July 16, 2009 by Stephen Day.

I have posted some pictures from graduation on my site. Check them out!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 14, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Greetings from Africa!

I pray that all is well in West Virginia and throughout the United States. Our church is in my thoughts and prayers during the convention in Anaheim. I pray that wise decisions and actions will be taken so that our church can move forward and continue our call to seek and serve Christ in all persons.

In two weeks, I will leave Dodoma and begin my journey back to West Virginia. My time serving as a missionary for the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of West Virginia is coming to a close. I began work on October 4, 2007 and conclude on July 30.

Two weeks ago, Msalato Theological College, where I am working, celebrated the completion of another academic year with a graduation ceremony. The guest speaker for the graduation was the Very Reverend Ian Markham, dean of Virginia Theological College. Dean Markham also spoke at West Virginia’s diocesan convention back in 2008. Following the ceremony there was a banquet at which Dean Markham was presented the gift of an African shirt. At the bottom of this posting you will find a link to a picture of him with his gift. Since I was leaving Tanzania before the start of the next academic year I was also given the opportunity to speak. You can also find a picture of that by following a link below as well. Finally, you will also see a link to a picture of one my favorite groups of students. This was the Diploma in Applied Ministry class that graduated in June. Many of them are going back to villages to serve as priests and others are hoping to continue their studies at a nearby Anglican university.

I know that the economy is quite bad in America right now. In fact, I am very well aware of the situation because I am also searching for a job and it is tough. However, I must ask one more time for you to consider supporting the work I have been doing here in Tanzania. I appreciate your prayers and they have sustained me over the past twenty months. I still have some utility bills that must be paid before I leave. They total about $350 and cover my entire time in Tanzania. I would appreciate any support that can be provided. Checks can be sent to the diocesan office with “Tanzania” in the memo line. The address is: Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361.

Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts. I also ask for your prayers for Msalato Theological College as they seek to discern their mission and seek to employ a network administrator. I hope to see many of you once I am back in West Virginia.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen Day

http://stephencday.com/Stephen%20at%20Graduation.jpg
http://stephencday.com/VTS%20Dean%20at%20MTC%20Graduation
http://stephencday.com/MTC%20Diploma%20Class%20of%2009.jpg

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 22, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Now, I know that back in the USA it is getting quite hot, but here in the southern hemisphere it is winter (or at least what passes for winter). Here in Dodoma, it is still reaching at least 80 during the day, which is only about 10 or 15 degrees cooler than summer. At night, however, it dips all the way down to about 58. While 58 degrees might not seem that cool or cold, here it is downright freezing. It is helpful to remember that there is no such thing as insulation here and I never shut my windows. So the cold, just like the heat of the day, permeates everything. I am not complaining, just thought I would share this little trivia.

I ask for your thoughts and prayers for my sister who is due to give birth any day now (and for her husband and two other children).

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 15, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Greetings from Tanzania!

As most of you likely now, I have been serving as a missionary for the Episcopal Church and representing the Diocese of West Virginia in Tanzania since October 2007. I will be returning to West Virginia at the end of July. I am eager to return to America and West Virginia, but will miss the people I have met here and the work I am doing. I have been working as a teacher and computer network administrator at Msalato Theological College, which is located ten kilometers outside of Dodoma, Tanzania. Dodoma is about the size of Charleston and Huntington combined and is, technically, the capital of the country.

Classes have ended for the semester and students are beginning to take their exams. In two weeks we will have graduation with a special guest speaker The Very Rev. Ian Markharm, the Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary. He was speaker at last year’s diocesan convention.

During my time at Msalato, I have been able to accomplish a great deal. I have taught for three semesters - teaching courses on Church History, theology, an introduction to the Bible, and computing. I have helped to maintain the college’s computer network and maintain a somewhat reliable connection to the Internet for the campus. Also, with the help of the people of our diocese and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, I have been able to help contribute to the college’s mission. Together, we have been able to renovate a duplex used by staff members here - painting the interior, replacing the plumbing, adding a ten liter water heater, a refrigerator, a stove. Also, we have been able to purchase a new server for the school and provide numerous other computer/network related items. One of the best ways that we have been able to help is by providing a scholarship for a young woman who faced the possibility of being forced into a polygamous marriage because she had no employment options. That young woman has thrived while being a part of Msalato’s secretarial program. Just today she helped lead a service in the chapel in English, something she could not have done a year ago.

Now as I prepare to leave, I have recently learned that I need to pay utility bills for the past eighteen months. Surprisingly, the water bills are very low (this is surprising because Dodoma is an especially arid region). However, the electricity bills are a bit higher. My total bills for the past eighteen months amount to around $350. I would appreciate any help that can be provided and also want to thank everyone who has helped during the past two years. I would also appreciate your continued prayers as I prepare to return home and seek employment. Please also pray for Msalato and its continued ministry to the church in Africa and for its staff and students. Checks can be sent to the Diocese of West Virginia, PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361 and include “Tanzania Mission” or “Stephen Day” in the memo line.

Yours in Christ,
Stephen Day

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 8, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Sorry for the lengthy delay since I last posted, but things have been busy here. In April I had two weeks off while the students went home, but had plenty of work to keep me busy. In May, I was sick for a week, which was not fun. But things are going well. Classes have ended here at Msalato and exams will soon begin. I leave Africa for the USA in 51 days. I am eager and hesitant at the same time. I love my work here and, in many ways, would be happy staying here five years or more; however, there are also some things that I won’t miss upon my return to America (like random power outages and extremely expensive Internet access, to name two). I will definitely miss the people and their spirit. I will also very much miss teaching. I love it! It is very hard work, but worth it. I am still looking for a job, so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Well, I thought I might share a few stories, since it has been so long since I posted. The first is entitled the “Blues Brother Experience.”

This story starts off about a year ago when I decided to figure out what the college needed technologically. I realised that the college had been given a wonderful gift from Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street (in NYC, obviously) in the form of a grant a few years ago that provided for a new server and 24 client computers. However, those 24 computers had dwindled to about twenty due to theft and there were still many other needs. The grant that I wrote included money for forty new client computers (to add to our existing lab, to degree classrooms and to go into staff offices). Also, I included expansion to our server, a new printer and software to manage printing throughout the campus. This grant request totaled nearly $40,000 US and you can view it here. Well… the grant had no where to go, so it sat in a preverbal drawer.

A few months ago the communications director learned about the opportunity for a grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming. She spent a good deal of time working on a grant request with someone from that diocese and included the huge technology grant that I came up with. Before the diocese even reviewed the grant request officially, a parish in the diocese volunteered to provide $4,567 US for the printing system. This money provided for a new colour laser printer/copier/scanner made by HP, software to manage the printing throughout the network, and a computer to run that software and function as a printer server. This money was wired to the school’s bank account and all was well, right? Well, sort of…

The parts for the new computer were somewhat specialised and therefore needed to come from America; however, many Internet-based computer parts stores have problems with credit cards that have billing addresses located outside of the USA (even when it is a USA bank) and so the missionaries here could not order the parts needed. Also, the stores often have a problem with shipping orders to locations other than the billing address of the credit card holder. So… this added further complications. In the end what I had to do was have my father order the parts and have them shipped to himself. He got them and then mailed them to Georgia where the Msalato’s communications director was staying for two weeks. She then sent a personal check to my father to reimburse him for the purchase of the parts and shipping them. Then she brought the parts with her to Msalato and got reimbursed by the college. We had to do the same thing for the print management software, but it, thankfully, was a download from the Internet.

So we had out computer parts and software, but what about the printer/copier/scanner? That took more work. Tanzania, like much of the developing world, is a cash based society. In Tanzania they use the Tanzanian shilling which comes (in bill form) in denominations ranging from 500 to 10,000. That sounds big, but the equivalent of $1 US is about 1,320 shillings. So the highest denomination bill is the equivalent of about $7.50 US. The printer/copier/scanner costs $1,250 US and I was also buying spare toner cartridges and a few other things that brought the total up to about $2,200 US. How many shillings does it take to equal $2,200 US… three million (that’s three hundred bills). So we had the money… but the store that sells the printer/copier/scanner is in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. Dar is located about 500 kilometres from Dodoma and is a seven hour bus ride away. So I got a ticket on the bus from Dodoma to Dar for a Friday morning. I got picked the first of three daily buses to Dar with the hope of getting into downtown Dar by 3 pm. Unfortunately when I got to the bus station at 6:30 am for the bus that was supposed to leave at 7:00, I was told that bus was cancelled because it had broken down the day before. So I went back to Msalato and waited around for a couple of hours and then caught the 9:30 am bus. So I was on my way to Dar with three million shilling in my over stuffed pocket. The college’s bursar had wanted to give me a huge manila envelope to put the cash in but I opted for a small cloth bag because it was less obvious.

