Current work in
Tanzania
Contact
Paul Kleine at pfkleine@ou.edu with
questions about any of the Tanzania projects. |
Tanzania Mission
Build 2008
2005
Trip Archive - 2006 Trip Archive
- 2007 Trip Archive 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 fourth construction trip to the Mission
District of the Morogoro Diocese and we will be there from June 9-27, 2008. 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.
We will be building 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 that we constructed last year to replace it. The one 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 $3,300 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 $1,600 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. Construction Team -
2005 Water Well Fund - December, 2005 Construction Team 2006 Famine Relief Fund 2006 Water Well Fund - 2006 Construction Team 2007 Debt Relief 2007 Water Wells 2007 These generous outpourings of God's gifts
always bring the same two responses from the What will we do?
Our major efforts will be building new churches. We will also worship several times during our stay either under the trees or in churches that have been previously built and we will be observing well drilling sites to see the wells and pumps going in. The group will stay at the Morogoro Lutheran Junior Seminary which is a school for Forms I-VI and 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. What
can you do?
First of all, you have already done so very, very much to bring this hope into reality. Many congregations across the Ark-Ok Synod have given generously to the various causes of debt and famine relief, church construction and water well drilling. 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 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 more churches in the Morogoro Mission 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 Diocese in Tanzania that will remain long after we have returned. 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 4 days of the 19 trip will be an excellent opportunity for members of the team. We will travel by bus for 9 hours from Morogoro to Arusha where we will stay at the home of Pastor 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:
·
June 9: Air Travel ACTS 1:1-18 June 10: Air Travel ACTS 1:1-18 June 11: Air Travel ACTS 1:1-18 June 12: Arrive at Dar es Salaam at 10:00
PM. A reasonably alert (?) group of 4 warriors (Laura, Cathy, Mike and Paul) arrived at Amsterdam at 6:10 AM local time to await the arrival of the remaining group of 3 warriors (Jane, Duane and Gina) who will be getting here in a couple of hours. Then, we get to climb aboard another bird for another 8 ½ hour trip to Dar es Salaam. Why, you ask, did not all 7 warriors travel together? That would have been too rational and there ain’t been nothing rational about this trip so far. I will spare you the details but, trust me, this has been the trip from ……………….. You fill in the blanks. And, I promise not to share any more details except to let you know that the next trip I take to Africa will be by Greyhound bus. In spite of our problems, seven members of the team; (well, maybe SIX of the seven) are bright, cheerful and ready to get on with our mission. We met Cathy Engelkes in Minneapolis for the first time and she is charged and ready to go. We anticipate Herb Hafermann meeting us tonight in Dar and we will spend the night at a Pentecostal hostel before we head out for Morogoro tomorrow morning. I’m trying to get a running start on tomorrow’s chronicle because as soon as we get to Dar, Herb has plans that Mike and I are to join him on a journey to open preaching station number 118. The rest of the team will be able to rest up at the Seminary tomorrow but, for some reason known only to Herb, he has singled us out for the distinct honor of accompanying him. Actually, it is an honor and a privilege to watch another evangelism effort come into being. Of course, each preaching station under the trees represents another opportunity to build a chapel and so, the beat goes on. Tiz exciting. More tomorrow………….Be well and blessings, The Magnificent Seven June 13: ACTS 3:1-16 Arrive at Morogoro
Junior Lutheran Seminary Dear Friends of Tanzania, All is going extremely well in Tanzania. We have completed our first day in Morogoro Seminary and The Magnificent Seven are doing extremely well. Cathy, Gina, Laura, Jane and Duane spent a neat day at the Seminary, exploring, reading sleeping, unpacking and resting up. Mike and I spent the entire day with Herb and the new, young preacher assigned to that congregation opening preaching station 118 at Kambala Maroroi. I stored a waypoint on my G.P.S. for the congregation in case I ever want to find it back in the future. For your information, Mark’s house is exactly 8986 miles from the new preaching station and it is NW of his house. After you hit the equator just follow the signs. WHAT A DAY! Opening new preaching stations is what evangelism is all about and this day was really special. About 30 members of the original Kambala congregation that Duane, Roy and I started two years ago walked get their sisters and brothers off to a roaring start. Two choirs, a quartette and a women’s group of about 18-20 provided the music and it set a new standard in Mission District excellence. I videotaped several of the numbers and they came out very well. 136 people attended the first service “under the trees”, with about12 adult baptisms and maybe 15 children and teenage baptisms. Bishop Mameo’s mother lives about a half mile away and will be a member of the congregation She walked to the church and we took her home to her house after the service. There was an excitement that was palpable and Herb and Luka were overjoyed. To see the sheer joy and excitement on the faces of the children, men and women warms the heart as I write. Of course, the 97 kilometers that Herb bounced us over roads heated up other parts of our anatomies. He made sure that any of the ruts he missed on the way going were hit on the return home. Dinner was held for us and we had a really exciting devotional that is being led by Pastor Mike. Each person shared their thoughts and learnings and insight and it appears we have a special group. While we are quite different individuals in what we see and get excited about, everyone gets excited about something. I can’t wait until we get the other five into a worship setting to see and hear their reactions. I think each member of the team has an excellent idea of what these trips should be about and each knows that he or she will bring back more than they brought and will be happy with the exchange. While we had more troubles getting to Tanzania than should happen to anyone as nice and good looking as our group, but hey, they toughed it out, took advantage of what we were dealt, met interesting people on the plane and learned that 3 hours sleep out of the