Written by Caryn & Jim Josephson
After a delicious breakfast at The Lutheran Center, we headed out to Bomalang’ombe. The ride took just under 2 hours thanks to the new paved road between Kidabaga and Bomalang’ombe. There is even a gas station now! We received a warm welcome before sitting down tea. There was a greeting afterwards in the church, and we received additions to our Tanzanian wardrobe!
The plans for the afternoon changed somewhat because there was a funeral. Funerals are huge and are attended by many in the local and surrounding communities. We were honored to be able to attend several portions of the ceremonies. Before and after we spent some time relaxing on the porch of the church office.
We had a chance to visit the new business center, which includes a cafe (closed on Friday nights and Saturday because it is rented to some Seventh Day Adventists) and three shops: a farming supply/ seed store, a beauty salon and a barber shop. The plan is to eventually have 15 shops they can rent out.
Finally we walked through the village to meet two of the widows (and their goats) who are part of the widows goat project.
After dinner we spent some time talking about our campus planning ideas, and some of differences in worship practices and church life. Our interpreter, Pastor Msigwa, spent time at Luther Seminary, so he was able to highlight some of the things that he thought would interest them, such as parking needs and bulletins.
All in all, a great day! Tomorrow we visit 4 preaching points and visit with Iringa Hope members.