Our Partnership
St. Peter Lutheran Church is in a companion partnership with a congregation in Myamba, Tanzania which began in 2008. Myamba has five sub-parish locations. Most members walk to church – up to 3 or 4 miles.
St. Peter members first visited Myamba in January of 2009, and visits continue every other year. Members of St. Peter have visited Myamba Companion Parish, worshiped together, lived with families, and established friendships which lead to developing deeper relationships with the parish. During these trips, members also learn of the structural and financial needs of the parish.
August 2025 Update from our Myamba Ministry Team
August–Back-to-School Scholarship Month for Myamba Lutheran Parish
During August—back-to-school month in Iowa–St. Peter also focuses on our companion congregation in Tanzania, Myamba Lutheran Parish. We emphasize St. Peter’s secondary school scholarship program for Myamba students attending four years of public secondary school–those whose families need financial support in order to afford to send their children to school.
A $100 annual scholarship provides approximately one half of a student’s total cost, partnering with students’ parents/guardians who cover the balance. Total costs cover school fees; uniform, socks and shoes; hot lunch; testing fees; and school security. St. Peter sponsors can also give $15 to cover the cost of a Swahili Bible for a first-year scholarship student and a notebook and pen given to each scholarship recipient.
116 students are receiving annual scholarships for the 2025 calendar year school year through St. Peter’s program. Your St. Peter Myamba Ministry Team is hoping to receive pledges to provide at least 100 scholarships for the 2026 school year beginning in January.
Hear all about it! You’ll learn more about this program and how you can help during brief Myamba Moments at worship services in August. The St. Peter Emissary team visited the Myamba schools and met with students during their January 2025 trip; you’ll see pictures they took there and during visits to Gonja Lutheran Hospital and Mwanga School for the Deaf. They’ll update you on their time with Semayombe, whose video was shown last August in a “Where are They Now” feature on Myamba secondary school graduates. In a new “Where is She Now” segment, you’ll hear about Elizabeth, who began primary school at Mwanga School for the Deaf in 2015 with St. Peter Sunday school offerings paying for part of her costs. Elizabeth graduated from Mwanga Primary School in 2024, passed the national exam and now attends a Secondary School for the deaf!
Pledge cards are available; a copy is included in this issue. Pledge payments can be placed in the offering plate, in the baskets on the information table, received on line or mailed to the office.
St. Peter’s Additional Supports of Myamba Lutheran Parish
St. Peter’s Secondary School Scholarship Program has widespread impact on Myamba, as does St. Peter’s Annual Gift to Myamba of $2,500 provided by offerings through a General Fund budget line item. The annual gift is typically used for building projects or parish-wide expenses. St. Peter has helped meet other needs of Myamba, nearby Gonja Hospital and the Pare Diocese in general, when surplus funds permit. Some St. Peter members have expressed interest in helping meet future needs:
· Scholarships for hearing-impaired Myamba students to attend Mwanga School for the Deaf, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Three young girls of Myamba Parish attend Mwanga. St. Peter Sunday school offerings pay a small portion of the costs.
· Medical support for young Myamba children with bowed legs which can either be corrected surgically or with leg braces. Since 2011, six Myamba children have received treatment. Sioux City orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steve Meyer, through Siouxland Tanzania Educational Medical Ministries he co-founded, has either performed or overseen these treatments. St. Peter’s Myamba Ministry Team is a liaison between STEMM and Myamba and has sent allowances for travel and treatment expenses.
· Providing education expense support for post-secondary students seeking higher education or vocational training. Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.
· Occasional financial gifts to nearby Gonja Lutheran Hospital, owned by the Pare Diocese, of which Myamba Parish is a member. St. Peter sent some funds to Gonja in May to secure equipment to stabilize its electrical service to prevent destructive power surges.
Your questions about St. Peter’s Tanzanian programs can be directed to members of the St. Peter Myamba Ministry Team.
Support for Myamba
- Student Scholarships for Secondary Students in Forms 1-4
- Scholarships for Post-Secondary Students. Post-Secondary costs are greater because of higher tuition, room, and board away from home.
- Sunday School Students Funded Tuition for students at Mwanga School for the Deaf.
- Myamba Parish Evangelists Training Funding at Usangi Leadership and Training College.
- Funding for Myamba Parish for Building and Equipment Needs.
- Support of Gonja Hospital, including Funding for Mechanical Hospital Beds and Medical Supply Shipment
School Year/Calendar Year Number of Scholarships
2011 – 12 Scholarships
2012 – 16 Scholarships
2013 – 28 Scholarships
2014 – 29 Scholarships
2015 – 37 Scholarships
2016 – 57 Scholarships
2017 – 69 Scholarships
2018 – 85 Scholarships
2019 – 96 Scholarships
2020 – 93 Scholarships
2021 – 93 Scholarships
2022 – 95 Scholarships
2023 – 95 Scholarships
2024 – 95 Scholarships