The countdown is on- less than two weeks til we’re in Tanzania!! We were together as a class again last night and everyone is really fired up. For the first half of the semester, we met every Sunday night for two hours to prepare ourselves in one way or another. We can identify all the African countries on a map, use a few Swahili phrases, and even spout off a few facts about Tanzanian history.

We have read a book about the Maasai warrior culture and another book called Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence about the church’s call to the global AIDS crisis. Dr. Strickert also welcomed us into his home one evening to watch Yesterday, a movie about an African family afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Until this semester, I was unaware of the exact severity of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Now that I recognize the seriousness of it all, I am shocked that I was unaware of this and that so many other people are too.

One of the reasons I’m most excited to go to Tanzania is the testimonials from other Wartburg students who have studied there— I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things! It excites me that Wartburg has such strong ties to Tanzania because of Pastor Hafermann and others…and now I get to be a part of it all!