Tanzania Partnership

July 17, 2017 During our visit to Makifu Parish, we were routinely given small harvest gifts at every village. A parent would come forward with a bag of rice, a tin of maize, some sugar cane, or ground nuts. We've told the story before, of how we learned that we all have gifts to share . One year SOTV travelers decided to purchase some rice from our partners and delivered it to Huruma Center, the diocese orphanage. As our parish partners learned more about the diocese orphanage (some didn't know it existed), many individuals began to give us gifts to carry back to the Center. Parents of scholarship students used to give us personal gifts for the sponsors - a cross necklace of Maasai beads, or a kitange. But when they learned of Huruma and its work, they began to give us gifts of food, understanding that the gifts would be delivered to feed the children. It has become a beautiful circle of giving. We arrived at Makambalala in the early afternoon, got out of ...

stained glass cross necklaces Aren't these lovely? This morning after worship Gene Oberlie delivered 23 stained glass cross necklaces, beautiful gifts that our July travelers will carry to Tanzania. They will be gifts for pastors and evangelists in our partner congregations. Thank you, Gene, for using your skill to make these beautiful gifts! We'll be packing a few other items to share with our partners as well.  There are hand towels for the people who prepare our meals, some infant supplies for the day care at Huruma Center, a few bags of candy to share.  Tim Schafer is making a wooden cross for the altar at Usolanga.  In addition to the gifts we carry, we hope to have funds to purchase some gifts in country.  Bicycles for the evangelists, rice and corn for the orphanage, and medicines for the clinic are items best purchased in country. Your contributions toward these gifts are greatly appreciated! Give online or write a check payable ...

One thing our travelers notice when we visit our partners in Tungamalenga and Makifu is how different our family structures can be.  American homes typically house a nuclear family – parents and children – while in Tanzania, living with extended family is the norm. A household of parents and children often includes a grandparent, several orphaned cousins, perhaps an aunt.  Malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS and other diseases leave many children orphaned, and for the most part, traditional Tanzanian culture cares for orphans within the extended family structure. For those children who truly have no relatives in this world, the Iringa Diocese owns and operates Huruma [Mercy] Center. Matron Mama Chilewa and her small staff care for 45 - 60 children ages 5 - 16. Often the children are brought to the center by social workers who find the children living on the streets. Staff care for the children while searching for relatives willing to take in the child. We met an eight year ol...

Shepherd of the Valley travelers carry gifts when we visit, and we also carry funds to purchase gifts in country.  Some of the most valuable gifts we bring to our partners are gifts that bring health -- mosquito nets that guard against malaria, and medicines to supply the dispensary. Purchasing medicines and mosquito nets involves a visit to our favorite pharmacy, Acacia Pharmacy. This year, we also visited another store to order the mosquito nets.  The purchase also involves counting cash. Tanzania is primarily a cash economy.  $1600 in US dollars becomes a large wad of Tanzanian Shillings. The largest denomination of Tanzanian currency is the 10,000 Shilling note, worth about $6.25 USD this year. We purchased about 320 mosquito nets. To purchase medicines for the dispensary, we first give Dr. Barnabas and Dr. Saga (from the diocese) our budget.  This year, contributions allowed us to spend $2000 on medicines.  The doctors pr...

30 days until the first of this summer's 25 travelers leave for Tanzania.  It's time to think about packing! Our travelers always carry one suitcase filled with gifts for our partners.  This year, we're collecting SOTV t-shirts, tote bags, solar calculators with scientific functions.  We're also accepting monetary donations for books to fill the Tungamalenga library, for indestructible soccer balls , and for purchases we will make in Iringa:  medicines, mosquito nets, and gifts for the orphanage. Another gift we will carry is the gift of prayer.  Four years ago, our travelers carried prayer cards to Tanzania as gifts from the congregation.  We had taken photos of our SOTV members, and created laminated cards with the person's name and a promise to pray for our partnership. These prayer cards were distributed at each village visit, and we then took photos of the recipients.  When we arrived home, more prayer cards were made showi...