So I am on the bus to Dar. Once we get near Dar we hit traffic and it slows down. We end up pulling into downtown at 5:30pm. I jump in a taxi and race off to the computer store to buy the printer/copier/scanner and get rid of all that money in my pocket. However, I get to the store and… it is closed. Also, no business hours are posted so I don’t know when it opens (I had called previously to find out when they are open, but never got through and my emails were not replied to in time). I get back in the taxi and then am off to the guest house where I stay the night. I plan to get up early the next morning and call the store and hope it opens early.

On Saturday I start calling the store at 8:00am. No answer. I keep calling until shortly after 9:00 and no answer. So my taxi picks me up and we try a few other stores, all closed. I buy some groceries assuming that I will have to stay until Monday. Then on a whim I call the store around 10:00 am and… they answer. I rush over (it took 30 mins to get around town… traffic) and order what I need. I finally got rid of all that money. Then I rush over to the bus station and got a ticket on the early bus from Dar to Dodoma for Sunday. And when I say early, I mean early - 6 am. That is the earliest a bus can legally leave in the country.

So it turned out okay, but was quite an experience. So why the title - “The Blues Brother Experience?” Well, my mother told our vicar (or rector) about me having to go to Dar and do all of this with a bunch of cash. He emailed me and said that he envisioned me in a black suit with a briefcase handcuffed to my wrist with the money in it (hence the Blues Brothers reference. I felt at many points like I was standing out so much that I could have been dressed that way and was so nervous about having all that cash (that belonged to someone else) on me that I was getting a bit paranoid. Anyway, I laughed at the image that my vicar’s story gave me and so I share it here. I also thought my college best friend would get a chuckle out of the Blues Brothers reference since he is a bit of a fan.

Well, I shall share another story soon. Hope all is well with alls y’all.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 10, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Greetings from Msalato on Good Friday.

I wanted to post today because it has been so terribly long since I have posted. Well, this has been an interesting week. Msalato has two weeks off for Easter so that our students may return to their homes and churches. It takes many of our students two days each way to reach their homes. This also serves as our “Fall Break.” Only about five to ten students are still on campus. Many of the Tanzanian staff have returned to their home villages as well. Also, the New Zealand staff members have left for Arusha in far northern Tanzania to met up with all NZ missionaries in Tanzania. So it is really quiet here.

I have used this week for many different things… First, I have completed some job applications and sent them off to two possibilities (a teaching job in Dallas and a campus ministry job in Arizona). Also, I have hunted for more possible jobs/careers. Second, I have gotten some much needed rest (it has been a chaotic semester thus far). Finally, I am using this time to try to make my final revisions to my history masters thesis. I am hoping that the thesis can be all finished and defended when I return to the US in July/August.

I will be spending Easter in Dodoma, which is actually 10 kilometers away from Msalato and when you don’t have a car 10 km is pretty far away. I will be able to go to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday and spend time with other people. I am looking forward to that after a very quiet week. Next week I will be working on preparing for the second half of the semester. Next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the staff of Msalato will be meeting to deal with a number of issues. Many of them will be pretty mundane, like planning for graduation and updating the syllabi and curriculum. Others things to be done relate to the future of Msalato….

As I think I have already mentioned, Msalato is in the midst of several transitions. We are shifting from a mixture of English and Swahili language programs to English only. This shift was mandated by the bishop of this diocese and the board of the college. The goal is to make Msalato a center for studying theology and leadership in English. Another school within the diocese will focus on training church leaders in Swahili. Msalato’s last class of Swahili students will graduate in June. Who will replace them? Well, that is a little more complicated. Msalato plans to start two new programs in August. First is a one-year certificate program for English. There is a great deal of demand for learning English in this country, even though it is not an official language. All education from the secondary level and onward is done in English. The second program is going to be a teachers college. Now this is a little bit confusing… at least to me. This program will be designed to teach students to be primary school teachers; however, the real focus is on teaching the students how to teach and not what to teach. This program has required a lot of work on the part of Msalato’s administration to setup. New administrators and teachers have to be hired and a room had to be converted into a lecture hall. It is hoped that this program can subsidise many of the costs of running the theological programs here.

Well, I better run for now. I will share more later. Have a good Good Friday, but try to remember what it is all about - not just a day off or the beginning of a long weekend.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

March 12, 2009 by Stephen Day.

First, I know it has been while since I posted, sorry for that. I am doing well, but things have been quite busy since I returned to Tanzania about five or six weeks ago. One week of that time I was sick, very sick. I had some kind of bacteria that did very unpleasant things to me… but I am better now.

I am teaching three regular academic classes (two Church History classes and one theology) and a few other courses. This is a bit less that my previous two semesters, but is still quite challenging and engaging. I am really enjoying teaching. The computers are more troublesome, but I am making headway. I have a lot of work to do this next few months.

I will be returning to the USA in July this year and do not yet know what I will be doing. I would very much appreciate your prayers on this matter. I am currently looking at some lay chaplain jobs at Episcopal schools because that would combine a lot of interests including pastoral care, youth ministry, and teaching. However, most of these jobs require ordination. If you have any advice please feel free to contact me. If you click here you can find my resume in Word format and PDF format. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

I will post more about things going on here at Msalato and Dodoma very soon!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

February 8, 2009 by Stephen Day.

Greetings from Msalato,

First, I wanted to let people know that I have posted a sermon that I delivered in January at one of the parishes that support my work here in Tanzania. I wanted to share this so that others could hear about my experiences. It is available in both a Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF format.

A little over a week ago I arrived back at Msalato Theological College in Dodoma, Tanzania. It is nice to be back but a lot happened while I was gone. In early January there was some kind of very serious electrical surge or spike (either due to problems with the electric company or a lightening storm - I am unsure which) that fried the computer network here. At least seven LCD monitors have been killed (those cost about $350 here in Dodoma). We also have several computer power supplies that have been fried as well, but those are only about $15 here. The wireless network has been off-line which has not pleased many people. This is all amazing because there is a huge voltage regulator protecting all of those things - it is rated for 10,000 volt-amps.

Anyway, it appears that there was not much rain here in the Dodoma area during January. This is the only time of the year when rain is even possible; however, since I have gotten to Msalato it has rained considerably almost every single night. That is very good. The people of Tanzania rely on rain to grow the food they live on.

The new semester will begin in one week and I am eager and nervous. I will be teaching two church history courses that I taught last year. Also, I will be teaching a couple of computing courses and an introductory theology course. This will be a busy semester.

I am also going to be working to finalise my master’s thesis for my history degree and try to seek employment for when I return to the United States on July 31, 2009. I would appreciate your prayers for me during this time and also for the people of Msalato, the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, and Tanzania.

PS - you might notice in this and other postings that I am “misspelling” some words. In actuality I am using British grammar because that is the standard used in Tanzania. I have changed my computer’s dictionary to conform with the prevailing standard so that I do not confuse the students and staff here.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

January 18, 2009 by Stephen Day.

I am sorry for not writing more recently. I have enjoyed being home over the past few weeks and visited with several congregations. I have posted over 100 pictures from my time in Europe with my mum. They are posted at http://stephencday.com/Europe/

Enjoy! I go back to Tanzania on January 30. I appreciate your continued prayers and support.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

December 22, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I am back home in West Virginia in the wonderful USA. I am very glad to be home and tired from travelling. I had a great time in Europe with my mom, but I am eager for a little quiet time. On Christmas day I will travel to North Carolina to spend time with my sister, brother in law, and niece and nephew. I am eager for that experience. I will share some more of my experiences from Europe and Tanzania soon. Do not worry! I still have one Sunday available for speaking - the second Sunday in January.

Check out pictures from London.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

December 20, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Well, I am now out of Paris. I am on the train from Paris to Amsterdam, almost to my destination. I will be in Amsterdam for less than 24 hours and will then fly home to the United States. I am eager to see yet another European country and city and hope to be able to see Anne Frank’s home.

I am travelling by train. This is the fourth train trip I have been on in a week. It has been a very busy week, but enjoyable. In Paris, I was able to go up the Eiffel Tower, visit the palace of Versailles, toured the city of Paris, cruised down the River Seine, quickly visited Notre Dame and the Louvre. Paris was nice. It was a good bit warmer than London and sunnier, which made it a bit more pleasant.

I am very eager to get home and share my Tanzanian experiences with my friends and supporters. Also, I have some work to do… have to prepare a presentation for my visits, prepare for next semester’s courses, finish grading a few papers from last semester and a few other things. Well, by for now!

Right now I am quickly approaching Rotterdam .

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

December 20, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Well, London is not really gone… it is just that I have left it. I had a wonderful and brief visit. I went touring for two and a half days and saw many interesting sights. I went first to the London Eye, which is a huge Ferris-wheel like thing and saw lots of London. Then I went to a famous wax museum. Later I got to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Parliament, a cruise down the Thames, the Tower of London, Bath, Windsor and Stonehenge. It was quite a busy, but good couple of days. I also have been enjoying a real winter after spending 14 months in sub-Saharan Africa. It is quite a nice change. I love the cold!!!!

