Visiting our Companion Synod – the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese
The Northwest Intermountain Synod has a Companion Synod in Tanzania, The Ulanga Kilombero Diocese (UKD). The Companion Synod Team is striving to have guests from the UKD with us every other year and to organize a trip to Tanzania every other year. This fall, two guests from the UKD will be with us for 6 weeks, traveling throughout the synod. And in June 2026, there will be a trip to the UKD. An information packet can be found at https://nwimsynod.org/tanzania-companion-synod-ukd We hope you might consider becoming an ambassador for the UKD! Please look at the information at the link on the synod website.
A good question is: Why travel all the way to the UKD? Michael Speidel, a member of the Companion Synod Team and someone who has been to the UKD puts it well:
As human beings, when we want to help others, sometimes the help that we offer is what we think would be helpful, but not necessarily what the recipient would find most helpful. Our world view is unique to each of us and formed by the unique experiences we individually have throughout our lives. No two people have had the same life experiences, so no two people have the same world view. That world view influences what we like and dislike, what we cherish, what we appreciate, what we “need”, what brings us joy, and everything else that impacts our interpretation of life’s ups and downs. World views can be similar… My world view is a little different than my neighbors here in Boise, but our daily experiences are similar and thus our world views are “somewhat” similar. However, many people may not truly understand just how different other people’s lives are, and just how different their day-to-day experiences are. The result is that others world views can be drastically different than ours, and the things that are most important to them, the things that bring them joy and dismay, can also be very different. Our companions in Tanzania have grown up with drastically different experiences, and they have drastically different daily experiences. Accordingly, their world view is going to be drastically different.
While we can see pictures or read stories about people and places, no one truly has an accurate comprehension of a person or place until they have been to that place in person or met that person face to face. In visiting our companions in Tanzania, we can see the beds they sleep in, we can feel the humidity in the air, we can swat the same swarming mosquitos, we can smell the same smells, we can experience the walk from the dorms to the dining hall, we can experience the challenges and difficulty of traveling the roads just to get to the school. The only way for us to truly understand our companions is to experience their lives in person. I could tell you how delicious an ice cream cone is, and even show you pictures of it, but until you taste the ice cream cone yourself, you won’t really understand the flavor and the experience.
It is easy for us here in the US to say what we think would be helpful for our companions, but we are doing that with only the knowledge and perspective of our own world view. Without actually experiencing the day-to-day lives of our companions, we have little understanding of their world view and what is most important to them. Once we “experience” their lives, we have a much better understanding of their world view and their needs, wants and wishes.
Another example is travel in general. Rather than taking a vacation to Europe or Hawaii, we could simply watch a movie about either place or read a travel book. But we don’t do that because we desire experiences. The actual experience is what brings us an understanding of our world. You could read 10 books about the Great Pyramids and have fact-based knowledge. However, spending 1 hour at the pyramids, feeling the stones, smelling the hot dry desert air, and visually seeing and experiencing the enormity of the pyramids will give you a conceptualization of what they truly are that is far more impactful.
In the same way, we can read about our companions, see pictures of them and hear stories. However, if we truly wish to understand our companions and their needs, wants, and wishes, we need to experience their lives (even if only for a few days) right alongside them.
Thank you, Michael, for your well written words. I invite you to prayerfully consider the opportunity to experience our companion synod. You will return a changed person with a greater understanding of how we can walk Bega kwa Bega – shoulder to shoulder – with our friends who live a much different life. You will be a better companion after your visit.
Look at all the information found on the synod website. Should you have any questions, please contact me at hacryer@gmail.com. Applications for the trip in June 2026 are due on November 1, 2025.
Asante Sana! Thank you!
Heidi Cryer
Chair, NWIM Companion Synod Team