Current work in Tanzania

Tanzania Mission Build 2006

What's this all about?

Greetings to all who have hit the web site for the first time or for the 30th time. We are getting ready to embark on our second construction trip to the Mission District of the Morogoro Diocese and we will be there from June 8-20, 2006. The following are members of the team and request your thoughts and prayers. Please return to the web site each day we are in country and we will try to share with you our adventures.

• Jill Boerighter of St. Paul’s Lutheran, Waverly, IA (not shown)
• Valli Marty of Norman, OK
• Ken Miner ULC of Norman, OK
• Roy Strom ULC of Norman, OK
• Paul Kleine a.k.a. Yours Truly
• Duane Winegardner ULC of Norman, OK

We will be building two pole churches together with our fellow Lutherans of the Massai tribe. The first picture shown is of the original church and the second picture is of the church which we constructed last year to replace it. The ones we are building this year should be very similar to this one.

I want to thank any and all who contributed to our fund raising efforts this year. For those of you not familiar with our trips, each of the team members has paid $3,000 of his/her own money to make the trip. In addition, we have worked to raise money for construction costs, well drilling and famine relief. Every penny collected will go to the particular purpose for which it was given. Individuals and congregations all across the Ark-Ok Synod of the ELCA have contributed and, once again, Thrivent for Lutherans has provided us with matching funds of $5,000 for which we are grateful.

Here is a summary of the fund raising that was done and we want to thank God for His abundance in providing for these needy causes.

These generous outpourings of God’s gifts always bring the same two responses from the writer: WOW and THANK YOU GOD!

How did this come about?

For several years, the Asbury Methodist Church has sponsored medical and dental teams to do important work in the Morogoro region working with the Lutheran missionaries in this area.. Last year they wanted to send their first construction team and were looking for someone to assist them. Tom Roach initiated a contact to Mary Ann Smith of the Asbury congregation and suggested that University Lutheran might be able to provide some leadership and help. This year, the team wanted to follow up and expand on the relationships made last year.

What will we do?

The major efforts will be building the two new churches. The group will be stayed at the Morogoro Lutheran Junior Seminary is a school for Forms I-VI which covers the middle grades through the first year of college. The school has 380 residential students who are preparing for a wide variety of roles: church professionals, teachers, and other positions not necessarily church related. The role of seminaries is an important one in a poor, developing country such as Tanzania. We will be staying in those rooms while the students are away for summer vacation.

What can you do?

First of all, you have already done so very, very much to bring this hope into reality. Each of the three participating congregations has been involved in fund raising efforts and the results have been beyond our fondest expectations. Counting all the contributions from all sources we will be able to bring tens of thousands of dollars to Morogoro to help with the construction remodeling and mission church building. Additionally, your prayers for our mission and for the safety and success of our trip are absolutely essential. We thank you for everything you have contributed and ask you to keep us in your prayers as the trip unfolds.

What do we hope to accomplish?

Of course, we hope to complete the construction of two churches in the Morogoro Evangelism district, but of far greater importance will be the impact the experience could have on those of us who are going and on the congregations who are supporting us. We hope to expand the bond with the Seminary and the Synod in Tanzania that will remain long after we have returned. We will be carrying pictures of many of you to share with our brothers and sisters there and we plan to bring back pictures, memories and contacts that will continue in the years ahead.

What else will we do while we are in Tanzania?

The last 5 days of the 19 day trip will be an excellent opportunity for 5 members of the team. We will travel by bus for 8 or 9 hours from Morogoro to Arusha where we will stay and visit with Sally and Tom Roach for one evening and then leave on a 4 day safari into the fantastic animal preserve of the Serengeti. After the safari, we will take a shuttle across the border into Kenya and return home by way of Nairobi, Kenya.

Do you wish to keep informed about the progress of the trip?

Each day of our journey is listed below and we will attempt to e-mail the activities of each day for which we have Internet access. So, please check out this page for our adventures each day. Duane Winegardner has prepared a Bible study curriculum for our devotions while on the trip. The chapters we will be covering are listed under each day and you are encouraged to join with us in reading these portions of Scripture. We would be sharing the same Scriptures separated only by miles but joined by faith.

Also, there are some fantastic links listed below that provide excellent information about the Lutheran church in Tanzania as well as about the history, geography, culture and government. of Tanzania. The Yellow Pages of Tanzania are even included in case you wanted to order a pizza from Arusha!

ENJOY!

Travel Schedule, & Daily Journal:

• Thursday June 8 - Traveling, OKC to Detroit to Amsterdam - Philippians 4:10-20
  
  Word from the team says the flights from OKC to Detriot to Amsterdam went well.
  
  
• Friday June 9 - Traveling, Amsterdam to Dar es Salaam - Isaiah 6:1-8
  
  Word from the team says the flights from Amsterdam to Tanzania were excellent.
  
