Preparations, Graduation, and a Plea for Support

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

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