April 2006

Dear Friends who care about Tanzania,

It has taken about a week to get our feet on the ground here in Mwanza, and to get over jetlag and find our way around the city. We've applied for a mailbox, found a couple of great restaurants for eating tulapia out of Lake Victoria, and met some absolutely wonderful people.

We had a two-hour meeting this morning with Bishop Bomani, Assistant Bishop Francis Gunda, the General Secretary Paul ??? and the Medical Director, Dr. Mbwambo. You could not ask for a better group of people to work with or who care more about the welfare of the people - all the people.

We landed in Dar es Salaam with Mary Ellen and all 22 bags and passed through Customs with no problems whatsoever. Thank you, God. We spent a day in Dar, packed up the Lego Truck and started the two day trip to Mwanza. The first night we slept in Arusha. The following day we crossed the Ngorongoro Conservation area (I'd never been beyon the Crater), past the Oldevai Gorge, and went through the Serengeti. It is green and lush here now and the animals abound.

We saw a lion in a tree, a herd of about 30-35 elephants, lots and lots of giraffes, gazelles, cape buffalo, impala, dik dik, hartebeest and wildebeests and zebras, Elands, monkeys, baboons - oh you know - the usual. Wow!

We arrived at Mwanza late at night and collapsed into the guest house we're occupying until one of the other guest houses becomes available. This one has plumbing problems Sele and Magola and Denny are going to fix.

The area where we live is called Nyakota and is about 20 minutes from downtown Mwanza and Lake Victoria. The lake is second only to Lake Superior in size, and has about 3,000 islands in it. More about that, later.

It's green here as it's the rainy season. It doesn't pour all day long, but there are gentle rains from time to time both day and night. But, the sun comes out, too so it's not depressing at all.

We're learning the town - where do you buy an iron? groceries? a ladder? nails, bolts, paint, shampoo? Sound familiar?

This is a rocky, hilly place. It reminds me of Sedona, Arizona as for shape of the land and rocks, but it's lush and green. There are little houses something like Pueblos all the way up the sides of the hills. Now, this may be nice for the folks on top - even though there are no roads up there and it's a steep foot-climb, there is no sewage system, so the folks below, and below and below suffer the run off that continues on down into the lake.

There is hunger and starvation here. Funds are needed throughout the diocese to help people who are desperate.

I'd like to share our Easter with you. We attended the second service at the half-finished cathedral, a big two-story building nicely designed and sporting a new metal roof. The concrete block walls are up, and the pulpit in place, but there are no windows or doors and the finishing inside and outside are not done. This church has no debt, they build as they can, raise more funds as they are able, and continue to build. It's been five years and will last 100, I'm sure.

The service was two hours long, and in Swahili, of course. The regular pastor, an evangelist, and then the Assistant Bishop spoke. The choirs sang in very different ways. One choir had three Massai members. Now, African choirs move with the music, some a bit more enthusiastically than others. The Massai members moved with the rhythm, but different moves and with a sort of shoulder shimmy at the top of each dip and step. It was enthralling. Imagine, a mix of cultures so beautifully in sync and praising God through song.

On one of our tours of the area we were taken to another smaller church being built but with a very active HIV/AIDS clinic set on the grounds. This is because it's by a truck stop and there is much dangerous activity there and the need for AIDS counseling and treatment and education is necessary. The patrons like the clinic because it is small and unobtrusive and private but serves their needs.

We also toured a church that was given to the Lutherans by the Roman Catholics when their new church was done. There is much interfaith cooperation here in spiritual as well as health care and social matters. The Christian community is small given the total population, but growing.

On the grounds where we live is an HIV/AIDS center operated by three separate organizations working together to serve the needs of people near us.

After church on Easter, we went to dinner with the Medical Director, Dr. Mwbambo and his wife, and some members of our staff. An idea dawned on us at this time of New Beginnings that we'd like to share with you.

The ELVD is responsible for the health care on fifty of those islands I mentioned in Lake Victoria. Those people have almost no access to medical care. But, the fishermen come and go, so AIDS is spreading.

Share our dream..... We envision a floating clinic, a boat that could go from island to island taking health care and HIV/AIDS treatment and education. Picture it!! Maybe about the size of a small ferry boat? We'd call it the Victoria Floating Clinic . Mary Ellen has drawn a fish for the logo with a stethoscope in it's "ears." ..."Come with me and I will make you fishers of men"

Other plans....

The Women's Wisdom Center to be built in conjunction with the orphan's homes. We'll go see the land designated for this project day after tomorrow.

The Health Center at Nyakota needs to open as soon as possible. As soon as we are able we'll make it into a women's a children's hospital with a surgery to do C-Sections. Remember, 20-30% of pregnant women here die in childbirth. We have applied for grants, but we need to start work NOW and with minimal work on the facility (rewiring, moving some things around, adding bathrooms) we can open for business. Meanwhile, we can open it as soon as those changes are made to start treating the people of the immediate area. We need: ultrasound (how is that fetus lying?), steralization, instruments, money for diapers, medicine, and other things I'll add as they come up and I'm able to remember them.

God has lead us to a special place, a place of new beginnings. We have learned some hard lessons, but they have prepared us to do the work we're being called here to do. God infills each of us with the Holy Spirit, with the light of Christ within to go forward. We are called upon, shown the way, and given the strength we need. Each of us. Each child born exactly as God planned, to be loved, to love, and to know the love of God. Listen. Trust. Believe.

Please write if you feel so moved. I love hearing from you. It is not always easy to get to the internet when the electricity is on and the server up and there's enough time. But I will answer as soon as I can.

Many blessings,

Paula and Denny