Dar es Salaam Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Cook

This week we had an exceptional Mission Tour by a member of the Africa Southeast Area Presidency. Elder Carl B Cook and Sister Lynette Cook came with our Mission President, Steven Broadbent and his wife, Julie. They taught and inspired the missionaries on Friday, the Priesthood and Auxiliary Leadership on Saturday and members of the entire District on Sunday. One of the best weekends we've had!

District Auxiliary Presidents with Sisters Broadbent and Cook. YW: Grace Bandihi, Primary: Alice Kibuta, RS: Grace Mwingira

After Conference with Elder & Sister Cook

A Vistor from Puyallup, Washington

What are the chances of running into someone from home half way around the world in Dar es Salaam?  We did just that at church Sunday when we met Rhett Burbank, who grew up in the Puyallup Stake of our church and went to Rogers High School. He now lives in Florida with his wife, Karen and their children. We found out we know many of the same people including his in-laws, John and Candy Rushton.  It is a small world after all! What is he doing so far from home? Rhett flies helicopters for a living and was assigned here for few weeks. Rhett is a terrific young man, it was a pleasure to get to know him and spend a bit of time with him!

Ethiopian Restaurant, Addis In Dar - Good food, Great company!

"Children are an Heritage of the Lord" ~ Welcome Beatrice!

We are happy to introduce you to our 17th Grandchild, Beatrice Jane Cowart, daughter of Joseph and Jessica Cowart of Gilbert, AZ, born 8 January, 2012. She is the sister of Samuel, Clara, Avery, Elijah, Henry, Lily and Issac. Of all our earthly blessings we count our children and grandchildren as our greatest joy! 

Beatrice Jane Cowart - 8 Jan 2012, 5:49 am -7 lbs 15.5 oz., 21 inches

"Before" Jessica and Clara

"After" From left, Beatrice, Clara, Joseph, Isaac, Avery, Jessica, Lily,  Elijah, Samuel, Henry 

EDUCATION: The Key to Opportunity!

Our primary assignment here has been to help open the Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) in Tanzania. The fund is supported by contributions from donors worldwide. Young adults, usually 18-30, many of them returned missionaries, receive loans to attend school in their own communities. The program has improved the lives of some 50,000 participants in over 50 countries. The effects are perpetual as the money is repaid and then loaned to other students. Members of the church in the Dar es Salaam District were anxiously waiting for this “ray of hope” to break the cycle of poverty, not just for individuals but also for their families and community.

We had a successful start to PEF with the kick off Fireside in October which brought close to one hundred youth and leaders together. President Balilemwa, District President, welcomed and inspired the congregation by explaining how it took a miracle for PEF to finally have government approval in Tanzania and how thankful we must all be for the Lord’s care and concern for His people here.  Bruce then gave an instructive and edifying Power Point presentation explaining how the entire program works.

One of the requirements for PEF is to attend the “Planning for Success” 4 week workshop.  PEF and the “Planning for Success” course are built on a foundation of Gospel Principles: Faith and Hope in Jesus Christ, Education, Work, Sacrifice, Self-reliance, Integrity, and Service. The course teaches how to identify options, gather information, and make important decisions about their Work plan, Education plan and Finance plan.  Ten students completed the first course by the end of December. We will continue to teach workshops throughout the coming 2012 year.  

We were excited to receive official notification on January 4, 2012 from the Salt Lake City PEF Executive Committee that Tanzania was officially opened for the Perpetual Education Fund!

The First Students to Complete the Planning for Success Course

Farewell to Whitney

It was a delight to have Whitney come to visit and hard to say goodbye. We packed a whole lot of fun into 10 wonderful days. She made many new friends and experienced where we live, work, and pray. Thanks for the memories darling daughter. Now it's back to work for all of us!

Whitney with sisters Rose and Esther

New Friends Jackson, Grace, Sylvanus & Bertin

Super Safari at Mikumi Wildlife Park with Whit

About 4 hours Southwest of Dar is Mikumi National Park and Wildlife Camp.  It is the Northern tip of the Selous, the largest Game Reserve in Africa.  It is a surreal experience to be driving down a highway and have giraffes, baboons, zebras, ALC's (Antelope Like Creatures...many, many varieties here) and a warthog, visible just out your window. Once inside the Park we saw all sorts of African wild life cross right in front of our car.

Giraffes are elegant creatures!!

Whitney trying her hand driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road.

A Visit to Zanzibar with Whitney!

Seeing that Zanzibar is just off the coast of Dar es Salaam in the Indian Ocean, we thought we'd check it out while Whitney was here. Zanzibar is known for it's spices, the rare Red Colobus Monkey, and the last place the slave trade was active. Stone Town, an old Arabic portion of the city of Zanzibar has narrow stone streets and beautiful carved wooden entry ways. It is quiet and the pace is slow and relaxing. It was a perfect day.