Right now I am on the train from London to Paris and we have just come out of the Chunnel in France. We should arrive in Paris within about an hour or so. We will be here for two full days (after today) and then we will go to Amsterdam. I will be in Amsterdam for about 15 hours before flying home but my mother, because of some confusion in our plans, will be there an extra 24 hours. I look forward to being back in the US after so long away.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

December 13, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I am writing this blog entry on board the Eurostar train from Brussels, Belgium to London, England. I think we might almost be in France by now. We will be reaching England via the “Chunel” which is actually a set of three train tunnels underneath the English Channel (put channel together with a tunnel and what do you get?) Anyway, it has been a very long 36 hours or so.

My “day” started at 8 am on Friday in Dar Es Salaam (that is in the East African Time Zone, or EAT, which is 8 hours ahead of the east coast of the USA). I awakened at the Passionist Fathers Guest House. I didn’t do much during that day - I went into town for a very nice brunch at the Movenpick and stopped by the main shop for the cellular provider I use to stock up on minutes. Then I returned to the guest house and rested. I left the guest house at 8:30 pm EAT for the airport. The plane did not actually end up leaving until about fifteen minutes after midnight on Saturday, December 13 (EAT). I was surprised by how many people got of the plane that I eventually boarded. The plane came from Amsterdam, landed in Arusha/Kiliminjaro and picked up new passengers and dropped off others. But it seemed like the plane completely emptied out in Dar, which is surprising because ti is not a very popular tourist destination (Arusha/Kiliminjaro are popular because of the mountains and the well publicised safari circus in that region).

While I was waiting to board the plane to Kilimanjaro I was pleased to meet a nice older man who had worked on development projects in Tanzania for several years in the 1990s. He had just been back to the country to help his son with a project. It was wonderful to hear his stories about the country form that time period and much earlier. He had some familiarity with DCT and its bishop and we shared stories. I am always happy to learn more about my new home.

Anyway… The plane that went from Dar to Amsterdam was a new one (at least to me). It was a Boeing 777 and is the most comfortable plane I have been on. As anyone who knows me can attest, I am a large man and often find some planes very uncomfortable, but this plane was quite roomy - lots and lots of legroom. I enjoyed the flight, but it was a long 9 hours or so. I didn’t get any sleep except for about 15 or 30 minutes.

The plane landed in Amsterdam around 7 am local time which is six hours ahead of the east coast of the USA or 9 am EAT. So when the plane landed I had basically been up twenty-four hours. I was very impressed with the Amsterdam airport… it is beautiful and huge. The immigration process was quite easy. After I got my luggage I went to an ATM to get some Euros and was quite surprised and displeased when it gave be 100 Euros in the form of two 50 Euro bills. Imagine going to an ATM in the USA and asking for $100 and getting it in the form of a $100 bill, when you need to buy a bottle of water. It appears that no one wants to take 50 Euro bills…. This is quite a big change from Tanzania where the highest denomination bill is 10,000 or about $8 US. Often when you go to an ATM there and ask for 200,000 TSh (about $150) you get that money in 5,000 TSh bills (about $4).

After I went to the ATM I found the train ticket offices and was pleased to be able to get a ticket to London on a train that left directly from the airport. I have to applaud Europe’s use of trains and especially the Netherlands. The international and local train routes are built around the international airport in Amsterdam. That leads to a smooth and seamless blending of air and train travel. Very impressive. Unfortunately this is just too foreign of an idea for America - the country that invented the idea of suburbs and the two-car garage.

I have enjoyed travelling by train for the first time as an adult. It is more convenient (here) and more casual than flying. On the train from Amsterdam to Brussels a man who was from Nigeria saw the ring I was wearing (which is from Peterkin, the camp and conference centre of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia) and the African print shirt I was wearing and somehow assumed I was a Catholic priest from Africa. I explained the truth (very briefly) and told him how glad I was to enjoy winter.

In Brussels I went through customs and British immigration since that was my final destination. This was an interesting experience… I went through several different customs and immigration conversations in the past day and a half and this was a unique experience. The British immigration officer asked me why I was going to Britain, where I was staying and how long I would be there. I answered those questions pretty easily. Then, I think out of curiosity, he asked where I had been coming from and where I would be going after Britain. I explained that I would only be in Britain for four days, three days in Paris and a night in Amsterdam. He asked what I had been doing in Africa and I explained. He asked how I supported myself and I briefly explained that I was a missionary for the Anglican (or Episcopal) Church in America. He then asked what I did for a living in America and what my job qualifications were… these were tough questions to answer. I found these to be very interesting questions and I assume these were out of curiosity… since I stated I was not staying in Britain or seeking employment there. But it reminded me of my interesting situation.

Well I just wanted to jot down some notes. I will arrive in London within an hour and will then take a taxi to my hotel, meet my mother, get a shower, drink a lot of water and SLEEP. I have now been up basically for 33 hours at this point. A long day.

Have a wonderful day!

Updated… we have emerged on the other side of the tunnel and it is 3:36 pm GMT and it is dark here…. I am starting to understand all that I have heard about England having somewhat bleak winters… oh well. I am really happy to experience winter for the first time in two years.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

December 12, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I am now in Dar es Salaam staying at the wonderful Passionist Fathers and preparing for my journey to Europe and America. I leave Tanzania in about 28 hours - my flight leaves around 11 pm on December 12 (East Africa Time, which is eight hours ahead of Washington and New York (this time of year). I came a day early because travelling in Tanzania does not always go as planned - busses break down, especially when they have 373,000 km (or 231,000 miles) on their odometer. That was the mileage on the bus I was on today (it didn’t break down).

So I am excited to see Europe and get home. I am spending a week in Europe with my mother who is flying to meet me. I have been many places on this amazing planet, but never to Europe. I will spend four days in London, two or three in Paris and one night in Amsterdam. I will arrive back in West Virginia on December 22. I am quite excited.

I have tentatively scheduled visits to parishes on the first and last Sundays in January, which only leaves two Sundays available. I am eager to share my amazing experiences with others.

When I got into Dar I went to a supermarket so that I could get some bottled water (Dar is hot and humid right now) and some snacks and was quite surprised by a few things. This is a supermarket much like those back in America, but still the similarities I saw today were quite eerie. The sound system was playing traditional American-style Christmas carols, their was a special aisle in the store dedicated to Christmas decorations, and all of the employees were wearing Santa hats. Most of the customers and all of the employees here were Tanzanians . It was amazing to see a scene so familiar so far from home.

Well, have a wonderful rest of advent. I will post more once I get home.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

November 28, 2008 by Stephen Day.

On Wednesday and Thursday the power was off for about eight hours in a row. That is not the miracle…. On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day (in America) the power returned at 11 pm and about two hours later at 1:30 am EAT I was pleasantly awakened by a huge rainstorm. The rains have arrived in Dodoma. It has been a long nine months since the rains of February and March. This is wonderful timing because in just a few hours the final exams of the semester will be held and the students can return home to their shambas (farms).

Truly, a Thanksgiving Miracle!

Well… the miracle was short lived… sort of… the power disappeared after about an hour of the storm and did not return until 3 pm Friday. Anyway… the rain was very needed and welcomed by the students.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

November 24, 2008 by Stephen Day.

It has been a very busy time here. Just to follow-up on my last post… people here are very excited about the Obama presidency. I have been asked about him many, many times. I was at the market (somewhat similar to a farmer’s market) a few weeks ago and a seller asked me (in Kiswahili) where I was from. I answered and he asked if Obama “was my man” and I replied. Just last Saturday I was at a party and the Master of Ceremonies (MC) was talking about a young man and saying he was dressed in the Obama-style because he was wearing a nice dress shirt and tie, but no jacket. It seems like Obama is fully permeating the society and culture of this country 10,000 miles away from Mr. Obama’s new home on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Anyway… I thought I would share what I did last week because it was an interesting and busy week. Last week was the study or reading week for most students at Msalato. This week comes at the end of the semester and before the examination week (which is now). In theory, students are supposed to spend the week preparing for exams and nothing else. However, it appears that many teachers give written assignments that are due either at the end of the study week or the beginning of the exam week (I am guilty of doing this in one of my four classes, but gave them the essay assignment three and a half weeks ago). This caused huge strains on the computing resources of the college during last week.

So last week was a study week. I intended to do two things: first, mark all of the essays and quizzes I had from my students this semester and to work on addressing a major problem in the network here. The signal from the server that drives all of the desktop computers here has not been reaching the administration building here which houses a computer lab and several staff offices. I have not really had the time to address this problem because of my heavy teaching load this semester. Well, I didn’t get a chance to fix that problem or to finish my grading (got the quizzes marked). So what did happen?

