Serving in Tanzania

What a great team God has assembled in Tanzania!  We've come from Florida, Wisconsin, Louisiana and New Zealand-- a perfect collection of gifts, talents and perspectives, but all with the same passion and for the same purpose--being the hands and feet of Christ in Arusha.

After having to spend a night in the airport in Addis Ababa, the balance of our team arrived on Saturday, joining the Gunter's, who had flown in from Uganda, and the Shilston's, our resident Kiwis!  A little weary but still with sufficient energy for adventure, we visited the local market.  What an adventure it was!  

On Sunday we enjoyed worshipping with a local congregation in the morning and then a scenic drive through Arusha National Park in the afternoon, seeing animals that most people have only seen in a zoo! So exciting!

Monday was our first day of mission work at the Small Steps orphanage outside of Arusha. We walked around the property to get a feel of where things are at. They have built a chicken house, planted many trees - coffee, banana, guava, avacado, orange, papaya - to help make the orphanage self-sustaining.  They also have planted beans underneath the trees.  These are all growing well.  Also, there is a fish pond where tilapia will soon be swimming and providing a source of food.  A well has been drilled to provide water to the orphanage and to the people of the village.

We saw the field where the new home is going to be built.  God willing, by the end of the week, the foundation for the home will be where the field is now!  

We sorted out the gifts and craft supplies we had brought with us. We had a lot of clothes for children, which will be shared with another orphanage as well as stored for new children at Small Steps. 

The guys gathered and cut firewood. (It's winter in Tanzania, the coldest month of the year!). 

The ladies learned songs and prepared for the VBS and played with the three children in the current home, Maurine, Princess and Happy.

After lunch the children from the community started arriving.  We sang and played some ball games so that more children could join in as they came. The lesson was about Creation. We wrote our verse, "God made the world.", in Swahili on paper plates and turned these into paddles to play with balloons. We had about 50 children for the program. We had a wonderful translator, Mercy. We couldn't have done it without her!  

As we ended, we gave the children some sweets to take home. The older children started arriving just as we were finishing, as they had just finished school, so they were not in time to be part of the program.  We plan to fix our schedule so that they can join in, too.

We praise God for a successful first day of VBS and for the blessing of serving Him!