  
• Saturday June 10 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Romans 8:12-17
  
  The group arrived at the Seminary at about 12:4pm, just as scheduled. The power to the seminary was off today, so communication was sparse. A more detailed report is expected soon.
  
  
• Sunday June 11 - Worship (somewhere) - John 3:1-17
  
  Today was our first official event following our arrival, overcoming jet lag and the required lost luggage. This year we only had one person's luggage lost and that arrived today so we have all brought our belongings and bodies together into the same location. Everyone is in fine health, good spririts and really excited about what we saw today.

  Today, we spent about 1.5 hours slogging through the rain and mud on roads that would get even an East Norman Councilperson fired for lack of maintenance. Both Landrovers used 4 wheel drive and it took all 8 of the wheels to keep us heading reasonably in the right direction. All the while, Herb Hafermann is telling us that the rainy season has ended and how pleased he is that we do not have to experience the discomfort of travelling on bad road conditions.

  We arrived at our destination about 10 A.M. to celebrate the dedication of an Evangelism Center that will house up to 4 evangelists who serve 6 or 7 preaching stations scattered around the Center. Without cars or even bikes the evangelists would have to leave their homes and walk perhaps 8-10 miles to serve their congregation and then either return home or spend the night sleeping on the ground or in a home (thatched hut) of a congregation member. With the 4 bedroom, living area, kitchen, bathroom and shower facility, the 4 evangelists can serve several preaching stations during the week with a minimum of walking and then return to their homes once every week or two. These are the evangelists who make 30 dollars a week and raise families on that amount.

  The dedication was fabulous! Every one of our team members was awed and inspired by the service. Perhaps 250 people jammed into a church nearby that would hold about 60 if the fire marshal wasn't looking and about 150 of them were children in 4 or 5 different choirs coming from those various preaching stations. We began the ceremony with the children's choirs leading about 20 evangelists, pastors and the Bishop of the Diocese and Herb Hafermann around the church in the mud and rain for three trips to celebrate the Trinity and the benevolence of God to provide such a wonderful facility. Following the three trips around the building, each pastor and evangelist read a Scripture selection and I was honored to read a Scripture text (in English I might add), and I was asked to cut the ribbon across the doorway to allow entrance into the structure.

  Then we adjouned to the church for a 3 hour celebration of song, Scripture, prayer and thanksgiving to God. Bishop Mameo gave a thrilling account of all the people who had made this building into a reality. What made this so very special for our team was that the entire building was financed by the contributions of last years team. Tanzania 2005 made up of warriors from Asbury Methodist of Tulsa and United Lutheran of Bella Vista, AR and ULC of Norman had provided $16,000 for construction materials and 6,000 of that paid for this center. Bishop Mameo thanked us profusely individually and came down from the altar to shake our hand and hug us for our work and contribution.

  The service had to be experienced to be believed as the singing continues to have that haunting and God-praising effect of everyone. We have several choir members who have a good grasp of choral music and they will confirm my untrained and simple observations that the sound, the attacks, the precision and flawless timing are difficult to imagine. I have tried to tape portions of this and I know the sounds will be a disapointing imitation of the reality. After three hours, Valli Marti said she wished it could have been longer and she meant it.

  Following the service we had an auction to raise money for the various preaching stations and that event was an eye opener for one and all. As persons brought their contributions to place them in the collection box in the front of the church they also brought their gifts to auction. The parade began easily enough with some Kangas and cloth articles and then someone brought a chicken with its feet tied and things then began to go either up hill or down hill depending upon whether you were concerned about the church floor or whether you were calculating the anticipated revenue from the animals. For the sanitation police, the rapid procession of 5 goats and two young bramin steers toward the altar brought images of stains and aromas that did not blend well with the decor. Those anticipating robust proceeds left quickly to find a place outside where the auction would occur and also to leave room for the sanitation police to effect their magic on the floor. Suffice it to say that Alfred Downey does not have a monopoly on colored and etched concrete!

  The auction proceeded nicely and our team members got into the action quickly. Valli Marti bought a goat for 20 dollars. (If you really want to be impressed she spent 28,000 Shillings) She also bought a Kanga and Ken bought a variety of items from kangas to home made soap and Duane and Jill bought a kanga or two. I got into a bidding war with none other than Herb Hafferman on the prized bramin steer that I just couldnt live without. He chased me to 90,000 shillings before he left me hanging. Try standing in the mud of another continent bidding on a steer and you don't understand the language! It ain't easy. I kept nodding my head to chase away flies and bought that hummer before I knew what was happening. I went out and hugged the critter and got my picture taken so I guess it was worth it all. The steer will be given to the congregation we visited last year under the tree where we killed two snakes and had 52 baptisms. They will fatten it until we build them a church of their own next year and then they will butcher it when they celebrate the dedication of their new church. For what its worth they invited me to return for the occasion. Beef... It's whats for dinner.

