Local Tours

Today was a day of visits near our home base of Iringa. Dale and I set out for Tumaini University again to try to make contact with our Deans and get schedules for our teaching. Luckily, I ran into a Communication Teacher from Ohio named Marilyn Bick. She was able to point me to two computer science teachers and recommended I just knock on their doors. And wonder of wonder they knew who I was and were able to tell me that I would be teaching Discrete Structures and Senior Research Project. Dale attempted to talk to his dean and was sort of successful. Both of us will have to return on Monday to find out when our courses are taught and when classes really start.

By 11 AM our Fish Lake group along with Pastor Nixon arrived at Tumaini and we took them on a short tour. The first year students were just arriving and the Dean gave them a 2 hour pep talk while we were there. We talked to some of the students who had just arrived and were able to see their dorm rooms and some of the classrooms. Pastor Nixon's wife works in the accounting office (the only office that appeared functioning) and she is also a CPA student at the University. She stayed after work to attend class.

For lunch we headed back to Neema Craft center. We have now created a whole community of vendors around Neema and the Lutheran Center and it is difficult to get anywhere without an offer of another elephant or basket. After lunch we toured the center. This is one of the few places where handicapped adults can find work and it has been very successful.

After lunch and tour, we boarded the bus and headed to the local orphanage that is sponsored by the Lutheran Synod. They house about 60 students (with dorms and local rooms) and provide school, health care, housing and food. Most of the students are orphaned from their parents either dying of Aids or unable to support their children from other disease. Below you can see some of the kids from the orphanage. Many of the girls are wearing the "pillowcase dresses" we brought.

After that we headed down the hill to the second largest Lutheran Church, Ipogoro, at the bottom of the hill along the main highway. Most of the population there runs small retail stores to serve the travellers along the road. This also means that area is subject to Aids and other diseases brought on by the folks travelling through. At Ipogoro, Pastor Nixon (same as above) has created a dynamic and serving community. He has a center for families that provides health and social services. About 50% of the families in his church are women (widows or divorced) with children. As we arrived, each one of the kids in a Sunday School group held up a sign "welcome Noel", "welcome Sharon", "welcome Dale Styles", and so on. They were wonderful and did a little song and skit about fighting off the Devil.

The Ipogoro Church is growing and Pastor Nixon is building a bigger church next to the already expanded first sanctuary. We had dinner and were able to meet some of Pastor Nixon's family. The evening ended with a trip up the Iringa hill (with its 14 speed bumps).

We next leave for our sister congregation in Wasa. We will tour the church and some of the outlying preaching points. I will try to fill you in when we return late on Sunday.