Getting There From Here

We have our plane tickets! We are departing Toronto on May 18, 2009 at 5:45pm and will arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport at 7:45pm the next day.

Traveling to Tanzania is an adventure in itself. There are no direct flights but there are several options. Last year we flew to London Heathrow via Air Transat and spent the night at an airport hotel. We slept the jet lag away and felt quite rested the next day when we flew to Nairobi, Kenya via British Airways. We arrived in the evening and were met by a driver from the guest house where we had reservations. The next afternoon we caught the Impala Bus to Arusha, Tanzania.


The bus driver puts all the luggage on the roof and covers it with a tarp. The trip takes 5 hours (including the border crossing) and is a nice way to see Kenya and Tanzania. The visa into Tanzania is $50US per person.

Darkness falls at 6pm at the equator and it was dark when we arrived in Arusha. We were tired and had a new appreciation for potholes. The roads in East Africa have many large and amazing potholes!

Now that we have experienced the Impala Bus trip we decided on an alternate route. KLM flies from Toronto to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro. It is a 19 hour trip (including 3 hours in Amsterdam). We'll let you know what that is like after we arrive!

Job Descriptions

While we are in Africa we will not just be lazing around in the sunshine like this handsome fellow! We are committed to work in any capacity or role that is needed at Pamoja Ministries. To see all that is happening at Pamoja go to the website www.pamoja.info


The following are our job descriptions at this time:

Jeff will be the Systems Administrator. He will work in IT - upgrading and maintaining computer equipment. Jeff will also be working with the Director of Operations to supervise the maintenance, renovation and improvement of the buildings and equipment on the Pamoja Ministries property.

Jan will be the General Administrator for the Executive Director and the Director of Operations. She will also work with the Tanzanian office staff to help organize and manage the shipping and distribution of books and ISOM material to many countries in Africa. As a nurse, Jan will help the staff with medical issues and health teaching in the areas of first aid, nutrition, HIV/AIDS.

We expect to be very busy in these roles and wherever else we may be needed!

P.S. This lovely fellow is a Nile Crocodile. They are found in rivers and lakes over much of East Africa. They can grow to over 6m in length. The crocodile is mainly nocturnal, spending much of the day submerged in water between bouts of basking on sand bars and riverbanks. Just hanging out until some lunch comes by . . . . SNAP!

Teach Yourself Swahili

"Teach Yourself Swahili" by D.V. Perrott is going to become our new best friend! The author says, "Swahili is an easy language. There are no real difficulties of pronunciation and none of spelling. The reader will find that it is indeed possible to teach himself (and hopefully herself) Swahili with this book." Joy Feser obtained this book for us and assures us that is true! So, we will teach ourselves over the next 5 months and when we arrive in Tanzania Joy will be our language tutor.

We are also using a computer program called Rosetta Stone. This program is very helpful as you hear the language being spoken and have the opportunity to speak it back into the computer and have your pronunciation assessed.

A couple of basic things to wrap our heads around:
1. In Swahili changes to nouns come at the beginning instead of at the end as in English.
2. The order of the words in a sentence is the reverse of their order in English.

So far I can say:
1. kibanda kimoja na vyumba vinne (one hut and four rooms)
2. kitanda kirefu na kiti kikubwa (a long bed and a large chair)
3. vikombe vinne na vijiko (four cups and spoons)

Our Tanzanian Resident Permits Are Approved!

YES! Our Resident Permits have been approved. These permits will be valid for two years and are necessary even for volunteers who are working in Tanzania.

This is a copy of the first page of the two-page application. We filled out three copies each and attached our letter of invitation from Pamoja Ministries. The letter outlined the positions they would like us to fill and our particular skills sets that qualify us for these jobs. We had to include our Curriculum Vitae, 5 passport photos, copies of all pages of our passports, and photocopies of all our Diplomas and our marriage certificate. It was all mailed off to Tanzania mid-October and we were hoping to hear by Christmas. It was a very pleasant surprise to get the good news today!

If you would like to learn more about Tanzania visit the BBC News profile at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072330.stm

You will see a map of the country. We will be living about 45 minutes from Mt. Kilimanjaro

Pamoja Ministries

While in Africa, Jeff and I will be working with Pamoja Ministries.






PAMOJA MINISTRIES provides leadership training in East Africa. It is a small ministry with a big impact. Pamoja is especially involved in:
~ Literature Production and Distribution
~ DVD-based Bible & Ministry Training (ISOM)
~ In-House Video production
~ Maasai Outreach
~ Help for the poor
~ Working with an extensive National Staff

LITERATURE
Although modern Africa is very open to video and TV, literature is still highly honoured and goes where TV does not yet reach. Pamoja Ministries partners with Hundredfold Ministries (www.hundredfold.org) and World MAP (www.worldmap.org) to distribute, in English and Swahili, free Church leadership books and a regular leadership magazine to over 50,000 Church leaders in East Africa alone. Pamoja Ministries participates in the writing, translation, and distribution of the magazine called "ACTS" (English) or "Matendo" (Swahili) and 5 excellent leadership books. Pamoja Ministries has also produced several in-house books.