  We've started packing for our July/August journey to Tanzania, at home and at church.  It's a little messy right now, but things are getting organized.     Our travelers have become really good at packing lightly for themselves, so that we can pack more gifts for our friends in Tanzania.  For a two week trip, we take three bottoms (skirts for women, pants for men) and 6-7 short sleeve tops.  Toss in a long sleeve tee for cool evenings, and a lightweight jacket just in case, some sleepwear and personal items, an extra pair of shoes, toiletries, medications, cameras, a journal, and duct tape, and we're good to go. It all fits in our rolling carry on bag.   For international travel to Africa, the airlines still allow us to check two bags, limit 50 pounds, at no extra charge.  With twelve travelers, that's 24 bags -- a lot of gifts! And a lot to organize.     This year, the challenge is books.  We are car...

  Soccer is a favorite sport for our Tanzanian partners. This young man made his soccer ball from rags, plastic bags, and twine.  It's a solid, heavy thing to kick around, a little smaller than regulation, but hey, it's better than sitting on the sidelines with nothing to do.   Our travelers usually take at least a dozen soccer balls when we visit Tungamalenga, to give to the children at each village congregation.  They are one of the most popular gifts we carry.   But the terrain is not kind to our inflatable soccer balls.  They puncture easily and deflate.   We've found a source for INDESTRUCTIBLE soccer balls and we'd like to invite you to help us buy some to carry with us in August.   The soccer balls are produced by a company called One World Futbol  and cost about $20.  We invite you to go to their website to learn more about what they do and how the ball came to be.  You can purchase a ba...

The companion relationship between the people of Tungamalenga Parish and Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church is deeply rewarding, and can also be deeply complicated. We travel to Tanzania and see so many, many heartbreaking needs. We see that with our resources, we could easily meet so many of those needs. Yet we also become quickly aware that for every one individual need that we can meet, there dozens and hundreds of others with that same need. Beyond the needs of the person whom we know by name, are many others with the same or even greater needs. That is where we often face complicated choices in our partnership. When we visit the clinic in Tungamalenga and see a child suffering from malaria, often one of our travelers quietly offers to pick up the bill (usually less than $5). Or perhaps we give the family mosquito nets and instructions on how to use them to prevent the other children in the family from getting malaria. But where we have the greater impact is when we s...

World Mission Weekend is coming soon -- January 26/27! We'll celebrate our partnership through songs, prayers, and stories at all services.   One of the truly amazing gifts of this partnership is the sharing of our hymns and songs.   When we worship in Tanzania, we may be unfamiliar with the Swahili language and many customs, but in every worship service we hear a few familiar hymns -- the tune of Faith of Our Fathers is used for part of the liturgy.  Or a hymn familiar to us like What a Friend We Have in Jesus is sung.   As we travel from village to village on our packed bus, our partners sing and teach us some of their traditional songs.  Asante Sana, Yesu.  Iyo Neema.  Umoja .   Our travel groups are always asked to sing, and our partners have seemed to enjoy learning some of our traditional American songs.  In the highways, in the hedges, I'll be somewhere working for my Lord.  Walk together Children, Don't you ...

When we travel to Tungamalenga, we carry a lot of gifts from our congregation. Sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, waterbottles and anything else with the SOTV name or logo are popular items. Tote bags, backpacks, messenger bags and laptop carriers are some of the most practical gifts we carry.  Some are given to students, others to pastors and evangelists. Fun items like beach balls or -- even better-- soccer balls are great gifts, and also serve as lightweight packing material around more breakable items. Bibles, English dictionaries and other reference books are great for secondary and university students. We're also carrying letters for every student who receives a scholarship from SOTV. We also have some medical supplies, pastoral robes and stoles. Thanks to all who donated items for gifts!