My Two Weeks in Morogoro, Tanzania
Reflections on ministry in TZ and my incredible month-long mission in Africa
I am writing this on my airplane back home to Texas from Washington DC after spending the whole month of July on a Cru summer mission to Africa. I’ve been traveling for the last 36 hours and kind of feel like I’m living in a never-ending day, but it’s been a fun last adventure of the month!
We left Morogoro, Tanzania (where we spent the last two weeks) at 5:30am, took a train to Dar es Salaam, flew from Dar es Salaam to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and then took a 17 hour flight from Addis Ababa to Washington DC with an hour long stop in Rome.
Safe to say I’m exhausted, but I can’t wait to recap the incredible two weeks I just spent in Morogoro, Tanzania and my month in Africa overall.
If you haven’t read my essay about our first two weeks spent in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, here is a link if you are interested!
The work we did in Morogoro, Tanzania was largely similar to that in Zimbabwe, with most of our time spent going into secondary schools and giving an hour long presentation filled with academic tips, skits, a testimony, and a Gospel presentation. I talk more about that in my last article, so in this one I wanted to share the main two differences I noticed between the schools and culture in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
1: Greater Language Barrier
In Zimbabwe, most students spoke English quite well and we were easily able to have conversations with them. This was not the case in Tanzania, and though many know at least a little English and we could have small conversations with them, we had to translate everything we said in the presentations. Shoutout to the incredible Life Ministries team in Tanzania for being excellent translators and their incredible talent in all aspects of the presentation. By the end of our time there, they were doing the presentation on their own. Even when they were speaking in Swahili I would just admire how good they were at engaging with the students and how hilarious they were in the skits! I’ll talk more about the Tanzanian team later (:
2: The Muslim Culture
Tanzania is 34% Muslim, which was quite different than Zimbabwe which has almost no Muslims. This difference was definitely noticeable - we could hear the call to prayer song multiple times per day from where we stayed and we saw a lot of Muslims out in public and at the schools we went to. We had a lot of opportunities to share the gospel with Muslim students and people throughout our time in Tanzania which was a powerful experience.
Like in Zimbabwe, I had a lot of fun being the MC of the presentation a few times and narrating skits. I love public speaking and getting to teach students about how to be successful, most importantly in their spiritual life. I love these photos because I think they show how much fun I was having!
Attending Church in Tanzania
When we were preparing to go to church the first Sunday in Tanzania, we were told that the services would be three hours long and be entirely in Swahili. Safe to say, I was a little unsure what it would be like. But, the two churches I attended in Morogoro were highlights of the month for me and an immersive cultural experience to get to have.
The first church I went to was an hour drive away in a more rural area with gorgeous mountain views (like all of Morogoro) and a sunflower field surrounding it. There were about 50 people in the Church, and a large amount of them were children. Most of the service was spent worshipping, and they had the most lively singing and dancing. I especially loved the children’s chorus. I also got to share my testimony with the church which was an amazing experience!
The second church I went to was also three hours long filled mostly with music. I was grateful to a couple of the girls on the Tanzanian team who whispered the English translation in our ears during the short sermon on 1 Corinthians 13. I got to plug my guitar in and perform one Swahili song with the band there and two of the Tanzanian staff members, Wisala and Judith, led the singing! Overall, I felt so lucky to have gotten to play worship music and even share my testimony at these churches in Tanzania. It was a beyond cool experience to have!
Worship Music
Speaking of music, getting to bring my guitar to Africa was one of the things that made the trip what it was for me. I got to lead worship with our team and the Tanzanian team almost every night and got to perform at a few schools. I got to play a couple of Swahili songs which was really fun. Music is normally a more private part of my life, but getting to utilize music in a different continent for so many people and all centered around God and worship was just incredible. I hope to experience that again.
I really wanted to share this video from a school in Zimbabwe in my last article but my internet in Africa was not strong enough to upload it! So I’ll just share it here because this was one of my favorite moments from the whole month:
A Hike in Morogoro
I knew we were going to Tanzania this month of course, but I honestly had no clue where in Tanzania or what it would be like. So, when we arrived in Morogoro, I was totally blown away by the gorgeous scenery. I already miss the mountain views from the place we stayed, the beautiful sunsets, and the lush greenery.
