A Visit to Tanzania's "White House"

We serve an awesome God! He is able to open any door he wants and close any door he wants. He is the God of relationships. Starting with the Trinity he uses these relationships to advance his kingdom and glorify himself. Over the course of our six years serving in DC, Tanzania and around the world, we have seen relationships orchestrated by the hand of God.

 It was about two and a half months ago when I (Craig) was reading The Citizen, an English newspaper in Tanzania, when the hand of God moved again. With surprise, I came upon a name I recalled from my time in Washington, D.C.

The article quoted the Chief Secretary from the Office of the President of the Republic of Tanzania. The Chief Secretary is responsible for every Permanent Secretary of every Ministry of Government in Tanzania. (The Permanent Secretary at each Government Ministry runs the entire Ministry.) The name I read was Ambassador Ombeni Sefue.  I met Ambassador Sefue nearly four years ago when I attended a program in Washington, D.C. about China’s expanding role in Africa.

At the time I first met him, he had just been appointed as Ambassador of Tanzania to the United States. We enjoyed several visits over the next year and a half in DC until he was appointed as Ambassador to the United Nations for Tanzania and moved to New York. We lost touch so I was surprised to read in the paper that he had been appointed to one of the highest positions in the Country of Tanzania- The Chief Secretary.

I have learned from my mentors Dave Farah and Ron Gluck it is the little things in relationships that count. So our leadership here in Tanzania decided it would be fitting to congratulate Ambassador Sefue in person and present him a language map of Tanzania produced by SIL. Our leaders (including Director Liz Thomson, Louise Nagler and Allen Mchake) had a great visit at Tanzania’s “White House” (the State House) and spending time with Ambassador Sefue.  At the end of our time we were able to pray for Ambassador Sefue.

Ambassador Sefue with UTB Director Liz Thomson

It was great for me to see Ambassador Sefue again and be reminded God is truly an amazing God.

Congratulations Ambassador and best wishes on your new position serving your country!

The task for reaching those without God’s written word in Tanzania and around the World is immense but with our God nothing is impossible!

Selous

During our time of packing to return to the states, we were blessed to be able to explore one more area in Tanzania, called Selous.  Selous is one of the world's largest protected wildlife areas, and is larger than the country of Belgium!

We stayed in tents along the Rufiji River which runs through the park.  I think what struck me most about this place was the quiet.  Maybe it was just because we have been living in a crazy, big city for the last year and this park was very remote.  No matter the reason, it was wonderfully peaceful!

(photo taken from Jimbiza Lodge web site)

The park itself is a little difficult to get to, and we were able to fly.  It was amazing to see how the terrain changed so significantly in the different areas of the park.  Some parts were green--around the lakes and the river, other areas very dry and dusty, some areas very rough and rocky.  All were amazingly beautiful in their own way.


Of course, our favorite parts were when we spotted animals.  We really hoped to see cheetah on this trip, as it seems the cheetah have been elusive on all our travels.  We still didn't see any, but we did score with the hyena!

We also enjoyed a boat ride along the river where we saw lots of hippo!

So, does it get any more relaxing than this?!?!  I told you this place was peaceful....

Heading Home, but the Work is Expanding

Several months ago we wrote about our decision to return home to live, but continue to work with our Africa team remotely. Since that time, Craig’s assignment has expanded to include some exciting new opportunities.  Our dear friend, Alemayehu, has become the director of the newly formed Eastern and Southern Africa Area of SIL.  He has asked Craig to serve as his consultant for external relations and legal affairs.

This assignment will allow Craig to work directly with Alemayehu on issues impacting many different countries in East and Southern Africa.  This new position will allow him to pull from his past experiences working at both the international and in-country levels and it will also allow him to continue work that was initiated while serving in Dar. 

Just to give you an idea, in just over one year, Craig has had over 60 meetings with Government  Ministries of Tanzania and Regional/District  government officials , Non-Governmental organizations, Donor nations to Tanzania, National Networks, Church leaders and Universities to serve language communities seeking to bring spiritual transformation to their communities.  All of these opportunities were from the hand of God and we praise him for his faithfulness.

Our journey while here in Dar has allowed us to explore many different areas of this beautiful country in our short time here. Here is a list of places we have traveled: Iringa, Mbeya, Malindi (Kenya), Entebbe (Uganda), Arusha, Zanzibar, Nairobi  (Kenya), Bagamoyo , Musoma, Mwanza, Selous,  and Ruaha.  It’s been a busy but amazingly rewarding time. 

 The new assignment will begin on January 1, 2013. In the meantime, we are starting to pack and say our good byes.  It’s hard to believe we leave in less than 2 weeks.  (Craig will stay until September).  So, after our return (and catching up with much-missed family and friends!) we plan to take part in the Bell Shoals Missions Conference and then do some traveling to visit other friends and churches, and hopefully determine where we will ultimately call “home” for this next stage in our journey.   In early November, we will take part in a program Wycliffe has for missionaries returning from overseas assignments.

It seems like so much before the end of the year!  We are looking forward to our return and hope that we will be able to see everyone soon!  We know many of you have stood in the gap for us over many years and we are truly grateful and humbled by the support and partnership in the work.  Thanks for going on the journey with us!