SisterCare in East Africa

Women from Tanzania attending the SisterCare seminar
(picture by Mennonite Women USA)

My Sisters in East Africa are some of the strongest women I know! I have learned to appreciate their ability to manage their households and feed their families on a very limited income through rigorous hard work in the fields or small businesses of their own that give a very small margin of profit. Life is difficult, and the pressures they face give very little time for rest and selfish pursuits. But this month, forty women of the Tanzania Mennonite Church, and a group about the same from Kenya Mennonite Church had the opportunity to put their lives on hold for a week to participate in the Sister Care Program given by Mennonite Women USA.

Final healing service, anointing and blessing each other
(picture by Mennonite Women USA)

(The women were encouraged to think of themselves as Beloved Daughters of God who

are individually known, loved, and transformed for use in God's kingdom. We were reminded to love ourselves, care for ourselves, and to invite Jesus into the wounds of our hearts. How do women who have always been there for others, learn the importance of taking care of themselves? How do they make sense of the difficult things they have experienced and still believe in the love and presence of Jesus in their lives? In a society of secrecy and no legal rights as a woman, how can one be healed of the injustices done to them? And how can we, who have so little power, be agents of change in the church and in our society?

Sharing and praying for each other
(picture by Mennonite Women USA)

We, the participants in the seminar, were led by the sharing of scripture and personal stories, by reflective thought and meaningful symbolic rites to accept ourselves with our pain and grief and to allow God's healing river to flow into our hearts so that we then could be "healers" of our sisters. I cannot begin to describe the tears of joy, the celebratory worship, and the quiet peace that filled our hearts. Without a doubt, Sister Care, has and will continue to have an impact on the women who attended and on the church as a whole as this ministry continues. (reported by Gloria Bontrager)