last 50 hours can be survived. But…………………….since I am the one with the low total of 3 hours, I am checking out for now and will see tomorrow. About the time I land after 9 thousand miles, no sleep and lousy connections I ask myself at least once this question, “Why exactly am I doing this?” Then, we have a day like today and I remember, “Yeah, THAT’S why I am doing this!” I am pretty sure the rest of the Magnificent Seven will feel exactly the same way after they have a trip or two in the bush. So, I repeat, All is well. See you tomorrow. Blessings, Paul, Laura, Jane, Cathy, Gina, Duane and Mike. June 14 ACTS 4:5-20 What a fantastic day! It started out without a clear plan of what we were going to do and it ended up with everyone having experiences that were felt to be meaningful, exciting and worthwhile. I heard 3 or 4 team members say, “this exceeds my highest expectations for the trip already”. Of course, that’s music to my ears? What did we do? What didn’t we do? After breakfast, Herb, Duane, Laura and I had a consultation with a man who will have an important role to play both in our future water well development and with work Laura and her colleagues will do at the University of Oklahoma. Raphael is a talented young man who has a proven track record for honesty and integrity and he knows what he is doing at many levels of the Tanzanian bureaucracy. While the details would probably bore you, trust me; this guy is the answer to a lot of prayers for quality supervision and oversight of well drilling operations………..AND, he thinks Herb Hafermann hung the moon! After lunch, Laura, Raphael and I did some initial planning that will provide an excellent background for Laura’s research project involving water filters and charred bone research. She will get to spend all day Tuesday with Raphael. Cutting to the quick this means help with home use filters that may bring some modest income to villagers while providing protection against water borne pathogens. And……….this means that fewer children might die in Tanzania. And………that’s a good thing! Then, Grant Miller led The Magnificent Seven on a mile march to the Catholic Orphanage behind the Seminary. The beautiful mountain setting provides a background for 50 or 60 children, many of whom were orphaned by Aids. Typically, children whose mothers die from aids are brought to the orphanage for up to three years when they can be returned to the father or grandmother or other family person. Quite simply, these are children who may have died due to malnutrition if they had not be rescued and given the most loving care in very modest surroundings. We saw triplets about a year old whose mother died of hemorrhaging while giving birth. Herb told us she died because the hospital didn’t have any blood to give her during the delivery and that cost three little babies their mother. These visits always tear me up, literally. While, it is so uplifting to see the children flourish there can be a down side. You don’t have to have a supervisor tell you that these children receive loving care. When you walk in, about 15 3-5 year old children will come to any man or woman, hold out their arms and want to be held or sit on your lap. I have never seen a child exhibit an ounce of fear or tentativeness. They have learned that adults mean safety, food, caring and unconditional love. So, what’s the down side? I was stupid enough to ask about the twins that were born 4 days before we visited last year. Leif Francel, who was with last year’s team, held one of the twins and I held the other one almost one year ago to the day. Where are the twins today? They tested positive for Aids shortly after our visit last year and have been transferred to a hospital in Dodoma for treatment. The Sister hadn’t heard how they were doing. For some reason, I lost it and with tears streaming down my face, I quietly left the nursery and sat by myself for awhile outside. In a few minutes, 2 little “goobers” came up to me and one sat on my lap. The other one handed me a piece of hard candy still in the wrapper but I gave it back to him. Then, he reached out his hand and gave it to me again. For some reason, this time I took it and I ate it. I think he thought I needed it more than he did and he may have been right. In the Bible somewhere it says, “A little child shall lead them………and sometimes give them candy” I hope the team didn’t see me cry. After a brisk mile walk back to the seminary we were treated to an “ebony fix” as Herb had arranged to bring Hilary, the gifted carver to show us his wares. I remember the team gamely saying as they were changing dollars into Schillings at the airport, “I really don’t think I will need much money if the only thing we have to spend it on would be ebony carvings. Yeah, right! “Wow, I really do like……….fill in the blank, giraffe, bowl, nativity scene, candle holder, bracelets, etc.” I’m running a profitably scam right now. I give them 30,000 Schillings today for 50,000 Schillings when we get back to the States. Not a bad start on next year’s Tanzanian trip expense. Then, a really great dinner and the food has been much better than I remembered it previously. After dinner, Mike led devotions while Herb and I met with Raymond, Herb’s trusted mechanic We figured out the type of re-built truck that will be purchased and used by Luka in the Construction Ministry. Luka, our really talented and dedicated supervisor, has been spread so thin riding buses, bicycles and walking from job site to job site. Also, gravel, sand, cement, concrete blocks and lumber that have to be delivered led to building delays and higher construction costs. We will be able to get a decent 3 ton truck with some additional welding work for bumpers, racks, and for a heavier suspension system for about $22,000. Now, we have to figure out a way to provide maintenance money to keep the truck on the road. Raymond will go to Dar as soon as the money arrives to buy a truck that comes from Japan as a reconditioned vehicle. Luka is so excited he can hardly stand it. We received these funds from a wonderful source that is truly a blessing from God. Then, Herb and I joined the group right when devotions were over in my room to a chorus of jeers, “Nice timing, Kleine!” Finally, I met with Herb for an hour to share the various funds that so many people have so generously given for the work in Tanzania. He was overjoyed and indicated how much more he could do now that he hadn’t expected to do. Not a bad day’s work I would say. Tomorrow is really exciting. Four of us leave at 7:30 with Herb and 3 more follow at 8:30 with Grant to attend the ordination service of two dear friends of mine, Paulo and Raymond. Each of these evangelists has now completed pastoral training and will be ordained into the ministry in the Morogoro Diocese. They will fill important posts in congregations badly in need of their leadership. And, the beat goes