Dear fellow members at Zion!
Many of you have inquired about my trip to Tanzania this month. There are so
many memories and stories to tell I hardly know where to start! I want to
invite you to come to adult education on Sunday, March 30, to hear how
brightly the light of Zion shines in the beautiful mountains of Pare. Look at
the pictures and come along with me on the walk I took around the village that
Saturday not too long ago: see the effects of your material and spiritual
support on the Kindergarten, the two primary schools and the dispensary and
re-acquaint yourselves with our friends Pastor Kennedy, Evangelisti Jason,
Jonathan and his lovely wife Jesusia, Emma the Kindergarten teacher, Frida who
has been a gracious hostess to several of us now, and others. Find out what
happened to the prayer shawl, the KAH-food, the reading glasses and the
valentines! Please come and share the blessings brought upon all of us in these
caring relationships!
Sincerely,
Heide Bursch
From: Todd Byerly [byerly@stpaulqc.org]
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 11:23 AM
To: Bursch, Heide C
Cc: byerly@stpaulqc.org
Subject: soccer support
Heide and all the good folks at Zion in Iowa City,
I write this message with great pleasure and gratitude. When Heide visited here
for the palliative care seminar, she presented us an envelope with a large
amount of money. Money which she said was collected by the good folks at her
church for the soccer team, the Dogo Dogo Stars. I was floored to see the
amount, and am very, very pleased to show you some pictures of what $420 can
buy here in the way of soccer shoes. Lori and I were going to the airport to
pick up medical students two days ago and arranged for Coach James and one
player (George) to go with us. We dropped coach and George off at the market
area with some cash and promised to meet up to talk the next day. Coach called
me later that night after arriving home in Same and told me of buying 34 pairs
of soccer shoes! He was very proud to be able to buy shoes for each player for
our 3 teams (A, B, and C). I am also proud of him, as he picked out some
quality shoes, some of which are used but good. I suppose we will wait a while
before we spend the rest of the money. I know they go through one ball per
month, and quality soccer balls cost $25 here. Please know that they are
ecstatic about having such a chance to have every player equipped with soccer
shoes. The deal is the shoes belong to the team, same as the jerseys. Players
do come and go, and of course there are more than just 11 or 12 players who
practice on each team, therefore making it prudent to keep all uniforms and
shoes in the hands of the team manager or coach. Believe it or not, shoes will
allow our teams to play better! If you can imagine motivation techniques or pep
talks during half-times, this is the same effect. But, more importantly for me,
it shows to these poor people that there are others who care for them. People
who will dig deep and further into their own resources to help others who
otherwise don’t have a dime to spend on things other than food and cooking
fuel.
I finish with a short word of thanks. We thank you so very much for reaching
into your pockets and supporting a group of Tanzanian youth. I thank Heide for
providing the leadership and generous energy. We thank Zion of Iowa City for
their partnership with their brothers and sisters in Tanzania.
In God’s Mission,
Todd Byerly
From left- Coach James, player Johnny Mndeme, Coach Share. They spread out the
shoes for me to inspect and count.
[cid:image001.jpg@01C87F7C.8E85BA20]
Coach James counting for me. Big shoes, medium ones, even colorful soccer
shoes!
[cid:image003.jpg@01C87F7C.8E85BA20]
Two Dogo Dogo players during a game. They are wearing new teal and white
jerseys provided by some folks from St. John’s Lutheran in Des Moines. We’ll be
looking for white shorts now to match the jerseys. Socks are a luxury, we’ll
see what will happen with socks later.
[cid:image006.jpg@01C87F7C.8E85BA20]
Todd & Lori Byerly
ELCA Missionaries
c/o Diocese of Pare
P.O. Box 22
Same, Kilimanjaro
Tanzania, East Africa
Home: +255 027 275 8152
Mobile: +255 0784 902 720
byerly@stpaulqc.org<mailto:byerly@stpaulqc.org>