Mwanza, Shinyanga Tabora

Last week, November 2-12, we were on a trip of nearly 1500 km to consult with the Mennonite church leaders in the cities of Mwanza, Shinyanga, and Tabora.  Mwanza is on the southern tip of Lake Victoria, the second largest city in Tanzania with about 400,000 population. Shinyanga is near one of the major diamond mines in Tanzania. Tabora was a center of the slave trade in the mid-1800’s and is a major transportation crossroads in the western part of the country. It is also where David Livingstone established a home base and owned property the last years of his life. Mangos are in season and we enjoyed freshly made juice and whole fruit. Along the way we stopped to visit retired bishop Joram and Lydia Mbeba. They are both struggling with health issues, he is nearly blind, and she struggles with the loss of her foot in a train accident 10 years ago, in which she nearly lost her life. They assured us of their continual prayers for us.

We have continued to find a lot of interest, even hunger, for leadership training in all these areas, and we were well received everywhere. The reports we are getting are consistent: “We have had to staff local churches with lay leaders who have had no training in leadership and have little Bible knowledge. And some churches are dying out because we have no leaders to put there.” Most of the lay leaders have completed only primary school (grade 7) and are doing the best they can. We have often thought of our own fathers, who did not complete high school but were successful pastors, mainly self-educated through reading and interaction with other leaders. And it gives us hope for these leaders also.

The shape of a training program is coming together. We are suggesting a diocese-based program for new leaders, using experienced pastors as the primary trainers. We will begin with a “training of trainers” seminar in each diocese, to prepare trainers and to introduce them to the curriculum they will be using. We are taking responsibility to develop the curriculum, either using some materials we have or writing new materials.

This weekend, November 16-17, we will attend the Kenya Mennonite Church bishops’ council to discuss the program and how it might be implemented in Kenya. That is only a 4-5 hour drive to the Homa Bay area, also on Lake Victoria west of Kisumu. On Sunday, November 18, a new church building will be dedicated for the Got Kopolo congregation, near Homa Bay.

Personally, we have been doing quite well, no significant physical problems. We are getting adjusted to living in Nyabange, near Musoma, where we have a number of friends from our time here 30 years ago. Last night we were invited to dinner with Marko, our grass cutter from that time. He lives just below us with his family, but now is nearly blind and has some other health issues. He is 70 years old, but his spirit is bright and optimistic and he said “we have been praying for you every day.” His son Simeon has been helping us with our lawn work and is also a good worker. We feel so grateful for good support from many people, and feeling that we are involved in a task that is needed.