Tanzania Partnership

July 15, 2017 We began our tour of Makifu Parish at the main station with Pastor Nejabel Madembo welcoming us with his warm smile. While waiting for everyone to arrive, we got a tour of the newly roofed parsonage and had a chance to share photos with friends. Then it was on to Kisilwa. There was a lot of joy here as the congregation proudly showed us the finished roof on this chapel that has been waiting several years since the walls went up. Even more impressive is the fact that two sons of the congregation contributed most of the money to buy iron sheets for the roof. Funds from SOTV were used to buy lumber, nails, and other supplies. Next, the group from the game park rejoined us at Misufi. This is a newer preaching point, still renting a house to use as a worship space. It's a two room structure, so it's kind of awkward for a gathering. Evangelist Lazaro Mlunza explained that there is a new primary school in Misufi and this d...

To get to Makifu Parish, you need to drive west from Iringa about 90 kilometers or about two hours.  You'll need a Land Cruiser and an experienced driver for a safe, comfortable ride. A coaster bus will work as long as you stick to the roads, and it will take an extra hour. You'll drive through Tungamalenga Parish -- the villages of Idodi, past the turn off to Kitisi, through Mapogoro, and then you'll see the two cell towers at the edge of Tungamalenga.  Keep driving through town, past the market and the camps.  Just after the bridge the main road continues to the right, headed toward Ruaha National Park.  You'll take the left turn. A little ways down the road there's an elephant crossing.  It's not marked of course, but you can see a wide clearing where the elephants come from the park in search of water. My driver Esau, who is also a qualified game guide, says that elephants return to the same places for water, even places their herd visited a hundred y...

Wow! Look at the progress made on Makambalala Chapel! Pastor Naftal sent this photo today, showing the new walls and windows constructed at Makambalala. Notice how different the exterior is from the next photo, taken in August 2010. The original chapel was constructed with this lacey pattern in the brickwork. This style of construction is less costly -- no window panes or woodwork to purchase. But while it let in adequate light, it also let in the elements--wind, dust, rain. The new construction will be finished with a coating of stucco on the exterior walls, and plaster on the interior. Makambalala chapel, as well as the Mpalapande chapel, are scheduled to be completed and ready for dedication ceremonies in the fall. Bwana Asifiwe! Praise the Lord!

The Youth Choir processes into the sanctuary, singing and dancing and kicking up the dust from the hard packed dirt floor. Hanging from the rafters are strings tied with colorful strips of fabric to decorate the space. Dappled light shines through the windows, a lacey checkerboard pattern in the brick wall created by omitting alternate bricks. The singing is loud and joyful, the energy is high. We're at Makambalala. To accompany the singing, there might be two drums, made with skins stretched across a hollow log. This girl slaps a homemade shaker. It's a stick, two long nails, and pop bottle caps that spin on the nails. The sound is something like a cross between a tambourine, maracas and jingle bells. Every visit includes a time for prayer, and prayer is memorable at Makambalala. In recent years, this congregation has adopted the practice of a fervent, spirit led community prayer. The pastor or worship leader will introduce the prayer, and then the congregation members start m...