We post messages from Mokicco here to keep you informed of their developments.
Many greetings from Kilimanjaro – Tanzania. It’s like summer here. Warm during the days but a bit rainy in the evenings. Thank you for all the prayers and gifts that MOKICCO received during the month of October.
One of the significant blessings of the month is the visit of our good friend Anja Koivunen. I asked her to write a few words in this letter:
“My name is Anja Koivunen, and I have been a friend of MOKICCO from the very beginning. I was here with Carl-Erik and Overa Sahlberg for the first time in 2011. Therefore, it was a great joy to participate in the 10th-anniversary celebration of MOKICCO after the opening of the MOKICCO chapel. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. (John 15:16) The cathedral dean preached. 150 people participated in the celebration. Much joy and singing. Yusef is one of the children I met already in 2011. Yusef has received love, care, the opportunity for education, and has now completed high school. It is a great joy to meet this young man, who will soon get his driver’s license. Yusef is full of optimism, and his strength lies in God.
The services in MOKICCO’s chapel (inaugurated on October 4, 2013) have become an event cherished in the hearts of the villagers. MOKICCO’s adult choir has been around for many years. People experience joy in being part of it. It can be compared to St. Clara’s choirs. There is also a youth choir and a children’s choir, as well as a children’s church. It is with the greatest joy and pride that I declare that MOKICCO’s work continues thanks to Overa’s efforts.
Another blessing MOKICCO received in October was a visit from Carl-Erik and Overa’s friends from Holland, Branko and Nicole. They have an organization called “Yourright Foundation,” aimed at helping children. They helped renovate Mseroe Primary School in the neighboring Marangu.
The school was built by German missionaries, who also built a Lutheran church and, next to the church, a primary school. In 1967, the Tanzanian state decided to nationalize some schools and hospitals owned by churches. Mseroe was one of those schools. But because still 99% of the children studying in Mseroe today belong to the Lutheran Church, the church remains very involved in the school.
Our friends did fantastic work with the renovation. In the beginning, the school was in very poor condition, but after their work, many now say they have a new school. With such a beautiful school, children are more eager to learn. The group consisted of 7 people, and they all stayed at MOKICCO.
The friends also visited the vocational school in Mwangaria and, together with the students, sewed bags.
Since we started with MOKICCO, my prayer to God has been that we would not only receive help from abroad but that our own people would feel responsibility and help as well. In October, we received a small part of that prayer answer. Two different Tanzanian groups visited MOKICCO and gave gifts to the children.
On October 18, a group of students who received their certificates as evangelists visited MOKICCO in Mto wa Mbu, and as a thanksgiving gift to God, they gave the children rice, corn, cooking oil, sugar, salt, etc.
On October 29, MOKICCO in Marangu was visited by 44 people from Mtakuja High School, a group of students who also brought a gift to the MOKICCO children in Marangu. They brought detergent, sugar, rice, and tea bags. MOKICCO thanks for all these gifts.
Finally, I want to thank God for allowing me to live until 65 years and retire. The retirement was celebrated with a big thanksgiving to God. Over 300 people were present. Bishop Fredrik Shoo, his assistant DeocraQus Msanya, and several other leaders from the diocese attended. From Sweden, Anja Koivunen, Lorentz Forsberg, and their family were present.
I received many beautiful gifts, including a goat, a cow, several traditional African khangas, etc. Thank you, God, for allowing me to be your servant.
I am now in the process of finishing my work at Mwika Lutheran Bible School. The semester ends in February 2024. If God wills and I live, I will return to Sweden in March 2024.
Grace and peace be with you in increasing measure through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus. (2 Peter 1:2)
Overa Seka Sahlberg
This post is also available in: Dutch
