We've Arrived to Iambi Hospital!

I've decided that there are 4 words that I hope to never hear again from our African driver as dusk is beginning to settle in:  "Bob, we are lost!"  What should have been a 6 hour drive from Arusha to Nkumbi Village where Iambi Hospital is located took us 9 hours ... and you haven't experienced bumpy roads before until you've experienced this drive!  The scenery -- the landscape, the trees, the animals, the people -- was absolutely beautiful.  Although photos won't do it justice, I've included a few of my favorites from the drive.

these young men are taking part in a Masai male right of passage

they leave their family and have to survive on the countryside away from home for 3+ months

after this right of passage they may wear red

we certainly passed more livestock on the road than we did cars

a Masai boma home alongside the road

the road washed out road that we drove right through

our fearless driver Bashiri

a look back at the rift wall that we drove up

this sweet girl giggled and giggled the whole time I took her photo

stopping to visit with these kids was the highlight of getting lost

Upon arrival to Iambi we were greeted very warmly by Dr. Julius, the new Acting Medical Director of the hospital.  "Karibu, karibu, karibu," he said repeatedly in Swahili.  This means, "You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome."  The staff had a wonderful dinner prepared and waiting for us up at the hospital guest house and then Dr. Julius and the head nurse, Matron, joined us for dinner.  All in all it was a great day.  

We're going to work our best to send a video greeting to the annual meeting tomorrow morning ... so we hope to see all of our Zumbro friends tomorrow at 9:15am in the Sanctuary (how's that for a shameless plug from over 12,000 miles away?). 

Peace,

pastor lisa 

The Faces of Arusha

It is evening now in Tanzania and Bob, Sue and I are relaxing after a wonderful day.  We had a great meeting with our ministry partners from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, ran some errands, spent time at the market (see Bob’s post below), and enjoyed a delicious evening meal together.  Perhaps the best part of the day was simply being here and driving down the streets of Arusha.  Enjoy some snapshots from our day below.  

As we sit here now in the silence of our own living room the sounds of Tanzanian voices singing and praising God are passing through our windows.  Jesus certainly tells us much about what the kingdom of God will be like, and yet while so much of that vision remains a mystery to us I can’t help but imagine that it must sound something like our living room does right now.  Yes, we have certainly seen and heard glimpses of God’s kingdom today.

Tomorrow we travel to Iambi Hospital.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

pastor lisa

a man with a heavy load

a graceful woman with bananas on her head

heading out for the day's work

selling melons in the market

you don't need a store to have a shop!

a rare view of the hillside through the mist

a workshop making metal gates

just down the road from where we're staying

school children walking home

on the back of a delivery truck:

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Bob's Trip to the Masai Market

I “chaperoned” Sue and Lisa through the Masai Market today so they could shop for items to be sold at Zumbro’s African fellowship dinner in March.  You’ll see here a photo of their haul.  It was fun to watch a non-bargainer (Sue) and a bargainer (Lisa) interact with each other and the sales people. 

Choice quotes:

Shop Owner to Bob (pointing to Lisa):  Your daughter should come into my shop!

Lisa to Sue while bargaining:  “You just stay out of this.”  (Lisa offered $35 for an item that Sue wanted.  And Sue started raising Lisa’s price before the shop owner had the chance to.)

Also Bob (or Babu) means grandfather in Swahili.  After I introduce myself to Tanzanians I am instantly called “Papa.”  :)

Be sure to save the date for Zumbro’s African fellowship dinner on Sunday, March 2.  We’ll share a meal with the Sudanese members of our congregation and have these African items (and more!) available for you to purchase at a silent auction.  This is an exiting way that you can be a part of this shared ministry that we have with our African brothers and sisters.

We've arrived!

