Blessed to be the hosts

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George Kioniani and Pastor Paulo Masinga are on their way to Minnesota!

In just a few short days, George Kioniani and Pastor Paulo Masinga will arrive in Minnesota, guests of Shepherd of the Valley from Makifu Parish and Tungamalenga Parish in Tanzania.

We could not be more excited for their visit!

Today we received this photo, taken just before they left Iringa for Dar es Salaam.  See that joy on Pastor Paulo's face?

Tonight those of us at SOTV involved in hosting our guests met to go over final details of their visit, the schedule and logistics of accompanying our honored guests for a two week visit.

Most of us involved in planning for this visit have been guests in Tanzania and have experienced the warm Karibu, wageni wetu - Welcome, our guests. The welcome we experience in Tanzania makes us feel as though we are Jesus on Palm Sunday, entering the villages to exuberant singing and dancing.

Having experienced that warm Tanzanian welcome, we want to make sure our guests experience a warm welcome from the people of Shepherd of the Valley.

Our guests will experience our daily lives, as we have experienced a bit of theirs.  Our guests will worship with us, share meals, stay in our homes, and be welcomed as family, as we have been welcomed into their daily routines and into their homes. 

Those of us who are hosting our guests have planned outings we hope they will enjoy, we've prepared rooms for them to stay in comfort, and have collected warm coats and gloves in case they find our spring weather a shock to their systems.

It is a blessing to take a turn at being the host.

Right at this moment we are very excited, a little nervous, and very hopeful that we can make our guests feel at home here in Minnesota, as they have made so many of us feel at home in Tanzania.

Safari Njema, rafiki.  [Safe journey, friends.]

Karibuni sana, wageni wetu. [We warmly welcome our guests.]



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