Tanzania Mission Trip: Monday (7/15) Update

This will be a longer post as we experienced many things during these five days.

We have all returned safely from our five day visit to Ilambo.  If we were all honest with ourselves, we were all a bit nervous/excited about this part of our journey, but in the end, we would all say God exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.

It began last Thursday by leaving Iringa and heading northeast to Ilambo.  We drove on asphalt for about 45 minutes then turned onto a gravel road that provided an African massage as our guides called it – quite bumpy, rocky and dusty.

We stopped at Image Secondary School where we were greeted by nearly 400 students with song and dance, then a tour of the school and ending our time with lunch.

Once lunch was complete, we began the last part of the journey to Ilambo.  Fifteen minutes into the drive we met our hosts who greeted us prior to heading up the mountain.  They led us on their motorcycles, or piki piki’s as they call them in Swahili.  We soon began the climb.  Not far into it, one of our 4×4 vehicles could not make it up the hill.  So we all got out of our vehicle and walked for a while.  This is not unusual as the road is very steep, slippery with loose gravel, many rocks and sections of washed out road.  Once we were able to catch up with our vehicle, we continued the drive.  At the top of the mountain, we were treated with a spectacular view of mountains in the distance, valleys below, and a refreshing cool breeze.

We soon began our descent into the valley where Ilambo is located.  As we got closer, we could see people lining the road waving and singing to us.  When we got to the public school, we were greeted by the 400 strong student body – all singing and waving.  When we arrived at the church, we were greeted by more singing and dancing and then escorted into the church where many members greeted us.

We then moved into our “home “ for the next five days – a newly built house (just finished the day we arrived).  Believe it or not, we soon learned that Ilambo had been connected to the Tanzania power grid, and we were treated with electricity!  New house .. electricity .. and, running water which the government had installed prior to our 2022 trip.  Whoa!

After dinner, we called it a night.

Friday morning, we got up and headed by vehicle to Magunga, our first preaching point.  As you are probably starting to see a recurring theme, we were greeted by singing and dancing.  Amazing!  Once we were done with our visit, many of us hiked over the mountain, after we saw the Magunga fresh water source coming out of a boulder.

In the afternoon, we shared the Bible stories of Jonah and the Whale, Noah and the Ark and David and Goliath to the student body of the public school.  We shared the messages in dramatic fashion with costumes, puppets, animal face masks for all of the kids.  Each story contained a story of hope, faith and love in God that we all need every day.

Saturday we visited two preaching points – Mavagili in the morning and Lugolofu in the afternoon.  The morning was a beautiful hike over a mountain, sometimes even walking through clouds at about 7,000 feet of elevation.  The afternoon was a long drive over rolling hills/mountains.  Since our last visit in 2022, the Lugolofu congregation had constructed the walls of their new sanctuary – very exciting!  Saturday was a full day of hiking, singing and dancing.  So much joy!

Sunday was the high point of the week – worship.  It was a three hour worship experience that went by in the blink of an eye.  There was liturgy, singing and dancing (just like home, only different) an interpreted sermon, introductions of key congregants and village officials, then we introduced ourselves, two offerings.  Our hearts were filled to the brim when the congregation gave us each a gift of thanks for our visit.

After lunch, we had our 30 minute partnership meeting.  The Ilambo team shared of the value of the scholarships that Prince of Peace provides to their students and families.  They also shared about future building projects.

Following the meeting, we hiked to our 4th and final preaching point, Megue.  This was the second visit by Prince of Peace to the newest preaching point.  The sanctuary was small, but the building rocked as we met each other.  After the long uphill hike back, we enjoyed our dinner of chicken, rice, beans and lamb.  And soon, our last full day was complete.

Today, Monday, we head back to Iringa, but not before we stop and visit the Illula Hospital.

It will be sad to leave our sister community of Ilambo.  We were all touched by God many ways.  God showed up in the smiles, dancing, singing, sharing, beauty of the people, land and community.  There is a lot we can learn from this place.

Tomorrow we head to Ruaha National Park.  We look forward to seeing God show up in nature.  We will not be able to give another update until Thursday.  Be well everyone!

~ Eric Elton