Good morning from Tanzania!  Bob, Sue and I arrived safely last night after our 24 hour + travel day.  Our flights were all great and we woke up well rested at the Mwangaza Lutheran Center.  This morning we had a very successful meeting with some folks from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT).  They work for the ELCT Health Department in the specific area of IT.  They have installed computer and software systems like we are hoping to do at Iambi.  We await more information from them later today.  We've just had lunch at a wonderful cafe and are on our way to the market to pick up some items to be sold at the Zumbro African Fellowship Dinner.  More about that later!  

pastor lisa

Travelers Depart Wednesday

On Wed., Feb. 5 Pastor Lisa, along with Bob & Sue Jenkins, will depart for Tanzania.  The goal of their trip is to continue to deepen Zumbro's relationship with the folks at Iambi Hospital.  They have plans to meet with leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) as they look into the possibility of helping to install a computer system for the hospital and/or nursing school on Zumbro's next return trip.  While at Iambi they will meet with leaders of the hospital, Bishop Alex Mkumbo (Tanzanian Diocese), and Bishop Steve Delzer and Kathy Bolin (SE MN Synod).  Please pray for safe travels.  Updates will be posted here as frequently as possible so check back again soon.

We're Home!

 

We made it home safe and sound from Tanzania yesterday, March 20. It sure is cold here! Thanks all for following our journey, for your prayers and support. We look forward to sharing stories with you about the friends we made and the work we did at Iambi Lutheran Hospital on April 14 at 9:45 during Adult Forum. For now, we're going to bed. It's good to be home.

God's blessings as we prepare for the journey together toward the cross and Christ's resurrection in the coming week.

 

Lessons Learned

We’ve had a couple of days to process what we have seen, experienced and done at Iambi Lutheran Hospital since last Saturday. Much was accomplished. The nursing school is several steps closer to being ready to open, the medical lab has great new equipment that will help with diagnoses, the central supply room is fully stocked and ready to serve desperately impoverished patients from the surrounding villages, a website is well on its way to being completed to give the hospital some web presence, and the much of the staff has expressed its gratitude for our visit.

Yet, there is much work yet to be done. The team has identified some key next steps and possibilities for future trips. Training is needed in basic medical practices that will reduce infection and promote better practices. Medical specialists and nurse educators are needed to provide services and training to hospital staff that will increase their capacity to deliver medicine. More equipment and maintenance expertise would help them take care of some of the instruments that they have. The list goes on.

One of the chance visits the team had last week was with the retired bishop of the Central Diocese. He lives in Nkungi Village, where the hospital is. He was sitting in his yard one late afternoon when we walked by. The pastor of the local church, St. Wanzalea, was with us and introduced us. He spoke for about 30 minutes about the importance of our presence at the hospital and pleaded with us to make a significant difference in the village. We talked about what we were doing and our hope to be in partnership with the hospital for several years to come. He talked about the needs of the community at large there as well. It was difficult to hear about all the needs, knowing that we were only able to do a small part of it.

The needs are significant. As we spent more time there, the needs came out of the woodwork. One person wanted funds to help kids whose parents had HIV/AIDS, another person wanted support for their organization that helps the poorest of the poor, another family was looking for tuition help for their teenage son, and yet another person told us about another health care program that was desperate for funds to carry out their mission. The reality is the best thing we can do is focus on the hospital and concentrate our efforts and resources there.

As we leave Tanzania tomorrow, the team takes a little bit of Iambi home with us. We are grateful to those of you who have joined us on this adventure through the blog, and even more grateful for your prayers as we served in the name of Jesus, on Zumbro’s behalf. It has been an incredible journey and I give thanks to God for the team who has traveled here. We have said again and again that the right group of people was assembled and responded to God’s call for this particular trip. Gifts were used ina all kinds of ways, expected and unexpected.

We look forward to seeing many of you in person when we return and sharing more stories of our interactions and discoveries about our partners at Iambi Lutheran Hospital in Nkungi  Village, Tanzania.

Asante sana (Thank you very much),

The Zumbro Tanzania Team