Many thanks to everyone who made donations to help us provide gifts to our brothers and sisters in Tanzania! Before we left we collected handmade bookmarks, decorated bags, toothbrushes and toothpaste, pencils, “Prince of Peace – Bomalang’ombe” T-Shirts, Banner for Mangalali (new preaching point), photo book from 2017 trip, men’s ties, women’s scarves and soccer ball pumps.
We also collected funds (over $1300!) to help us purchase gifts while in Tanzania. Through your generosity, we were able to buy school supplies for our sponsored students, soccer balls for preaching points and primary and secondary schools, rice for Huruma Center orphanage, bible commentaries and teaching materials for the evangelists and pastors, Sunday School materials for the preaching points and devotional materials. We were also able to give small cash gifts to Bomalang’ombe Secondary School and Huruma Center to use as needed. Leftover funds will be used to support additional parish projects.
Gift giving is reciprocal – in addition to amazing hospitality and ongoing prayers, we received beautiful handmade gifts of baskets, spoons, batiks, dresses and shirts, straw mats, children’s drawings and even a live chicken! Since it was too late to get a passport and visa for the chicken we re-gifted it to retired pastor Msula. Some of the baskets, spoons and children’s drawings were distributed at our Tanzania trip recap service on July 21st, and we will make more available this fall on the Sunday of our Tanzanian dinner. These gifts are reminders of the love we share for each other and God’s gift of love for all of us.
