Sumbawanga, Tanzania

A town on the north to south trek along the western side of Tanzania, Sumbawanga has the feel of a place trying to bust out and become a major hub.

It is the place to begin if you are reaching some of the under-engaged people groups of southwestern Tanzania such as the Pimbwe.  


Very little is easy in Tanzania, and getting to Sumbawanga is no exception.  It is at least a four-day drive from Dar es Salaam over half of which are on dirt roads – or you can fly.

Sumbawanga has an airport- although it is a challenge to reach on the rutted dirt road.  There is a grass runway and one local Tanzanian commercial airline arrives three times a week.









While accessible during the dry season, May-October, this year, Sumbawanga was a town cut off, for a time, during the rainy season -- roads and bridges washed away and the transport of goods and people ceased for a time.

            Hoping to remedy the situation, a major road building effort is underway.

For us, the highlight of Sumbawanga is the Moravian Conference Center.  It is our place to stay while researching this area of Tanzania.  There is a bible in each room and no smoking, drinking or carousing allowed; they also invite everyone to join in their prayer meeting – wonderful!








With fewer people living here and a somewhat harsher climate, the western side of Tanzania is far less developed than the east. While there are plenty of game reserves here and that is a nice thing, they shift people off their tribal land and affect access to villages.  The Pimbwe and the Rungwa are two people groups forced to relocate in the 1950's - 1980's to make way for national game reserves.

Pray that the churches in Sumbawanga would see their responsibility in sharing the gospel message with the people groups within their reach.

Pray that they would not just look inwardly with a desire to use God’s resources for their own benefit, instead they would look at the great commission and desire to use those resources to witness and disciple those around them.

Pray that the knowledge of God’s glory would cover Sumbawanga.

The Pimbwe people and hot water

Maji Moto (Mah-gee Moe-toe), the name of a Pimbwe (Pea-m-bway) village in southwestern Tanzania, means hot water in Swahili. Actually, there are a couple of Maji Moto villages in Tanzania. You would expect this as the Rift Valley runs directly through the country.  The Maji Moto village located in eastern Tanzania near Mt. Kilimanjaro is commercially developed.

The maji moto springs where we find ourselves today, as we visit the Pimbwe people, is not commercially developed at all.  In fact, historically, it was rather a hindrance to the people as the hot water emerging from the earth was seen as a product of witchcraft and the Pimbwe people the holder of that power.

Entering the outskirts of Maji Moto -- everyone is headed
to the market.

Today is Sunday and as we approach the village we realize that Sunday is market day rather than the Lord's day here in Maji Moto.  The place is over-run by people from the surrounding areas.

Large groups from different tribes crowd around stalls of produce and dig through piles of clothing holding up various items asking the price.

Obscenely loud music blares from several stalls selling cell phones and cell time. Looking ahead, there is no way through the hordes of people -- the place is a zoo!


While Maji Moto is a Pimbwe village, Sukuma and Fipa people are prospering the most, not the Pimbwe.

Wishing we had come on a different day, we turn down a path, away from the village center, and look for accommodations. We will not stay here tonight, but when a church engages the Pimbwe people, Maji Moto will be an ideal place from which to base.

Removed from their traditional hunting grounds in order to carve out Katavi National Game Park in the years following Tanzania's independence, the Pimbwe transitioned from hunter/gatherers to farmers. Corn, the main crop, with beans, peanuts and other vegetables in accompaniment are grown on small sections of land tilled with a hoe, by hand – subsistence farming. They also sell honey, brew beer, and harvest timber to make a living.

Today, while geological knowledge explains the hot springs, the Pimbwe have yet to put their faith in Jesus Christ -- they are not being educated in the things of God.
Instead, they are educating themselves in urban/western lifestyle, the power of money and economic prosperity, this seems to be the main goal of many in Maji Moto.

Pray for the Pimbwe people, that they would see their need for a Savior.

Ask God to prepare Pimbwe hearts, much like they themselves prepare the soil, so when the seeds of the Gospel are sown they will take root and flourish.

Pray for those whom God is calling out, that they would be faithful to come and plant the Gospel message in Pimbwe villages.

Our lot in life ... the Konongo of Tanzania

“O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by Your power, having armed Yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.  Those living far away fear Your wonders.”
Psalm 65: 5b-8a

Round barrel type, contraptions hang from trees in the forests surrounding Konongo villages.  Known as the beekeepers of Southwestern Tanzania, the Konongo hang these to house beehives that produce the honey they eat and sell.

June and July are harvest months for the Konongo and the harvesting of their tobacco crop is underway. Honey and tobacco are cash crops for the Konongo; however, subsistence farming doesn't bring much money.  After this harvest the men will wait until October or November for the rains to come and planting will begin again.

Living in very small, rural villages with less opportunity for good education, the Konongo are marginalized; overlooked by larger, more educated people groups in Tanzania, so they settle for their lot in life with very little initiative, many spending their days drinking home brewed alcohol.

There is a Catholic Church in every Konongo village and most Konongo, if they are churchgoers, attend the Catholic church.  Attending the Catholic Church affords the Konongo the opportunity to continue their traditional ancestral worship, which is synchronized into their religious practice.