  While I make an attempt or two at humor to recount our activities I hope you know how spiritually signifcant and valuable these worship experiences are for each and every member of the team. We sing and pray and cry and walk through the mud and rain and will be happy to do it all over again. Duane has been leading us through some very intersting discussions for our Bible studies after dinner that went from 8:30 until 10 this evening. We are able to relate Scripture to what we are living and are enriched by the mixture. Our team has blended very, very quickly into a cohesive unit with everyone seeming to have the same enriching ezperience that we had last year. There is something about the power of evangelism up close and personal that makes so many complicated things become quite simple and makes issues we thought had been safely put to rest become open for reconsideration. Continue to keep us in your prayers and thoughts and everyone wants to tell you all "hello" and "thanks for your support".

  I would like to end with a personal statement of both sadness and joy. Sadness for the death of my brother-in-law, (Eilene's sister's husband). I knew when I left Norman that Earl was very sick and probably would not make it until I returned home. I was terribly sad to read Mark's e-mail telling me of Earl's passing away at 5:30 Saturday morning. I felt so sad and sorry that I could not be there with the extended family of my wife, children and Earls children and grandchildren. We have all been very close for almost 50 years. I felt very lonely and thought several times that perhaps I shouldn't have made the trip.

  As I thought about Earl and the wonderful role model he provided for everyone around him I started feeling better. Stated most simply, Earl liked to get things done and to get things done right That's how he lived his life and he lived it for his God, his family, his community and his country. I could almost feel him saying, "Stick with what your're doing but make sure you do a good job". I am confidant he would have wanted me to follow through on my commitment and so I feel good about where I am. But, I feel even better about where Earl is. He is with his Lord and Savior and I am genuinely happy about that but what worries me a bit is that now he has the time and the angle to better observe how we will be building our chapel trusses tomorrow. I will probably feel him checking my measurements and challenging the rafter cuts.
  
  I hope we will make him proud.
  Good night and God bless you all.
  Paul, Jill, Valli, Ken, Duane & Roy
  
  

• Monday June 12 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Matthew 6:25-34
  
  

  Today is Monday, June 12 and we have just completed a super day of clear sunshine and beautiful weather. The day had about everything imaginable.

  Here is the short version:

  1. The rain fell last night from early evening until 3:30 A.M in a volume not seen in Norman, OK since Noahs flood.
  2. Herb announced as we left for the work site that he had not seen the river this high since he and Noah went on that trip together.
  3. Our work site was on the other side of the river.
  4. Local folks assured us the milk truck had gone through which was encouraging
  5. The bridge was completely invisible and the current was flowing very rapidly which was not encouraging
  6. Herb indicated that he thought he remembered the approximate location of the bridge which was definitely not encouraging.
  7. We took lots of pictures and turned around to find another way.
  8. The local folks told us that they just learned the milk truck had parked on our side of the bridge last night and they had carried the milk from the other side by hand on a walk bridge. Thank you very much for that news update.
  9. We pursued plan B which quickly became Plan C as that bridge was remembered to be lower than Bridge A
  10. Plan C involved a very long drive over muddy roads but did not require a bridge that had problems
  11. Robert had the lead vehicle and slid into a ditch which looked amusing from the vantage point of our car. We stood on the right running board to provide ballast and he 4 wheeled his way backward out of the ditch.
  12. We arrived safely to our job site and had the usual wonderful day.

  The location where we are building a new pole church is where we visited last year and presented several hundred dollars worth of Kindergarten books for the 44 children with one teacher. These were the very first books the children had ever held in their hands and they treated them like pets. They are in the process of building a new church on that site and will be starting a new kindergarten and primary school building in a few months.

  We began by greeting the 20 or 30 assembled people who were either cooking rice and meat for our meal, or were going to be helping with the construction. Robert had previously built the forms and poured the concrete for the 11 pillars that hold up the trusses and roof. Valli, Jill and Ken joined a group of Massai and removed the forms from the finished pillars and pulled nails to save the boards. Duane, Roy and I took turns playing with the new Milwaukee 28 volt Lithium-Ion battery circular saw. We cut boards just because they were there. After last year of taking turns chewing our way through dozens of 2 by 6s the saw was the hit of the decade. We cut boards to make saw horses and got standing rounds of applause from the fans on the sidelines. Seriously, the saw works like a dream and will be valuable for years to come on their future building projects.

  We made a lot of progress on the trusses and also involved the Massai on safety and other features of the saw and several became pretty proficient in its use.

  At about 12:30 we started a worship service because the local congregation had urged Herb to begin the church project with a service of prayer and praise. The service was very meaningful and our team is really experiencing the reason we are here. There were tears in the eyes of a couple of our stalwart souls as a father near death from AIDs and his 11 year old son who has aids worshiped and attended communion. There were baptisms and renewals and wonderful singing by children and adults. I had a chance to say a few words in English which Herb translated. I mentioned that I had been here last year and I told them where I sat in the old church. I then told them how proud I was of them for building a new church just one year later and that I hoped that next year if I returned, that they would have their new primary school.

  Following the service we were again served a great meal and then returned to work.

