Bwana Asifiwe

The last few days have been exciting to say the least. Late Friday night Aaron Schutte, a Wartburg Alum who is teaching in northern Tanzania, arrived at the Lutheran Junior Seminary. He was able to show us around the grounds and make us feel comfortable and at home. In addition to that he shared stories that reiterated the idea of how welcoming and great the Tanzanian culture is.

Saturday morning we traveled to the Maasai Cattle Market. The Maasai are an East African tribe who are heavily populated around the Morogoro area. The market was a really great experience in itself. As we walked through one couldn’t help but admire the beautiful clothing and the simplicity of the Massai people. One also couldn’t help but be taken back by the hospitality of the people we met. As soon as we walked out of the car people started coming to Pastor Hafermann and greeting each of us with a hand shake and “Bwana Asifiwe” (Praise the Lord). For lunch I had my first traditional Tanzanian dish- chips mayai and goat. Chips mayai is a dish of fried potatoes and egg- I thought it was very good. The goat was fresh from the market and cooked over an open fire.



Sunday was our first village visit. Upon arrival to the village we were invited into the sanctuary for tea. The church was very simple compared to what we have at home. Cement floors, walls and wooden benches reminded me that worship is not about the place you do so in, but the people you are around and the message that is given. The church service was around 4.5 hours long. Believe it or not, it actually went by fairly quickly; choirs sang and danced during the service providing for a very unique and moving experience. The Massai choir was probably my favorite of the day. The young girls sang and danced to a couple of songs during the service.





After a long day the night ended early. This morning we began our Swahili classes and are currently on our 2.5 hour long afternoon break.

Hope all is well! michael

On the Ground

After almost 24 hours of driving, flights, waiting and airline food we have safely arrived in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania. We arrived here at 11:00pm (3:00pm Iowa time) Thursday night and traveled to a Catholic guesthouse where we caught up on sleep for the night.

This morning we ate breakfast and began our drive to Morogoro. On the way we saw a family of Baboons crossing the road (I thought to myself I would have much rather hit one of these then the deer that I did on Sunday). The rest of the drive was spent taking in the beautiful Tanzanian scenery.

After around a 3 hour drive we arrived at the Lutheran Junior Seminary. It is hard to believe that this is what I will call home for the next three months- it is so beautiful and peaceful!






Above are photos of the Lutheran Junior Seminary :)

Take care- michael

24 hours and counting!

In 24 hours my dream of studying abroad will become a reality as I board the plane that will ‘officially’ mark the beginning of my program. I will be studying in Morogoro, Tanzania at the Lutheran Junior Seminary. While there I will be taking four classes and engaging in various service opportunities.

My program is three months long. When I think about being away from family and friends, 3 months sounds like a long time. This will be the longest period of time that I have been away from my immediate family and it will also be the longest period of time that I have gone without seeing many of my aunts, uncles and cousins. When I think about the experiences I will be having 3 months feels too short. In other words, being away from home may be ‘bittersweet’ at times. However, I know that this experience is going to be one I will value for a very long time.

This is just a short post to begin my blogging marathon. I hope to update a couple times a week as my internet connection allows. While away I would love to hear from you. Feel free to message me on facebook or send me an e-mail at michael.c.stevenson@gmail.com.

take care- michael