Well, the week began with an interesting, though long, seminar about “Customer Care” on Monday. “Customer Care” you might ask? Well, this was a seminar that has been given to several hundred employees of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT). Dioceses here are very different from in the West in at least one major way. DCT owns and runs many, many different businesses, most of which actual are profit making. This is done to subsidize the overall work of the church, not to gain wealth. Some of the businesses include: clinics, schools, a pharmacy, a bureau de change, a print shop, a high volume fruit distributor… and much more. So this seminar on “Customer Care” was given to most of the employees of DCT to encourage better service to the customers. This seminar was held at Msalato for the same reason - to improve the staff’s relations with our “customers” (the students). The seminar was interesting and helpful for many people. I had some (and still do) philosophical issues with the idea of calling students “customers.” For one thing, I know the saying “the customer is always right” and that certainly does not apply to students. Anyway… that was a very long day (the seminar, with breaks, lasted about seven hours.

On Tuesday, I hoped to get some grading done, but I ended up doing something quite interesting… and sort of ironic. I helped to interview applicants to become part of Msalato’s Diploma in Applied Theology program for next year. I interviewed with the Administrator of Msalato who is a wonderful man and a Tanzanian. We interviewed four people. Three of these were under the age of thirty and one was in his mid fifties. All four were from DCT.

Now the way the ordination process works here is that you start seminary and then once you are there you go through a formal process for applying for ordination. This means that when students are applying to come to Msalato they have not yet talked with anyone on the diocesan level about seeking ordination or their call. In theory, they have talked to their parish priest and have his/her support, but not always. So a significant part of the interview process here is about the “call” of the individual. That was a rather difficult part for me to deal with. Partially, because of my baggage from the ordination process I went through, but also because trying to discuss one’s “call” with complete strangers and in your third language cannot be easy. (The first language of almost all Tanzanians is a tribal language, the second is Kiswahili or Swahili, which is the national language, and third is English, which is the language of instruction in secondary schools and at Msalato). Some of the students had good answers to the questions about their “call” and others didn’t. One of the questions was about the health of the potential student… a question I found a bit odd, because in America you couldn’t really ask that question I think — could open up a school to discrimination charges.

One of the most interesting parts of the experience of interviewing these potential students was a bias the developed within me. We interviewed two younger men first, then the older man, and a third young man last. Over the course of the interviews I realized that I kept thinking that the younger men were not experienced enough and didn’t seem sure or confident about what they were saying. The ironic part of this is that one of the priest’s I was closest to back in West Virginia when I started the process toward ordination cautioned me that he thought only people with more life experience than a 25 year old should be ordained. This wonderful priest, the Reverend Esber Tweel was the only person I really heard that from. However, I think he was somewhat right. It is good to have a mix of ages, but often there is a lot to be gained by some life experience.

Well… on Wednesday of last week we had a four hour staff meeting. Most of the time for this meeting was devoted to assigning courses to teachers for next semester. This was hard because there are a lot of classes and not that many teachers. Part of the difficulty is that there is still one group of students in a Kiswahili program and none of the six foreign teachers can teach those classes. Another long part of the meeting was the discussion about the teacher’s program. This program will offer both a certificate and a diploma (don’t ask me the difference, I can’t tell you) and will, in theory, start in August of 2009 here at Msalato. This is a mandate from the board of Msalato and is needed both to improve the quality of primary school teachers and to increase revenue for the college. The Kiswahili theology program will be completely phased out by the end of this academic year and last year it accounted for half of the total number of students at Msalato. So, there is a clear need to replace those students with some other program. Other issues were discussed… it was a long meeting.

On Thursday I was schedule to go into town and do several things. However, I was awakened early and informed of numerous computer problems. The computer network was not working, nor was the internet connection. I was supposed to go to town to help fix a problem at the diocesan headquarters in the Carpenter’s Kids program which is an outreach ministry here (largely supported by the Episcopal Diocese of New York). However, I could not deal with that because of the numerous problems here and I was frankly a bit sick. I did get into town so that I could get a package that had been sitting at the post office for about a month waiting for me. Anytime a package larger than a VHS tape (remember those?) comes into the post office, I have to go in between 9:30 and 10:30 am on a weekday to meet with a customs official from the Tanzanian equivalent of the IRS. Well during the regular semester the only day I was available at that time was Mondays and I tried several Mondays in a row to get into town at that time and was unable to do so. So, I had to take advantage of the opportunity to get to town. The package contained an updated book about the operating system we use here (Ubuntu 8.04) that I needed for diagnosing problems. So I went to the post office and picked up that package and mailed one home that had some gifts. I also did some grocery shopping… always exciting.

On Friday, I spent the day doing marking and preparing for exam week. As for Saturday… I will cover that in a posting later today. Have a great day!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

November 4, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Greetings from Africa.

There has been a great deal of interest here in Tanzania about the American election. The interest is based on at least two main things - first, America is the lone superpower and the US, under Bush 43, has had a close relationship with Tanzania. Bush’s emergency program for AIDS and Malaria has brought millions of needed dollars to Africa and Tanzania in particular. The other major reason for the interest is the fact that Obama’s father is from neighboring Kenya.

Africans are very excited about the idea of black president in America. They are very, very excited. I have had many students ask me who I favor and if I have voted. Most of the Tanzanians I have met are supportive of Obama. I have met one person that supports McCain and that was mostly based on the fact that McCain is old and therefore should be respected. I had a teacher ask me today why it was that only Republicans could vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats had to vote on Nov. 5. He explained that he learned about this from the CNN website. What he was actually seeing is attempts by some people to misinform voters and get them (especially Democrats) not to vote. I was pretty amazed at how successful that misinformation campaign was thousands of miles away.

I wish everyone good voting and good luck. It will be a very interesting day. I also thought I should explain why I put quotation marks around the words election day in the title. I am a little perverse… the presidential election for 2008 is not taking place on November 4. It is taking place on December 15, 2008. That is when the members of the Electoral College meet in every state capital to decide who they will vote for. In the majority of states the electors are under no obligation to follow the popular vote in their state or the nation overall. You can find out more about this process by click on this link.

In other news, I encourage you to check out some pictures I have posted on my website that shows pictures of the distribution of maize to students. This corn was donated by friends of Msalato in England and will be taken back to the villages of the students. Check out these interesting pictures.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 24, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Greetings and felicitations.

Things are going well here at Msalato. We have had a very good fiscal quarter thanks to the kindness and generosity of others. Our students are doing quite well. Msalato is in a very important period of transition. The school was founded back in the 1960s as a bible school to train pastors in central Tanzania. Over the years the school’s programs have expanded - adding a secretarial program (mostly training people to work as secretaries for bishops and dioceses) and two English language theological programs (a diploma and, most recently, a degree).

Several years ago the bishop of this diocese laid out his vision for the future of Msalato. He believed that it was very important to the future of the diocese and the church. Key to his vision is that Msalato should be an English-only institution — all instruction should be in English, not Swahili (the official language of the nation). There is another school in the diocese that trains pastors and catechists in Swahili. Last year there were 105 students at Msalato - 55 of them were in the Swahili program. This year we have 83 students and 30 are in the Swahili program. So it is clear that Msalato needs to adapt to its new situation. There are several plans underway to add programs. One is a year long English language and communication skills course that will start next August. This will be for new theological students and anyone else who wants to learn. Many people are very eager to learn English in Tanzania and there are not that many skilled and qualified teachers of English here. Another program that might start next August is a teacher’s training program. This would be a one year certificate program for primary school teachers (I think) and would focus on teaching how to teach, not the content. This program will require a lot more work to start up because we need to find new staff to run the program. There is also some steps that must be followed with the government so that the graduates of the program would be certified to teach.

During this important time of transition, Msalato and its teachers and staff could very much use your prayers.

I am leaving Tanzania on December 12 and will spend a week in Europe (which I have never been to) and then arrive back in the USA on December 23. I hope to be able to visit several of my sponsoring parishes during my time back in America. Feel free to contact me (at stephend79@gmail.com) if you would like me to visit your parish and share my experiences in Tanzania. I have permission to return to Tanzania by my employer, the Episcopal Church’s Mission Personnel Office, but am still waiting for my invitation to serve in this diocese to be extended. I get a modest stipend from the Episcopal Church, but serve under the authority and permission of the local bishop here. I do not have a return ticket to Africa yet, I hope to get one once I get permission to return from the bishop. I hope to return at the end of January, which would give me two weeks before the new semester starts.

I ask your prayers for my home diocese, the Diocese of West Virginia, which is holding its annual diocesan convention this weekend. Also, I ask your prayers for a dear friend and mentor, Cheryl, who has been diagnosed with a painful affliction.

Asante sana! (Swahili for many thanks or thank you very much)

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

October 13, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Greetings,

Things have been quite busy since I got back from Ethiopia a month ago. The week after I got back we had “Spring” break (we are in the southern hemisphere so the seasons are backward). That was convenient timing because I was able to use that week to try to fix the server which had been acting up for several weeks. I have mostly gotten it running normally now. I did upgrade the software on the server from Edubunut 7.04 to Edubuntu 7.10 and then Ubuntu 8.04. This new version of the software will be supported with updates for five years and will stay on the server for some time.

