June 22, 2018
Pictured from Left to Right: Randy, Frank Mkocha (scholarship secretary), Pastor Brandon, Pastor Msigwa (assistant to the bishop), Karla
Greetings Dear Ones,
What a day! We started with an orientation at the main offices for the Iringa Diocese. Did you know that the Lutheran Church in Iringa is made up of approximately 142,000 Lutherans, 104 parishes, over 800 evangelists (who lead at preaching points), and 300 pastors? Currently 70 of those parishes are partnered with a Saint Paul Synod congregation. If you can read between lines, you know this means 34 parishes still need a Saint Paul Synod partner. Talk to your friends!
The Diocese supports the growing congregations and many ministries. Most known by Easter Lutheran is Radio Furaha, reaching thousands of listeners with preaching, theology, music, health information, agriculture programs, and more 24 hours a day. Randy was able to volunteer at the station all day. It was a bit stressful, but we’ll let Randy tell you about that another time. The station does great work with limited resources and low-budget equipment. They have plenty of ideas for Randy once he retires and moves to Iringa (don’t tell Laurene).
In addition, the Diocese coordinates scholarships for secondary and post-secondary students. Over 1,000 secondary students receive scholarships from partner congregations (including 42 students supported by Easter). We are visiting another ministry of the Diocese tomorrow on our way to Nyanzwa—the Ilula Hospital. As if that wasn’t enough, they also have six secondary schools, the Huruma Center, Millions of Trees project, a veterinarian, teach a sewing class, and support the University of Iringa. Much more happens, too, but Karla ran out of paper for note-taking.
Karla and Pr Brandon had a VIP tour of the University of Iringa. We couldn’t get far without someone stopping to greet our tour guide, Pastor Paul Harris. Currently they have over 2,000 students and are hoping for more in spite of many government changes, financial restraints, and limited resources. Once again—tell your friends there is a great university in Iringa! Also housed on the campus is the micro-lending office (SACCOS) that helps low income people get small loans for agricultural or business start-up costs.
What’s a night in Iringa without another meal with Pastor Paul and Sally Harris? We are grateful for their hospitality. They gave us some pointers in preparing for our visit to Nyanzwa in the morning.
This being said, we leave tomorrow at 9am for Nyanzwa. We return from Nyanzwa on Tuesday. We are looking forward to visiting our partner parish, seeing what they’ve been up to, worshiping together, and learning from each other. Please keep us in your prayers as we’ve grown accustomed to running water and pedestal toilets. You won’t hear from us for a bit, but we’ll represent your presence, greetings, faith, and love with our brothers and sisters in the meantime.
In Christ, PBN, Karla, Randy
