Finding the best ways to communicate well is always something WELS missionaries are thinking about. That’s why, in mid-October, my family landed in Arusha, Tanzania. We planned to spend about two months in the country to learn to communicate in Swahili.

Old and young learners communicate
I enrolled in two courses at MS-TCDC, a college focused on teaching Swahili to foreigners, for five weeks. Outside of class, there were plenty of opportunities to practice Swahili with people. We bought groceries, asked for directions, flagged down bijajis (three-wheeled taxis), and just said: “jambo” (hello)! The official languages of Tanzania are both Swahili and English. However, much more emphasis is placed on Swahili in Tanzania. It’s common to find people who speak very little or no English. This made using the language a must in day-to-day interactions.

My wife, Becky, and two youngest children, Katya (9) and Leia (6) joined me for the experience. Becky homeschools the girls, so temporarily relocating from our home in Lusaka, Zambia, to Arusha didn’t interrupt their learning. Becky integrated quickly into the local homeschooling scene, and she and the girls made new friends quickly.

Connecting with local Christians
I also interacted with Africa Mission Evangelism Church (AMEC), a Lutheran church body based in Tanzania. After carefully working through One Africa Team’s Four Stage Process, WELS will declare fellowship with AMEC at this summer’s synod convention, God-willing.

Our normal practice is to visit one of our mission partners for about two weeks. After two months in Tanzania, we visited many churches on Sundays and deepened our relationships with church leaders. I also met with leaders from the Community of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Central Africa (CEELAC). CEELAC is a new partner based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We have been meeting in Tanzania due to security concerns in the DRC.

Both AMEC and CEELAC use Swahili in their worship services. Attending worship was a great opportunity to put into practice what I had learned in my classes. Two months isn’t enough time to communicate like a native Swahili speaker. I was excited to see that I could understand much more and even teach a little in their language. I’m thankful for the opportunity to communicate the gospel no matter where I live!

Listen to Leia Foxen communicate in her way about what she saw in Tanzania in this video posted on the One Africa Team’s YouTube Channel.

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news, and receive updates.

Written by Missionary Ben Foxen, world missionary on the One Africa Team.