In Tanzania or at home, relationship trumps all | GUEST COLUMN

Published 11:08 am Sunday, September 7, 2014

BY REV. PAUL STUMME-DIERS

Summer for Bainbridge Island youth is about relationships. In fact, relationships are a four-season phenomenon, but summer it seems is especially about relationships. From family time on trips or at home, camps and Bible schools, neighborhood connections and sun-splashed sporting events, the time is ripe for relationships.

For many, such relationships have a global accent. For the high school youth of Bethany Lutheran Church, it recently meant a two-week trip to Ailanga Lutheran Secondary School in Tanzania. It is about relationships.

With smart phones left at home and with scarce Internet access in Tanzania, interpersonal connections flourished. After initial introductions, students from Bainbridge High School (Sarah and Emily Mather, Lars Erickson, Sophia Marck and Nathan Johnson) and Ailango walked off together, arm-in-arm, finding commonalities and exploring the differences.

Even language differences could not dampen relationships. The Americans limited to English (embarrassing!), the Tanzanian students conversed in English as their third language. Tribal affiliations were many, but the desire to break down barriers, and celebrate relationships, trumped all.

And smiles were the currency of relationships across generations. Oftentimes in our varied venues we encountered a wide spectrum of ages, from holding babies in the Nkoaranga Orphanage, to being pummeled by toddlers in our neighborhood demanding playfulness, to the 105-year-old mother-in-law off Lutheran Bishop Paulo Akyoo. Relationships across generations were punctuated with smiles.

Relationships often involve gifts, especially with gracious and hospitable Tanzanian hosts. We were sent home with an abundance of spirit, of crafts, but moreover, memories. In return our young people gave the gift of themselves, each with their own unique offering:

• Sarah Mather, a rising star musically, sang at official gatherings, leaving the echo of her voice with our new friends.

• Emily Mather a BHS valedictorian, left the gift of inspiration that a young woman with her sights set on engineering can offer.

• Lars Erickson served as our human tree, with little children always wanting to hang from his broad shoulders, and be swung from his strong arums. At the orphanage and in the neighborhood, the kids knew his name … and they tested his strength.

• Sofia Marck had an infectious affect at every stop, and she always had a song of joy on her lips.

• Nathan Johnson was nothing less than a kid magnet, teaching new tricks to the children, but more importantly, learning new games and new names from them.

• Karla Mather, our accompanying nurse, kept us all healthy the entire trip, and maintained a supportive and energetic spirit.

Yes, we went on safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Maryara National Park, each spectacular in their own right. The highlights, however, were the relationships, especially those at the Ailanga School. There, at a campus bordering Arusha National Park (we were visited one night by menacing elephants, the only security concern we encountered), we were blessed by relationships. We participated in classroom life — no smartboards, no textbooks, no laptops — including a shared discussion led by an impressive students, on a book on female genital mutilation. We learned, and we learned how little we know.

But finally, it is about relationships and feelings at home among friends … and making surprising connections. One day, as we walked the path up to the orphanage, we encountered young people from the U.S. (yes, we could just tell). When I asked the predictable question, “Where are you from?” the answer quickly came “From Bainbridge Island, just like you.” It was another young person, with a different U.S. group, from Bainbridge Island.

When I asked our young people if they knew her, they said, “Of course, she goes to BHS.” And one of our students replied, “Yeah, she is my neighbor.”

Summer is about relationships.

Rev. Paul Stumme-Diers is pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church of Bainbridge Island.