ISOM - INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MINISTRY
Pamoja Ministries represents ISOM (www.isom.org) to East and Central Africa. ISOM is a series of 160 DVD-based lessons focused on Bible and Ministry training. The DVDs, notes and exams are available in dual language mode with English plus Swahili, French, Portuguese, and soon Lingala. In addition to the excellent teachings in the main ISOM curriculum there are lifeskill teachings and resources available to allow the Church to minister to the whole community. There are already 80 centres training over 2,000 students, most of whom are untrained church leaders.

PAMOJA PRODUCTIONS
Africa is "ripe" for new forms of media, especially video! Although literature is still highly honoured, with the influx of the new technology, the time has come for the Church to fill the gap by producing appropriate videos. Pamoja has felt directed to "go for the heart", using the strength of Central African culture in music, dance, and story-telling, while not neglecting "the mind". They have already produced 4 children's videos and have a vision to produce many more. "Yoeli" is their Swahili animated video dealing with the conflict between faith and fear. They are also producing a full-feature musical drama DVD dealing with one of the toughest issues in Central Africa, the fear of the spirits of the ancestors.

MAASAI OUTREACH
Pamoja Ministries is working together with a Maasai-run organization called MAPED in the areas of Evangelism, Women's Rights, Health, HIV/AIDS Prevention, and Education for the Maasai. MAPED has formed a fabulous choir which is very effective in putting the message deep within the hearts of their people. Pamoja is partnering with MAPED by producing a music CD, a Documentary DVD and a beautiful Photography Book, all featuring their wonderful choir. The funds raised by marketing these products locally and especially in the West, will raise funds to build a school for the Maasai in their own area.

TOGETHER
"Pamoja" means "together" in Swahili. As well as working with the Maasai, Pamoja Ministries has been working together with Fredrick and Nasihi Mleli who minister to many local people with physical and emotional and financial problems. They have a special gift of ministry to women converts from Islam who have been rejected by their families.
Pamoja also works with an organization that drills wells in dry areas of Tanzania.

PAMOJA MINISTRIES IS COMMITTED TO GOD, THE MINISTRY AND THE AFRICAN CHURCH

Getting Closer

We have told all our friends and family that we are making the move to Tanzania. Some are excited, some are curious, some are confused. That's OK. Everyone is welcome to come and visit us there and see first-hand what we will be doing.

Although our departure date of May 2009 is 6 months away,it is closer than it seems. There are many things to do and organize. This is going to be fun if I don't let a feeling of aaaaaah! creep in. Sig and Joy stayed with us on and off while they were in Canada to visit friends and family. We picked their brains for information on everything. What is available in Tanzania? What is not available? What should we bring? Now we will go through the process of asking ourselves, "What do we really need? What can we live without? How will we pack everything into 2 suitcases and 1 carry-on each?" aaaaaaah!


This is the house we will be living in. It is very nice and roomy inside with two bedrooms,two bathrooms and an open-concept kitchen, dining and living area. The back of the house has very large windows which make it nice and bright inside.

The Yukon

We arrived home yesterday after a 2-week vacation in the Canadian West and North. We visited Jeff's relatives in Edmonton and then flew to the Yukon to spend time with our eldest son, Greg. It was wonderful seeing him! After 6 days with Greg we flew to the North West Territories and even dipped our toes in the Arctic Ocean! What an amazing country with such diverse landscapes.

The Photo

We're getting ready to share our plans with friends. (It will be interesting to see the different reactions we get.) Sig and Joy Feser have created a great information sheet about Pamoja Ministries and we will be able to add our photo and some information about ourselves to it. Here's the photo

The Journey Begins

Why? When? How?
Jeff visited East Africa in July 2004 and met Sig and Joy Feser of Pamoja Ministries, Tanzania. When he returned to Canada, he told me that we needed to go there to be involved with this Ministry. That was a big surprise and triggered many questions! Why? When? How? There were many employment, financial and family responsibilities that looked like huge roadblocks in our way. We prayed that God would make a way for us if this was His plan.

Why?
The Fesers came to visit us in Kitchener while they were on furlough in the summer of 2006. I was delighted to meet them and we became even more excited about Pamoja Ministries with their mandate to "provide leadership training using traditional and innovative media". They told us of the projects underway and the need for committed volunteers. Could this be answering the "Why"? They invited us to visit them in Tanzania.

When?
Jeff and I flew to Africa in September 2007. Sig and Joy welcomed us and made us feel completely at home. During our 10-day visit, we helped with some small projects, visited a Tanzanian church for a Sunday Service and Baptism, and went on a 2-day Safari, among other things. We flew back to Canada via England. It was during our 5-day stay in England that we really felt a confirmation from the Lord that we were to volunteer to help at Pamoja for an extended period (2 - 4 years).

We communicated this to the Fesers and they have invited us to join with them as soon as we are able to. We have made our decision to leave Canada in early May 2009. This answers the "When?".

How?
Each phase of our journey to Africa has been exciting, starting with the call from God to "GO" and our beginning to understand how we could be used in the ministry. Now we are praying and planning the "How?" portion of this adventure.

STAY POSTED!!