Faith Trekkers Connect with their Tanzanian Cousins
In April and May, faith trekkers are experiencing an hour that transports them to Mlowa, Tanzania and connects them to their Lutheran cousins. The goal of this five-week Faith Trek Rotation is: “In response to Christ’s love, we offer our talents in faithful stewardship to accomplish God’s mission in the world.” In the other four classrooms, faith trekkers are learning to “Use It or Lose It: The Parable of the Talents.” The Tanzanian Partnership Committee felt that this was a great opportunity to introduce all faith trekkers to rich culture of Tanzania through their five senses. Faith trekkers are seeing pictures of the people and places of Tanzania, smelling spices, tasting chappati (flat bread)), hearing music sung in Swahili and touching items that were brought back from Africa.
In addition to learning about the similarities and differences in the lives of children from Apple Valley and Mlowa, faith trekkers are learning that the offering they give each week pays for a child from Mlowa to attend secondary school. There is a Mlowa primary school which educates kids through grade five. There is no secondary school in Mlowa so if you want education beyond grade five you need to attend boarding school. The cost of a year of boarding school for a secondary education (6th grade through 12th grade) costs $300 per year. The average income of a Tanzanian is $350.
To celebrate their connection to their Lutheran cousins, faith trekkers are creating a drawing introducing themselves and we are capturing both the picture and the artist on film. The Tanzanian Partnership Committee will be sending these one-of-a-kind photos to Mlowa so that the kids there can see who their Lutheran cousins are.
In 2002, Christus Victor (CV) began a partnership with a rural Lutheran congregation in the village of Mlowa located in the Iringa diocese in the south central region of Tanzania. The partnership is called Bega kwa Bega (meaning shoulder to shoulder) and we are one of sixty-six congregations of the St. Paul Area Synod which have made this cross cultural connection. Ambassadors from CV have traveled to Mlowa to connect with our Tanzanian cousins four times and the next journey is tentatively planned for the summer of 2010 and currently, the CV Tanzania Committee is researching the possibility of bringing Pastor Lunagelo Mbwilo here to connect with us!
If you have any questions about Tanzania or our connection with Mlowa, please contact Diana Buffie, Barb Damlo, KC Claussen Gubrud or Dawn Youngner. Asante Sana. Thank you.