Welcome to Iringa

After three long flights and an 11 hour car ride, I arrived in Iringa last night, met with a hot meal at the Lutheran Center and a nice, cool breeze in the air. This morning, I made my way over to the Hasty Tasty for breakfast with my traveling companions, and it seemed like everyone we met knew of the Bega Kwa Bega office and the pioneers and builders of this relationship: Gary and Carol Langness, Don and Eunice Fultz, and on and on.

After breakfast, Tom Nielsen, the current BKB coordinator, took me to the local diocese office, where again we were greeted warmly. The people there had been preparing for my visit, and I was grateful for all those who had worked to pave the way for my research visit.

After returning to the apartment where I'll be staying these next two weeks, I decided it was time to go exploring a bit and to pick up some groceries. Tom gave me a map and told me how to find my way to the various markets in the center of town, and off I went, hopeful and a bit nervous that I would be able to make my purchases without getting lost either to or from the markets.

I hadn't walked more than two minutes from the apartment and I had just turned on to the main street I would follow to the markets, when a young man came beside me and asked me a question in Swahili. I smiled and shook my head, since his question didn't include the dozen or so words I know, and then he asked, "English?" I nodded and said, "Yes," and then he asked, "Lutheran?" Again I said yes, and as we walked together toward the market, he proceeded to tell me that he also was a Lutheran. I explained a bit about my visit, that I was a pastor and that I would be preaching this weekend in Magome, and he was delighted to share that his name was Steven, and he was from Magome, now living in Iringa and working as an artist. Again, he knew all about the BKB office, and the names Langness and Fultz and Harris and Nelson were all familiar to him. He walked with me all the way to the markets, helped me with my purchases, and then helped me carry them back to my apartment. When I asked to see some of his art, I wasn't surprised that he just happened to have a few bags of beautifully carved necklaces with him, and I was happy to make a few purchases to thank him for his assistance.

Now that I've finished my lunch of fresh mango, pineapple, and banana, I'm filled with gratitude. I'm grateful for all those saints from St. Paul who have made this long and costly journey before me, and who have for more than two decades carefully tended and nurtured relationships, so that they might grow deeper with each and every visit. I'm grateful for all those saints here in Iringa who have graciously received these visits, who have patiently guided the visitors, and who have willingly walked with them, shoulder to shoulder, sharing the beauty of their country and their lives. It is holy work that has been going on here over the years, work that has deep roots and continues to bear fruit, and I'm grateful to be able to taste its sweetness.