on. Blessings, The Magnificent Seven. June 15 ACTS 5:12-16; 25-32 I can almost hear Eilene’s voice saying, “SUMMARIZE, SUMMARIZE” after yesterday’s epistle so tonight I will be brief. (editor’s note; he lied) It was another absolutely gorgeous day. The weather has been clear, sunny, highs in the mid 80’s with a cooling breeze at nights bringing the mornings down to the mid 60’s. Great sleeping weather-----------Maybe if I went to bed before midnight it might be good to take advantage of the cool breezes. The Mag Seven (plus various and sundry evangelists and staff) went via two LandRovers to Chalinze for the ordination of two young men into the ministry. Raymond Dunia and Paulo Thomas have been evangelists with whom I have worked for the last four years building chapels. Each man is a very capable builder and it has been a sheer delight to know and work with them. In 2005, we were building our very first chapel in Lubungo and were pouring concrete for the 11 pillars that were each 3 meters high. The Massai warriors mixed the concrete on the ground with shovels, then it was shoveled into buckets and passed from person to person along a line of 12 -15 Massai. Then it was raised on a scaffold and dumped into the wooden forms for the pillars and then the buckets were tossed from person to person back to the concrete pile. This gets a little boring after a while and I decided to have Raymond teach me a few words of Swahili and I would teach him some German. I gave him the German words “Pas auf” to use which means “Watch out!” as they threw the empty buckets from person to person. The memory of a dozen Massai warriors yelling “PAS AUF” for the rest of the afternoon flashed through my mind as he and Paulo donned their pastoral garb and had hands laid upon them by about 35 pastors and evangelists and the Bishop to officially usher them into their pastor role. Another memory that he recalled before the service was the great insight I had provided him when he asked how he could avoid hitting his thumb with a hammer while driving a nail. I told him it was simple: Just have somebody else hold the nail! That’s why I travel 9,000 miles each year to Africa; To lay out words of wisdom like that. More importantly, I have memories of both Paulo and Raymond witnessing to congregational members and officiating with the liturgy in services under the trees and assisting with communion and baptisms. I remember each praying with and for people who were sick or distressed. Each has been a loyal and faithful servant now ready to become a full time pastor It was nice to see Herb beam with pride as he laid his hands on his two “spiritual offspring” And, now there are two more pastors to help lighten the load just a bit. The day was filled with pageantry which often takes me by surprise. Usually, worship is simple; under the trees, choirs appearing out of the bush over a period of a couple of hours until a critical mass is reachd (Herb seems to be the only one who knows when the critical mass is reached ) and then he starts the service. But, at official events such as Bishop consecrations and pastoral ordination, all the clergy are in robes with Bishop hats and crucifers and a processional that may involve 5o clergy marching in to start the service. There were four choirs that were beautiful and the service started exactly on time. But…………and, I enjoyed this immensely, 15 minutes after the service started a bus rolled up with 25 Massai from the village of Kambala, opened the doors and all 25 came out of the bus singing and sang right until they got inside and noticed the service had begun. They gradually stopped singing and found places to sit. They are from the villages that we usually visit and they seemed to be saying,”Hey, here we are and now we are ready to start church”. These are MY kind of people. They wore their native garb, sang original Massai songs, engaged in their celebratory “trilling” and did a lovely set of dance steps when they sang. They had missed their place in the program by being late. Not to worry, they worked them in later and they did a bang up job. I loved what they brought to the ordination. They were saying in effect, “ We know this is a real fancy service with lots of people in fancy garb but, hey, this is who we are and we are proud to be a part of the service.” Bwana Asifiwe! Amen! Oh, did I tell you that the service lasted 3 hours and 31 minutes? Well, it did. At the one hour and 15 minute mark I noticed where we were in the sequence and leaned over to the team to say, “The service is just about to start” It was with misty eyes but a happy heart that I was able to watch my two good friends, Raymond and Paulo, and to see them join the ranks of the full time shepherds. Both have a week off before they start their new charges and each will be with us on the job sight this week as we build trusses. I look forward to that very much. I tried to summarize, Eilene, really I did. Good night and God bless from the Mag Seven. June 16 ACTS 8:14-40 I hate to keep starting out by saying we had a fantastic day. So, I won’t. We had a super, outstanding and wonderful day. If you went to the dictionary to look up “The Classic Day in Evangelism in Tanzania” you would see what we saw today. And, the best part is that the team was able to witness EXACTLY what Mission Field evangelism is all about. We had a church service in a stick church in Mugaha that is 46.8 miles from our Seminary. The roads were fairly civilized until the last 3/4 of a mile during which we changed trajectories and directions several times. Along the way we picked up the newly minted pastor, Paulo Thomas, and he was able to perform his very first communion as a new pastor. You could read the combination of excitement, nervousness and pride on his face as he held the communion cup for Pastor Hafermann. Paulo is the young lad who at age 14 with an 11 year old cousin, drove a herd of 130 cattle 3 or 4 hundred miles from Arusha to Morogoro. Some many hired the two of them and sent them on their way cross country. They took turns sleeping so that one of them was always awake. They had to find grass and water for the cattle and scramble for some food for themselves during this several week journey. The thought of doing that at those ages amazes me. His father and mother died when he was still an adolescent and he was raised by a Maasai widow who was and still is a tremendous support for him. When Herb conducted one of his worship services under the trees over a decade ago he saw this young boy singing every word of the liturgy verbatim. Herb mentored him along for several years, found money for him to become an evangelist, supervised him as an evangelist, found money for him to go to Bible College and then the Seminary and, Bingo! ; today he administers the Sacrament of the Altar to the man he respects more than any man on earth. No wonder his hands shook a little