Today was an incredible day.

This morning, Trinity member Dave Chatelaine and I climbed aboard one of the Land Cruisers and made our way back out to Kimpungua Lutheran Church, our partner congregation. There, we attended worship with the community.

The worship service was beautiful. The people of Kimpungua have an incredible heart. It is a congregation that is only a few years old, and they have grown to a congregation of over 460 people. And here is the mind blowing part: Of that 460, slightly over half of them are children.

Dave and I were so warmly welcomed. It was wonderful. The hospitality the church showed was a gift. The music in the service was wonderful and Pastor Samwel had a great sermon on the story of the transfiguration.

I had the opportunity to stand up and bring greetings to the congregation on your behalf. And Dave and I presented the church with gifts of friendship. We gave them a wooden cross that Dave made from a walnut tree that had come down in his back yard. And we gave them one of the small ceramic sculptures of Trinity’s chancel and altar, and a copy of “Let Us Be Builders,” the history of Trinity that Marla Holt wrote for our centennial celebration a few years ago. The congregation seemed genuinely moved by these small gifts. Pastor Samwel said that when they see them, they will remember and think of Trinity.

In my greeting, I told them that I am excited to think of new ways that we could grow our partnership. Yes, in a year or two, we may bring a group from Trinity over to visit. but there are also so many little things we could do…videos we could send back and forth…letters by email…video connections between Sunday school kids or adult Bible study groups. The list is only limited by our imagination.

And while right now the current immigration and travel climate makes it impossible, I dream of a day when we can invite Pastor Samwel and perhaps some congregation members to visit Trinity. Can you imagine having Pastor Samwel preach in our Sanctuary? That would be a gift to all of us.

After worship at Kimpungua, we traveled to the Immanuel Cathedral in Singida to participate in a special worship service there. Pastors from all over the diocese were present to celebrate the ordination of four new pastors, plus two “District Pastors.” One of the pastors of the Cathedral told me that it holds 900 people. The place was overflowing. The music was led by a band and worship was led by the Bishop of the Central Diocese of of Tanzania. And our own Bishop, Regina Hasanally gave a wonderful sermon.

Again, we had the opportunity to give and receive gifts, and the ordinations were fun to be a part of.

The service was long. (That’s normal in Tanzanian church culture, but especially today with the ordinations and all of the special guests.) It began at 10:00am and concluded at 3:30pm. After worship was a meal and a chance for fellowship. Then we returned to the hotel to rest and recover from our day. In just a few minutes we are going to gather back downstairs for some casual time together talking about our experiences.

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” – Ephesians 2:19

This whole experience has been a reminder that it is through our faith that we are drawn together into a single community that is not determined by distance, or national boundaries, or language, or skin color or culture. In a world that is on the edge of fracture, that is an important claim God makes…a claim that we can rely on…a claim that draws us closer to others.

I left Kimpungua today feeling like I had a couple hundred new friends. The sanctuary was full of smiles, handshakes, hugs and gratitude. It was, to be honest, a little bit emotionally overwhelming. But that is how the Holy Spirit works. And for that, I am thankful.

Our group will be in Tanzania for another week, visiting different ministry sites around the diocese. However, one other person and I will be leaving the group tomorrow to fly back to the United States. I’ll actually be going directly to St. Louis, for a faith formation conference that I am helping to lead (and that was on my calendar way before the possibility of a trip to Tanzania came up.)

I’ll post once more about this experience tomorrow, probably while sitting in an airport waiting for a plane.

I am reminded: God is good. My experiences today just made my belief in the goodness of God deeper and more powerful.

God’s peace, friends!
Pastor Todd