  I explained to Herb that I had finally experienced the perfect Tanzanian work day. You begin by driving aimlessly around East Africa for several hours, then you have tea, do an hours work, worship for two hours, eat for an hour, work for 45 minutes and then catch the commuter Landrover home in time for din-din.

  You know by now that I jest. The day was an absolutely beautiful blend of everything I like about these trips. The team couldnt be happier and tomorrow we have another great day. After Bible Study this evening the team minus Paul spent several months salary on all things ebony. Im not saying they bought a lot of ebony but I do hope the 777 we are flying to Amsterdam is not carrying other cargo. Those of you who know these people might consider meeting them at the airport with a U-Haul. But such bargains!

  Tomorrow, Ken, Valli and Jill will go with Herb for a worship service at the location where we built a church last year. I have instructed them to take lots of pictures of the church and the folks we worked with.

  Meanwhile, Roy, Duane and I will take turns fighting over the saw. The precision of the cuts and the squareness of the cuts makes for a much stronger truss because nailing can really be effective.

  Did I tell you that I like the saw?

  The best to each and every one of you. Take care and be well,

  Paul, Ken, Valli, Jill, Duane and Roy

• Tuesday June 13 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Psalm 112
  
  

  Today is Tuesday, June 13 and we split our team in half. Ken, Valli and Jill went with Herb to Kievugu for a worship service. Kievugu is the place were we built the chapel last year and they are now worshipping with 130 members regularly in attendance. The three of them had what they considered a peak experience and came home thrilled to the core. Apparently, they were able to meet with young mothers and children and hold some babies. Jill held a very small child born last Friday who was being baptized. The mother asked Jill to hold the baby for baptism and served as an honorary sponsor.

  Jill was on cloud nine for this happy occasion. They loved hearing both a childrens choir and an adult choir who sang beautifully as usual. Also, there were some very needy health and poverty issues with several members that Herb dealt with in his usual style. These encounters remind us why we are doing what we do and how important the church community can be in time of need

  And, the auction turned Ken, Valli and Jill into new careers of animal husbandry. Valli bought a goat, Jill bought the very first chicken she has ever touched and a sheep as well and Ken purchased an animal he named the Holy Goat. Apparently, the goat spent most of the time in the sanctuary on his knees and Ken was touched with its religiousity.

  Meanwhile, Roy, Duane and Paul schlepped back to the building site and continued building trusses. Talk about humility! We were dashed back rapidly to the 19th century technology of cutting wood the old fashioned way with the 4 hand saws we brought. I thought we would use the hand saws as decorations in Herbs living room while we cut our way to Kenya with the Marvelous Milwaukee Machine. Didn't quite work out that way. The Saw giveth and the Saw taketh away.

  Robert (the local staff member responsible for building efforts) hit us with the happy news at breakfast that he couldnt charge the batteries last night because his transformer only kicks out 400 watts and the intial surge on this hummer requires about 508. Gone were the crowds who cheered us on and wanted to take the MMM for a spin. We were reduced to our own sheer muscle and guts and we persevered. We finished all but one truss and then hastened to Morogoro before 5 PM to hustle up a transformer. With much bantering and bargaining we found exactly what we were looking for at exactly the price the guy wanted to sell it to us for. It kicks 600 volts and promises to be everything the Marvelous Milwaukee Machine needs. Stay tuned. Tomorrow we return for a serious test of the MMM and also will try to put up the trusses on top of 10 ft high pillars of concrete. That task is a daunting one. It takes about 8 people to carry the trusses over flat ground. These same 8 people are going to lift those in a vertical position and secure them on top of these 10ft. high pillars with only the end supports touching the pillars. Stay tuned.

  Beautiful weather today and yesterday and we hope the rainy season is over for now. All are well and having a wonderful time. This is a very enlightening spiritual experience for the team and I can sense the enthusiasm and cohesion of the group.
  Tomorrow is another wonderful day. Stay tuned.
  
  Paul, Roy, Ken, Jill, Valli and Duane
  
  

• Wednesday June 14 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Jeremiah 29:10-14
  
  

  Today we built a church! Well, let me rephrase that. Today we finished the last of the trusses by noon and by 5 P.M. we had raised them in place on top of the eleven 10 ft. high pillars of reinforced concrete that had been built prior to our arrival. And, that's not easy. Each truss is 24 ft long and the gable reaches about 9 ft high and my guess is that each one weighs 400 lbs. Nine of us carried them to the first row of pillars, lifted each end in place on top of the 10 ft. pillar and a Massai warrior was standing on a hand made scaffold on each end to help lift and hold the tails of the truss in place. The fact that they were both barefoot standing on the rough scaffold was reassuring regarding their toughness. Then, with poles, 2 X 4's and various and sundry other gadgets we began lifting the gable end to a vertical position. We made 16 ft 2 X 4 poles which were nailed one on each side of the gable. We then used all our guts and ingenuity to lift the monster into a vertical position and used the long 16 ft poles to brace each side to a post that had been dug into the ground on each side of the truss. We used the interocular method of alignment (a.k.a. "eyeballing it") to determine that each truss was plumb and then moved on the next truss. Nice work if you can get it. We would have used a crane to lift the trusses in place but the closest one was New Jersey.

