Moshi

Since the mid-1970s, when Fr. Varble was pastor, Little Flower Catholic Parish has been served by priests from the Diocese of Moshi in Tanzania, Africa.

In the mid-1990s, the Diocese of Moshi began building the Little Flower church building. Since the Moshi Little Flower parish is our sister parish, we supported the construction of their building.

In October, 2004 several parishioners visited our sister church, Little Flower, in Tanzania. The pastor of Little Flower, Fr. Fete, was one of the travelers to Moshi. Another traveler was Fr. Mathew from the Diocese of Moshi who has celebrated Mass at our parish.  Another member of that trip, Michele Schafer,  writes about her trip to Little Flower in the Diocese of Moshi:

"It meant so much to the people of Little Flower that we came from the "Mother Church" in America. We (eleven pilgrims, Fr. Matthew and our two drivers) arrived hours late at the church. However, the people were still there waiting for us. They walked for miles to get there and we finally met! We celebrated Mass together and Fr. Matthew translated Fr. Fete's homily to the sheer glee of the community gathered (as heard in their claps and loud high-piched shrills). The parish is so far off the beaten path that due to our lateness, the darkness of dusk so confused our drivers we got lost trying to get back to the main road.

"There are no words to describe the beauty of the people. At first they seemed hestitant to approach us. I held out my hand to a young man, then stooped down to his level to offer greetings. The flood gate of being together in Christ opened. We did not speak the same language but we had the common language of smiles and hand holding. I truly felt peace and joy in their presence."