Posted: 2/7/07
Connecting the body of Christ
Two area churches visit partner churches in Tanzania
 Pastor Stiles standing Bega Kwa Bega. |
By MaryHelen Swanson
Often, the hand doesn't know what the foot is doing, the eye doesn't see what the ear can hear. So it can be with the body of Christ. That's why a mission trip, such as was just completed by two area churches, is so very important to Christians.
In late December and early January, members of Fish Lake Lutheran of Stark and Trinity Lutheran of North Branch, traveled to Tanzania, most specifically, Iringa.
Therein lies a diocese of 66 churches, 62 of which are partnered with churches in the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Partnering doesn't necessarily mean offering money and objects, and in the case of these church members, that was true.
"It broadened my understanding of the body of Christ in an amazing way," said Pastor Dale Stiles of the Fish Lake church. It was his first trip to Tanzania.
Coming back home, Pastor Stiles felt the people he encountered in his partnered church inspired him in his faith. "They are as much a part of the body of Christ as me," he said.
Though they have very little, the people of the Iringa Diocese just want a connection, mission group representatives said.
For LaDonna Olson, a member of Fish Lake Lutheran, it was a second trip. She said, "having been there before, having been there now, and knowing I'll go back, it's all about the people."
"These are dear, dear friends," she said.
More than helping to build buildings, and that is done also, is the building of relationships, noted Krista Anderson of Trinity.
It's Bega Kwa Bega, interjected LaDonna Olson, that's "shoulder to shoulder."
We go there, she added, to let them know we pray for them, and vice versa.
It was the rainy season when the two church groups arrived in Tanzania. Our phrase was "mud happens" said Olson.
It rained often, said Pastor Stiles, it made the bad roads worse. We got stuck many times.
Anderson noted that it took seven hours once to go five miles because of the mud. As they had been at a prison, one of the preaching points, she went on, it was the prisoners who helped them get unstuck.
Each church has a number of preaching points as the distance between villages is so very far apart. Pastor Stiles said his church, Wasa Parish, has five preaching points, but they were hard to get to. It took three hours to get to one that was 20 minutes away because they had to go way around.
Five evangelists and one pastor walk or ride bikes to the preaching pints. Vehicles are seldom seen, much less efficient in the country, therefore, bicycles are very much appreciated. The Fish Lake church has provided four bikes in the past, and most recently, one church member offered to buy a fifth bike, donating the $100 needed.
A bike is an incredible gift, Stiles noted, when it's the primary source of transportation.
Still, the group marveled at some interesting contrasts, such as cell phones in a country with very little technology.
Olson said lots of people had cell phones. But, it really becomes sensible when all that is required is a tower.
"It's a great service," said Stiles, adding that no buildings are needed in a country that has no money for buildings.
It was quite interesting to see the contrast, added Olson, in a country with no running water or electricity.
People might ask why help people who can get cell phones, Stiles said. It's not like that, he went on, people are hoeing by hand, they just can have the phones because it works for them.
For years, Trinity has been donating funds to build the pastor a home. It was just finished before the mission group arrived and they were the first ones to stay in it. The children had to climb up and pour water for the visitors to use the toilet and shower. The pastor moved into the house only after the American visitors left.
It was the hospitality of the people that amazed Anderson. People brought furniture to furnish the home for the guests, and they brought food.
"They have so little," she went on.
Stiles agreed, they wanted to make it so comfortable for us because they know how we live, he said.
They even cooked "meat" something they don't have, because they know that's what the Americans eat.
They expected nothing from us, Stiles said. The people indicated that just the presence of the mission team meant more to them than anything.
They understood the sacrifice the Americans made to get to Tanzania, it made the statement that we care about them, Stiles added.
More contrasts
While in Africa, each group spent a couple of days at a national wildlife park.
To get to the park, the group crossed a river. But what awaited them on the other side astounded the groups.
It was a very plush camp, Stiles said. You had everything you needed. You went out on safaris and saw the wild animals such as lions, zebras, elephants, etc.
The irony here is that most people in Tanzania never get to see those animals. While there are no fences around the wildlife parks, the animals are pretty much confined to certain areas because if they roamed freely, the people would kill them for food.