Once the break was over I started teaching a new class. This class was supposed to be taught by a teacher who ended up going to Virginia Theological Seminary (my alma mater) to enroll in the M.T.S. program. So this class had not been taught at all until half way through the semester. So what was this topic? Nothing too hard… just “God, Creation and the Trinity.” I am teaching this to second year students in the English diploma program. I am already teaching them church history. This is very hard. The student’s want a simple but complete explanation about the nature of the Trinity; however, that does not exist.

My other classes are going well. I am making progress with the first year students. We have moved into the era of Constantine and the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. We spent a great deal of time talking about the structure of the Roman Empire, numerous emperors and their persecution of the Church. It has been slow going but I think that they are learning a fair amount and getting to understand the early church. In my second year church history course we are moving pretty slowly as well but have spent most of our time talking about the Reformation after Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses. Right now we are just finishing up talking about the Reformation in England and Scotland. Next we will talk about the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church’s response to the Reformation.

My other theology course, Ecclesiology and Mission Theology with third year diploma students is going well. It is also moving a little slowly. We just spent several weeks looking at church leaders and government. We spent a lot of time looking at the meaning of apostles, disciples and elders and the Biblical and theological foundations of the terms.

Tomorrow is a holiday in Tanzania. It is the equivalent of Washington’s birthday - it is the birthday of the first president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. This coming Sunday I will be visiting the village of Zigelli again. This was the village I visited last November and I am eager to see it again. I will share that experience with you soon and more pictures.

Thanks for your interest!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 24, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Greetings,
Things are going well here at Msalato. It is a very busy time. I am now teaching a second theology course and it is keeping me very busy. The computers have also kept me very busy and frustrated. I spent all of last week trying to get the sever running again and updated. I got it running and upgraded the OS, but now am facing a problem that has plagued the network for weeks. I am enjoying teaching again after two weeks break (one week in Ethiopia and last week was “spring” break).

Anyway, I do not have much time to talk (got lots of notes to write and lectures to prepare), but I wanted to post a quick little note and share a request. Msalato is in need of your prayers. We are in a transition period and all of us here would appreciate your prayers. Also, we are in need of more technological equipment. A detailed grant request is available. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.

Steve

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 16, 2008 by Stephen Day.

After extensive prayer and deliberation, I have decided that it would be best both for the people here at Msalato Theological College and the Diocese of Central Tanganyika and for me that I remain here for another semester beyond December 2008. It is clear that continued support of the information technology system here and the teaching staff at Msalato is needed. At the same time, I need some time to decide what God is calling me to do with my life. I have communicated with the Rev. David Copley, the Mission Personnel Officer of TEC, and he thinks that this is a good idea as well. My official term as a member of the Young Adult Service Corps will conclude in December 2008, which will be fourteen months after I began my service. I can return to Tanzania in January 2009 and serve for six months as a YASC participant. In order to do this, however, I must raise $3,750 more in support of the work I am doing here. The Mission Personnel Office of TEC will match those funds an then provide me with the same stipend and health insurance that I have been receiving all along. That money will also provide for a plane ticket for me to go from America in late January and returning again in July 2009.

I will be returning home in December 2008 shortly before Christmas and hope to return back to Tanzania in late January. This time period is very quiet in Tanzania because most people return to their villages to work on their shambas (farms). I hope to use my time back in the USA to share my experiences in Tanzania with those who have supported my ministry and others. Also, I hope to investigate possibilities for careers and other opportunities.

I am requesting your continued support for my ministry here. If you feel able to support the work I am doing here, please send a check to the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia at PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361. Be sure to mention my name, Stephen Day, or Tanzania missionary in the memo or subject line.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 15, 2008 by Stephen Day.

After a fair amount of editing and revising, I have finally published some of the pictures I took at graduation here at Msalato in June. It took me so long because my computer was being repaired and then it was initally far too large to upload. I have decreased the size of the pictures and seperated them into two pages. The first is: http://stephencday.com/Graduation_pt1/. The second is at http://stephencday.com/Graduation_pt2/. Enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 14, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I am back in Dodoma. I had a wonderful time in Ethiopia. My niece and nephew are amazing and wonderful. I really had a great time. I will share more of my experiences shortly, but wanted to post some info abut some pictures I have posted.

Pictures of my niece and nephew: http://stephencday.com/ethiopia/

Pictures from a party at Robyn’s place: http://stephencday.com/RobynParty/
This was a party celebrating Robyn’s three years of service in Dodoma.

Pictures from the ceremony honoring the completetion of the Pre-Diploma and Pre-Degree programs. http://stephencday.com/pregrad/

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 2, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Dear Faithful Readers,

I hope that all is well wherever all y’all are. I wanted first to explain why I have not posted an entry in more than two weeks. Many of you who have been following my blog will be aware of the recent controversy that a posting I made caused. For obvious reasons, I have been hesitant to post much of anything.

Also I have been quite busy here. Things are going pretty well, but it has been very, very busy. I have encountered numerous problems with the server and network here. That has been stressful. Almost all of the students have arrived back for the new semester and that is good news. I am enjoying teaching three classes (two church history courses and a theology course). It is definitely keeping me busy.

This coming Sunday I will be traveling to Dar es Salaam. On Monday, I will then be flying to Addis Adiba, the capital of Ethiopia. I will be there until next Friday, when I will return to Tanzania. I am going to Ethiopia to rendeavous with my sister and brother-in-law. They are going to there to meet the children they have adopted (a brother and sister - 12 and 10 respectively). I look forward to meeting them and seeing my sister and brother-in-law.

I will post more soon. I wanted to let you all know that everything was okay. Well, I have to get back to preparing for tomorrow’s lecture.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 15, 2008 by Stephen Day.

The following is an official statement from Msalato Theological College regarding my recent blog posting:

The administration of Msalato Theological College sincerely regrets the inaccurate information in the blog entry entitled, A Missionary’s Perspective on Lambeth, published on August 8, 2008.  The college would like to reiterate the Notice published at the beginning of the blog which states that the entry was solely the views and thoughts of the author, Stephen Day, and that it does not represent the official position of The Episcopal Church, its Mission Personnel Office, the Young Adult Service Corp, the Anglican Church of Tanzania, or of this college. 

Lambeth this year was expected to be filled with tension and division.  We were quite surprised by Stephen’s analysis of the proceedings.  For some reason he dwelt on the divisions of the church and brought them here to central Tanzania.  We find that most unfortunate as by all accounts the spirit of Lambeth this year was one of reconciliation and unity brought about by prayer and spiritual reflection.  This same spirit of cooperation and unity is present between the administration of St. John’s University and Msalato Theological College.  God’s purpose and mission for the church is moving forward.  We are sorry that for some reason Stephen centered on negative aspects and apologize for any pain or insult caused at St. John’s University with whom the administration of this college has been working hand in hand for the last several months.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 15, 2008 by Stephen Day.

This is a revised version of a blog posting that I made on Friday, August 8, 2008.  I revised the original posting for numerous reasons, but the most important one was that it was being viewed as an attack on the Tanzanian church and its members.  That was not my intention.  I have also been informed of numerous factual errors that I made.  I have included a paragraph at the end of this commentary that explains my factual errors.  Also please remember the following notice:

Notice: The following is a personal commentary on the Anglican Communion and should not be viewed as the official position of the Episcopal Church USA (or TEC), the Mission Personnel Office, the Young Adult Service Corps program, the Anglican Church of Tanzania, the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Msalato Theological College, the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, or anyone or anything else. Please remember that these are the views and thoughts of one individual and no one else.

        Many Anglicans should be aware that every ten years “all” of the bishops and archbishops within the Anglican Communion are invited to Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to meet, discuss, and make decisions about the future of the Church. Last Sunday the most recent Lambeth Conference ended. This was a very important conference for which there had been high hopes. As many of you likely know, this Church has reached a crossroads and decisions must be made. However, at this Lambeth Conference the only thing decided was to not to decide anything. It was all about talking and not deciding anything.

        Those of you that know me well, have a pretty good idea what I think about the decisions made by the Episcopal Church, which, in some ways, precipitated the current crises. In short, they were the right decisions, but done in the wrong way, the wrong order. However, that is secondary to the real problems. For this Lambeth Conference the Archbishop of Canterbury decided not to invite an American bishop who had been a part of the original controversy. In doing so, he angered many progressives. At the same time, the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to invite bishops who had been consecrated outside of the typical methods and outside of the geographic boundaries of the church that consecrated them. This angered conservatives who had used these consecrations to try to deepen the divide within the Episcopal Church in the USA and supplant that “heretical” institution. As a result of this action twenty percent of the world’s Anglican bishops and archbishops refused to accept the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation. So the eighty percent of the Church’s leadership who did go to Lambeth were moderates, progressives, and a few conservatives. Despite this fact, that a significant part of the Church’s leaders abandoned this very important “instrument of unity,” the leaders of the Church who did participate were unwilling to take advantage of the opportunity to make decisions that would allow the Anglican Communion to move forward.