bit. Paulo is the one I noticed three years ago and made a guess that in 10 or 15 years he will be in a position of serious leadership in the ELCT. He has ALL the skills and temperament that you could possibly want in a pastor. Bwana Asifiwe! The service itself had all the excitement of the usual Massai Mission Field experiences. Without question the children’s choir of perhaps 30 or so 8 to 16 year old girls was the best I have EVER heard. In addition to the sheer beauty of their voices several things stand out. First, perhaps 8 or 9 girls took turns opening the numbers and each began without a nano seconds hesitation. Second, each number had its own choreographed dance steps with ballet precision. Third, while I have heard well over a dozen children’s choirs in Tanzania each song was different from anything I have previously heard, Fourth, and this really baffled everyone, this group of 8-16 year old girls practiced for 2 ½ hours in the little stick church BEFORE the service started and then the service lasted for 3 ½ hours. That’s 6 hours of almost constant singing. Then, after church we heard them singing while we ate and as we drove away they sent us off with a song Herb said was “Thanking us for coming and wishing us God’s blessing for safe travels’ One of the interesting “add-ons” is the custom of older women taking as shawl or a branch for a tree and waving it over the children as they sing to “shower God’s blessings on them” as they sing and praise God. There are so many subtle and beautiful touches to the Massai worship. We had an interesting experience while waiting for the service to start. (I think half my trip is spent waiting for the service to start but that’s a subject for another time) We saw two boys leading a young goat on a tether and Herb, said, “Paul, there’s dinner—Don’t you want to take a picture of it”. For once, I showed some discretion and decided against it. Soon we saw smoke emerging from a small fire about 50 yards from the church and we walked down to watch dinner being smoked. Before church began, the hosts passed around a platter of smoked goat liver to augment our low cholesterol levels. After the service, we enjoyed a really special meal of rice (now, there’s a shocker) but we also had roast goat, roast beef and cooked chicken. Everyone agreed this meal was a winner. For the statistical minded, we had 112 worshippers, 52 who went to communion with 18 adult and children baptized. Oh, did I tell you the stick church was 12 ft X 30 ft? Where did all the people fit, you ask? Hmmmmmmmmmm. Inside, outside, in between, on-top of, etc. The mix of people coming and going and the goats coming and going makes it difficult to get an accurate read on where people were. I did notice that we were well outside the recommended fire-marshal’s recommended capacity. Speaking of goats (notice the segue?) , we are constantly learning our team members’ talents. For example, Cathy Engelke has made a mark for herself as a “Goat Magnet”. Who knew? We were sitting in church when a delightful little goat climbed through the sticks and under the bench and began nibbling on the hem of her skirt. She discretely shooed it away and it returned with a vengeance continuing to chew on the skirt hem. Finally, a young choir member walked over, grabbed the two hind legs of the goat, jerked it skyward and promptly carried it out of the church as Herb continued to preach. Within minutes, 3 brown young goats appeared at the opening and continued to approach Cathy as if they were seeking an autograph. By a combination of hand signals and planned ignoring methods, Cathy was able to continue worshipping relatively goat free. By racing home for a 6 PM appointment that Herb, Duane and I had with a water well government official, we were able to make it home promptly at 7:15 PM, which is well with Tanzanian limits for punctuality. It was a great consultation and we now have a handle on what we will be able to do. Another great day in the neighborhood and I think it is safe to say that this was the very best day for the team. They really got what they came to see, hear and appreciate about the work of Evangelism. Tomorrow we build trusses. And, they are ready for that as well, Blessings, The Mag Seven June 17 ACTS 9:1-31 Today was a construction workday and the folks were happy as clams roughing up their brand new tools by driving a few high oil coated Chinese nails into Tanzanian lumber. They were getting a bit antsy to do some work and they made the most of it. I will have a few dozen pics of hammer wielders to share. Cathy Engelke is an eccentric lefthander (aren’t they all eccentric?) but she knows her way around the building site extremely well. I got her using the Milwaukee saw and she mastered that as well. Gina McCook developed what I called the Chris Evert two-handed approach that focused on short, decisive chops that were quite effective also. An advantage of Gina’s two-hand approach is that it avoids that old nemesis of amateur carpentering: hitting one’s fingers with the hammer. However, she IS having trouble getting volunteers to hold the nail for her. We are building trusses for a new chapel and the team completed all four very high quality units today and we even got back in time for dinner. We actually were 1 minute late but Herb threatened that if he got back early he would drive around in the bush for another half hour to make sure we arrived a “socially appropriate 10 minutes late”. He said he has a 45-year reputation to uphold of always being late. More seriously, he told me an amazing statistic today. In his four decades of holding worship services in Massai country during rainy season and dry, broken clutches and blown tires HE HAS NEVER MISSED A SINGLE WORSHIP SERVICE. And, you must realize he holds 3 or 4 worship services a week. One time he said they extended a conference an extra day and he had to call to cancel the service but he never missed one due to illness, flood or stray lions in the path. Amazing!!! It rained steadily last night but cleared in the early morning hours and was another beautiful day in the neighborhood We arrived and were greeted with an open fire where tea with milk and a homemade pastry that tasted very similar to my Mom’s homemade doughnuts but they looked like biscuits. Herb refers to them as “Unholy Doughnuts. Today was a special day for Laura Brunson as she was able to spend the entire day in Morogoro with Raphael who has done fascinating developmental work among the Massai with everything from poultry disease control to water and sanitation issues. She seemed very pleased with what she has learned. Tonight, Barbara Robertson stopped by for dinner with the team. Barbara is a staff member in the Morogoro Diocese who came to Tanzania to work specifically with aids issues but as usually happens, she has added many items to her portfolio. She was particularly helpful to Bishop Mameo