One of our team members could not stop talking about how much he wanted to go on a hike up one of the mountains, so on one of our off days we got to go on a hike.
This hike ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. We had the best time enjoying the scenery and beautiful views. We also got to eat a lot of cool foods along the way like raw sugar cane, avocados, and berries from trees. But, it was the people we saw living their daily lives in the mountain village we walked through that was the most memorable. We walked through a primary school where some of our team members ended up sharing the Gospel with some of the kids (many were Muslims). We kept passing little kids walking up the mountain home from that school - they were adorable. We saw two women washing dishes through a homemade water drain coming out of a cliff. We passed by a ton of people and houses on our way up and down the mountain. I ended up in a conversation with one of my friends about how different life is for the people and kids that live in a little mountain village in Tanzania than it is for us. Like I talked about in my article about Zimbabwe, confronting these stark life differences comes with mixed emotions. I felt grateful for my life and for the opportunities I have, sad that not everyone has that, and also fascinated by such a different lifestyle.
Our Time at Highlands Camp
We spent both Saturday’s we were in Morogoro at Highlands Tanzania, which is a camp for students. The two times we went there they were hosting a day camp for a spelling bee and there was also a time for sharing the Gospel. Our team got to help out with the Gospel sharing and also serve lunches. There were around 1,000 students at the camp both weekends and it was amazing to see how many of them accepted Christ, especially when a large amount of the campers were Muslim.
Final Stats & Reflections
With the 16 schools we went to in Tanzania, the 10 schools in Zimbabwe, and the Highlands camp, there were 3,687 decisions to accept Christ. Our leaders kept reminding us that these numbers were higher than they had ever experienced, which is just a testament to all God is doing in these two countries and how much people are ready to follow Jesus. It is incredible to see how much of an impact God had on the students we encountered throughout the month.
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” - Matthew 28:18-20
Now, I want to share four of my main takeaways from the mission and from all I saw God do this past month.
Being Present
Something I consistently noticed in myself throughout this trip was how present I was. I truly felt more present during the mission than I think I’ve been in years, and there were a few reasons for that. For one, this summer has been a unique time in my life where I am in between high school and college and pretty free from my usual obligations. My only obligation this summer was the mission in Africa, and because of that I was able to really zone in on being here. My focus was on the work we were doing, the people I was with, and God. Being so removed from my normal life allowed me to be extraordinarily present and I hope to bring that level of commitment and focus for each moment I’m in and for God back to my life in America.
Gratitude
It’s probably not a shock that I come back from a month in Africa and want to share about how grateful I am. Of course being exposed to such a different part of the world puts my life into perspective and has made me extra grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had in my life. But it also went even deeper than that - I was really just overwhelmed with gratitude all month for what God has done in my life and how lucky I felt to have such a fun and transformative experience all in order to share the Gospel. And, most of all, I was grateful to witness God change thousands of lives in such a short period of time.
Using My Gifts from God for His Glory
Perhaps my biggest mindset shift of the month had to do with how I view the gifts, talents, and skills God has given me. I am a person that desires to do well and be successful in everything that I do, and this can often manifest in a self-centered, prideful way. I often want to do good so that others can recognize that or to get some sort of reward for myself. At the beginning of my time in Africa, I really wanted to do a good job in all the work we were doing. I wanted to be a great public speaker during the assemblies, perform my music well, and be a strong member of our team. This isn’t a bad thing of course, but the reason I wanted to do a good job was largely for personal gain or recognition. But, pretty soon into the trip I started to feel that God was changing my perspective. He was showing me that any gifts I have come from God and are to be used for His glory. And I loved how on this trip I could see how God has given me certain skills or experiences in my life that prepared me for the work we did in Africa. It was incredibly fulfilling to be able to use the gifts God has given me in order to love others and share the Gospel with them. And, I was also incredibly inspired by seeing the gifts of the other members of our team and of the local staff we worked with. It is beautiful to see how God equips every person with different skills and passions and talents. And when we can all work together for God, He can do incredible things through us.