        Communicating and being involved in a dialogue with other bishops and archbishops is important. I believe in that; however, the Church has been in this dialogue since 2003 and nothing has really changed. Very few people have changed their minds and the Church has lost its focus and its vision. As a missionary serving in Africa, the part of the world that has (in very general terms) had the largest problem with the actions of the Episcopal Church USA, I have been keenly aware of the condition of the Church and its perilous position at the edge of a precipice.

       As many of you know I am serving as a missionary in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), which is a very large diocese in the Anglican Church of Tanzania (ACT). There are those in America and other parts of the world who would seek to create or enlarge divisions within the church in Africa.  These outsiders wish to promulgate an agenda by supporting certain projects and leaders whose ideology is closer to their own.  They have this right.  However, doing so in the name of Christ is wrong.  Trying to increase natural divisions in churches is wrong.   Also, trying to use other people to further your own goals is wrong.  History is replete with such mistaken approaches to bringing about change.

        Historians would call this a proxy war. One in which two larger powers use local leaders to wage a war against each other without risking any of their own people. Proxy wars were very common during the Cold War and were fought throughout the developing war. This is a sad and tragic development. A perversion of the Church and a bastardization of mission theology. The Church should not look to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the conflict between the Contras and Sandinistas, or the Bay of Pigs invasion to find tactics or ethical support.

        An example of the strife within the Anglican Communion and its impact “on the ground” comes from a fellow missionary serving within DCT. She was recently involved in a campaign to setup a water well in a village an hour or so from here. This village had one well that was designed for 600 people, but the village has grown into a town with 8,000 people, so there was a clear need for more water. Dodoma is located in a very dry and arid part of Tanzania. This missionary was able to raise a lot of money from individuals in the United States, Great Britain and other parts of the world. None of these people had a covert agenda and their only goal was improving the lives of others. Once the wells were drilled and the water was found, the missionary worked to try to get the churches in this village/town to organize and manage the well (this just meant devising how to distribute the water and collect modest fees for maintenance). However, the non-Anglican churches refused to work with the DCT churches because of the loose connection and affiliation that DCT has with ECUSA. The well is being maintained and managed well by the DCT churches, but an opportunity for inter-denominational cooperation and sharing responsibility and authority was missed because of the festering crises within the Anglican Communion.

        I have strong feelings about the initial issue that started the series of events that led to the current crisis in the Anglican Church, but they have nothing to do with the need to bring some conclusion to this crisis. While serving as a missionary in Tanzania I have seen many examples of the impact that these crises have had on the Church in the developing world. The Church is essential in these communities. It is often the only source of education and leadership that is open and free to all people. The Church provides health-care, job training, education, pastoral support, food and so many other services here. At the same time the Church is being tied down and prevented from being involved in important and essential ministries because of the problems in the international Church. Talking is good, but there is a need for conclusion so that all members of the Church can move forward. It would be ideal if we could move forward together, but if not, then we must move forward separately.

        I pray that the Church will move forward soon. We must if we wish to be relevant and true servants of Christ.

Corrections:

1.    In my original post I discussed the relationship between Msalato Theological College (where I am serving) and the nearby St. John’s University and made numerous errors.  St. John’s and MTC have a good relationship and MTC is going through the appropriate steps to become a campus college and formally affiliated with the university.  This will be a beneficial arrangement to both institutions, their staffs and students.  Also, the principal of MTC sits on two governing boards at St. John’s along with the leaders of two other academic institutions.  Finally, the St. John’s does not have a program to train pastors/priests, which is the main function of MTC; therefore, there is no overlap and no program to replace MTC.

2.    When discussing the origin and funding for St. John’s University I also made significant errors.  First, the university was not founded by Americans.  It was the idea and vision of the retired Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Tanzania and was supported by the bishops of that church.  More than 75% of the funding for the university comes from within Tanzania.  Also, the university was founded an established several years before the recent struggles within the Anglican Communion.  Also, St. John’s did not “steal” students away from MTC.

3.    Finally, I was wrong in my discussion about the nature of the DCT during the 1960s during which time MTC was established.  At that time DCT encompassed almost all of mainland Tanzania and therefore it was much closer in its form to what is now called ACT.  This is important to understanding the relationship between ACT and DCT schools and property.

In conclusion, I want to make it clear who I am critiquing and chastising – my fellow Americans.  I have nothing but respect and love for the members and leaders of the Tanzanian church.  They have such a passion for Christ and are eager to share it with others through word and deed.  They lift each other up and serve each other.  I am writing this because these are the things that I wish I saw in the American church.  I have seen it at times and in places, but far too often the American church is fixated on what divides us and not what unites us – the love of God.  We need to return to that if we are to be true servants of Christ.  If we cannot move forward together then we must recognize that we must go forward separately.  Just talking accomplishes nothing if neither side is open to change.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

August 11, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Somehow my last post about my thoughts on Lambeth have garnered some surprising interest. The operator of Virtue.net posted my entry on that site, which is dedicated to “orthodox Anglicanism,” which basically rejects many of the actions of the Episcopal Church the recent decades. The interesting thing is that I disagree with them on numerous levels, but they still posted my entry (without asking me). Also, there have been some interesting and rather nasty comments about my blog entry on the Virtue site. Check it out at:

Click here: VirtueOnline - News - As Eye See It - A Missionary’s Perspective on Lambeth - Stephen Day

Quo Vadis » Proxy Wars and A Missionary’s Perspective on Lambeth

Special thanks to Andrea Wall of the Poverty Eradication Network Trust (www.pentrust.org) for spotting these uses of my text.  Also, please note that there are some misinterpretations and errors made by the commentators.  

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 8, 2008 by Stephen Day.

This entry has been redacted.  An updated version will be posted shortly.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 23, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I have just learned that at the most recent meeting of the Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, which took place more than three weeks ago, that they will not be interviewing me for Candidacy for Holy Orders, ever again. This ends the path that I have been on since 1999. I now must try to discern what I will do with the rest of my life. I will almost certainly have to leave West Virginia in order to get a full-time job with benefits. I would appreciate your prayers for me and my family during this time.

Also, please pray for the students who will be coming to Msalato for the new semester in a week or so. The new term begins August 4. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 13, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I have finally found the time to edit and post hundreds of photos from the past month. I still have about a thousand pictures from my safari that I need to sort through, but these are the key ones from Msalato.

Pictures from a goodbye and thanksgiving party from a wonderful missionary who has been here for a couple of years. View them at http://stephencday.com/RobynParty/.

Pictures from the blessing and gifting of bikes to graduating pastors from this diocese. See them at http://stephencday.com/bikes/.

Also, you can view somme pictures of the staff and students of Msalato cleaning up the front entrance to the college. Check these out at http://stephencday.com/fire/

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 13, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Here are three links to videos I took while on safari with my father in Ruaha National Park. The best way to view these is by downloading them to your computer and then viewing them with either Quicktime 7 or VLC (aka Video LAN Client). To download them right-click (or whatever the equivalent is on your computer/operating system/internet browser) and select save.

http://stephencday.com/leopard.m4v
http://stephencday.com/lion.m4v
http://stephencday.com/zebras.m4v

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 6, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Sorry for not blogging in a while, but things have been quite busy. The term has ended at Msalato and the graduating students have graduated and some are being ordained right now. On Wednesday, June 25 my father arrived in Dar es Salaam. We came to Dodoma on June 27 and then left for Iringa on Monday, June 30. We then went to Ruaha National Park and stayed at Foxes Lodge on July 1, 2, and 3. We returned to Iringa for one night and then got back to Dodoma late yesterday. So I will blog today or tomorrow about all of that. But until then I would like to invite a special guest blogger - my father. He will be leaving Dodoma tomorrow and flying back to the states Monday night EAT.

**********************

It’s hard to imagine that almost two weeks have past since I first set foot in Africa. While awaiting my luggage (nearly the last pieces to be presented) I spotted Stephen outside the arrival area. He was sporting his new “shaved” head haircut. At night, Dar es Salaam seemed like many other large cities - lots of traffic (driving on the left), lots of people and buildings, bad roads, etc. Upon awakening, I discovered a crystal clear sky, an infrastructure outgrown by population, a vibrant commercial center, and a nation of friendly folks. In the section of Dar in which we were shopping, business is transacted from a series of 10 ft. store fronts. Looks like you could find most of what one might want - just no Wal-Marts or anything approaching 1% of that size. Interesting names too. I remember “Mississippi Grocery” for example.

