by Luke Tatge*, ELCA News Service
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Western Iowa
Synod will send 21 of its youth to Tanzania July 21-Aug. 13 to
visit with youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
(ELCT) Southern Diocese, work on service projects and visit area
institutions. The three-week trip will coincide with parish
youth rallies in Tanzanian churches.
Students will work with ELCT youth on two service projects. They
will visit the Igumbilo Lutheran Girls' Secondary School,
Chimala, a school started through a $25,000 donation from the
ELCA Western Iowa Synod. They've also proposed a visit to the
new Center for Agricultural Development, Lupembe, a partner
project of the ELCA Western Iowa Synod that seeks to "improve
Tanzania's capacity in sustainable agricultural development."
Some of the ELCA students worked on a project to raise funds for
purchasing mosquito nets to help combat malaria in Tanzania. At
the ELCA Western Iowa Synod Assembly, Buena Vista University,
Storm Lake, Iowa, June 6-7, students collected $941 to buy nets
for the approximately 500 students at the Igumbilo Lutheran
Girls' Secondary School and the Ilembula Lutheran Hospital. They
received $2,500 for the project from ELCA Evangelical Outreach
and Congregational Mission.
*Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College,
Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA News
Service.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
