at the amani hostel

Hello from Tanzania!
Last night we stayed at the Uhuru Lutheran Hostel in Moshi a beautiful place with a beautiful view of Mt. Kilamanjaro. I slept a total of about 3 hours out of 18 hours in flight...then last night after arriving from the airport we got to bed around midnight and slept until 7:15 am
We had breakfast, devotions with Bishop Hougen, then drove 100 km (60 miles) to Moshi, where we stay tonight. This afternoon we visit the Diocese office of the Pare Diocese here in Moshi. The Lutheran Hostel here is nice, but without some of the basics that Uhuru had. Tomorrow we drive to Mbakweni where we stay for the next 6 nights.

One neat story to tell...this morning at 8:30 am we were introduced to Pastor Anna who had walked 6 km (4 miles) then took a bus (early that morning) to see us. See came to express her thanks for the 2 year scholarship to Wartburg seminary that our synod provided. She now teaches Bible knowledge and Divinity at a Lutheran girls school (K-6th gr.).
Hopefully, many of her girls will be inspired to pursue their education and serve the church in various ways. It struck me what a high value the church here places on teaching these young girls Bible knowledge and Divinity (theology) to place one of their seminary graduates in that teaching position.

Mission Trip History

Sometimes people ask why we have chosen to go to Tanzania, a country that is literally half way around the world!
"Isn't there enough need locally to keep you busy?" is the most common question.
"Wouldn't it be easier to work somewhere that is less expensive to get to?" is another.
The answer to both the questions is YES. Both are valid. However, there IS a reason we chose Tanzania.
In 1998, Bishop Hougen of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and Bishop Mshana of the Pare Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania met and made the decision that their Synod and Diocese would become "companions." It would be a Synod-Diocese Companionship. (These terms actually refer to the same thing; the ELCA uses the term Synod to describe a group of churches in a geographical area, and Tanzanians use the word "Diocese").
Their vision looked something like this:
+ To have a cultural exchange designed to help each of these branches of the world-wide Lutheran Church learn more about the global similarities and differences in our denomination.
+ To encourage individual churches to partner up, and begin a more personal relationship and cultural exchange.
+ To help both the ELCA churches and the ELCT churches grow stronger in their evangelism and ministry through these partnerships.
So, the real reason we chose to start this ministry at Bethany was very simple: we had a desire, as a church, to add an international compassion ministry to our local and national ministries already in place, and this was a program that our synod had already begun. We just joined in!
The companionship between Bethany Lutheran Church in West Branch, Iowa, and the Mbakweni Lutheran Parish in Tanzania officially began around 2001.

Handy Swahili phrases

Jambo!
Came across this list of some handy Swahili phrases:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293747-s604/Tanzania:Important.Phrases.html
We're learning some of these from a sheet we got from the SE Iowa Synod, but this includes a fe more.
So for now, kwaheri!

Getting packed

I did a quick Google search for the Uhuru Hostel in Moshi, where we will spend our first night Jan. 24 and found some good reviews and photos on Trip Advisor: ttp://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g317084-d621557-r6175577-Lutheran_Uhuru_Hostel-Moshi.html

Looks pretty nice!

Spent most of the afternoon starting to pack for the trip, and dug out my summer clothes from the closet. With temperatures @ 80 F., I'm packing lots of light clothing. It appears that long pants are more appropriate, rather than shorts, at least for most of the trip. It will be nice to have some warm temps in the midst of a cold Iowa winter. Still need to gather a few photos my family to show our hosts.

Our Itinerary

Leave Cedar Rapids, IA Wednesday Jan. 23 at 12:55 p.m.
Arrive in Tanzania on Thursday Jan. 24

Thursday Jan. 24 - stay at Uhuru Hostel, Moshi
Jan. 25 - meet with Bishop Msangi and staff - dinner at his home
stay at Amani Lutheran Hostel in Same

Jan. 26-Jan. 29 - stay with hosts at companion congregation - Mbakweni Lutheran parish
visit the people of Mbakweni and tour parish

Jan. 30 - visit Bombo Lutheran school and Dindimo Teachers college
stay at Gonja Lutheran Hospital Guest House

Jan. 31 - tour Hospital and then back to Mbakweni

Feb. 1 - attend all day Mbaga Lutheran parish 100th Anniv. Jubilee
stay at Mbakweni

Feb. 2 - stay at Amani Lutheran Hostel

Feb. 3 - Worship at Same Cathedral 7 am - travel to Arusha
stay at Equator Hotel

Feb. 4 - Safari

Feb. 5 - visit Heifer International in Tanzania

Feb. 5 - fly home

Pre-Mission Trip thoughts

Dear Members of Bethany,
Our mission trip to Tanzania is rapidly approaching. On January 23 Paula Casper, George McCrory, Laura Twing, Bishop Hougen and I, along with about 8 others from our synod will be traveling to the Pare' Diocese. We are excited about the mission partnership we are building with the people from Mbakweni Lutheran Church.

We are excited about bringing a banner, photo albums, and other gifts from Bethany to share.
We are also looking forward to returning home and sharing our pictures and stories with you. Pastor Mmbaga and I have been exchanging letters and it will be great to meet him in person. I will be preaching at Mbakweni on Jan. 27 (through a translator, of course). I ask for your prayers for our safe travel, for God to speak through us, and for us to grow in our partnership in the Gospel with the members of Mbakweni. What a great opportunity to see the big picture of God’s work in the world!
Before we leave please send me your thoughts or questions:
Pastor Marty
pastor@bethany.org

Trip Objectives:
1. To revitalize our relationship with the people of Mbakweni Lutheran
2. To develop a face-to-face connection that will help us understand each others gifts and
the contexts in which we serve
3. To discover ways in which we can support each other in mission
4. To learn from the people of Mbakweni
- especially in the area of evangelism and discipleship training

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