Next day, we traveled by bus to the interior (Dodoma, where Stephen’s school is located). I had known this was a 6 hr+ ride. What hadn’t occurred to me is that that’s almost as long as the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam (7:01). Dodoma is much smaller than Dar, dustier, same lack of up-to-date infrastructure, same store fronts, same friendly people. Stephen’s school, Msalato, has just graduated its class and the campus is quite quiet. The staff still on site seems genuinely interested in its mission of training folks of all ages for various aspects of life in Tanzania (including training for the priesthood as well as other church leadership positions). The facilities are generally well built and maintained. I can tell that there’s often a lack of funding to complete all the physical plant expansions that have been attempted over the years. From what I gather, funding of operations is an ongoing area of concern.

Within the first two days I was here, two faculty members prepared dinners for us as well as extended family/friends. I was touched.

By means of a couple of 8-hr bus rides plus a pair of short 2-3 hr. hops in a 4 door pick-up (at twice the posted speed limit), Stephen and I were able to enjoy three days on Safari. However, I’ll let Stephen fill in any details regarding the Safari as he chooses.

I’m impressed with Stephen’s work, his dedication, and the folks I have met in Tanzania. The infrastructure shortcomings are to be expected in a developing country and can be overcome as development continues.

Phil Day

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 20, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Below is an article that will hopefully be published in some form in my home diocese requesting additional support for projects here at Msalato. Feel free to distribute this as you wish.

Greetings from Tanzania,
I have been in Africa for eight months and will be here for another six months. I am serving as a computer technician and teacher at Msalato Theological College, which is located about ten kilometers outside of Dodoma, Tanzania.

Tanzania is located in east Africa and is directly south of Kenya and is on the Indian Ocean. To the west of Tanzania is Uganda (northwest) and Rwanda. This country was once part of the British Empire; therefore, the Anglican Church has a very large presence here. According to official figures the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), which includes Dodoma, has approximately 500,000 members and that is just one of more than a dozen dioceses in the Anglican Church of Tanzania.

Msalato Theological College is a diocesan school that trains pastors and other church leaders for DCT and other dioceses. Students come from around the country and several come from neighboring Kenya. There are three main academic programs at Msalato: Diploma in Ministry, Diploma in Applied Theology and Degree in Theology. The Diploma in Ministry program is the only one with instruction in Swahili (the official language of Tanzania) and lasts two years. The other diploma program is similar, but instruction lasts three years and is only in English. The diploma programs are designed for students with educations varying from Standard 7 to Form 4. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry. I was not familiar with the British school system, which Tanzania uses, until I came here. Standard 7 is comparable to completing some of middle school and Form 4 is similar to a high school diploma. The final and newest program at Msalato is the degree program and is three years of English instruction and for students who have already completed a theology diploma program.

This past semester I taught two academic classes for students in the Diploma in Applied Theology program. I taught first year students about medieval Christianity and the Reformation. For second year students, I taught them modern church history (although I only got to World War II). I also taught two computer skills classes and an introduction to the Bible course for pre-diploma students.

I am here in Dodoma as part of the Young Adult Service Corps missionary program of the Episcopal Church. As part of that program I was required to raise $10,000 to support my work here. With the help of the people of the Diocese of West Virginia and St. Mark’s in Silver Spring, Maryland nearly $15,000 was raised. The funds over the required $10,000 have been used to support Msalato and the work I am doing here directly. However, all of this money has been used. The largest single item was $1,200, which was used to purchase the parts for a new server that will provide a local email system at Msalato. Other money was used to buy an oven and refrigerator for the duplex I live in, which will be left for the use of future missionaries. More money was used to improve the plumbing in my duplex, which will be of great benefit to future occupants. I was also able to purchase new keyboards, mice and power supplies for the computers here. Those items need replacement quite often here.

As I look forward to the remaining months that I will be here I am aware of numerous other needs that exist here. There is a desperate need for spare parts for the computers here – especially power supplies and keyboards. The electrical system in Tanzania is in very poor condition and although we use a very expensive voltage regulator on all of our computers there are still many power supplies that need replacement on a regular basis. The two computer labs are only a year old and more than ten power supplies have needed to be replaced. At least fifteen keyboards have needed replacement in my seven months here. There are also two classrooms and several offices that need to have network wiring so that students and staff can access the computer network and the Internet. The main server here also needs a spare hard drive, which costs at least $350 and is hard to find. For all these reasons and more I would appreciate your continued support.

If you feel called and able to support the ministry I am doing here, you can donate by writing a check to the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia and sending it to PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361. Be sure to mention my name or Tanzania in the memo line. Feel free to keep up to date with my activities by visiting my blog at www.daysdaze.org or you can contact me directly at stephend79@gmail.com.

Yours in Christ,
Stephen Day

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

June 20, 2008 by Stephen Day.

The semester has ended and some students have already left. The students in the pre-degree and pre-diploma courses have graduated and all have been accepted into the full degree and diploma programs. I have a fair amount of marking to do, but I am pleased with the semester. I really enjoyed teaching and look forward to teaching three academic courses next semester - two Church History courses for first and second year diploma students. I will be teaching third year diploma students ecclesiology and mission theology (which is actually mostly systematic theology). These will be interesting challenges.

I have been taking a lot of pictures and will share them with you as soon as I can sort through them. My father is leaving the US next Tuesday and will arrive in Dar es Salaam late on Wednesday night next week. I can’t wait for him to arrive so that I can share this experience with him.

That brings me to my final point - I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for all of their support for my work here. They have spent thousands of dollars in support of the work I am doing and without their help I would not be here (in Dodoma, not in the metaphysical sense) today. They are very faithful and loving people who have taught me so much.

Well, goodbye for now. God bless.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 12, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I have uploaded even more pictures. The pictures are of some of the staff and students here at Msalato Theological College. View them at: http://stephencday.com/TeachersofMsalato/. Enjoy!!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 9, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I have posted two more webpages of pictures. The first is a set of pictures from a service at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, which was led by a missionary here at Msalato. The second webpage is a collection of random pictures from the past few months. Enjoy these!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

June 8, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I wanted to let you all know that I have posted some new pictures to my website. You can view them at: http://stephencday.com/Prayer%20Walk%20Page/

These are pictures of last Friday’s Prayer Walk. It was a day of prayer here at Msalato and the day began with a prayer service in the chapel. The service was followed by a prayer walk around the campus. The pictures on my site show the staff and students of Msalato walking and praying around the campus. Enjoy!

Also, I have just posted a video from today’s service at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit here in Dodoma. The service was led by the Pre-Diploma and Pre-Degree students of Msalato. The video is from the Offortory when the students sang and dance. You can view or download the 20 MB video at www.stephencday.com/Students-Singing-Dancing.m4v You will need Quicktime version 6 or better to view it. You can get Quicktime at www.apple.com.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 29, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Hello Blog-afficianados,

Life is going pretty well here at Msalato. Some money has been found in New Zealand to help cover some of the fees of the students. This will hopefully keep the school afloat for a few more months. I ask your prayers for the continued support of Msalato and for the school to find a long term financial plan.

Today during my Diploma in Applied Ministry, Year 2 class I had an interesting experience. I was teaching about the Roman Catholic Church during the 20th century and in particular the rule of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council when all of a sudden from the ceiling a small creature landed on my desk. This was… an itty-bitty lizard. The lizard crawled around the table for some time and then crawled on me.

This reminded me that we have a lot of lizards here. I can’t imagine that there is anywhere on earth where there are more wild lizards. Every day when I approach the library there are several that scurry along the sides of the building. They are gorgeous and sometimes quite big.

Well, we have only a week and a half left before the end of classes for the semester. I will be giving essay assignments to both of my classes instead of a final exam. For my Reformation Church History course I will ask my students to write an essay explaining the theology of Martin Luther and to explain what they agree with and disagree with. I am not certain what I will ask my students in Modern Church History course to write about.

I ask that you pray for Moses a student here whose father just died. He is at his home village now and should return to Msalato soon. I also ask your prayers for Timothy, a friend of mine. Finally, I ask that you pray for teachers everywhere as they work to conclude their terms and semesters.

God Bless!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 22, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Greeting brothers and sisters!

I hope that all of you are doing well. Life is going very well here. I have been very busy teaching for several weeks and so busy that I have not had a chance to blog in a while. I am really enjoying teaching. The two Church History courses I am teaching are progressing nicely. The class on the Reformation is finally now at the Reformation (I had to catch up the students to the Great Schism, the Crusades, and the Middle Ages). My class on Modern Church History has finally reached the 20th century. I know understand why so many of my history classes never finished all the material we were supposed to cover — history is big!!!

There are now two and a half weeks of teaching left. I have a lot to cover in this time period. After that we have a reading week and then an exam week. Following the exam week I will have a special visitor. My father will be arriving in Dar es Salaam on June 26th. We will come back to Dodoma for a few days and then we will go on safari at Ruaha game park.