  But, when we finished, what a neat thing it was to take pictures of the group in front of what will soon be their new church. Looking through the open trusses you could see a majestic range of mountains behind the church. All the way home the mix of young evangelists and workers were singing hymns in the Landrover which also contained four team members and Robert. That total of ten is still not the record. Last year we had 11 people with a wheel barrow tied to the top.

  And, since I know you were waiting with bated breath to find out, THE SAW PERFORMED BEAUTIFULLY!! Yesterday we made two trusses in about a six hour day. Today we made one complete truss in an hour. Also, we were able to help at least 4 young workers gain skill and confidence using the power equipment which was the first power saw they had ever seen.

  This evening at 8:30 P.M. we were invited to join Forms V and VI at their weekly worship service in the Seminary Chapel. These are students who might be Seniors in high school to junior college age. They sang about 5 numbers which were awesome. All team members came away shaking their heads about the beauty and clarity of their singing. They had no adult leader and only a drum to accompany them. As we left the church they continued singing until everyone was out and then they processed out and continued singing back to their dorms. We stood outside and gave them a round of applause which they acknowledged with a bow of the head and folded hands.

  So, another day. The weather continues to be beautiful. It is sunny and warm during the day and delightful cool at night A cool breeze makes sleeping wonderful and I had better get out of here to get ready for the 6:30 alarm clock.
  
  All are in excellent health, good spirits and glad they came.
  Later and Blessings,
  Valli, Duane, Roy, Jill, Ken and Paul
  
  

• Thursday June 15 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Ezekiel 17:22-24
  
  

  Time is really flying by for Tanzania Construction 2006. Today was perhaps the most varied day weve had so far.. The team was reunited for our venture to lay out a new church which will be the second one built with our ULC funds. While we wont be able to do any actual construction on this one we at least had the privilege of being in on the beginning.

  We all piled into Herb and Roberts Landrovers and after 45 minutes of brain pounding we were greeted by a couple dozen congregation members who will be worshipping soon in their new church. .They were very gracious and after touring the boma and viewing and appreciating the herd of cattle that are so much a part of Masai culture we walked about a quarter mile to where the new church will be constructed. On this same site is an existing stick and mud church that seats about 30 people. Herb mentioned that this congregation was formed a year and a half ago and last Sunday had 140 members in attendance with 22 children and 5 adults baptized.

  After driving a few stakes into the ground to impress the audience we got down to the serious business of returning to the boma for chai and a type of doughnut. We were received into the dining room of one of the members who had a home that was very different from the usual thatched straw and/or sticks and mud. This was a very nice home with block walls and had very comfortable furniture.

  We then returned to the real process of laying out and squaring the church. The churches are 7 meters by 10 meters with 11 pillars on which the monster trusses will be placed. (Fortunately, they will not be placed there by our team but we will be with them in spirit)

  Laying out the church was a fun process. Our engineers, Roy and Duane, had been salivating all the way to the building site and couldnt wait to whip out their engineering skills and put them to use. We calculated sines and cosines, tangents and arcs, put in GPS readings, scratched lines in the dirt and when we were really frustrated we drove a few stakes into the ground in random locations to indicate progress. After we used up all the stakes we started running string from stake to stake in interesting geometric designs. When we ran out of string we quit and called it a day. Actually, I jest. The church is beautifully laid out and should make for an easy build.

  After this task was accomplished, we all gathered in the small church and held a brief worship service to initiate the church building process. Several beautiful hymns by the choir were followed by the evangelist giving a very inspirational homily (Ill take his word for that) and he kindly introduced the team and asked us from whence we came.

  We then returned to the members home for a really fantastic dinner of roast goat and rice. This was by far the greatest meal we have had in Tanzania and I would buy this one off the restaurant menu. We truly enjoyed it.

  Then, we drove to a nearby well site to check a well that had been drilled by Asbury Methodist of Tulsa and sadly, the saline content is so high that it renders the water undrinkable unless they are experiencing a really serious drought. We collected a couple of bottles of water and Duane ran conductivity tests on the water back at the seminary and it tested out two orders of magnitude higher than normal. Exactly what can be done, if anything, to fix this problem remains to be seen. Duane will pursue this matter when back in the States.

  And, so, we returned to the Seminary with more marvelous adventures in our memory bank. All are well and several team members expressed the sentiment that this has been a life changing experience for them. And, so it should be.
  
