Commissioning Ceremony

Today was the commissioning ceremony at Salem Lutheran Church in West St. Paul. It was a touching ceremony at the beginning of the Sunday morning church service. After the service, we were wished safe and wonderful journey by so many of the parishioners. It was a fantastic outpouring of support from the Salem congregation.

We have also received incredible material support with donations of goods and money. Yesterday, some of our group came to Salem and arranged a display all of the wonderful donations of all kinds of different gifts that we have been given to bring to the numerous people we will meet on our trip. Everything from hats and t-shirts to homemade quilts and teddy bears to solar powered lights and hand crank powered flash lights. Below is a picture of the stash. Now the question is: Can we pack it into 9 or fewer bags to take on the airplanes?
Since we were all dressed up nice, we decided it was time for a group shot. Don't expect us to look this good later...

In Tanzania

Once we are in Tanzania, we will be renting a small bus, including a translator/driver to drive us from Dar es Salaam to Iringa, Magome, Ruaha, etc. The roads in Tanzania are not what we here in the United States are used to - no cruising down the highway at 70 miles per hour.

The map to the right shows the approximate path of bus trip from Dar es Salaam to Iringa. As the crow flies, it is about 250 miles from Dar es Salaam to Iringa. We expect the bus trip to take 8 to 10 hours, depending on stops.

About Tanzania

Tanzania is located in east central Africa, just south of the equator. So, we will be going in winter - I'll watch for snow.

To the left is a map giving you a good overview of the area. I will try to post a better map of Tanzania later. We will be spending the majority of our time in Iringa, Magome, and Ruaha National Park. All are located in central to south-central Tanzania.

Where are we going

Above is a small map showing our flight to get from good ole Minneapolis/St. Paul to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I was shocked to learn that there is no direct flight for us to take. Instead, we have to fly four legs on three different airplanes to get there. Our trip will take us from Minneapolis, Minnesota through Detroit, Michigan from there to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, on to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and finally to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We will be flying for a total of just over 19 hours and have layovers totaling just over 7 hours (assuming no flight delay - please pray for no flight delays). So, that's over 26 hours to get to Tanzania. We will leave Minneapolis/St. Paul at 11:23 AM on July 9th and, with time changes and all that, arrive in Dar es Salaam at 9:40 PM on July 10th. At least we are not traveling by steam ship :).

In case you are wondering, Dar es Salaam is eight hours ahead of Minnesota. That puts us in the same time zone as Russia, Iraq and Madagascar.

Then we've got to get from Dar es Salaam to Iringa...