during his first year as Interim Bishop and continues to serve in many and varied ways in the Morogoro office. She is fluent in Swahili and is a native of Washington State. In addition, tonight Luka, Herb and I met with the architect who designed the original simple chapel structure that we started building 4 years ago. Luka has made modifications since then and we wanted to share them with him. It’s always a good idea to tell architects from time to time, how much you have changed their plans to make them workable. Actually, he loved the changes Luka has made and said he might visit the work site tomorrow to see the structure. Luka left for home riding his bicycle about 3 feet off the ground after all the good things the architect said about Luka. And, he deserved all of them. Why was I there? I have no idea but I strongly suspect Herb doesn’t like to walk back from his office late at night by himself and needed company. I don’t remember working two shifts every day on previous visits but Herb has something for me every night to keep me away from starting my blog until 10 or 10:30. Our devotions continue to go very well, Mike Girlinghouse spent many hours preparing Bible readings, provocative questions and discussion starters. Although, with this group he perhaps should have planned a few ‘discussion stoppers”. The conversations continue to be cordial and deeply insightful. Tomorrow we build again at the same church. We will make forms for something called a “ring beam” that goes around the perimeter of the church at the top of the beams. With the concrete and brick gable ends that Luka is now building we are in need of structural support for the pillars. I will close with a very positive growth statement for the Mission District related to our contributions. For the first couple of years we raised the entire 6,000 dollars for each chapel but that has really changed. This year ULC and friends raised $19,000 and that will have completed 5 ½ chapels when the work is all done in a couple of months. Each congregation is now picking up the ball for everything from a quarter of the cost to two thirds of the cost. One chapel may need an additional $2,000; another may need $4,000 and, as you can see, this stretches what our money can do in a really good way. So, The Mag Seven and our Massai friends say ASANTE SANA for all the good things you have begun among our Lutheran Massai. They are not only deeply appreciative; they are digging deep to help themselves. And, you should see the pride on their faces as they tell Herb that they will be able to pick up this cost or that cost. That my friends are what sustainability and accompaniment is all about! Blessings, The Mag Seven June 18 ACTS 9: 32-42 This was a rather complicated day. Herb dropped off half the crew at the work site and then he went for another worship service. The other half went with a second car to the site where Luka and the rest of us learned a new building concept together. We were building the forms for a ring beam around the top perimeter and Luka had never built one using the original ten foot pillar construction. Based on earlier chapel builds, Luka determined that the pillars were not adequately tied together and that heavy winds from side to side or front to back could pose difficulties. The trick is to build a 9 inch by 9 inch wood form all around the top of the 10 ft. pillars, put rebar inside and then pour concrete in those forms. Sixty braces were required consisting of 2X3’s that were nearly 9 feet long with a 30 inch T at the top holding up the forms. Progress was slow but sure.. Now…………..don’t tell me you weren’t dying to know how to build and brace ring beams! Just keep this information in mind the next time you go to the mall or to an OU game. If it’s a slow day there will be many people who would love this knowledge if you would be willing to share it. One of the regular rituals that I have taken for granted but first time visitors really love is the group of Massai women who bring their infants and toddlers to cook rice, beans and a red sauce for our lunch. They are there before we arrive and stay almost until we leave. There may be 6-10 women and each one will have one or more children usually strapped to their backs or sleeping on blankets. Today one little Goober napped on a blanket with his head resting on a short 2X4 for a pillow. I am fascinated by their ability to start a large pot to boil from a tiny fire that appears to be always just on the verge of going out. How they can keep a couple of twigs and sticks burning for 4 hours is beyond me but they have a steady supply of hot tea with milk for us and a huge bowl of rice and red beans. During mid-afternoon, Laura Brunson and I skipped out and went to Morogoro to attend a Rotary meeting. We have had connections for water wells with the Rotary in town and Laura had met with a really talented man in water and sanitation issues who is also a member so we attended. They are a small but interesting group of ex-pats from various parts of the world and the entire meeting is conducted in English which was a surprise to me. After returning home to the seminary we waited for quite a while for Herb to bring back the rest of the team. They finally rolled in at 8:30 PM which is not a record for Herb but slightly above average for lateness. I haven’t seen him or the late arrivals but I imagine they were hot and thirsty. Today was pretty hot; not really high temperature but the tropical sun was really searing and hot. You can step under a tree and the breeze feels great. Right now at 9:15 pm it is quite comfortable. After I just finished saying in the last paragraph I hadn’t seen Herb he came by just now and told me about his worship day. He went to Mdota and had 120 people attend church under a tree. Bill Scott will remember this place where he entertained a large bunch of kids with soap bubbles while Luka and Herb took a young girl to the clinic before they returned to conduct the service. Today, Herb registered 8 for baptism and began the service when another group showed up with 11 more for baptism. Not to worry…….registrations could wait until after the service. He also stopped by to visit a widow on the way to the service because his evangelist had told Herb about her desperate needs for food and housing. She has just recovered from T.B. and has two children who are unable or unwilling to help her. Herb said that she begged him for some money for food and some way to repair her mud and stick shack that was just about to collapse under its own weight. He told her that she was the third person he had been forced to refuse this week because he simply didn’t have any money to give her. He tries not to hand out money because, as you can imagine, he would be hit with a constant stream of requests in this land of scarce resources. As he sat in my room he said, “But, on the way home I thought of a