A Final Word from Annica

Hi everyone, we are home and it is nice. I love the snow! It is great to see Casey! And to sleep in my own bed! But there is also a lot that I miss from Africa. Like, I miss the girls from the orphanage - Less, Sister and Esta. I miss all the people from the market. I miss all the people from the Massai Market like Magnus, Lydia, Helena and Joyce. I miss all the fresh fruit like mangos, bananas, pineapples and all that stuff! 

I miss so much about Africa but I am glad to be home and have electricity all the time, water all the time, no leaky roofs, seeing Casey everyday, sleeping in my own bed every night and going out in the snow all the time!

We were really tired the first week or so we were home. The first day we were home we all went to bed at six-thirty and woke up at five. It went this way for a while. It started to get better and now we are back on Minnesota time!

Christmas was great. I got my own camera! I have taken tons of pictures already! It was my little cousin Linnea's first Christmas. That was very fun! On new year’s eve I stayed up till midnight at my aunt and uncle's house with the rest of my family. We played a REALLY fun game called Quelf!

More recently we started skiing. I started skate skiing and I learned that skate skiing takes a lot more energy then classic skiing! It has been really fun around here!

Goodbye,

Annica!

Last words from Caleb

Hey folks:)

I am very happy to be back and to see all my friends, family and my dog. Casey was pretty depressed because he had been with his friend Sport for 3 months. Casey didn’t eat for 3 days after we brought him home.

Things that I will miss about Africa: very wonderful weather, amazing friends we met, walking everywhere, and speaking Swahili (I said Asante to the checkout lady at Target the other day).

Things I’m happy to have here: friends and family, electricity and water all the time, and TV.

            Since our sabbatical is over we are getting back to church and all the running around.

We went to confirmation on Wednesday and it’s our first Sunday back this Sunday.
                                         This will be my last blog post.
                                           Thanks so much for reading.

                                                          Caleb

Karibu, Friends and Family!

Wow!  What a fun night we had our home last night.  We invited people over to see us and we had about 20 people show up!  It was so nice to see you all and to catch up, and we know there are others we'd love to see who weren't able to make it this time.  We made lots of Christmas cookies had hot apple cider and enjoyed catching up with one another.  Thank you!  We even had one African woman with us - Emelda - who became a friend of Fish Lake Lutheran's several years ago. 

We are enjoying the relaxed time of living and preparing for Christmas.  Trying to decide where to worship on Sundays and for Christmas is a new experience. 

We are excited to spend good quality time with extended family and friends over the holidays and to begin back at Fish Lake Lutheran on January 2. 2013!

We are still without internet at our home, so we are at my brother's now using his!  When we get it at home, we will reflect more on our time in Iringa, our return home, and our expected return to ministry.

Tonight we head out into the cold at the Holidazzle Parade in downtown Mpls.  Not quite the Tanzanian climate we have become used to, but we are hearty Minnesotans and have re-acclamated quite well. 

Have a blessed and a merry Christmas.

Peace and love to you all,

Dale

We're Home!

Well, here we are - home - safe and sound in our cozy little home in snowy, rural MN!

Everything is re-connected except for our internet!  Century Link has NOT been easy to work with for the reconnection - needless to say - after 17 years of being their customers - we are switching our internet and phone service.  So it will be a few days before we get online at home.

So, I will update more about our trip home later - but briefly - it was uneventful - lots of travel - great flights and smooth layover.  We spent the afternoon on layover in Amsterdam visiting the Anne Frank House/Museum.  That was an adventure in and of itself!  See pics on facebook.  It was fun figuring out the Amsterdam public train/tram systerm that brought us from the airport to Central Station in downtown Amsterdam. 

The Anne Frank House was cool.  The kids have read the Diary and were eager to see the House.  A great learning experience for us all.  More thoughts on that to come later.

For now - we would love to see all of you!  I know that's not possible, but for whoever can make it, we are having a little get-to-together at our home tomorrow night (Friday) to catch up with one another in person.  We went to get a christmas tree tonight so at least we'll be a little bit decorated.  We will be making christmas cookies as well, if you'd like to join in.  It will be very casual and a fun opportunity to see some of you.  Come anytime after 6pm.

Until we get internet at home - have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

We'll continue updating our blog until the end of my sabbatical and after my return to Fish Lake Lutheran on January 2.

Missing Africa, but happy to be home.

Dale

Headed Home?