  Blessings to all, and be well,
  Duane, Roy, Valli, Jill, Ken and Paul
  
  

• Friday June 16 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 - 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
  
  

  Beautiful weather continues and we appear to be definitely over the rainy season. Everything looks so green and lush compared with last year and we waded our Landrover through a line of cattle that appeared to number around 400 or 500. They were as sleek and fat as any might see being fed on Iowa corn. With enough water this area really looks great. The corn appears to be a near bumper crop and should help end the famine when it is harvested. No corn is fed to cattle since they are all grazed on grasslands and all the corn is ground into meal and used for food. It is a good sight to see acre after acre looking better than last year.

  Today was a worship day and we went back to Mvade where our team worshipped last year. In fact, if you look at the old church on the web site that is exactly where we were today. I thought we had replaced that church with a new one but I got ahead of the schedule. The church in the picture is scheduled to be replaced next year..

  In addition to worshipping we had an opportunity to visit the capped well site that is near the church. Those of you who were unfortunate enough to sit though my power point presentation during several fund raising efforts may remember that it ends with a picture of a blue, capped well that has been sitting there for several years and not being used. Our money which we raised last Christmas triggered the World Bank to put up new hand pump which will be used until the big water distribution system is put in place. The new pump was installed December of 2005 and the well is capable of pumping 2,000 gallons of water per hour and is excellent drinking water. That is excellent news.

  The worship service began at around 2 and finished around 4:30. Herb registered and baptized 12 adults and children and one of the most thrilling baptisms was the 88 year old village elder who walked with a cane through the bush to be baptized. The man told Herb he had 7 wives and 80 children but Herb thought this number might be somewhat exaggerated. However, his wife # 6 was there with him and she said that she married him in 1974 when he was 56 and has ten children with him so you do the math. The significance of his elder status cannot be overstated in the culture. His willingness to be baptized speaks volumes to those who respect him in the community.. The elder is a position of great prestige and is not an elected role but an assumed one. The village reaches a consensus about the person who will be their elder and it is based on integrity, wisdom and compassion. He wears his mantle well.

  As many of you know, we raised $8,818 dollars for the construction fund. After we had cut the check for taking to Tanzania I received donations from friends and relatives and told to add the money to our fund. I took the $420 in cash with me to give to Herb to use as he saw a need. He asked me after the service to present it to this congregation to help them with the concrete work to begin their church. They had the bricks, a promise of roofing materials and saw our contribution as a total surprise and were really appreciative. The village president who is a member of the church thanked us profusely and so to those of you who gave us those late gifts, Asante Sana!. Your money is being put to pretty immediate use.

  We pounded our way home and, in addition to the healthy herd of cows, we had another first. We had a softer thump that we heard under the wheels and Herb stopped to let us investigate. We had run over a nine foot python that was stretched across the rutted road. The snake had actually been killed by someone earlier with a machete so we took a few pictures of Herb and Paulo the evangelist holding it stretched between them. Its actually a very beautiful snake. Herb said that an old man told him that if you ever come face to face with a large python that you should lay flat on the ground with your arms at your side. This prevents the python from being able to coil around you and kill you. I told him I will keep that in mind.

  This evening we had a lovely dinner with Bishop Mameo and several officials of the Morogoro Diocese paying us a visit at the Seminary. We held an excellent discussion of issues facing the Diocese and made plans for future projects between the Diocese and our Ark-Ok Synod.

  Herb bought our bus tickets to Arusha today and that means we are getting close to our time of leaving. I think I can honestly say that the time really flew by and that Tanzania, the mission district and Herb have, once again, their indelible mark on us.
  
  Later,
  Roy, Ken, Valli, Paul, Duane and Jill
  
  

• Saturday June 17 - Morogoro, Lutheran Junior Seminary (LJS) - Mark 4:26-34
  
  

  Today was our final work day and we spent it doing repair work on a pump for a village well. The location was in a river valley area and the well is only 18 meters deep with water at about the 3 meter level. The pump had been installed in 1980 and this was the second major repair so thats pretty good. Robert had taken the pump out earlier and had the major replacement parts and metal work done earlier. Our task was to bust up the concrete that held the pump, set a form and pour new concrete with 4 bolts to allow the installation of the repaired pump at a later date. Easier said than done. Duane, Ken and Solomon (an evangelist) were the stalwarts today with the rest of us playing relief roles from time to time. We got it done and Robert can return in a week after the concrete cures to install the pump. The village will have a huge gathering of appreciation when this happens because they have been without the well for about 2 months and have been using a sink hole that looked better than most of the ponds we have seen but it still is pretty bad stuff. We have seen many Massai washing clothes and picking up drinking and cooking water in ponds that are covered with scum and are being used by cattle also. They try to skim off the scum on top and stay away from where the cattle have muddied the water but.I think you get the picture. A well with pure, clean water can not be properly appreciated until you see the alternatives.

