Imani Moja/One Faith - Part 3
Imani Moja/One Faith—Journeying with our companions in the Pare Diocese and Mwanga Diocese in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
~Bishop Amy Current
Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Amen (Swahili)
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Amen
(English)
The prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s promise,
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. (40:4)
There are smooth roads in the Pare and Mwanga Dioceses and then there are some really, really rough roads. When I say rough, I mean bumpy, occasionally jolting, a bit jarring, and often requiring a very slow and deliberate path over a newly made track. Jeeps, cars, buses, trucks, pedestrians, bicycles, and motorbikes navigate these roads together and, frankly, the locals make it look easy and routine. Pastor Wohlers and I were occasionally heard to gasp along the way, and our driver and hosts would giggle and say, “gonga gonga” which translates “bumpy bumpy”. Needless to gonga gonga, this became one of the Swahili phrases that stuck.
So we heard repeatedly, “gonga gonga” as we traversed up the Same Mountains to Gonja Lutheran Hospital. There is one road to the hospital, and it is GONGA GONGA. Gonja Lutheran hospital is in a rural area, and the roads are in poor condition. Patients bring a caregiver with them to tend to their meals and care for the duration of their hospitalization. Most patients come from families who grow ginger, the market fluctuates often, which means many of the 150,000 patients (annually) cannot afford medical care. The hospital, owned and run by the Pare Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), can keep medical fees very low. The hospital administrators and medical staff have a beautiful sense of mission and, yet the mission is bumpy. There is not enough or adequate medical supplies, medicines, medical staff, and the ambulance (which is a minivan) needs major repairs. In addition, there is poor infrastructure in the area for water, telecommunication, and electricity. And the medical team that we met was joyful and dedicated to their patients and community.
After we toured the hospital, a few of our group, hiked down the bumpy road into a grassy area to a shed and met the maintenance person who proudly showed us the new electrical stabilizer, which was a gift from St. Peter Lutheran Church, Grimes. This gift has been a game-changer for the daily operation of the hospital.
The electrical stabilizer
After hearing that I was shown the celebrated gift, Pastor Mark Schlenker of St Peter’s Lutheran Church shared, “St. Peter’s companion relationship with Myamba Lutheran Parish has helped expand the vision and deepen the understanding of what it means to be part of the body of Christ. Through pictures, email correspondence and face-to-face visits, the prayers we lift up in worship each week for Myamba Lutheran Parish are not just words, but tied to relationships with people that are known.”
This gift resulted from a recent visit of a St. Peter’s group visiting their partners in the Myamba Lutheran parish. Thanks be to God for partnerships that result in smoothing the bumpy way.
Blessing the motorbikes
The prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s promise,
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. (40:4)
Two brand new motorbikes leaned on their kickstands just outside the front entrance to the Mwanga Diocese Cathedral. A crowd began to gather around the motorbikes, a brass ensemble (who happened to be onsite for that day’s wedding) roused the crowd and then Bishop Mono began the blessing of the motorbikes. We stood together praying with thanksgiving for these two new motorbikes and for the two pastors who would now have a form of transportation for their ministry, for their families, and for their communities. One bike at a time, a prayer for the bike, for the pastor, and then at the invitation of the bishop, the motorbike’s key turned and the engine roared to life.
Bishop Mono shared that it is his goal that every pastor in the Mwanga Diocese, ELCT, will have a motorbike and once every pastor has one, then he hopes to begin to equip the evangelists as well. Motorbikes create independence for pastors as they no longer will need to rely on public transportation for visitation, meetings, ministry, and even worship. They will be able to navigate travel in the cities, in the towns, in the villages, and in the bumpier rural areas. This is a way to make the gonga/rough places smooth so that the Word of God might be heard near and far. What a joy to celebrate these gifts with prayer, with praise, with singing, and with a brass band!
Bishop Mono fires up the newly blessed motorbike
Until next week…
Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Bwana Yesu Asifiwe. Amen (Swahili)
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Amen
(English)
Join Bishop Current for an online Zoom gathering as she shares stories and reflections on Thursday, February 12, at 7:00 PM. Learn more here.