Pastor Deb Hammer, traveling with partners from the Nebraska Synod, participated in a two-week vision trip to Tanzania in February of 2025.
The vision trip is designed to deepen the relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Northern Diocese and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). Our Savior Lutheran Church in Wayne has partnered with Kotela Parish in Marangu, Tanzania for over 25 years.
Pastor Deb Hammer is currently serving Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord and First Lutheran Church in Allen where the two churches have partnered together since 1967. Pastor Deb was previously a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church. While a member at Our Savior, Deb remembers many members of the congregation traveling to Tanzania as well as visitors from the Northern Diocese of Tanzania visiting Nebraska. Pastor Deb says, “It has always been my dream to get to Tanzania, especially to Kotela Parish.”
While in Tanzania, the group stayed in Moshi at the Lutheran Uhuru Hotel and Conference Center which is owned and operated by the ELCT Northern Diocese located near Mount Kilimanjaro. The hospitality from the people of Tanzania was above and beyond gracious for our being with them. The group visited many places to learn about the important work being done through Lutheran organizations. Some of the places visited were primary schools, secondary schools, a college, hospital, orphanage, women’s training center, and convent.
Pastor Deb’s highlight of the vision trip was attending Sunday church services at Kotela Parish in Marangu, Tanzania. Pastor Deb was invited to share the sermon message during worship.
"Worship was two to three hours in length with a loving and caring congregation who participated fully in a vibrant spiritual service. The service included lots of music and had several offerings taken throughout
Traveling with Pastor Deb to Kotela Parish were David Wimmer from Grace Lutheran Church in West Point and Terry Nelson from Trinity Church UCC/UMC in West Point. Pastor Elinghanamus Minja is serving Kotela Parish, Marangu, Tanzania with his worship assistant, Livingston Revingstone.
Pastor Deb enjoyed visiting the Kotela kindergarten classroom especially since she knew of many hands from Nebraska that were involved in making the school happen. Previous members of Our Savior were involved in this project as well as the late Alex Meyer and his wife, Marlys Meyer. The kindergarten was built around 25 years ago and the foundation is starting to need repair due to the heavy rains they get every year.
Our Savior has helped Kotela parish with many mission projects over the years by having fundraisers for such things as houses for health, nursing scholarships, textbooks, and many more.
Pastor Minja asked Pastor Deb if she would be willing to help with a dairy cow project. This project would help purchase dairy cows for mothers to raise and help feed their family to have a source of income. Pastor Deb has been raising funds for this project for Kotela women and youth as a wonderful way for them to support themselves and their families. The milk market is currently very good in Tanzania. A dairy cow cost is $80 there. A cow would be gifted to a mother for a milk supply. The mother would be taught how to raise the cow and breed it for future milk supply. The first female cow would then be gifted to another mother in need with the intention of paying the gift forward.
Pastor Deb also spent time while in Tanzania on safari in the Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area near Serengeti Desert. The safari guides led the group to see many animals such as zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, hippos, elephants, lions, cheetahs, and many more including wild and exotic birds. The Great Wildebeest Migration was happening while they were there. This is the largest terrestrial mammal migration, involving over 1.5 million wildebeest, 250,000 zebras. Zebras have excellent eyesight and hearing, making them effective in spotting potential threats like lions and hyenas. Wildebeest, on the other hand, possess a strong sense of smell, which helps them detect predators from a distance. By migrating together, they create a more vigilant and protective herd, increasing their chances of survival against predators.
Pastor Deb enjoyed reconnecting with former Our Savior members now serving in Tanzania. They all shared time together on a few occasions during this trip. Rob and Carolee Stuberg were former owners of Restful Knights/Pacific Coast Feather of Wayne. They moved to Montana and now share their time between Northern Tanzania and Montana. Rob is the Senior Expert at Mwika Lutheran Bible and Theological College in Tanzania teaching music part of the year. Pastor Martin Russell was a pastor at Our Savior about 25 years ago and currently shares his time between his home in Omaha, Nebraska and Moshi, Tanzania. Pastor Martin is currently serving as Director of Africa Operations at Opportunity Education.
Pastor Deb said that what she loved most about her trip was the graciousness of how happy people were with what little they have. They make use of nearly everything. They do not use plastic bags and reuse whatever they can. A taxi for them is to jump on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet. Sometimes the group would see three to four people riding on one.
"We truly are one church together around the world! I am so very thankful for the opportunity to travel to Tanzania. I return home filled with gratitude, for the songs sung in languages not our own, for hands clasped in prayer, and for hearts united in Christ. Worshiping with friends across the world reminds us that God’s presence knows no boundaries, and faith is a language we all share because we are all God’s beloved children," Pastor Deb said.