We are in the Anglican Cathedral, dedicated to the end of the slave trade and built on top of the former slave market.

For many years Stone Town in Zanzibar was a major center for the slave trade. Slaves were taken from mainland Africa and traded with the Middle East. The Anglican Cathedral is built on the site of a former slave market and shows these statues, by sculptor, Clara Somas. It is a haunting reminder of man's inhumanity to man.

"Thinking of you, Avery", Love Auntie Whit

The Colobus Monkeys have no predators and are very friendly to humans.

Whitney's first step in the Indian Ocean

Dad, Whitney & Mom at the end of our day in Zanzibar

Merry Christmas from Dar es Salaam!

Christmas Day Dinner at our home away from home with the great Elders of Ubungo and Kinondoni Districts.

We enjoyed having the Elders for Christmas Dinner and Devotional.  It is always a pleasure to have everyone together for transfers and Holidays! Our daughter, Whitney, was supposed to have been in this picture but instead spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in a Hotel in Istanbul because of a flight change.  She made the best of the situation and found a branch of the Church and attended a Christmas Day service. Thankfully, she arrived early the next day, and were we glad to have her safe with us!

So good to hug our girl!! It's 4am!

Mbagala Orphanage

At Christmas time all of our Zone missionaries had the opportunity to do a Service Project for an orphanage in Mbagala, on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.  The Elders first helped cut down a huge old non-producing Cashew tree then chopped and hauled it for firewood for them. The Elders then played a great game of soccer with the older boys.  After that we got to play and sing Christmas carols with their delightful children.  They take care of over a 100 darling children who are amazingly loving and happy. They play well with each other and the older children are so kind and helpful to the young ones. We had a delightful day and felt they gave us much more joy than we gave to them. 

Sister Worthen is being taught how to count in Swahili by Jasmine.

An Afternoon at the Beach

There are 14 letters in Merry Christmas, and there are 14 Missionaries in the Dar es Salaam Zone! What could be a more perfect Christmas Card? We are at Coco Point on Coco Beach in Dar where Elder Russell M. Nelson dedicated the country of Tanzania for the preaching of the Gospel, November 18, 2003.

Dar es Salaam Zone, Coco Point, Coco Beach Tanzania

Ubungo District: Elders Nyazungu, Jimu, Mulondo, Mpahlele & Elder and Sister Worthen

A Beaufiful Family

Jennifer, Grace, Elias, Clayton, John and John Jr. Mwingira

 The John and Grace Mwingira family has been a great blessing in our lives here. They have a delightful family and are wonderful examples of the dedicated and loving African Saints here. Their first son to go on a mission, Elias, bore his testimony in church this week before leaving for the South Africa, Cape Town Mission. This will be his first plane ride and he is very excited. He will attend the Johannesburg Missionary Training Center before he travels to his assignment. We had the pleasure and privilege of having Elias and two other soon to be missionaries, Romanus (South Africa, Durban Mission) and John (South Africa, Johannesburg Mission) to our home for dinner and a "movie". We showed them the inspiring DVD of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaking at the Provo MTC Devotional about Christ-like qualities of a missionary. These young men have been best friends since childhood and have encouraged each other  along the way to fulfill their dream to be missionaries.  Elias and Romanus came to the Chang'ombe Music class every Tuesday wanting to learn how to conduct a hymn before they went on their missions.  They both learned quickly and were great students. They will be incredible missionaries. We love them all so much and will miss their endearing personalities. Our loss is South Africa's gain!

An evening with Elias Mwingira, John Komba, and Romanus Gidemi.

Three handsome boys, soon to be men.

Life in Dar es Salaam and a Little History Lesson

Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania and is located on the east coast of Africa on the Indian Ocean. The name Tanzania is a combination of two names..."Tan" from Tanganyika (the former country) and "zan" from Zanzibar (the island nation off the coast of Tanganyika).  On April 26, 1964, the two nations merged into the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The name was changed to Tanzania six months later.  The people here are beautiful and friendly and we enjoy living among them everyday. Even though they are a third world country the people are bright and hardworking and desire to become a first world nation. Education is the key and we are so excited for the first PEF "Planning for Success" class to start next week. More on that later. We wanted to show you some pictures of what we see on our streets each day.

The women can carry amazing things on their heads.

Beautiful smiles!

We pass by this junction everyday. It's called Ubungo Junction.

How could we refuse to buy a drink from such a happy guy?

This guy is selling water and soda as we are stopped at Ubungo Junction.

Our new Ubungo District: Elders Nyazungu, Mulondo, Jimu and Mpahlele on the street where they live.       
Our newbies Elder Mulondo, from Uganda and Elder Mpahlele, from Port Elizabeth South Africa.