Moravian, Seventh Day Adventist, Assemblies of God, Pentecostal and Lutheran all have a presence in Konongo villages, but they are reaching the surrounding people groups, not the Konongo.

Pray for the Konongo of Southwestern Tanzania.

Ask God to open the eyes of the Konongo to the hope of God through Christ, understanding that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life; there is no other path to God.

Pray that God would bring together engaging partners with the vision to reach the Konongo people of Tanzania.

Reaching the Konongo

“I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need…."   Philippians 2:25

God’s work is astounding.  He puts people in our path to guide us, or we meet someone who knows someone who knows something – it is just amazing!

This verse from Paul’s letter to the Philippians speaks of Epaphroditus – we want to introduce you to Faraja (Fa-rah-jah).  He is a brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier. He is God’s appointed guide as we seek to go to Konongo villages.

Faraja together with his sister run a local restaurant.  (Actually, I think his sister does most of the running! – Faraja is in charge of procuring the food for her to cook.)  Rice, beans and a bit of beef in a tomato broth is on the menu today and it is quite tasty. Sitting outside in plastic chairs that have the words “Glory to God” imprinted on them, we discuss the Konongo people.  Both Faraja and his sister are believers; however, their father is not. 

Welcome to Inyonga

We will talk more about the Konongo people next week.  Today we want to look at Inyonga town, the largest town in the Konongo area with dreams to expand.

With many shops, adequately stocked, Inyonga is reminiscent of a big village; there remains the quality of everyone knowing everyone else.  For sure, everyone knows we are here.

The market opens early and we are in search of breakfast.  Afterwards, we are to meet Faraja and head to some Konongo villages.

While not bustling this early, some sellers are open and the little restaurants inside the market area all seem to have a fairly brisk breakfast business.

Yesterday we had chapatis and tea here. We could have indulged in chapatis with boiled chicken and broth; this seems to be what most of the customers (men for the most part) are eating -- probably the only thing they will eat until late at night when they get home from work.

This morning we walk around hoping to find something different and we are rewarded for our diligence.

We find a small establishment in the corner of the market – a bakery of sorts. The bread rolls, already baked for the day, are in the display case while the mandazis are being fried.

Sitting down, we watch the early morning market activities with a cup of sweet masala tea and some bread rolls, spreading on peanut butter that we bought at a stall just outside the restaurant.

Freshly ground peanut butter
from the market

Schoolchildren especially seem to come and buy a roll or two as they head to school -- probably their lunch.





There are Konongo people in Inyonga town, there are also several churches. The Moravian church in particular would like to help reach the Konongo.  Faraja is from the Moravian church. We stopped at the church yesterday, meeting the current pastor and the retired pastor.  Both are excited that someone is interested in ministering to the Konongo people.

*Pray that God would open the hearts of His ambassadors to step out of their comfort zone and reach the Konongo people with the truth of salvation by faith in Christ.

*Pray that God would be readying the hearts of the Konongo people for the Word to be planted; that they would see the futility of their ancestral worship and understand the truth of God in the face of Christ.

The road west...

This trip will take us to places we have never seen. Driving right beside the famous Serengeti game park is a great way to begin our research trip to Western Tanzania.  It is always glorious to see God’s creation wild and free.  The road travels between the Serengeti and Speke Bay, a bay of Lake Victoria named for the explorer John Speke, the British explorer.

We travel via Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania, Dar-es Salaam being the largest.

Interestingly, many houses in Mwanza are built on the hills along the shore of Lake Victoria.

After waiting almost two hours at the loading dock, we finally get a glimpse of the ferry, loaded down with passengers, buses and trucks heading toward our dock.

Taking the ferry across a small part of Lake Victoria, the largest tropical body of fresh water in the world is exciting. While we will only cross a small inlet on the ferry, it will take us almost an hour.

Loading is quite an ordeal with trucks, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians and us all crowding onto the boat, which, hopefully, is in good repair.  Parking at the back of the ferry means we will be the last to drive off on the other side, but it puts us near the only lifeboat.  I hope that we will not need it!



Shouting voices compete with the roar of the engine; hawkers walk between the vehicles selling everything from fruits and vegetables to loaves of bread, drinks and watches, combs, mirrors, belts – my goodness, you can buy just about anything on this ferry!

As we are in the back, we have a corner all to ourselves, which is nice as Jerry is using the GPS to track the route across the lake.

Notice the sign on the door behind him – Engine room and escape route!  I am not sure about that one!

After 55 minutes – yes, we timed it – we arrive at Kamanga, a small village with a dirt road.  We travel another hour and half, spend the night and drive all day the next day – three days travel to get to Kigoma our first destination west. After that, we will travel another two days south to get to some of the people groups we are researching.

Tanzania is a huge country.  It is 1.36 times the size of Texas or twice the size of California.  Mountains and game reserves in the interior make it difficult to go from East to West across the country.

Pray for us as we travel these dirt roads.
Pray that God would make us sensitive to hear His voice and find the person He has for us to visit.
Pray that we can collect good information, which will enable us to find the people groups who are not being reached by the message of salvation through Christ.