A Message from Pastor Nelson

-- Hi Friends,

It is Sunday afternoon in Iringa. The Bethel travelers were up and at 'em early this morning. We had to be at the Cathedral at 7 for the first of two worship services this morning.  They scheduled only two for today as opposed to the usual three.

The schedule was 7-10:45 or so for the first service and from 11 to 1:15 for the second.

It was capital campaign appeal Sunday.  I was the guest preacher. Pastor Gaville put my sermon into Inswahili so the folks who don't understand English could be a part of the message.  It was fun to be a
part of a very active worship service.  During the service I was able to present a $5,000 cash gift for their capital campaign to fund the construction at the Wilolesi site where they are building a building for a new congregation.

If I had to characterize the stewardship pledging time I would have to say that included a lot of laughter as one of the leaders demonstrated with a broom stick how it takes everybody to get the task
accomplished. There was a great spirit that included a lot of laughter and leadership by some marvelous lay leaders who handled the whole effort.

When the time for pledging and giving came, the opportunity was given for individiuals and families to indicate their intention on a pledge card and then give that card to an attendant. The attendant brought
the completed cards to the front of the church where one of the lay leaders read the name of the pledger and the amount pledged or given. An opportunity was given for others with smaller resources to make
their way to the offering boxes and drop their gifts into it.

There were multiple choirs that sang and danced marvelously at each of the services.  We had a chance to preview them on Saturday evening in a special concert they offered for our benefit.  These folks can use
more of their bodies to praise God than I knew I had. Wow!

We had lunch in a beautiful home of one of the Cathedral's member families. That has been the pattern. We eat breakfast at the Lutheran Center and lunch dinner elsewhere.We've been at very splendid homes
and some that are quite modest. I'm enjoying the food although some are fantasizing about a Big Mac or some other juicy cheeseburger! Mostly I'm missing salads!

After the noon meal today we had a chance for the requisite Sunday afternoon nap. Following some brave among us, including me, took the roughest bus ride I've ever imagined up the mountain side to a place
where we walked and then climbed and crawled up a crevice between two enormous boulders, to an overlook from which we could see the whole city as it is nestled in the Ruhah Valley.  (the valley is part of the 'Great Rift" that begins north of Galilee in the Holy Land and continues through the continent of Africa.)

The hike was not long, but it was vertical and a bit challenging for my knee. But I made it and feel happy to have made the effort!

Our plan is for a day with the folks at the Cathedral tomorrow. On Tuesday we are off on a four-hour very rough ride over typical African non major roads. The last such trip we took had us averaging about 10
miles an hour. The destination this time is a base camp for a safari that will bring us into close contact with African wildlife.  It won't be our first encounter.  ON the way to Iringa we saw giraffes, elephants, impalas, zebras and musk ox AKA 'tatanka' in Swahili.  I'm still at the beginning stages of being able to say anything in that language, alas, so I thought I'd show off with the one animal name I know!!

All is well. It is wonderful to be with the beautiful people of Iringa. We have been welcomed and welcomed again.

More later!

Thanks

DRN