The Tanzanian Staff!
Getting to work and spend time with the Life Ministries (the name for Cru in Tanzania) staff in Tanzania is something I will never forget. It is so wonderful to see so many intelligent, loving, and talented people dedicating their lives to helping others know Jesus. I want to say a massive thank you to all the staff we worked with in Tanzania for allowing us to help them as they work to start clubs at the schools we went to. They also were just the kindest people and I learned so much from watching all their hard work and how good they were in the presentations. Please pray for them and their ministry as they continue their work in Tanzania and in the schools we went to. Here is a link to the Tanzania giving page if you feel led to support them. Any amount makes a huge impact in their ministry and I can promise you that this is a great team to support that is impacting countless lives in Tanzania.
Here is our group photo with the incredible Tanzanian staff - we are so grateful to have gotten to work alongside them!
Our Amazing Cru Team!
Spending basically every waking moment for a month with six other teenagers who were complete strangers was quite daunting to me before this trip. Thankfully, I could not have been a part of a more incredible team and I am amazed by the bonds we all formed. We were actually just talking when we landed in the DC airport about how the last time we were there on July 2 (flying to Africa) we were all strangers and now we can’t imagine not knowing each other and spending time together. I’m incredibly sad to leave all of them but am so grateful for the time we spent together and look forward to seeing what God has in store for their lives. Here’s a little I wanted to share about each of them:
Sabrina: Most of the photos in this article and the last one were taken by Sabrina who is not only a talented photographer but one of the most selfless, servant-hearted people I have ever met. Also, by the end of our time in Tanzania Sabrina could fully introduce herself and have little conversations in Swahili and the students at the schools loved this.
Keyla: Keyla made the month so fun with her constant humor and energy. She was like a magnet for students; everybody loved her and she was so good at connecting with others. She was always ready to share the gospel, whether it be with little kids or Muslim women.
Nathan: By the end of the trip, Nathan had fully become my partner in leading worship and I had so much fun singing with him! Nathan was always so empathetic, helpful, and fun to be around. He shared his testimony at the first school we went to and one of the last ones - it was cool to see how much he had grown in his confidence sharing his story and how much he desired to connect with students.
Braden: Braden’s intelligence, humor, and kindness was always a blessing to our team and he was definitely the best at getting stuck to the chair during the sin skit! I was incredibly inspired by Braden’s constant desire to share the Gospel with whoever we came across.
Christian: Christian always kept us entertained and laughing this month and the trip wouldn’t have been anywhere near as fun without him. I was consistently grateful for his commitment to leading and helping others and really enjoyed when he shared his testimony at schools.
Lyilah: Lyilah and I were truly bonded after we woke up at 1am to a massive spider and the loudest cricket imaginable in our room in Zimbabwe…but besides that, Lyilah is very mature, kind, and a strong leader. One of my favorite moments of the month was when Lyilah shared the Gospel during our water filter demonstration in Tanzania. She used two water bottles (one with the dirty water and one with the filtered clean water) in order to show how Jesus forgives us of our sin and allows us to have a relationship with God. It was a beautiful presentation of the Gospel.
A very special thanks to our leaders Nicole, Jean, Ken, and Billy (who we missed so much in TZ!) for working hard to make this month a life-changing experience for so many. I learned so much from them! And thank you to the Cru organization for providing young people like me with the opportunity to share the Gospel around the world and impacting so many lives.
Thank you to everyone who supported me in order to come on this mission and I hope to get to share more about my experience with you personally. I witnessed God do so much in the schools we went to and I know that this was only the beginning of what will be done in Zimbabwe and Tanzania! 🇿🇼🇹🇿
This is one of the best articles to read, God bless you and keep up the good works Peyton
It was nice moment and thanks for good highlight @i learned alot bout this thank you peyton price