Filed under: Africa, Anglican Church, Anglican Missionary, God, Jesus, Lake Victoria, Praise the Lord, Priest wife, Tanzania, anglican, connectionkenya, interesting, jesus chirst, missionary, religion, worship | Tags: Anglican Church, Anglican Missionary, Missionary Society of St John, Missions, Mwanza, Tanzania
I just received this dispatch my hubby early this morning, enjoy!
Dispatch 2 From Station Mwanza in Tanzania
Summer 2008
Fr FrancisWardega
Your mission support is beginning to bear fruit again in East Africa on the southern shores of Lake Victoria. People here in Mwanza, a part of the Anglican Diocese of Victoria Nyanza, were excited to start this mission. The mission started with liturgy on Sunday Aug 10, at St Nicholas Cathedral, one block away from the lake. The lake breeze made the temperature most comfortable. I preached and assisted the bishop, Rt Rev Boniface Kwangu, at the service. The bishop asked me to distribute the Holy Eucharist to his people. One young woman was confirmed at the service. This liturgy, one of three liturgies every Sunday, was the English service – the other two services are in Swahili.. It was very powerful to hear the Words of Institution, prayed by the bishop in his British accented, East African English. “Thees ees my boudy, brrroken for you.” Different and the same. Holy.
Our ministry is primarily a ministry of teaching. The need here fits precisely what we do. Here, there are many priests ordained over recent years with little or no ministry or priestly education. Here, education is hard to get. Bishop Boniface brought eleven priests together to receive the teaching that God has called us to give. 
Who are these men. All but two are in their fifties. The other two are in their sixties. All are ordained priests and are pastors of parishes in the diocese. Two came from the island of Ukerewe in Lake Victoria. Here in East Africa, they are addressed as “pastor.” Their names sing an African song, grounded in Scripture, colored by British history. Their names: Japheth, Erasto, Stafford, Zephania, Julius, Boniface, Jesse, Solomon, Iohanna, Abednego, and Josiah. Josiah has a bible school diploma and an M.Div from Cambridge in England. Solomon will be beginning studies at a bible school in Uganda. The rest have a 7th grade education at best, some less.