  The local pastor and his wife invited us in for Tea which usually means food. Today was an exceptionally good meal again with Sweet potato greens, ugali, beans and roasted corn. The pastor was roasting the corn on a charcoal fire and when he saw I liked corn he walked 15 feet into his field, picked two ears of super looking corn and propped them up against the fire. No problem with dried out corn here! The ugali is interesting. It is boiled corn flour and has the consistency of a soft cheese. This is my second visit and I have never had ugali before. Every local Tanzanian eats ugali 365 days a year but guests must be served rice which is more expensive. We finally got to taste the traditional ugali that is so typical of Tanzanians diet. It tastes pretty bland but not bad.

  The village president was there and was very appreciative of our efforts on his behalf. The community is a definite mix of Christian, Traditionals and Muslims and the poverty level appeared rather high.

  Herb came back from his meeting with a woman form parliament in a very upbeat mood. The Member of parliament promised to work hard to reverse the decision to forcible remove many Massai from their homes to expand the national park for tourists. Herb felt she really couldnt accomplish that but at least she might help them move and relocate with some compassion. Imagine being told after many generations that your land is needed for more animals so that more tourists will visit and pay their money. And, here we are perhaps adding to the problem by going on safari in a few days and perhaps encouraging the government to pay more attention to giraffes than to the Massai. There are no easy answers as tourism does contribute a great deal to the economy but it doesnt give those people bounced much consolation. Apparently this is evident domain Tanzania style.

  The team is still engaged in super discussion over dinner and work and everyone seems to be leaning every day. I know I have gained just as much from this trip as I did the first one. Be well, and we hope things are going well on the homefront.
  
  The Team,
  Jill, Paul, Ken, Valli, Duane & Roy
  
  

• Sunday June 18 - Worship (somewhere) - Psalm 150
  
  

  We completed our last day on task in the Mission District in fine fashion. We started out at 8:30 and returned this evening at 7:30 so that makes it an 11 hour day. Not bad for one church service!

  We ended our tour this year in the very same village in which our 2005 team began last year. Last year we worshiped under a tree, this year we used a one room secondary school and next year they hope to have a chapel built on 2 acres of land they have purchased. A congregation in California has committed to raising the money to pay for their church. Hows that for progress?

  Last year, there were many baptisms and the village elder has promised that the next week he would be baptized. This year he followed through on his commitment. Last year he sat under a tree behind the altar and watched the proceedings but he wanted to make sure this group had something positive to offer his people. After some strong support for members in the form of education, medical help, etc. he was persuaded that the Lutherans might be worth a shot. So, he was baptized and communed for the first time. Joining him was a 2 month old boy named Daniel who was the hit of day and people took turns holding him.

  There were about 80-90 people crowded into this one room for a 2 hour service. The various choirs were bombastic in the concrete walled room and it felt like a choir of hundreds.

  At the conclusion of the service there was the usual auction and our team members bought hymnals and donated them back to the church for their use. Also, beautiful crosses were given to each team member as a much appreciated gift. Also, I was honored both to be given a cloth wrap signifying my acceptance as a member of the Mass tribe and then given the red plaid blanket and a rungu which is the same kind worn by the elder who was baptized. I was given a beaded belt to hold the elders blanket and barely made it into the last notch, prompting some of our wiseacre team members to comment about me being an exception to the thin as a rail Massai tribesmen. I would add that the elder was 69 and every bit as chubby as I, which may be the criterion on which the selection. Seriously, it was a neat honor and I am pleased with their gifts. I did get a chance to chat via an interpreter with the elder and one of his sons indicated that he has 74 goats 85 sheep and 1,850 cattle which puts him at the 99th percentile of all Massai. I spoke briefly and encouraged him as the newest member to help build the church for the youth and asked him if we came back next year to dedicate the new church would he donate a steer for the celebration. He laughed and said he certainly would.

  We then got a long walking tour through the 10 ft high broom grass via very narrow walking trails to examine the two acre plot. They were all very proud and we took pictures. The elder arrived through the tall grass riding on the back of his sons small motor bike. If he took the time and effort to make it to the site I would guess he will maintain an interest in the building process.

  Now for the sad part of finishing packing, saying good by to great friends and colleagues and dragging 8 tons of ebony out to the highway tomorrow morning to catch the bus. It will be jam packed, we will put 24 suitcases in places where there should be 6 suitcases and then jam 6 bodies in places where there should be 3. We have a 10 hour ride to Arusha with one 10 minute combined lunch and potty break in what may be the worlds dirtiest rest stop. After that days ride we should be in tall clover as we spend a night at Tom and Sally Roachs house.. Tom and Sally are in the U.S. but kindly allowed us to stay in their home before we begin a 4 day safari among 4 legged creatures. It is, indeed, tough work, but someone has to do it!

  I will try to keep plugging away every evening on the internet but it gets spotty from time to time so we will see how it goes.
  
  Goodbye for now,
  The Team,
  Duane, Roy, Paul, Valli, Ken and Jill
  
  

• Monday June 19 - Bus ride to Arusha - Matthew 6:9-13
  
  

The day started out pretty miserably but ended great! Our 9 1/2 hour bus ride was just that............long! But, the seats were better than last year and we each had a seat of our own even though my colleagues don't want to hear about how tough the good old days were.