I thought I would share a few thoughts before we headed back to Minnesota. Tonight we had our last dinner with the seven of us: Chips Mayai and pineapple. (FYI- Chips Mayai is a very self-explanatory title for this common Tanzanian dish. "Chips" the word for french fries which are always chunks of potato-no skinny fast food fries here. And eggs-"mayai" So really a fancy word for an omelet.) We used our "number system" for the last time. As you can imagine-it took a long time. After we finished hearing about everyone's day, I asked the group how they might answer the question "What was the best thing about Africa?" Quite expectantly they all gave me looks and groans amounting to "How can I possibly sum up three months of amazing experiences (wonderful and frustrating) into a simple answer?"
It was however a good conversation starter to talk about how far we have come from the thoughts and assumptions we had when we first arrived in Iringa.

For example-you might look back an an early blog Noel wrote about how we went into a restaurant for dinner early in our trip to be each given a different page of a menu with lots of different options. Only to be told when ordering that the options were "Chicken and Rice, Beef and Rice, or Fish and Rice"  Now after three months we don't even ask to see a menu in small, local establishments. We just assume (and usually correctly so) the options are Chicken/Rice and Fish/Rice. Sometimes Beef and Rice and sometimes Ugali instead of rice if you are feeling adventuresome.  No "sinene" or grasshoppers for us.

We then had our last night of milkshakes, made by our own Masaai warrior (Caleb). Now if only we could get him to wear a large plaid cloth as a dress and cute white sandals. He has done a great job making our milkshakes since the place with the Maasi waiter has had a broken down milkshake machine. They tell us it is ordered, we think is somewhere in Dar, which is the standard answer to any question you might ask..."It's coming from Dar."  We toasted the end of our trip with milkshakes.

We then gathered for a time of prayer and communion to close out or trip. We each talked about one person that we met that will be in our prayers. We limited it to one to keep us from going on and on. (Okay, some of us couldn't limit it one, but Annica and I did manage to limit it to just two)  We then prayed for so many of the people we have met who we are leaving a bit of our hearts with and whom remain in ours.

Then we were off to pack and weigh, and readjust and weigh, and repack and weigh again.
Now everyone is asleep, except for me of coarse. It will be an early morning. Dennis will be here around 8am to load the Land Cruiser and try to get most of our luggage strapped onto the roof. (I hope the forecast looks dry!) Then we head down to Dar. We will lose lots of altitude and gain lots of heat. Even though Dar is the center of commerce in Tanzania, no one speaks very highly of it here. It is crowded with traffic, pollution, and heat!! Our flight leaves Dar at midnight and if everything goes well we will spend some time in Amsterdam on our 7 hour layover before our last leg into Minneapolis.

We are excited for friends, family and community in Minnesota. We talked a little bit tonight about culture shock and how it might take us some time to readjust (not just the jet lag). However, we did agree that Tanzania has felt like a second home. We will leave part of who we are here in Iringa with the wonderful people we have meet and hopefully we will bring part of Africa with us to Minnesota. (Although probably not the weather:(

Blessings to all and looking forward to seeing you soon!
Carrie

"Don't Just Do Something. Stand There!"

I have officially finished teaching both of my courses at Tumaini University in Iringa.  All that's left now is to grade their final examinations and to record those grades in the university computer system.  So, this leaves me considering and reflecting about, the past three months.  But before reflecting on the past three months, we must back up a couple years.

Throughout the course of the past two years, I have been trying to prepare myself, my family, and my congregation for this three-month time of sabbatical.

One way I tried to prepare and inform Fish Lake Lutheran, was to provide monthly “Sabbatical Updates” in our church newsletter, The Vine & Branches. 

In July of 2012, I wrote this in my monthly update:
 

“Two oft-quoted sayings continue to come to mind as plans for my sabbatical have taken shape.  The first, articulated in various ways and by various people, “You can’t feed others unless you feed yourself.”  And the second, credited to the famed Major League Baseball second baseman and later, team manager Gene Mauch, “You can’t lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.”  Both of these quotes are the foundation of the rationale on which I have planned a three-month sabbatical scheduled for fall of 2012 where I will be a pastor and teacher at University College of Tumaini University in Iringa, Tanzania.” 

 

While I understand Gene Mauch’s quote and sentiment was intended for a baseball team, it clearly applies to me and the context in which I and my family are serving.  My wife and I are called to challenge others to step out in faith and to be bold in their convictions and to listen for God’s calling in their lives and to respond accordingly.  But how can we ask of others such obedience and faithfulness to God’s will, if we, are not challenged in the same way? 

