January 2008
Dear Supporting Congregations,
Greetings in this new year of 2008! We
hope that each of you had a meaningful and wonderful Christmas
celebration and have had a good start in this New Year. 
After sending out our last letter in
November many have asked for photos of the wedding. I am sure some
would like to see who I married. We have included photos so that you
can see the new bride. I think I did pretty well.
We had a nice Christmas celebrating with
Kari’s brother and his family, who live in Arusha, and with friends
from our community and Church. It is easier to focus on the real
meaning of Christmas in Tanzania because there are not as many
distractions that are in the USA. Christmas remains truly a
religious and not a secular holiday here.
After Christmas we traveled to Western
Tanzania to Gombe National Park located on the shores of Lake
Tanganyika to see the chimpanzees. This was a moving experience
being only feet away from dozens of wild chimps in the forest. While
watching chimps one can not but be amazed by the wonder of God’s
creation. It was a trip we will always remember fondly.
In
my last letter I mentioned the growing security risks we were
experiencing in our town. The situation has improved for the better
and we are once again sleeping soundly at night. However the
situation in the neighboring country of Kenya, after their
elections, is concerning. I am sure that you have heard about the
looting, riots, and tribal fighting that is occurring. Please pray
for that country.
Jesse
continues doing well in school. He is enjoying taking his
frustrations out on the rugby field. He plays for the school team.
He has applied to 5 colleges in Minnesota and one in California.
Chris is working at Brookstone stores in the malls in Minneapolis.
My time in Tanzania is coming to a
close. My contract with ELCA and Heifer expires at the end of this
June. After that we plan to return to the USA. This will be a major
transition for me. In the meantime I need to sort out the house with
the 25 years of accumulated stuff, wind down in work, say farewells,
and all the other things that will need to be done. Needless to say
I am not looking forward to the next six months. I find myself
already starting to disengage and distancing myself even as I plan
fish farming trips to Zambia, Mozambique, Cameroon, and Malawi. I am
looking and thinking more and more of the USA. We will need your
prayers during this time.
One of the privileges of my work is
meeting some amazing farmers. A rather special woman I met on a trip
this past November is Cecilia. Cecilia is about 45 years old, a
short stocky woman. When I arrived at her farm she was wearing gum
boots and work clothes shoveling manure out of her cattle shed. She
greeted me warmly with a big smile.
She told me how she received a dairy cow
from Heifer 10 years ago. At first her husband was opposed to this
project and he refused to assist her or even go into the shed.
Cecilia persisted. She showed me the four milking cows she has now,
the new house she has built, the electricity that has recently been
installed, the field of tea that she grows for export, and the pig
shed where she has about five breeding pigs and offspring. Cecilia
explained that all of these improvements are due to the profits made
from that first heifer calf. She also used the money to send all of
her five children through secondary school.
Nine years ago she “passed on the gift”
of her first female calf to another family following the regulations
of Heifer. She returned her debt and her obligation was finished.
But Cecilia now feels it is not enough. She wants to help change the
lives of others. So Cecilia continues “passing on the gift” to her
neighbors in need. In the last few years she has helped 11 families
by giving them 7 calves and 4 pigs. She only asks them to “pass on
the gift” in return. Cecilia is running a mini-Heifer project within
a Heifer project.
I was touched by Cecilia’s generosity
and compassion for the needy. I pray that we likewise can keep our
heart and eyes open to those around us in need and look for ways to
help.
I hope
that you have a great year. May your congregation and ministries be
blessed.
Peace
Dennis
and Kari
Arusha,
Tanzania
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