chapter in Luke and I just can’t refuse her. I am going to take the 200 dollars that you gave me from one of your kind parishioners and give it to her. She simply can’t make it without help”. He previously had planned to give that 200 dollars to a mother for her child’s tuition for school but the widow’s needs were of higher priority. Such is his life every day. He has to balance his time and money so carefully because each and every day in the Mission District he confronts cases of serious health or hunger problems. There are times I joke that I wish I were really, really rich but this is one time I wish that I were. So many needs; so few resources to meet those needs! I will close with the quotation that I use as my e-mail signature. God bless you all and good night. Paul for the Mag Seven June 19 ACTS 10 Today we went to a new site called Mlandazi that is about 28.5 miles from the Seminary according to my Garmin Global Positioning System. Based on the bouncing around on roads that make East Norman look like an Expressway, you would think we were travelling 150 miles to each work site or preaching station. Actually, we have been only going from 25 miles to a maximum of 48 miles each day. This little congregation has an interesting history. It was an early preaching station begun before Herb’s time about 30 or 40 years ago. After it began, a Pentecostal group moved in the area and asked to pray with the Massai which they readily accepted. Then the Pentecostals asked the Massai to be baptized by immersion because then the Pentecostals would be more assured that the Massai were, indeed, truly saved. After a period of time, the Pentecostals asked the Massai to leave and were driven from their own church. Some years later a small segment of the original group asked Herb to come out and begin a preaching station with them at a different place. That little group has grown and outgrown their small stick and mud church and so we and they are building a brick church of their own. Herb says they are now secure enough in their faith to withstand any pressures from other groups and an evangelist is serving them very well at this point. Many of you have contributed both to chapel building and evangelism support and you should know what you have been able to accomplish. The 118 preaching stations are served by about 50 evangelists who are supported by many and varied groups in the U.S. and in Europe. Herb gathers these funds and is responsible for meeting that payroll each and every month. Once a month he stuffs about 35 dollars in Schillings into envelopes for each evangelist. That is their total salary and they will be responsible for 1, 2 or even 3 preaching stations that they serve. The dedication and joy on their faces as we come to build a church with the members of their congregation is something to behold. This year ½ of the Lenten offering went for evangelism support and this money could not be better spent than to support these young men as they minister so faithfully to their people. Each evangelist, preaches each Sunday, rehearses and leads these gifted children’s and adult choirs, walks many, many miles each week visiting people in their bomas to pray with the sick and minister to as many needs as possible. Each evangelist has a cell phone (paid for by Herb of course) and each of the 50 will check in with him at all hours of the day or night. Because they lack money for phone cards, they call him and when he answers they hang up. Then Herb calls them back immediately on his nickel to respond to their questions. Also, he regularly meets with groups of evangelists for Bible Study and for help in sermon preparation, interpretation of the Gospel for the next Sunday, etc. etc. These evangelists are the life blood of the church and any investment in them is an investment in the future of the Mission District of the Diocese. As for today, it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and a good time was had by all. The weather was much cooler and we built four quality trusses. The last one was finished with a hand saw because one of the three Milwaukee batteries seems to be on the fritz. Luka says when you put it on the charger it shows that it has received a full charge. When you put it on the saw it has zero charge. I may need to spring for a new $100 battery for the saw when I get back. Perhaps we can send it with the medical team going in September. While the hand saw reminded us of the good old days 4 years ago at Lubungo and Kivugo it wasn’t fun! Even more importantly some of those 22 inch rips of braces didn’t have those square cuts that you like to see to give the truss it’s strength. Tonight Bishop Mameo and his assistant bishop came to have dinner and visit with the team. He expressed his appreciation very warmly for everything that has happened between the Ark-Ok Synod and his Diocese. He could not have been more gracious as he thanked us but he also expressed very clearly that the Morogoro Diocese must become self-sustaining as soon as possible. As he said very correctly, they are extremely happy to receive a gift from their friends in the U.S. but they must never be dependent upon those gifts. He knows they must walk a very fine line. They disparately need our support for now but they also disparately need to walk alone under their own strength. And, he and all the members of his Diocese take great pride in wanting to return gifts to us. We discussed new directions that we can take in the future and also ways that will involve their church sharing their talents with us. All are well and tomorrow we are off to Mazizzi for a worship service. The days are flying by and soon………………we will be on our way to Arusha and then back to the States. Blessings, From the Mag Seven June 20 ACTS 11:1-18 I will write just a paragraph tonight to let you know that we had a full and exciting worship day at Mazizi. The story is too good to process through my tired brain tonight. Laura and I need to get up at 5:00 AM to go for a half day safari to Mikumi National Park. We are able to hitch a ride on the bus with the Asbury Medical team who arrived in country this morning. Please return tomorrow night, same time same place for an interesting story. Besides, you all need time off from reading my epistles anyway. Cheers and Bwana Asifiwe. Paul and The Mag Seven. June 21 ACTS 13:32-44 I promised you a story tonight and I shall try to tell three. Perhaps they won’t mean as much to you as they do to me; but, I hope they will hold your interest anyway. Story # 1: Yesterday, we worshiped in a 2 year old sturdy brick
structure that was standing 10 feet away from a stick and mud church that was
standing about 25 feet away from a stucco type building. And, here’s the story behind this
story, Luka, our all everything
construction evangelist whom we all dearly love, built the original stucco
building as an evangelists home back in 1998.