 

This sabbatical is an opportunity for us to go to that place where we are calling others to go – a place of faith and trust and adventure – for the sake of Jesus Christ and His life-changing good news.  Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

To serve in this way will not only be a cross-cultural experience for my family and I, but also for my students.  We will learn from one another as we explore and make known the great mystery of the gospel in ways that will forever be remembered.  This cross-cultural teaching opportunity is my way of changing the world.  But in order to succeed at it, I understand I must also change myself.  I will need to step out in faith and be bold in my convictions while listening to God’s call in my life and respond accordingly.

Serving as a Pastor in the Iringa Diocese, at times, will provide opportunity to simply attend worship, preach the Word, witness faith and experience trust through the eyes of another congregation.  To experience such a seemingly ordinary thing will strengthen, renew, and inspire me as a person, a preacher, a teacher and leader. 

 

And still another important purpose of this time of renewal will be for my family and I to be fed spiritually.  As we immerse ourselves in this experience we will be renewed in our callings to serve, reassured in our awareness of the Holy Spirit, and restored in the weariness that comes from remaining devoted and faithful to such callings. I personally look forward to this because having been the recipient of, and tasted the love, grace and warmth of the African culture before – if even for a short time – surely an extended time with them in their culture of grace, will provide a life-changing experience for my whole family. “

 

As our three-month stay in Iringa comes to an end, I can confidently say that, professionally - as a pastor/teacher - it has met all of my hopes and expectations.  I have gained confidence in my teaching and reassurance in my preaching.  Having preached to people of an entirely different culture with many theological differences, I have been challenged in my choice of words and ideas while proclaiming to them a strong message of grace in the midst of their law-heavy religious culture and tradition.  This, I believe, after being here these three months, has been a message that God has given me and brought me here to proclaim.  I am certain that they have Noticed, Understood, and Remembered (3 goals of effective communication/preaching) this message through my observations and comments shared in various churches and in the classroom. 

As I teach and preach this liberating message of grace and love and forgiveness to a people who so seldom here it, especially explained in a way that they can connect to, I see burdens lifted and hearts softened.  This is good, and has only reinforced my "theological center" of "God loves you just the way you are - but he loves you too much to let you stay that way!"  This is classic law & gospel, and I will continue to proclaim both, with energy, passion and conviction as I return home.

I can also confidently say, that personally - as a husband and father, this time of sabbatical has been fruitful.  It has met my expectations of "providing a life-changing experience for my whole family" while "restoring us in our weariness", and for this, I am extremely grateful.  However, it has exceeded those minimal expectations.  I believe Carrie and I have grown closer as husband and wife - with more quality time spent together simply enjoying one another and our children, as we regularly give thanks for this blessing in our lives (sabbatical). 

I believe our family has been reminded of what's important and what's not, as we have learned to live with out some of our common luxuries (or certain standards of) and expectations that are "givens" at home.  (electricty, water, ice cream, candy bars!)  Without common distractions of home, I have watched my children find wholesome and traditional ways of entertaining themselves.  They (we) have learned new card games (Hearts, Rummy, Speed, Kings in the Corner, Up and Down the River, various forms of Solitaire, Chess, and Checkers).  These are fun ways of spending quality time together that I am grateful to see renewed in our lives.

I can also see how this time of sabbatical has benefited Fish Lake Lutheran Church - as expected.  They have G.R.O.W.n in many ways and have learned to appreciate and experience ministry in their midst with out me or my family present.  I have seen and heard about and read about many ways this has happened, and I am proud of them.  I will write more about this upon my return to ministry after Christmas, when I have the full summary and picture of what God has done in and through them during this time.  But I am thankful for, and proud of, the people of Fish Lake Lutheran Church, based on what I have already observed from a distance - and for Pastor Connie Warner's faithful and strong leadership.

And as we've stated from the beginning - this is "our" sabbatical.  We wanted to include you in on, and share this journey with, all of our friends, our family, and our congregation.  This blog, Skype and our individual facebook updates (and 500+ photos!) have made that possible.  We have cherished your emails and your comments on this blog and facebook that were always fun, informative and full of encouragement, affirmation and support.  We love and give thanks for all of you!

Now as we ready ourselves for our journey home to MN, I look forward to joining you on your journey - your Advent journey.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to a my "sabbath" Christmas this year - not leading, planning, preparing for worship - but only participating in, reflecting on and experiencing worship.  It will be new.  It will be different.  It will be good.  It will be Advent.  This has been an Advent unlike any other Advent I've ever experienced - as I say every year.  This is also true for you.  So reflect on the coming of the Christ Child in your life, in ways you never have before - because even though we "know the end of the story", the story affects us differently and anew each year.  I know this to be true for me and for my family, and I'm certain it's true for you as well.

