Q&A with Missionary Kim

Interviewing mom at the tamarind tree

Sometimes we forget that our parents are not only here to nag us about relationships and remind us of our shortcomings, but they are also adults who need to make both rational and emotional decisions about their lives. Here are some questions I posed to Missionary Kim aka "mom" about some of her choices that led to life in Tanzania. She is currently 64 years old and has been living in Tanzania since 1992 and running the Wataturu mission with Missionary Ahn since 1997



1. What motivated you to leave Los Angeles for Tanzania?
I came with the intent to work with my good friend Missionary Ahn who was already here with her Christian ministry work. When I first arrived in Dar es Salaam, the international airport was smaller than a rural train station in Korea. As I left the airport, I thought "Wow, there are people in the world living like this."  The Tanzanians were very poor materially, but they have very pure spirits. So I felt that that would make it easier to lead them to Christ


2. How did you begin your work in Makungu with the Wataturu tribe?
When the church Missionary Ahn and I established in Dar es Salaam was approaching self-sufficiency, we began conducting research into ministry for the "unreached people." The information for the Wataturu tribe came from an 8.5x11 sheet of paper published by an American organization called Africa Inland Mission. The sheet of paper showed a map of Tanzania and the location of the Wataturu tribe as a dot this map. At the time, I was looking for an opportunity close to Dar es Salaam. And we wanted to find an area that didn't already have an established church.

From there, we met with a man from the Wataturu tribe. During this meeting at his house, I watched hundreds of cattle trotting into their pens as the sun was setting over the horizon. It was an amazing site, almost cinematic. He was not a Christian, but had a positive encounter with some Catholic missionaries in the past and had changed his name to Peter. He strongly urged us to work in his region and from there we went further inland to an even more remote region, Makungu.

3. What are the greatest challenges you face living here?
Ministry standpoint: When I ministered to the people here, I thought that the tribe would simultaneously, all together submit themselves to Christ. But they already had their ways established over hundreds of years. The Wataturu people are not passionate and committal. Rather, they are passive and gentle. They never say always or never. It's very difficult for them to commit to a decision. They will tell you that they will believe God and will surely attend church. Then, they will surely not show up.

Personal standpoint: Water. It has been and still is the biggest issue. The water is currently collected from rainwater into 2000 liter tanks for use in cooking. We also collect water from the nearby stream for cleaning and we chlorinate this water for bathing. Although the water situation has improved over the years, I've gotten very sick from the water and had contracted typhoid more times than I can count. The locals have a certain immunity to the contaminants in the water that we as foreigners unfortunately don't have.

4. Looking back, how do you feel about your decision to come to Tanzania?
I've had a tough life here, and still I haven't accomplished anything really major. But in my own way, I've done the best I could. If I stayed in America, I would have lived my normal life worrying about making rent and earning money. While my health has suffered by my work here, the 15-20 years I spent was not in vain. Some people said I abandoned my children who were in high school and college when I came here. I can now look back on how they turned out many years later. I believe that they were raised even better than anything a parent would be capable of since they were raised by God. I'm really proud of that. *



I actually have a lot more material that I chose not to publish in the interest of length. If you're interested in reading more, I can post another set Q&A relating to Missionary Kim's work in Tanzania. But of course, as always, all comments are welcome :)