Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest

Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig served in Tanzania from 2004 to 2011, though they both had lived there when they were younger. Kristopher is a palliative care/hospice physician by training and Rebecca is a nurse. They both worked with a palliative care home-health team out of Selian Lutheran Hospital, helping terminally ill people with control of their symptoms, emotional and family support, and spiritual care.

To support any of the ELCA’s nearly 250 missionaries, go to www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

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Steven and Bethany Friberg are ELCA missionaries in Tanzania. Steven is a physician. They have helped establish rural clinics for the Maasai. Bethany also works with Maasai women in their income-generating projects, which mostly involve beadwork. To support the Fribergs, or another of the ELCA’s nearly 250 missionaries, go to www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

The Maasai women make beaded bracelets to raise money to build homes.

Sixty Maasai women in northern Tanzania have a goal — that each one will build a two-room permanent home with a roof of corrugated metal roofing sheets, called “bati” in Swahili. These would replace primitive, thatched-roof huts. Building houses has traditionally been women’s work so this idea came naturally when a supply of beads was donated to Naapok Project. By making and selling extra bracelets, the women have money to put aside for bati and trusses.

With the help of family and friends, the walls are made of termite-resistant cedar poles, horizontal branches, small stones and plaster of ash, dirt, sand and manure. Once the roof is on, the local evangelist is called to dedicate and bless the home.

So far 15 houses have been built. Many of you have been crucial in the process of turning bracelets into bati.

Thank you for buying bracelets!

Bethany Friberg
bethany.friberg@gmail.com

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The profits from “Collectible Recipe Tins and Boxes” will help support the work of Nancy Stevenson.

Mike Amstutz and his mother are both teachers and collectors. Some of their collections include over 500 nativities, 700 Madonnas, nearly 500 crosses, and a combined collection of 400 recipe boxes. Pieces from their recipe box collection date back to 1938 and come from around the world. As Mike approached retirement from teaching after 35 years, his wife proposed a project. She suggested that Mike and his mother put together a book showcasing their varied collection of recipe boxes, since there was no pictorial guide or price list anywhere.  Mike agreed. As a labor of love they published a brief history and guide to this “sleeper niche” of collectibles. The book includes over 200 pictures of boxes from their combined collections. Much like the people who have shared recipes and food from these boxes, they wanted to give the profits of their book to help others.

Nancy Stevenson is a missionary working in Tanzania, she also happens to be Mike’s cousin. It was decided that the profits from their book would go to Nancy and the work she has done at Makumira Theological Seminary for nearly 30 years. As Mike says, “We are truly a global community and this is just a small way in which we can reach out and share our blessings with others.”

If you are interested in purchasing the book “Collectible Recipe Tins and Boxes” for $20, please e-mail Mike at mamstutz2@roadrunner.com.

ELCA missionary Nancy Stevenson teaches communications skills and study methods to first-year theology, education and music students at Makumira University College, a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. To support Nancy, or another of the ELCA’s nearly 250 missionaries, go to www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

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Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig, ELCA missionaries, work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania by developing hospice and palliative care teams throughout the country. They will be concluding this service in July. To support the Hartwigs, or another of the ELCA’s nearly 250 missionaries, go to www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship.

Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig, shown with Heidi and Nathan, will conclude their service in Tanzania in July.

Dear friends in Christ,

Please find our letter for this month below.

Crossing over

Rebecca wrote a piece of music of this title, and it somehow expresses our feelings of transition.  Looking ahead, there are a host of new possibilities, which we trust in God to be made good, even as we have anxieties and uncertainties. Looking behind, there is gratitude, some sense of relief and more gratitude. It is never easy to leave community and friends, yet now we must.

Crossing over, in Biblical language this mostly refers to the Jordan River. The Israelites could not enter the Promised Land until they had crossed over that river. That a whole generation was denied the crossing (Moses et al), and that Joshua’s leading of the next generation across the river was just as miraculous as crossing the Red Sea, are signs and warnings and wonders in the history of our faith.

In hospice work, crossing over often refers to the passage from life to death. It is a way of expressing that special time as a process, somehow analogous to childbirth in being fraught with anxiety but, inevitably, something which must come. There is mystery here, as we have had cause to contemplate with close proximity to such recent crossings.