So today, I leave you with my favorite Advent charge - a play on words of a common, yet urgent charge (Thank you, Pr. Carl Lee).

"Don't just do something.  Stand there."

Safari njema (a blessed journey),

Dale

Thoughts on Sundays and life in Africa from Carrie...

Hello all-

This last Sunday was our last African worship service. Dale preached at a church in Ilambilole, which took us about an hour to get too. We had multiple stops to ask the locals for directions and only half of the trip was on rural, bumpy roads. As we finished our last church trip, I thought I would share with you what a typical Sunday is like for us (at least the ones when Dale preaches.)

Around 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. (depending how far we have to go) we all pile in our trusty Land Cruiser. Either our translator meets us at the apartment or we head out to pick him up on our way to the church.  Then we bump along together looking for the church we are scheduled at that day. This routine is a little different when Dale preached at larger churches in and around Iringa. The large churches have multiple services and, if it could be worked out, Dale would come home between services and pick up the rest of us who didn’t really want to attend multiple services.

9:00 a.m.
We would arrive at the church to be met by the pastor and a group of elders. There would be greetings and introductions and some touring of the church facilities. We would eventually be led into a sitting area (often in the pastor’s house) to be served “tea”. This would always include tea, African coffee (instant) and something to eat. Could be chipate, could be mandazi, could have hard boiled eggs. This last Sunday there was a bowl of noodles. There is always coffee, but when I think about it, I have never noticed an African drinking coffee. There is always warm milk and sugar, which they use in large quantities, but always in tea. 

    A couple quick asides -

1. One strange thing that has happened to my husband while we are here is that he has become quite a tea drinker. He has even started adding milk and sugar to his tea.
2. The first time we had guests for dinner, we forgot to put out sugar for the tea. Thank goodness Flora Illomo was bold enough to ask for some. Now it is on our “list.”

Touring the church agricultural plot

10:00 a.m.
Before worship the pastors will go somewhere…to robe up. Then we will all head to the church. The churches are always full and people have begun singing long before we get there. We will walk in with all the elders and be shown to our seats, always right up front. They will try to seat elders with some English skills near us to intepret what is happening in the service. The liturgy is printed in hymnals that have been recently printed for the Tanzanian Lutheran Church. We are able to bring a few with us and follow along with the hymns and liturgy. It feels like we skip all over in the hymnal, and I always feel like someone who is visiting our church who doesn’t "speak the language" and how they might feel just like I do. There is usually someone constantly whispering page numbers to us or flashing us numbers with their fingers.

The worship service will include:

• hymns
• liturgy
• choirs (usually between 3 and 6 different choirs-which seems like a lot but really the music is the best part of the service-no offense dear :)
• announcements (usually done by the parish secretary who carries a very important looking notebook)
• introductions  -  in which we come forward and Dale shares about where we are from and why we are in Africa. At this point the kids are fervently praying that he or the translator doesn’t ask them to say anything.
• more choirs and singing

Misigwa is a great translator - following all of Dale's intonations and gestures

• sermon  -  Dale’s sermon style has gotten more gregarious (more African) and he is getting good at short sentences and simple wording. We will see if he continues to stop between every phrase/sentence when he is preaching again at home.

• more choirs and singing

Children's choir singing and dancing 

• Offerings - there could two or three offerings. They have boxes or basket in the front and everyone comes forward. If they have nothing to put in the offering, they put their hand in the basket anyway. It is beautiful symbolism of giving to the Lord everything you have, because many really have nothing to give. One offering might be the general offering and the second for the Sunday School, or communion, or other projects the congregation is working on. Some people might bring forward goods of some sort-eggs, produce, ect.
• more choirs and singing
• Eventually we will get to the benediction.  This however, is not the end. We always leave last with the pastors because we will go outside the church for more singing and the auction. Whatever has been brought to the worship service is then auctioned off. Last Sunday someone bought six eggs and then gave them to us as a gift.  At one church they had a goat that they brought out for the auction. They obviously had a set price they wanted for it and when they didn’t get it the goat went back to his pen for another day.  Better to take eggs back to our apartment than a goat.

Gathering outside for auction and final blessing

All in all this runs about 3 hours - although it never seems that long and we always get the comfortable chairs with backs as opposed to the stone benches.

1:00 p.m.
Then we will greet people and head back into the pastor’s house for lunch. This involved a good amount of time for talking and soda or tea. Eventually the pastor’s wife and her helpers will serve us lunch. I have learned to make sure to bring the kids Nooks or books so they can entertain themselves during this social time.

