Tanzania Partnership

  I thank my God every time I remember you. - Philippians 1:3 It's the end of a long and challenging year. Our Tanzanian friends faced the challenge of heavy rains and flooding early in the year, a long period of rebuilding, and we've all experienced the global pandemic and all the challenges it brings. For the first time in over fifteen years, there was no travel between partners.  During January and February, our partners experienced heavy rains and flooding. Bridges were damaged at Idodi, Mapogoro, Tungamalenga, Makifu and Mahuninga. Visitors to Ruaha National Park crossed the river on foot, accompanied by local helpers. Crops and homes were damaged. Repairs began by the end of February, but took months to complete. At the end of September, many homes had still not been repaired. Back in Minnesota, life changed drastically on March 13. Sheltering at home, work and meetings and worship all moved online. Zoom became our meeting room. The first cancellation was the planned visi

  For the first time since our Tanzania Partnership began in 2001, our annual journey from Shepherd of the Valley to visit our partners in Tungamalenga, Makifu, and Usolanga Parishes was cancelled this past July. We describe our partnership as Bega Kwa Bega, the Swahili phrase that means shoulder to shoulder . We name three pillars of our companionship: prayer, presence, and projects. All of these imply spending time together – or do they? How can we be companions when we are apart? That is the question we have wrestled with for the past six months.   Our prayers for one another can be more fervent. Our companions are leading the way in this area, reporting that their parishes are meeting weekly to pray for us. Their prayers for us are full of trust that God will shelter us and protect us from the virus, and keep our relationship strong until we can meet again face to face. August Zoom meeting with Makifu leaders ·        Our presence can be experienced in new ways. During August

Here we are in the time of COVID and there's no travel to Tanzania, but we still held a partnership meeting with our friends from Tungamalenga on Tuesday via Zoom. Our Tanzanian friends traveled by bus from Tungamalenga to Iringa where they were hosted at the Bega Kwa Bega office by Deacon April Trout and Pastor Lusungu Msigwa.  We began the meeting at 2 PM Iringa time, 6 AM here in the Central time zone.  Pastor Randy rubs the sleep from his eyes (above). Attending the meeting from Tungamalenga were Pastor Rahai Mgeveke, Parish Treasurer Lukimbililo Mkuye, Partnership Committee Member Noeli Kalulu, and Pastor/Doctor Barnabas Kahwage. Attending from Shepherd of the Valley were members of the Partnership Steering Committee: Judy Anderson, Sharla Wagy, Tom Thompson, Christina Nissen, Mollie & Lyn MacLean, Brenda Krueger, Kirsten Levorson, and Pastor Randy Brandt. The big news of the day was that Tungamalenga Parish has again grown so much that a new parish has been created from s