungamalenga and Makifu parishes, ready to be offline for the next eight days.  Our first stop was at Idodi Secondary School.  Idodi is the first village we come to in the parish, and we have about 75 students attending the secondary school. Headmaster Christopher Mwasomola welcomed us to his office for an introduction and update. He said that Idodi is known as a community school -- the infrastructure is built by the community (in this case, heavily supported by a group known as Friends of Ruaha) and teachers are provided by the government.  Fun fact: the Friends of Ruaha at one point received a donation from Roy Disney, whose name is included on the dedication plaque for the school's library. The school was registered in 1999 and has 889 students, 437 girls and 452 boys. There are 41 teachers. The government supports salaries, books, lab equipment, desks, and other basic supplies. There are 11 non teaching staff, with only tw
Read more

Safari 2013: the journey of a lifetime

By -
Image
Safari in Swahili means journey. We'd like you to consider taking the journey of a lifetime with other Shepherd of the Valley members next summer.  For two weeks in August, you could be ambassadors from our congregation living among and getting to know our partners from Tungamalenga Parish. What's a journey like this look like? We'll fly from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Dar es Salaam with a short stopover at Kilimanjaro (alas, it will be dark and we don't get off the plane at Kili). That's about 24 hours from start to finish, with a four hour layover in Amsterdam. Arriving at the Landmark Hotel just before midnight, we get a good night's sleep in Dar before the eight to ten hour cross country bus ride to Iringa. notice the US and Tanzanian flags on the dashboard of the bus?   Highlights of that cross country ride include driving about 100 kilimeters of the way through Mikumi National Park -- and if we're lucky, we'l
Read more

Karibuni sana

By -
Image
Pastor Naftal & Anjelina Ng'amillo In just a couple short weeks, we will be hosting guests from Tanzania. Pastor Naftal and Anjelina Ng'amillo from Tungamalenga Parish, along with Dr Mufwimi and Dora Saga from the Ilula Lutheran Hospital, will arrive in Minnesota October 21 for a stay of just over two weeks. What better way to welcome them than to learn a few words in their language? Karibu sana or, if you are addressing more than one person, Karibuni sana , means "we warmly welcome you." It's pronounced like this: KAH ree boo SAH nah or KAH ree boo nee SAH nah. Jambo means "hello." Another greeting is Habari, which is more like "how are you," to which a Tanzanian might respond Nzuri [good], Salama [peace], or Njema [fine, well, good] and then they might add, Habari yako [and how are you?]. When Tanzanians are in a gathering, like at church or at a meeting, and they rise to speak to the assembly, they almost always start by say
Read more