Assistant to the Bishop (and Trinity member) Kathy Chatelaine shared Psalm 148 tonight with our group at devotions. I’ve been thinking about it all evening and wanted to share it with you here:

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for at his command they were created
and he established them for ever and ever—
    he issued a decree that will never pass away.

Today was an amazing day!

After breakfast, we drove to the office of Bishop Dr. Syprian Hilinti, the bishop of the Central Diocese of Tanzania. We met with the bishop in his office, signed their visitor book and was introduced to the ministry of the diocese. Then we were given a tour of the facilities, including the Cathedral. It was a wonderful introduction the the good ministry happening here.

After spending time at the bishop’s office, we went to visit one of their ministries, a pharmacy, that works to provide needed drugs and medication at prices that can be afforded by people of low to moderate income. From there, we made our way to Kimpungua Lutheran Church, Trinity’s partner congregation.

We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Samwel Kingu, congregational leaders, members, and representatives from the bishop’s staff. It was a wonderful experience. We began our time singing together and hearing scripture. Then we introduced ourselves to our friends at Kimpungua. We received gifts: pieces of cloth that were wrapped around us as a sign of hospitality and welcome, and took some photos.

Kimpungua was a church formed just seven years ago. And in that time, they have grown to over 400+ members. And of these 400+, roughly half are children and youth. Clearly, the Holy Spirit is at work here!

We were then given tours of the property and got to spend time in conversation. There current building is not complete yet. They want to still install glass windows, and much of the building’s exterior still needs to be plastered and painted. The congregation has dreams of buying more of the land around it, and expanding its ministry, including space for a Sunday School. Some of the congregation’s musicians sang and danced, which was really fun and then we shared in a lunch, provided by the congregation.

I had time to have conversation with Pastor Samwell, and we talked about how the partnership between our two congregations could grow and develop over time.

I was emotionally moved during our time at Kimpungua. We had been looking forward to the day that we could make a face-to-face connection with the people there for over two years. And to be there, in their beautiful space, meeting their people was powerful. As I spoke with them, I let them know that they had been in our prayers, and that we deeply appreciated being in theirs.

On Sunday, Dave Chatelaine and I will return to Kimpungua to worship with them, to greet their entire congregation on behalf of Trinity, and to share gifts with them that we brought with us from Owatonna.

After our time at Kimpungua, we returned to the hotel, where we had a bit of time to rest before we met for dinner and then for devotions.

The day was almost overwhelming. And all throughout, a single thought kept running through my mind: God is so good. The people of Kimpungua spoke very little English. But they did not need to. The smiles, the connections, a few words, a gesture…all of these things pointed straight to the grace and love of God through Jesus. Today, we were the strangers they welcomed, and they did so with their whole hearts.

God is so good. Today I was reminded that there is so much for which we can be grateful. In these difficult days at home, when we only seem to hear bad news…that is a Word that I needed to hear.

Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Thanks be to God!

Peace, friends,
Pastor Todd