In early July I will be setting up a new server for Msalato that will be used to create an email system here that lives off the internet (saving our precious bandwidth) and backs up the main server (to protect from human and software error). This server will be purchased in parts from the US and paid for by donations from the great people of the Diocese of West Virginia. This purchase will use up the last of the extra money donated in support of the work I am doing here. So I would appreciate it if all of you could prayerfully consider donating more. You can send checks to the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361. Be sure to put “Stephen Day - Tanzania” in the memo line.

In other news, I have scheduled a return date to the United States. I will be leaving Dar es Salaam on December 12, 2008 and return to the US on December 22. Where will I be in the interim? I am going to spend a week in Europe with my mother. This is going to be a wonderful birthday and Christmas present. I have never been to Europe and look forward to spending a few days in Paris and London. I look forward to being back in the USA once again.

Well, I just wanted to share these bits of news with you. I pray that all of you are doing well. Please keep Ed, a family friend in your prayers.

-Stephen

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 4, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Today I preached at two services. The first service was at 7 am and the congregation was the Msalato students and staff. That service is in English, but my sermon was translated for the non-English fluent students. It went very well, except I almost slept through the service. I had awakened at 4 am and not gotten back to sleep until almost 6. The second service I preached at was at the same building but was at 10 am and the congregation was made up of people living near Msalato. This was a more interesting service since it was all in Swahili. I preached basically the same sermon at both services. I left out some talk about eschatology and a little bit about the Greek word used for sharing. It went pretty well. I am uploading to my site my sermon as it was edited for the second service (although it still has the Greek thing). Enjoy! Just click on the link below.

May 4 2008 Sermon.pdf

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 2, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Written on May 1,2008

Happy May Day (also Ascension Day),

Yes, in Tanzania they celebrate May Day. It is a holdover from the socialist era of the 1960s. Anyway, I wanted to share my experience yesterday shopping for a water heater. Ever since I learned they existed and were relatively affordable, I have longed for a water heater for my shower. Finally, I have decided now is the time to do it. I have used the advice of another missionary and am working with a “fundi” (expert/craftsman/technician) who also teaches at a local technical or trade school. Yohana, the fundi, teaches electrical students and earns only 60,000 TSh (about $45 a month) so he has to find outside work to support his family. I am also using a plumbing teacher from the same school to help with that part of the job.

So, yesterday Yohana, the plumbing fundi, and a student from their school arrived at my place at 1:30 and we hoped to use the college’s one working car to do our shopping. However, the principal needed the car to go to a meeting, but he did offer to give us a ride into town. So we left around 2:45, when it was convenient for the principal, and got dropped off in town. So we went from store to store tying to find the different parts that were needed. It took trips to many different stores to find the right parts. Things were complicated by the fact that the plumbing in my house was very old and not standard so most of the plumbing in the bathroom had to be replaced. The hardest part to find was the right size water heater. We found some that were far to large and eventually we found the right one. It was an interesting experience because a lot of the places we went to are not frequented by westerners so I got quite a few interesting looks. We walked all over town — it was quite an interesting experience. Eventually, we left town via a taxi with several pipes and some wire cover tied to the side of the taxi.

A long, but productive afternoon. I hope all is well with y’all.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

April 28, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I wanted to share some interesting observations about life in Tanzania. I was on the phone with my dear sister last night and she asked about my students. I explained that they are, on average, in their mid to late thirties and very few are younger than me. She asked if they respected me since I was younger than them. I replied yes, but explained that much of that respect might be simply due to the color of my skin.

This idea comes from past generations views of wazungu (which is slang and derogatory Swahili for white people). Back in the era of slavery and later colonialism Tanzanians and many Africans were forced to greet and respect Europeans. This most commonly took the form of using the greeting “shikamo” to whites from Tanzanians. The word actually means “I bow down to your feet” and was required to be said by all Tanzanians to all whites. Now the term is mostly used by younger people to their elders (regardless of races).

Despite the changes in the use of the word shikamo, the heritage of slavery and colonialism is to show special deference to Europeans. I would like to think that my students now respect me for more than my background.

Well, I need to get back to work. Have a great day!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 27, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Click the link below to view the lecture notes from a recent class with Diploma in Applied Ministry, Year One.
Lecture 3.pdf

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 27, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Click the following link to view the lecture notes for one of my recent classes for Diploma in Applied Ministry, Year 2.
lecture 4.pdf

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 27, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Easter Greetings!

I am pleased to say that our internet access has returned sooner than expected. So… today I got a chance to go to go to the Kiswahili church service here on campus for the first time. It was quite interesting. The service began at 10 am and ended around noon. I was a bit surprised to see how many people showed up late. Also, there were just a lot of people there. Once the pews filled up some benches were setup in the main aisle for more people. Equally interesting, I noticed that it appears the women and the men segregate themselves (women sit on the left and men on the right). As people showed up late they sat wherever there was room. It was a very nice service, although it was all in Kiswahili. I think I know somewhat what Roman Catholics experienced before Vatican II in the 1960s. Before that reform in the Roman Catholic Church all masses were in Latin, even though many Catholics did not know Latin. Like them, I knew basically what was going on in the service even though I basically do not know the language.

In other news, I will be producing my newsletter very soon that will include the past four months. Sorry for the delay - it is just a busy time. I am really enjoying teaching. I will share some of my lectures with you all soon.

Also, I thought I should let you all know that the changes in the missionary system of the Episcopal Church USA or The Episcopal Church that I outlined recently have been postponed. The Church’s committee that oversees the mission of the Church has said that more work needs to be done to determine what should be done. This is a very good development, but if you care about the mission of the Church I encourage you to let your rector, bishop, and deputies to General Convention know what you think.

One final thought… there are a lot of needs here at Msalato Theological College that just need a little bit of money to remedy. In the coming weeks and months there are several things I would like to accomplish. Some of these include getting a new accounting software program for the college’s financial secretary (the current one is outdated, unreliable, and pirated). This will cost about $200 for the software and a few helpful guidebooks. I also hope to get new hardware to create a real second server at Msalato that will help protect the campus from viruses, provide a local email system, and a backup for the main server (this might cost up to $1,000, but will work for five years or so). Also, there are two new classrooms and two offices that need to be wired to the network here so that they can have computers (I don’t yet know how much this might cost). So these and other projects need your support. If you would like to support some of these or other projects feel free to write a check to the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia (PO Box 5400, Charleston, WV, 25361) and mention my name (Stephen C. Day) in the memo line. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Yours in Christ,
Stephen

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 24, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Hello,
I wanted first to apologize for not posting more often this month. I have been really busy enjoying teaching. Things are great! In other news, we have run out of our alloted internet bandwidth so, I wont be able to post or email for the next week (until May 1). Keep in touch!

Stephen

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 10, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Last week I requested permission from my supervisor, the Mission Personnel Officer of the Episcopal Church (TEC/ECUSA), that I be able to stay for the complete spring (August-November) semester instead of having to leave halfway through at the beginning of October. Early this week I heard from the MPO and was granted permission, if approved by the DCT bishop, to remain here at Msalato through mid-December 2008 so that I can complete my grading and organize the IT situation here.

In other news, I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for my bishop, the Rt. Rev. William M. Klusmeyer, of the Diocese of West Virginia, and the Rt. Revd. Godfrey Mdimi Mhogolo, of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, as they discuss some important things.

Have a wonderful day!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 4, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I just wanted to note that it has been exactly six months since I left Charleston, West Virginia. In theory I will be here for only another six months. It has been amazing. I hope to post a bigger entry later, but wanted t o point out this milestone. God bless!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

April 2, 2008 by Stephen Day.

I accidently deleted an email recently that had been labeled by my email provider as junk, but realized two seconds after I clicked delete forever that it was not junk. It was related to my work here. So if you sent me an email within the past two weeks requesting my help with pictures or something like that, please send me another email. Sorry. Happy Easter Season!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

March 27, 2008 by Stephen Day.

Happy Easter! In the past week it has rained more days than it hasn’t. This is pretty amazing since the rainy season is supposed to be over by now (it started in December). In fact, it has rained for the past five hours or so. This is very good news for Tanzania… the shambas (farms) have been hurting because there has not been much rain this year. Also, most of the electricity in Tanzania is hydroelectric so, rainfall is very important.

In other news, in less than 300 days the United States will have a new president. I don’t mean to get partisan, but that is good news for the US and for the world. Countdown status: 299 days, 10 hours, and 5 minutes.

I have spent the last week and a half grading quizzes, planning the rest of the semester and fixing some computer problems. At the beginning of last week the computers here decided to stop working with the internet, which has caused some problems. I was not able to figure out the origin of the problem until Tuesday of this week. It was the DNS server settings… for the fellow geeks out there. Well, I better get back to work. I would ask for your prayers for the Commission on Ministry and the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia over the next three days - they are meeting and discussing many important things. Also, please pray for Msalato’s students as they return from their short break.

Bye for now.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »