Mission to Tanzania

An article by Fr. Gregory Horton
(Thanks to team member Alan Sanger for providing descriptive material.)

It was my great joy and blessing to escort Team Tanzania 2004 on an incredible journey to East Africa during the month of August.  Our primary goal was to train young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 in fundamental Orthodox Christian doctrine at an Orthodox catechetical camp in Rubale, Tanzania. This ultimately resembled trying to squeeze a three year seminary course into two powerful weeks!  The topics ranged from The Bible, Marriage, Chastity, and Prayer, to Dealing with Tragedy, HIV/AIDS and Beginning a Sunday School Program. Our team consisted of nine motivated missionaries, who represented all parts of North America and five different Orthodox jurisdictions.  Khouria Cindy (Elizabeth), my beloved wife, was also able to accompany me on this exciting trip.  The members chose teaching topics comfortable to each of them and then paired up with another team member in order to prepare and present the material.  This proved to be a most effective format and inspired many questions and intense discussions.

The students traveled to the camp from throughout the vast Bukoba Diocese of Western Tanzania in order to receive two weeks of instruction from our team.  Each student had been personally invited and chosen by their parish priest to attend the teaching camp.  Because of the severe shortage of Orthodox clergy in the Diocese of Bukoba, these students are being asked to fill the role of teacher within their respective village communities.  They instruct the faithful of the parishes in the absence of a regular (weekly) parish priest during those “off weeks” when the priest is traveling to one of the other many parishes for which he is responsible. The Orthodox Diocese of Bukoba was started in 1972-73 and became canonically recognized by the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 1980.  The first local priest was ordained in 1983 and the territory of the diocese currently encompasses five entire regions of western Tanzania.  The diocese consists of 152 scattered communities served by only 25 priests and 5 deacons.  There are only 40 permanent church structures and about 40 temporary church buildings.  The rest of the communities meet “under the trees.”  There are an estimated 40,000 Orthodox Christians in the Diocese of Bukoba.  When funding permits, Bishop JERONYMOS, the diocesan hierarch, plans on building two monasteries and a hospital.  He would also like to organize a multilingual library at the catechetical school in Kazikizi. 

Our teaching sessions were held at the Rubale Resort, where two modest buildings housed the classrooms that we would be using for our work.  The classrooms were not large enough to have all students sit in one session. There were enough desks in one classroom for about half the students, and none in the other.  In that room the students initially sat on straw on the floor. We found that the majority of students consequently chose to attend the classroom with the desks. So, for the second day, we moved half the desks from the first classroom to the second, and that led to a more even distribution of the students between the rooms. Even so, several students ended up sitting on straw in each room.  A translator was present at each session, and usually there were a few students who also spoke very good English. All of our presentations were translated as we spoke and all questions from the students were translated from Kiswahili into English. The need for translation was initially a bit of a barrier but as we got used to each other, this simply became an accepted part of our interaction.

Khouria Elizabeth teaching class in Rubale Resort Village
On the last day we held a session dealing with Icons, where we discussed their purpose and their role in our homes and churches. We included an opportunity for each person to glue several icons to a sheet of paper for use as an icon corner in their own home.  We were amazed at how they enthusiastically received our small paper icons as if they were receiving the most valuable gift in the world–what a touching testimony to the warmth and the love for the Orthodox Faith within these dear people! The students were each loaned a bible by Bishop JERONYMOS and the team decided to use some of our funds to buy replacement copies so that the students could keep the ones in their possession.  When this was announced, the students erupted into a frenzy of dancing and singing for joy! Although the cost of bibles is subsidized, the low cost (about US$3.00) is still too expensive for most people to afford.

We were so amazed at the loving nature, the generosity and the enthusiasm of the people that we met. The people of the area are very poor, having very little in the way of income or assets. A typical income in Bukoba is about US $2.50 a day, and the poorest people earn about that amount per week. Yet, they are prepared to share what little they have with those in need and to give generous gifts.  On one occasion, while visiting a very remote parish, I was presented with a live goat!  This enormous gift is the equivalent of a brand new car in our culture.  We were told that this gift was given because our visit was an event on par with Christmas or Pascha in that village!

Following our daily teaching sessions, the students performed skits, danced and sang for the team in order to thank us for coming to teach them.  What we ultimately discovered was that although we traveled so far in order to teach, we were the ones who learned so much more from our hosts.

Wherever we went, the Tanzanian people showed us genuine hospitality, warmth and generosity. We were welcomed everywhere and invited to join them in their churches and in their homes.  Their generosity is all the more impressive when viewed in light of their poverty.  They are among the poorest people on the face of the earth.  And yet, our Tanzanian friends are lively and enjoy life. They showed us that wealth and possessions are not necessary to ensure happiness.  Indeed, it almost seems that they enjoy what they have because they have so little.

In visiting several churches in the Diocese of Bukoba, it became clear to us that faith and love are the cornerstones of the Tanzanian Church.  The love of Christ was extended to all of us and it was shown by open greetings, not reserved attitudes or mere tolerance. It was shown by the smiles, the handshakes and the words spoken earnestly.  It was shown by the fond farewells as we parted. It was shown by the acceptance of strangers as brothers and sisters.  It is this love that will connect us for the rest of our lives.

Traveling as a short term missionary is a life changing event.  I can no longer look at my parish ministry with the same eyes as before the trip.  Every moment is now alive with excitement and challenges because of the inspiring image of brothers and sisters on the other side of the world who are living the Apostolic Faith that we share.  I owe heartfelt thanks to the wonderful benefactors who helped me to raise the funds for the trip.  Through their generosity, I was able to join a group of people in making a difference in many lives–including our own!  It is the experience of a lifetime and I highly recommend it to anyone able to dedicate some time to this type of work.  So go on a mission trip!  I cannot emphasize too strongly how much you will learn, not only about the location and people you visit, but also about Orthodoxy and about yourself!  If you are at all inclined to undertake this wonderful experience, I can truly say that you will never regret it, so… just do it!