2:30 p.m.
After lunch we will pray together and head home.

3:30 p.m. 
If we are near Iringa it might be closer to 2:30 or 3:00 when we get home.

One thing I have noticed about the many different churches we have visited is that they each have a personality and flavor of its own - much like the US.  The churches in Iringa itself are very different than the rural churches. The biggest one in town, Cathedral, has three services and sticks to a little more of a schedule.  The churches in town tend to have more professionals and a more formal approach. The church in Illula was also big and more formal. This is where the Lutheran hospital is located and I am sure that influences the make-up of the congregation. The rural churches we have gone to will have just one service and will be more free flowing. A couple of theses churches have had members that are HeHe (one of the local tribes with the biggest numbers in this area) dancing and coming up the aisle with bells tied to their ankles and many others will join in. Just like the US, they are also flavored by their clergy. The pastor at Ilambilole last Sunday was very loose. He was cracking jokes during the service (at least I assume so-since everyone laughed) and was dancing HeHe with all the rest of the dancers.

The enthusiastic pastor joining in the HeHe dancing

 So there is a little taste of a Sunday for the Stiles and the Petits in Africa.

A few other thoughts about coming home…

Things I will miss about Africa:

1. The people!! The venders at the market we have made friends with (Mama Idda, Solomon, Duma, Adam, Magnus, and Helena). The friends from Tumainia and those we have meet at Kibebe (many of the English speaking folks here).
2. This will not surprise my family - Stoney Tangawizi. This is a ginger soda (tangawizi meaning ginger) that has an amazing kick to it. US ginger ale will never satisfy again. I knew I really liked ginger before coming to Africa, but the one thing that has changed in my cooking is the abundant use of fresh ginger. Much to Dale’s chagrin (he is not as much of a fan) I think having fresh ginger in the house all the time will now be necissary.
3. The market - not just the people but the wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit. I agree with Tobie and Annica and will very much miss the abundance of wonderful mangos. Also for the social time to chat with the venders and hear their stories.

4. 

   "Christmas Trees" bloom around Christmas

   The flowers! The weather is wonderful and there are so many flowering trees and bushes. I love all the color and have been thankful to get to experience Africa as it turns from the dry to the rainy season. 
5. Family Time: For me one of the greatest gifts of sabbatical has been the time we have had together. Every night, dinner together, around the table. Early in our time we started drawing numbers so that everyone could tell their stories of the day in are orderly fashion. This practice has been in place the whole time we have been here. The numbers are tattered and have a few food stains. Story time begins as we pass the food and if it has been a particularily eventful day it can last long past when the eating is done! Somehow I hope to preserve this time of sharing and listening when we return home. What a blessing!! Even though Dale and Noel have been gone at the University each day, they are still home in the early afternoon and sometime for lunch. The chance each evening to play a game or watch a DVD has also been an incredible blessing. We have made so many memories as we have experienced Africa, but we have also made many memories sitting on the bed laughing and spending time together.

Things I am looking forward to about Minnesota:

1. Snow!!!

2. Consistent electricity, internet, and water.

3. Not having to boil/distill all our water and bleach the fruit and vegetables we aren’t cooking or peeling. It will be very strange to just brush our teeth with water from the faucet.

4. My own bed and no mosquito nets

5. Dairy - while there is boxed milk my picky eaters are not such big fans. I miss my homemade yogurt and ice cream!

Most importantly - seeing all of you! I am very thankful for technology and how we have been able to keep up with so many of our family. Yet, it will be so good to hug you all, to tell our stories, and to catch up on what we have missed.

Dale asked me if this experience has met my expectations. That is hard to answer because I was very specific about not having too many expectations from the beginning. We both had talked a lot about how we wanted to immerse our children in another culture. We wanted to figure out together how a whole different culture (especially in a developing nation) of the world works, how we fit into it, and how God “lives and moves and breathes” in the people there and thus in us. We knew that would happen best if we could live in it and have time to meet people where they are and really get to know them. We knew it would change all of us - but particularly our children and how they look at life and our world. My prayer before we left and continually through these months is “God…do your stuff in us!” I am sure that stuff is many seeds that have been planted in Dale, in our children, in me. It will be exciting to see what grows from them. Annica said to Dale when they were  together bumping up the hill on “13 Speedbump Road” to Iringa Town, “I know I will come back here someday. Maybe in the Peace Corps. I don’t know – but I know I will come back.”