Sounding Board

Mutual ministry connects people across the miles, across the years

 

St. Catherine of Siena said, "All the way to heaven is heaven." Most of the way from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to the town of Ifakara is bumpy and awkward, punctuated with roadside checks along freeways and unpaved paths of varying quality. Even this section of our two-and-half-week pilgrimage to the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese (UKD) was heavenly, because we saw the face of God everywhere we looked.

For more than 35 years, the Northwest Intermountain Synod (NWIM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)—a region including Eastern Washington, Idaho and parts of Wyoming and Oregon—has been in a companion relationship with Lutherans in rural south-central Tanzania.

"Bega kwa bega" is the Swahili phrase we have used to exemplify the mutual nature of the companion synod relationship we enjoy with our siblings in the UKD. It means "shoulder to shoulder," and illustrates how we walk together in mission.

Our recent pilgrimage to be with our UKD siblings was a full body experience.

• Face to face, we shared our stories.

• Hand to hand, we ate together and prayed as one body, especially while hosted at the Martin Luther Spiritual Center not far from the offices of the diocese.

• Foot by foot, we traversed the road between Tumaini Lutheran Seminary and Lugala Lutheran Hospital, two essential ministries located in Malinyi that our companionship helps make possible.

• Hip to hip is how we felt every bump and rock of the roads that added a dose of earthy reality to these heavenly travels.

We also moved hip to hip in a very joyful way when our siblings led us in dancing on several occasions. Dancing erupted in the context of worship, praise, arriving and leaving. I think the joy and thanksgiving we felt for God's presence unlocked our western joints and emboldened our spirits.

• Heart to heart, we could feel God strengthening the connection between us.

Though miles and miles lay between our shoulders now, our hearts remain kindled towards each other in faith. Having enjoyed this embodied experience, we can ask with fresh energy: How should we express this connection after our bodies have made the long trek home? What does mutual ministry mean?

One moment of our pilgrimage resonates for me as I ponder that question.

• Eye to eye, Pastor Moses Nwaka powerfully addressed our group at a going away party from Tumaini.

Before this moment, I mentioned our synod's need for prayer during the election season in the U.S. and the rising fears and anxieties in our congregations.

Pastor Moses looked at us with resolute, tender eyes that showed his heart full of truth and said, "God has placed us each where we are for a reason. God has placed us here in Tanzania, and God will use you in this time where you are, in the U.S. What happens in the U.S. happens to the whole globe. God has placed you there to be people of peace and good news."

Down to the tips of my toes, I felt both convicted and inspired. I guess there are times we have to travel halfway around the world to learn what our purpose is right at home.

Our purpose is peace, neighborliness, compassion and hope. The mutual ministry we have nurtured over the years with our siblings in Tanzania taught me this with fresh urgency. "What happens in the U.S. happens to the whole globe," Pastor Moses reminded us, and he's right.

Whether in Swahili or English, Spanish or Salish, we together pray that God would make earth "as it is in heaven." Little by little, step by heavenly step.

The smiles of the students at Tumaini, as an emblem of the hospitality and kindness we received throughout our pilgrimage, will live in my heart and remind me to seek peace and good will here in my place. May God keep us walking the path to heaven, shoulder to shoulder.

Liv Larson Andrews
Director for Evangelical Mission, NWIM-ELCA