God Sighting: Discovering God’s Call in Tanzania
Scholarship students at Karansi with Sheridan delegates, Mark Klasek, Ronnie & Jane Green.
My wife (Husker Jane) and I were so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to the Kilimanjaro region of northeastern Tanzania as part of the Nebraska Synod ELCA Vision Trip group this past February (along with our Sheridan brother Mark Klasek). This had been on our bucket list of things we had wanted to do for many years, but the University’s schedule for us made it out of reach until now. To say that it was two weeks of “God-sightings” is an understatement.
Jane and I have, like so many of our Sheridan family, supported student scholarship programs in Tanzania for some time. And then, through a serendipitous series of events at the time I retired from the UNL Chancellor role in 2023, I was given the opportunity to become the Tanzania Ministries Volunteer Coordinator for the Nebraska Synod as Marty Malley from Messiah Family Lutheran in Ralston was planning to retire after 11 great years of service.
So, I was on the Vision Trip in multiple frames of mind: the usual frame of learning and understanding our ministry partnerships with the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT), but also being an “apprentice” under Marty in learning the ropes of coordinating the next Vision Trip, and for me even more so, searching for what God was telling me in being called to this lay ministry work. It did not take long for that answer to come.
What we found was a church alive with the gospel of Jesus Christ in so many ways. First, the church is so central and integral as community in Tanzania. People live their lives through and in the church, with exuberance and great joy. Families are vested in the church, raising their children to trust and believe in the gospel, and caring for and doing good in the world in their communities and beyond.
The ministries of the Northern Diocese are also impressive and far ranging. Education, social services, health care and Building Caring Communities work for physically and intellectually disabled children is extensive across the Diocese. Last year alone, the membership in the Diocese increased 17.7%, with young people clamoring to enter into seminary and diaconal educational pathways to enter the ministry. By the time this article goes out, we will have been blessed to hear more about the Tanzanian church from Bishop Fredrick Shoo and his wife Janet (Mama Shoo) in their visit to the Synod and to us at Sheridan. We are blessed that they have already become fast and deep friends with Jane and I.
If there was a defining moment (amongst many over the two weeks) that answered my discernment question of “why me, God”, it was in our visit to the Agape Junior Lutheran Seminary. Our current scholarship student, Jaquelin Haute, is studying there, as is Mark Klasek’s. That was special in and of itself. But the answer moment came after that.
When we arrived, we were treated to a wonderful Tanzanian welcome by the student choirs (vocal and trumpet) with breathtaking music. Then we heard from the Director, Pastor Godrick Lymo, who told us of the success of Agape (and the importance of the major partnership of Sheridan over the years) and his vision for the future. He began to describe the development of new programs and a new facility spanning agriculture, business, music, and engineering. When he started, my professional intuition kicked in with “OK, here comes an ask for money…” but on his second sentence, I realized he was speaking directly to me. This is what I know, what I do, what I believe in so fiercely, and is so badly needed in Tanzania. And guess what, I can be immensely helpful to this challenge. I leaned over to Jane and said, “I know why I am here now, for sure.”
I am now in the recruitment push for the 2026 Tanzania Vision Trip (January 25–February 10, 2026). It is an experience that one cannot begin to fully describe in its impact of stirring one’s spirit and soul. I am hopeful that we will have a major contingent of the 2026 cohort from our Sheridan family, so if God is laying it on your heart to consider joining us, reach out to me and we will make that happen!
Contact – rgreen@unl.edu
Or see it on the web at: https://sites.google.com/view/tanzaniavisiontrips/home
Mungu awabariki (God’s blessings) to you.
Ronnie Green
NE Synod Tanzania Ministries Volunteer Coordinator