The day started out with a typical African adventure. We had our tickets, lugged our luggage out to the Seminary gate at 8:30 promptly for a 9 A.M. bus. We were standing expectantly next to our 4 tons of ebony stuffed into our dirty clothes in our suitcases as a Hood Morogoro to Arusha bus fired past us at 80 clicks per hour. He didn't even wave as he went by. My optimistic insight that there might be a second bus coming along was dashed by the young man guarding the gate who knows every bus and basically told us that we were "toast". Robert of the seminary staff whipped out his cell phone and in about 20 minutes confirmed our status as "toast" and we waited as the Hood bus company said they would think of something and call back. While I considered those odds as slim or none, lo and behold, they called back, said they had called the bus, told them to sit on their hands at Mikese and we would catch up with them there. Robert awakened Grant who was recovering from jet lag after a trip to the states and we loaded all our luggage and ourselves into two Landrovers and caught up with the bus down the road. We felt the passengers were remarkably patient and understanding of our situation. They threw rocks at us as we boarded the bus to take our belated seats which we understand is a Tanzanian mark of respect to visitors. Actually, once again I jest. They really did show patience and understanding. I just made up the bit about the rocks.

As the old saying goes, "All's well that ends." And the bus trip finally ended. Benedict from the safari company was there to greet us with a nice sign, a large minibus and took us to Tom and Sally Roach's house where we enjoyed a cold beer and a lovely chicken dinner prepared by Frida who works for Sally and Tom. She will prepare breaffast for us tomorrow morning and then we leave for the Ngorogoro Crater and some wonderful animal viewing.

So..............we begin the next phase of our marvelous adventure.

Thanks and be well,
Paul and the crew.



• Tuesday June 20 - Begin safari in Serengeti - John 1:1-11
  
  
• Wednesday June 21 - Day two in Serengeti - Romans 5:1-5
  
  

  First Day of Safari:

  We left Tom and Sally's this morning and headed for the Ngorogoro Crater which we reach about noon. We rode over pretty rough roads to the top and then rode bumpier roads to the bottom to begin our animal viewing. The crater is a gigantic bowl 10 miles in diameter and 1800 ft deep. In the bowl are every creature in Central Africa except the giraffe. Apparently the Cicacha tree doesn't grow here and giraffes insist on it so they go elsewhere. Our day started slowly with a few long ranges animals spotted but the day ended with a flourish as we had 11 lions sleeping on our path and we pulled within 10 ft of them and photographed them and talked to them and they ignored us. We had to drive off the road to get around them. We also spotted just the eyes and head of a leopard in a small tree on the way out of the crater. They are very rare and difficult to see. In addition we saw wildebeests, zebras, elephants antelopes, buffalo, gazelles, many types of birds, etc. etc. etc. Zillions of pictures were taken and the team really enjoyed the crater. Tomorrow we hit the Serengetti for more of the same and should have even more numbers of each to view. Last year the guide told me that he thought we had viewed 20,000 zebras over the four days we were there.

  Sadly, we miss the mission efforts and our friends at Morogoro but we are enjoying the other God's creatures.

  I'm signing off for a couple of reasons:

  1. I'm tired
  2. We saw a bunch of animals and that doesn't take long to describe
  3. The hotel charges 5 bucks for 15 minutes to use the internet.
  
  
  See ya..........................
  Paul and Team
  
  
• Thursday June 22 - Day three in the Serengeti - Mark 4:35-41
  
  
• Friday June 23 - Begin return trip
  
  

  We did not drop off the end of the earth but we did leave cyber space. The last two nights we did not have interet access and therefore no stories. We are now in Tom and Sally Roach's house enroute to the bus station and our five hour bus trip to Nairobi to catch a 10 PM flight to Amsterdam. We have had a superb safari, 8,000 digital pictures and many good stories. We have had beautiful weather and all are in excellent shape but I have noticed that familiar feeling of "It has been a wonderful trip and lovely experiences, but.............. we are anxious to be home with loved ones.

  This will probably be the last communication from us as we split ways soon. Ken and I leave the group in Amsterdam for a couple of days in Germany and the rest head directly back to the States.

  All in all a wonderful trip and I hope you have enjoyed the stories we have shared. Make plans now to join a mission trip next year and you can be sending the messages rather than recciving them.
  
  Blessings, peace and assante sana.
  Paul and the Crew
  
  

• Saturday June 24 - Returning home
  
  

Tanzania Links:

• The ELCA's information page on Tanzania
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
  
• Photos from Tanzania - ELCA
• Tanzania London Embassy
• BBC News Tanzania Profile
  
• The CIA Factbook on Tanzania
• Tanzania Music
• East African Music Page
• Hip Hop from the Motherland
• The Tanzania Yellow Pages
  
• The Bank of Tanzania
• University of Pennsylvania Tanzania Page
  
• The Confluence Project visits Morogoro