At that time he was Luka Rash Story # 2: I mentioned a few days ago that we were able to observe
the ordination of Raymond, one of our early evangelist friends from our first
year in Tanzania. Raymond served the
first communion of his new pastorate in this same service yesterday and we
were all privileged to receive the Lord’s Supper from him. He rode back with us after church and
auction and dinner and told us his story.
In 1992 as a very young Bible Study evangelist Raymond developed this
very congregation where Luka had built the first and second of his
structures. He also started a second
congregation 15 km. away and then a third one about 17 km away and held three
services each and every Sunday and covered the “Big Triangle” as he called
it. He held one service at 10, walked
about 9 miles, held a second service
at 1:00 PM, walked another 9 miles and began his last service at 4 pm and
called it a day. Yesterday, Raymond
was able to see the church he had planted in 1992 grow into an overflowing
crowd packed into this rather large church and listen to 5 or 6 choirs from
all over the area celebrate a church
service. By the way, Raymond started
the day yesterday getting up at 3:00 AM, going to In Tanzania, as in America, everybody loves Raymond! Story # 3: The very first worship service EVER held on this spot where we worshiped yesterday was conducted by none other than Pastor Herb under the trees. He had been urged for several years back in 1990 to come to their area and start a congregation. The congregation told him that they were counting on him to follow through because a Catholic priest had previously promised to provide them a worship service but he got thoroughly stuck in the mud on their non existent road and swore that he would NEVER come back. Herb never backs down from a challenge and he said that he would get there soon. On the day that Herb loaded Raymond and another evangelist or two in the vehicle they had agreed to hold three services on the same day to start all three of the congregations that Raymond eventually developed. Of course, each service dragged on and on and finally when they got to this third spot it was about 5 o’clock and nearly dark. When they got there the crowd had dwindled down to about 10-12 people but he soldiered on and gave them the full 9 yards, or in Herb’s case the full 2 or 3 hours. They missed dinner for sure that night! And, so here are the three stories; but not really. There is actually only one story told three times. The same spirit of evangelism that burns in Luka’s heart resides in Raymond’s heart and flows from Herb’s heart and, as our entire team would attest, that spirit of evangelism flows from the heart of God. Speaking of the team, we had a wonderful dinner tonight with gifts from us to Luka and Herb and gifts from Herb and Luka to each of us. We received some remarkable oil paintings done by this special friend of Herb’s and each of us will have a gift we will long remember in addition to an experience we will never forget. At our devotion tonight each person testified to the power of the experience and, while each person said it was difficult to put it into words, each one spoke fervently about what the trip had meant to them. I say “meant to them” because tomorrow morning, Mike and Jane and Duane and Cathy and Gina board the bus for the 9 hour bus ride to Arusha and on to their safari in the Serengeti the following 3 ½ days. Laura and I stay at the Seminary for the next two days until we board that same bus for the exhilarating ride to Arusha where Laura has appointments set up with research professors and I am going along to provide ballast. That doesn’t mean you are through with my stories,
however. Tomorrow, Laura, Luka, Herb
(we thought we’d take him along because he’s SO good with people) and I go to
Sokoine Ranch where we built the trusses and installed them last year. Now…………..doesn’t that give you something to come back for tomorrow night! And, I didn’t get to tell you about our afternoon at the Massai cattle auction So many stories, so little time! Cheers and Blessings, The Mag Seven June 22 ACTS 15:1-12 There are two main story lines tonight. The first focuses on where we worshiped
today and is aimed at the good people of My reason for making ULC the story line on this one is that we raised $12,000 last year and half of that went to build this church. The local congregation helped with about 2 or 3 thousand so for about $8,800 the church was built. Herb introduced me and Luka and told them that my church had been responsible for the money and for the building team. We received many Bwana Asifiwe’s on that announcement. It did fill me with great satisfaction to see just how much difference ONE church can make in the lives of so many people. Herb says the church has really taken off since the building was built AND since the members now have goals to achieve on their own. They held an auction after church selling two excellent young bulls to start herds that went for $360 each. Wow, I fully intended to bid but, hey, I kept my hands in my pockets at that price. Then they were selling a goat and Luka said, “Now, Paul, maybe you could buy a goat”. Those suckers went for $160 and Luka said, “Maybe a chicken?” Yes, I bought a chicken for 25 dollars and a piece of fabric for 25 dollars. But, the congregation raised enough money to pour a concrete floor for their church in which they take so much pride. As I recall sitting under the little pole structure eating our lunch last year looking at the shell of a church and then this year watching 450 people milling around in and out of the church it left an impression. When I walked out and shook hands with Herb, he said, “You think your investment of time and labor paid rich dividends?” Yes, it did. Thank you ULC. Thank you, God. Bwana Asifiwe! The second story line was the wedding of a young evangelist and his 17 year old bride. The wedding is the reason for the huge turnout because the usual attendance is around 160 people. Herb has been trying to get the Massai to keep their weddings simple and traditional in the Massai way and, of course, they envy the urban life and the things they hear about in the big cities. So, the bride who usually was beautiful with her shaved head, lovely Kanga and much jewelry now was dressed in a shimmering white gown that had a train and she wore a long, curly black wig! Herb had threatened he wouldn’t do the wedding if she showed up in a wig, but of course, he wimped out. The striking thing was the severe solemnity of the ceremony. The bride had her head bowed and her gaze to the floor for the entire 4 hours of the service. The bride and groom never looked at each other during the