Comings and Goings

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)

This entry was posted on October 24, 2008 at 9:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.