Interestingly, in the New Testament the one reference to “crossing over” that I could find was from John 5:24, referring to exactly the reverse of the hospice meaning: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.””

We depart from the continent July 17, a day after Nathan’s high school graduation, then rushing to Anchorage for Kirsten’s marriage to Ray. From Aug. 1, we will be based at the ELCA Missionary Apartments in St. Paul, Minn. Over the subsequent several months we will look forward to seeing many of you, sharing our stories and the different ways in which all of us have crossed over. Please pray for us that our crossing might be filled with grace, that we might be gracious within the process and eager for the new promises, yet unseen, that lie ahead. And may we never forget the life to which we have come, in Christ, which is, in a mysterious way, our Promised Land.

Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig

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Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig are ELCA missionaries serving in Tanzania. They relay news of finally having access to morphine to help cancer patients:

Rebecca and Kristopher Hartwig

My colleague, Dr. Paul Mmbando, called it a “morphine boom.”

Since working in Tanzania from 2004, our steady work and advocacy to gain access to oral morphine as a key drug to treat cancer pain has failed to get even one of our rural Lutheran sites to access it.

In late January that all changed.  The director of Matema Lutheran Hospital, Dr. Joseph Mwakilulele, called us *to announce that he had just left the capital city with a supply of oral morphine.  We were thrilled!  It was a huge effort on his part, and seemed to give us a certain window of opportunity.

A carefully worded email from Paul, showering appreciation here and there, got us more response than we had even hoped for.  By the next week, the director of the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) was asking for details on what the barriers were to oral morphine in the rural areas.  He then requested that Paul and another colleague come to his office with any other applications for morphine that could be mustered.

Miraculously, within three days there were 12 further applications with the requisite photos and signatures, scanned to our emails and presented to the TFDA.  By last week, 13 hospitals were given certificates of permission to stock this drug!

In the world of hospice this is a memorable breakthrough.  That it would happen with such a collective team effort of Tanzanian professionals is very, impressive.  My role as a part of that team, even in the background, is one I treasure greatly.

Speaking of treasures, it is another reminder of a rich verse from Isaiah, 45:3: “I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”

For people suffering great pain, relief from that pain is something that is in a secret and inaccessible place for too many people in this world.  That there is the prospect of pain relief, and that it might come in such a way that those same people would indeed know the Lord God, who calls them by name, well, that is a true gift of mercy.

Kristopher and Rebecca Hartwig

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The coffin is carried from the home of the deceased to the church. Preceded by the cross-bearer, the coffin is passed along by hand. Every male in the community takes part in carrying the coffin to the church.

Josh and Sue Magyar recently attended and photographed a funeral in Tanzania, where they are serving as ELCA missionaries. Here are some of their impressions:

As far as I know, it is uncommon in the United States to photograph a funeral. While a few shots of family and friends (the reunion aspect of the funeral) might be discreetly taken at the reception, I am fairly sure it is generally not appreciated to have photographers taking invasive pictures during the funeral procession and ceremony. Yet, continually we are reminded here in Tanzania that cultural stigmas are not universal. What is expected to happen (or to not happen) in various social settings is frequently quite different as one crosses into a different culture.

This has led to many awkward-feeling and sometimes humorous experiences for us as we cannot help but base what is “normal” on the norms of our home culture. Yet, we have learned to take care to listen, to ask many questions and to trust our new Tanzanian friends to tell us what is appropriate… as not to offend.

So, when we were recently asked by a colleague of mine, who is also a Lutheran pastor, to do just that—to photograph the funeral of his sister, we reluctantly accepted. In retrospect, no one seemed to mind in the slightest. Another Tanzanian pastor who was attending the funeral helped us, taking up one of our cameras to get some really close shots (I guess we were too shy). What we came away with was the documentation of a Christian funeral in an authentic Tanzanian village. It is our hope that, using this funeral as a lens, you might be able to see and appreciate the beauty of the Tanzanian culture.

Too see all of the photos taken at the funeral, go to Josh and Sue’s blog at joshandsue.blogspot.com.

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These two brides were part of a double wedding during a worship service in Tanzania.

Josh and Sue Magyar send greetings from Tanzania and these thoughts about how weddings are observed there.

We’ve had the opportunity to attend worship at the Sokoine Lutheran Church—one of our Maasai congregations in the Morogoro Diocese. One particular Sunday was not just any ordinary Sunday, however, as the worship service included two weddings.

This is not out of the ordinary here in Tanzania — to celebrate weddings within the order of worship on a Sunday morning. In my opinion, it’s not a bad idea either. Once you get past the extended length of the worship service (about four hours), you see how the weddings are important to the community of faith as much as the community is important to the families of the bride and groom.

Also, the hopeful and perhaps vulnerable nature of people when they are tying the knot lends itself well to the prayer life of church. When else do we make such a profound leap of faith without truly knowing what the future will hold for us than at a wedding?

Having this ceremony as part of the worship service — where we honor God, who gives us life, guidance and promise of security/salvation — just before the prayers of the church makes total sense.

We’ve also noticed that at the three weddings we have been to this year, the brides (and to a lesser extent the grooms) have remained stoic, or even sad, during the wedding.

At this wedding we asked the best man to explain why the brides were so sad, staring at the floor and even sniffling during the vows, while the rest of the people were in a joyous mood. It is customary, he said, for a bride to respect her family in this way. The wedding marks her exit from her parents’ household and her arrival in the new home she will make with her husband. It would be disrespectful to show too much joy about leaving someone who has taken care of you since birth, he said.

So while in America it seems natural for the bride and groom to be happy on their wedding day, in Tanzania it is the opposite. But many people assured us that, although these couples displayed their sadness, they were not sad about the marriage.

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Marv and Jean arrived in Arusha, Tanzania July of 1998. By invitation of the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, Arusha Diocese, Marv and Jean were called to serve at the Maasae Girl’s Lutheran Secondary School. During Marv and Jean’s 12 years at the school, they served as Teacher and Education Developer and Pastoral Counselor. Prior to heading to Tanzania they resided in Bellevue, Washington.

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Here are excerpts from two blog posts from the Revs. JMe and Bob Lowden, ELCA missionaries serving in Arusha, Tanzania.  The Lowdens are back in the U.S. for home-assignment meetings and visits with sponsors.  

 From the 22 June (8:26 a.m.) post, “Lowdens on Home Assignment #1″

From Chicago, we flew to Omaha, Nebraska for a weekend full of excitement. On Saturday, May 22, we attended the wedding of our friends Brenda Meier and Kakasii Kimaro. We have known Brenda since she came to Baltimore to work with Lutheran World Relief some years ago. Kakasii was our Tanzanian driver during our first trip to Africa in 2003. The event was a wonderful mix of American and Tanzanian culture and music. JMe enjoyed dancing with members of Kakasii’s family as the women wrapped Brenda’s mother in colorful Kangas during a traditional dance of celebration.

From the 22 June (7:34 a.m.) post, “We’re Back!”

Before we begin the next series of entries telling about our home assignment, we have some important news to share. We have made a difficult but necessary decision. Because of a variety of reasons, the most significant being personal, we have decided to end our service in Tanzania after two years. We will return to Africa after a brief European vacation (move over, Chevy Chase!) in August and pack up all our possessions. Our goal is to move back to Maryland in late September. There are a lot of details to work out (such as where we will live when we return); however, we know that this is the right thing for us to do at this time.

We ‘ve had an incredible experience during our two years serving in Africa. It was a chance of a lifetime, and we feel both honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to serve the church and our Lord in this way. Although we have shared some of our stories with you, there are many more that could be written. What wonderful memories we will have to treasure!

[I've had the privilege of working with the wonderful Brenda Meier, so learning of her marriage is happy news.  I have the privilege of working with the wonderful JMe and Bob Lowden, so learning  of their decision to leave missionary service is sad news.  Please join me with prayers of thanksgiving for Brenda, JMe and Bob, and with prayers for God's abundant blessings during their life transitions.  Sponsors, in the near future you will receive a letter about the Lowden's ending service.  In the meantime, feel free to contact me with your sponsorship questions.  Blessings, Sue Edison-Swift, assoc. director Global Mission Support.]

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