service. Herb says that is the custom that she should be serious and not distracted by frivolity. Of course, the groom looked around and acknowledged people but also wore a very serious expression. Another interesting twist is that a married couple serves as attendants, or witnesses and really care for the bride and groom throughout the service. The attendant will wipe the brow or cheek of the groom with a handkerchief frequently and the bride’s attendant will do the same plus she is constantly getting up to fuss with the bride’s hair, her veil, her dress, etc. Apparently, they take the “attendant” concept quite seriously. Now, this one may shock you. The groom does not get the daughter’s hand in marriage until he provides 12 cows to the father of the bride. In this instance, Herb said that the father of the bride accepted 10 with a promise of 2 more as soon as they are available. One of the other evangelists has 10 cows and does NOT have such an understanding future father-in-law and is struggling to reach his quota of 12 and will not marry until he does. He had 11 and one cow was killed by a cobra last year while he was in Pastoral Seminary so he is back to 10. This evangelist also told me that if you show up with 12 cows the father of the groom inspects them and if several are deficient, he will reject them and return you to the task of completing the dozen. A particularly touching scene occurred after the wedding meal and the offering of gifts to the bride and groom. The mother of the bride came forward to say good-by and the young 17 year old newlywed sobbed at the thought of leaving her mother’s home. Traditionally, (though not a problem in this case) the bride is NOT allowed to visit her family’s boma after the wedding without the permission of the groom so “good bye” is sometimes really “good-bye”! To update the team, we have gone from the Mag Seven to the Fab Five in Arusha (I hope) and the Terrific Two. We dropped off Mike, Duane and Jane, Gina and Cathy at the bus station and sent them on their 9 hour bus ride. We haven’t heard from them so………..no news is good news. To end on a lighter note, Herb has taken to kidding Cathy
Engelkes constantly and Cathy can return serve in excellent fashion. Cathy came in as a strong Hillary supporter
and Herb has been Obama from the get go.
Of course, for 10 days they jousted over the primary results and Herb
sent Luka off somewhere to get an Obama T-shirt and an Obama pin for
Cathy. She dutifully wore it yesterday
and is worried that she won’t get back into And………………..I’m pleased as punch that Cathy won’t read this blog until AFTER she gets home. I hope she doesn’t hold a grudge! What a great team! I miss the Fab Five already. Tomorrow, lots more stuff and then off to Arusha on Tuesday. Love from the Terrific Two. Blessings, Paul June 23 ACTS 16:16-34 Bus trip from Morogoro to Arusha I know this will break many of your hearts but this will probably be the last blog of this trip. I hope you can find something; soap operas, the political campaign, mowing the lawn or something else to while away your time. Tomorrow morning right after breakfast Laura and I board
the Hood bus for the grueling 9 hour ride to Arusha with one stop of 10
minutes in the middle. Then we spend
two days chasing appointments with people about fluoride removal projects
involving charred animal bones. That
probably takes a sentence or two to make sense to you. This trip has had many and varied projects
from building chapels to pursuing water well solutions to research on water
and sanitation projects. Laura Brunson
is a student in the Engineering department and she has been interviewing
people about sanitation issues in the Morogoro region the last week or
so. In addition, she wants to learn
more about what researchers are doing to remove fluoride form water. While we put fluoride INTO our drinking
water, if it has more than 1.5 mg. per liter it can cause dental and skeletal
problems that can become quite severe.
One simple technique that will remove up to 99% of the fluoride is to
filter the water through crushed animal bones that have been charred in a
small oven. In the Northern part of Today Laura, Herb and a Waverly student and I went to a
Massai meeting that is highly unusual.
Two years ago there was a tribal incident in which a younger warrior
class placed a curse on an older warrior class and this sometimes leads to
some ugly confrontations. The older
group showed some discretion and decided that since they were Christian they
should not return a curse with another curse but chose to bless the other
group. They called a huge 2 day
meeting that was similar to a revival and invited a noted preacher from That was two years ago and they planned last year to hold
another meeting this year and that is today and tomorrow. There were about 2,000 at this gathering
and they were all seated under large tents around a circle about 100 yards in
diameter. A stage had been constructed
in the middle with loudspeakers and a canopy for the special guests. Two bishops were there from the Lutheran
diocese plus several Pentecostal ministers who also spoke. Herb was asked to open the meetings with
prayer, a Scripture reading and a short address in which he made a plea for
Christian unity among all Christian groups.
He said that he certainly hoped that Christianity was not brought to The Massai are always ready to provide a cow or two for the group, so in a grove of trees a few hundred yards away from the gathering enough cattle were slaughtered and roasted over an open fire to feed the 2,000 people. Most of them will sleep outside tonight in the huge nearby fields and they will convene again tomorrow for day 2 that will culminate in baptisms. Herb and many of his evangelists are on duty to perform the baptisms in the late afternoon. After Herb drops Laura and me off at the bus station, he and Luka will continue on to the Massai meeting. I’m sure he will e-mail me with the outcomes of the meeting. And, so, this story of Evangelism, water, chapel building, research projects, Massai meetings and many, many more events will hit the pause button for now. I hope you have caught some of the magic and mystery of life in this small, remote part of Africa. If you got even a glimpse of what an agent of compassion Herb Hafermann is then my late nights and sleepy mornings have been worthwhile. God is at work here. I hope some of this fervor can be caught in our own congregation. God bless you and Good Night from Tanzania. Paul June 24 ACTS 17:22-33 Safari June 25 ACTS 26:1-23 Flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam June 26-27 Flight from Amsterdam to U.S. Tanzania
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