Author Archives: Elizabeth Locher

Last Sunday we spent the weekend at Chisichili village, about an hour southeast of Msalato. Chisichili village is the home of our friend Robert Jacob, a first year theology student who does gardening for us. Robert’s father is the pastor of the parish, where he leads worship for three different congregations.

We travelled by dalladalla (local van/buses) and car to get to the village, and once we arrived we got a tour of the area.… continue reading

We have just recently passed the 6 month mark since our arrival in Dodoma, Tanzania, and it has been a really incredible time so far. Although we have moved from one nation’s capital to another, it has been a big shift. Dodoma is a small city, and though it has a couple traffic circles to help us feel at home, there aren’t even any stoplights.… continue reading

I thought I would describe some of the adventures we have had over here with local animals. We saw all sorts of animals during the last month while we were travelling in South Africa and Zanzibar, but we’ve had plenty of interesting encounters here in Dodoma, as well.

From the first day we arrived in our new house, we discovered that we had roommates.… continue reading

Last Thursday, Ben and I worked with Professor Bob Hughes of Sewanee to celebrate a Eucharist for the Feast of All Saints. All Saints Day is on the liturgical calendar in the Anglican Church of Tanzania, but the seminary had not had a service scheduled. We decided to organize a Eucharist and invite any members of the community who were interested in joining us in commemorating the saints of the Church and singing “For all the saints” – Ben’s favorite hymn.… continue reading

This last Sunday we saw 14 new deacons ordained for the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. It was a very exciting day, and it was particularly exciting that I knew one of the ordinands, Revocatus, who had come to visit VTS last January with other Msalato students.

Each of these new deacons will be sent out to serve villages in the diocese.… continue reading

I must start this post with a confession. Despite the 20 years I have spent in school, I truly never realized just how much work it is to be a teacher. But to all my former teachers and all my friends who teach: it’s finally sinking in. Thank you for all the amazing work that you do.

It has now been two weeks since I taught my first class at the seminary here.… continue reading

Going shopping is a little different here at Msalato. The biggest change to adjust to has been that there is nothing like the one-stop shopping you can do in the US. Stores here are generally specialized – you can’t buy minor office supplies at the place you buy food, and if you want a printer, your best bet is to hunt down a printer store – not an easy feat!… continue reading

It was Wednesday evening after dark when we flew into Tanzania and saw the country for the first time. And the first thing we noticed was that it was very dark! Unlike flying into US cities where dense grids of orange lights sprawl around the airport at night, lights in Tanzania were more spread out, fewer innumber, and generally whiter.

It meant we didn’t get a good view of downtown Dar es Salaam when we arrived, but we did have an incredible view of stars – a view that is even more spectacular out at Msalato Theological College’s campus.… continue reading

Photo: The road to Msalato Theological College from Dodoma

We have reached our fundraising goal, and are ready to fly to Tanzania this Tuesday, August 21!! We want to thank all of our exceptionally generous donors whose gifts will allow us to teach and serve in Tanzania!  We have been struck by just how much support we received not only financially but also in offers of counsel, prayers, and encouragement. … continue reading