The Call

   My blood so red
   For thee was shed,
Come home again, come home again!
   You've gone astray
   Out of your way,
Come home again, come home again!

Anonymous  17th century

Note:  Now we are back in America.  We now have two homes, and they are so far from each other.  One thing to remember is that our true home is not on this earth.  We are on a pilgrimage as we journey through life.  The way our master calls us is the way of the cross. The way of the cross is a daily dying to self and living for Christ.  So whether we are here in America or there in Tanzania,  the cross is to be carried along the way.

Tanzanian National Anthem - Wimbo wa Taifa Afrika

Verse 1. Mungu ibariki Afrika.
              Wabariki viongozi wake.
              Hekima, umoja, na amani
              Hizi ni ngao zetu,
              Afrika na watu wake.

              Ibariki A-frika
              Ibariki A-frika
              Tubariki watoto wa Afrika.

Verse 2. Mungu ibariki Tanzania.
              Dumisha, uhuru, na umoja,
              Wake kwa waume na watoto.
              Mungu ibariki,
              Tanzania na watu wake.

              Ibariki Tanzania
              Ibariki Tanzania
              Tubariki watoto wa Afrika.


Note:  Today is our last day in Africa for this year.  We don't know the future, but we told our new African friends that if God wills, we will meet again.  It has been a great experience, far surpassing anything we had expected.  On our last Sunday in Tanzania at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Mwanza, our family got up front and sang the Tanzanian National Anthem.  Everyone stood up and joined us in this song.  We place the African church in God's hands.  The chorus says "God bless Africa, Africa and her people. God bless Tanzania, Tanzania and her people."

Great is Our Happiness

                Great is, O King,
                our happiness
                in Thy kingdom,
                Thou, our King.

                We dance before Thee,
                our King,
                by the strength
                of Thy kingdom.

                May our feet
                be made strong;
                let us dance before Thee,
                eternal.

                Give Ye praise,
                all angels,
                to Him above
                who is worthy of praise.

Zulu, South Africa
from An African Prayer Book, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, copyright 1995