keep writing

When we visited Idaru, Mpare, and Kirangare, I told our brothers and sisters how much we appreciated their letters. I asked them to keep writing. I said, I know Pastor Fue helped you translate your Swahili into English but don't worry about that. We can translate too. Write in Swahili.

I would've said so in Marindi, too, but Pastor Fue had not yet told me we should encourage more letter writing. Writing letters to each other, he said, will strengthen the companionship between Zion and Kirangare Lutheran Parish. It already has, so I had to agree.

When we traveled to Kirangare, we brought some of your letters. And when we traveled home, we brought some of their letters to you. 

Last Sunday, I talked about Anthony's gift to me. I already wrote a letter to him. In both English and Swahili, using Google Translate. I told him, "If the Swahili is funny, blame the computer."

The last package of letters we sent from Zion to Kirangare Parish took a long time to arrive. Just a week or so before we ourselves arrived, the letters finally found their way to their recipients. But it won't take so long in future. We learned how to speed things up: immediately send the tracking number to Pastor Fue. Because once he had the tracking number for the last package, he contacted the post office and picked it up. 

We're learning how to overcome barriers of language, distance, infrastructure. That's because the Spirit of Pentecost already connects us spirit to spirit in love.

So keep writing. Give your letters to Wendy or bring them to the church office. Or if you haven't written before, let us know and we'll get you matched with someone.

Thanks be to God.

Pastor Clark Olson-Smith