Anderson was awed at the contrast between the plush camp and the stark poverty of the villages.
It makes us appreciate so much what we have, Pastor Stiles said, "I don't have to walk to Cambridge carrying something on my back or my head," he said.
LaDonna Olson jumped in, though, to add that the people in Tanzania don't consider themselves poor, they don't see that contrast in their own country, she said.
The people Fish Lake members visited work hard, their daily life is centered on growing food, and they work the fields around them all day.
But in the village visited by the Trinity group there was nothing to do because everything had been flooded out. Their village members were Maasai people, herders. Many were Christians. Coming off of a break, the children were eager to get back to school.
Anderson noted how interesting it was to converse with the Maasai people. You have to go through a huge array of pleasantries before asking what you want. You need a good conversation first, she said.
Time is meaningless, they all agreed. Watches and clocks are not needed. The only time the pastor's new watch might have come in handy was when a vendor in a market wanted to take it in payment for his wares.
If church is at 7 o'clock, the service might start at 8, pastor said. "They could teach us a lot about time ... and relationships."
Olson's 9th-grade son Chris was along and felt very comfortable and welcomed, his mother said. Olson's other children, Jenni, 21, and Matt, 19, also went with the group.
What do we do for them
The American churches can do so much for so little for these people. A school dorm for 16 can be built with $3,000. We can send a child to school for a year for $350.
For $1,500, we can send a young person to college for a year. And they need and want an education.
The local hospital needs American doctors and nurses and housing for them. Some buildings stand empty for lack of staff.
The biggest areas of service at the hospital are bus accidents, and care with HIV-AIDS patients and OB/GYN. To encourage AIDS patients, (who often are too ashamed to come in) to come to the hospital, the entrance is set up so no one will know what they are there for. There are free drugs available.
Now what
What do we do with all this knowledge now, pondered the pastor. How do we get our congregations excited, to see the needs without having been there? He had heard about the people and their needs before, but it wasn't until he went there that he really saw them.
Still, the word is coming home. Three members of Fish Lake sent a gift of 100,000 shillings with the team, that's about $80. It was monumental to a congregation whose offering from 200 people was 50 cents. They said they had no gifts for us, Pastor Stiles said, but they gave us so much love, hospitality and warmth.
In spite of saying they had nothing to give, the people found gifts to present to the Americans. It was overwhelming the stuff they gave us, said Anderson. One family even gave the beaded gourd that they used everyday. "How do you take something like that," Anderson said.
It takes $1,000/year to partner with a congregation in the Iringa Diocese. It takes a trip to see them face to face to learn that we are all part of the body of Christ. And that's priceless, just ask the folks who've been there.
Team members from Trinity: Krista Anderson, Justin Anderson, Jenny Franklin, Dave Franklin and Ann Tanko; from Fish Lake: Pastor Dale Stiles, Kent Saylor, Matt, Jenni, Chris and LaDonna Olson, Jeanne Hall, Molly Bernhagen and Noel and Sharon Petit.
Comment from Carol Evers, 2/8/07
Inspiring great ariticle,how thankful these people are just to have a connection and know that their being prayed for,and how with the little they have they still give
Comment from Jeannie Hall, 2/8/07
Awesome article!! I have to agree, there's nothing that beats going to Africa, seeing and hearing the (needs)opportunities first hand. It has made me decide ways that I plan on helping. I have thought of two ways my husband and I are planning to help. I hope we can inspire others during our African Sunday (2/11/2007) to take an opportunity to think and act globally as well.
Comment from Gordy Hagfors, 2/9/07
I am thankful for reading and digesting some of the information about your trip to Africa. I am sure there is more to tell about the trip and I would like to hear some more. Thanks to all who took the time and finances to go and serve the Lord in Africa and help us here at Fish Lake Lutheran to understand a little about what takes place there in Africa and to learn about some of their needs.
Comment from cathy kurtz, 2/12/07
The article in the paper was very informative but the story written by the Fish Lake parishioner who went on the trip was totally awesome. I can't stop thinking about the people in Africa and I work with allot of them that are living here. They are hard workers and struggle to learn about the clock, especially time clocks.
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