This year the mission team was sent to the Maswa District of the Southeast of Lake Victoria Diocese (SELVD) where Pastor Odolous Gyunda serves as the District Pastor and also pastors Amani Lutheran Church. The Maswa district located north of Shinyanga, has a population of 344,125 people, served by five pastors who serve five congregations and 13 sub-congregations.
On our first Sunday in the country, we were able to celebrate with Pastor Geoffrey Tenga and members of the Lalago parish, along with Bishop Emmanuel Makala, who consecrated the new Ephratha Lutheran Church building. This congregation was started as the result of earlier church plant/mission outreach to the area.
We accompanied District Pastor Odolous and Bishop Makala as they dedicated the cornerstone of a new church building in the villages of Mwanundi and Labago. These two sub-congregations were started as the result of mission outreach activity two years earlier.
Each morning on Monday through Wednesday the team drove 45 minutes to the village of Mwakidiga, a church plant of the Lalago parish for outreach. Mwakidiga has no other churches. Our Local evangelist Fredrick Jeremia and Pastor Tenga had been doing work in the area in preparation for the team visit. Our group of nine Americans partnered with a Tanzania pastor, interpreters, and local congregation members. They walked to specific areas with a 2 or 3-mile radius of the village to visit all who lived in the area and share a gospel message using the Evangecube or flip chart. We were warmly welcomed in the bomas.
On Tuesday the congregational leaders and Pastor Tenga in Mwakidiga showed us the land they hoped to purchase to build their church. Team members donated enough money to purchase property for this church.Later in the week, the team moved 20 miles away from Mwakidiga to the village Mbalagane for continued outreach. Pastor Tenga asked us to see the property they wanted to purchase. He asked for prayer and help with financing to purchase the land. The team did help with purchasing the land for the build.
As the result of church outreach activities during the week, 1263 souls were baptized in the Maswa District Pastor Tenga, District Pastor Gyunda will have the responsibility for serving them.
One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to a deaconess house that provides housing and sewing instructions to 13 young albino women to prepare them to be self-supporting. We also toured the Buhangija Albino Center and delivered sacks of rice, sugar, maize, oil and flour for their use.
On our last Sunday in Tanzania, we worshiped in Budekwa at the new Imani Lutheran Church that was started as the result of church planting activity two years ago by a mission trip led by Pastor Mike Bigenheimer. Pastor Mike returned to bring the message to the congregation as a part of the 2017 Mission trip. What a blessing to see the fruits of the Lord’s work from earlier mission trips.