Worship

After the trip to Morogoro, we spent one night in Arusha and then headed to Longido. Sunday morning we had the opportunity to attend a Maasai worship service. It was such an incredible experience to hear the beautiful Maasai people sing praises to our Lord in Swahili. I was struck by the fact that even though their lives are so drastically different from mine, they were singing to the same God. 


That's the cool thing about the God we serve- He transcends time, space, and culture. He is faithful to the woman in Longido who cries out when she slices her finger while cutting wood in the bush, just like He is faithful to the girl in Wilmington who cries out when her heart aches.

The Maasai face a multitude of hardships in their daily lives, and they truly know what it means to depend on God. Because of this, they have a deeply intimate and personal relationship with their Creator. Despite their daily struggles, they are so joyful and genuinely grateful for what little they do have. They literally jump when they worship. It was refreshing to see people worship so honestly.

The next day we went to a small school that the Tanzanian Assemblies of God built for the Maasai children in that area.

When we arrived they were singing some songs in Maasai and having a time of worship. 

Again, the jumping continued and we decided that you're not really worshiping until you're flipping benches and kicking up a good cloud of dust. 

We did crafts and played soccer with the kids and then it was time for lunch. Lunch is a big deal because for most of these kids it is the only meal they get each day. Before they ate, they formed a big circle and sang a few more songs. To hear these kids say "I love you Jesus, you are my everything" really puts things in perspective. Again, it was such an authentic expression of faith. 

They closed with prayer, but not just "God is great, God is good..." Simultaneously, each child started pouring out their hearts to God, thanking Him and praising His name. I still get chills when I think about the beauty of that moment. 

We got to help serve lunch and then it was time to leave. It really was an amazing day, and an eye-opening experience, to say the least. 

(I think It's safe to say I'm missing Africa a little more than usual today...) 

Trip to Morogoro

Greetings friends! We made it home safe and sound last night and have spent the day getting settled in. The trip was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to share details. Since I did not have internet access, I was unable to post, but I have decided to still use the blog over the next couple weeks to share photos and stories. Again, thank you for your prayers and support while we were away, God truly blessed our time in Tanzania. 


This first post was actually one that I drafted while we were in Longido, but I wasn't able to get online to post! It details our time in Morogoro:


The trips to and from Morogoro took a little longer than the eight hours we were expecting, and our travel days ended up being about 12 hours each. But God is so faithful and blessed us with a safe trip both ways. You wouldn't believe the roads in Tanzania. Not only is the infrastructure poor throughout most of the country, but the way people drive is absolutely borderline ridiculous. Seriously, things get crazy. But God blessed us with a beautiful sunrise, a cool morning breeze, and a clear view of Mt. Kilimanjaro (which is ususally covered in clouds) on the trip down there.


On Day One, we went to visit the site of the first well! It was such an incredible experience. We drove about 45 kilometers outside of the city to a remote village nestled right in the beautiful mountains of Tanzania. We had to park about 2 kilometers from the site and walk the rest of the way. As we made our ascent up one final hill we could hear the townspeople singing in celebration before we could see them. A crowd had gathered in the shade of a big mango tree right beside the well to witness the pump installation and to share their joys with us. It truly was an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. As easy as it is to get caught up in the celebration and the hype, I do not want us to lose sight of what this day was truly about. It all comes down to one thing: water. Clean water that these people have experienced for the first time. And more importantly, the Living Water that they were introduced to through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Day Two was equally exciting. We spent the morning visiting several traditional wells and I even got to try my hand at fetching water- not as easy as it looks. I can't imagine having to fill up huge buckets and then carry them several kilometers, my arms were tired after filling up half a bucket.

We had the opportunity to visit the site of well #2, which is still in progress. It was so incredible to see how they do these wells. This one was about 60% completed and should be in action this week. We also got to see where the people who will be using this well are currently fetching water.

We made one last stop at a school for orphans and the poor. The kids were adorable and when I close my eyes I still see their precious faces.

#1

Posting tonight from Dragonairre, our restaurant of choice in Morogoro. Finishing up an incredible three days with new friends and heading back to Arusha in the morning. Here are a few photos from our trip so far!

Day 1 in Morogo... Maji safi! Clean water! W2WP well #1. The first of many.

Blogger is done with uploading pictures for now ("Welcome to Africa!" is what they say here when something goes wrong.) More to come tomorrow night when we get back to the CTS House (if we have internet and electricity)

Still no luggage, but God provides. :)

Thank you for your prayers.

We have arrived!

So thankful to have made it Tanzania safely! Traveling has been pretty exhausting but being here is absolutely worth it.


Unfortunately, my luggage didn't make it. We are trying to work things out with the airline, but things just don't work the same here as they do in the US. So, that means they cannot tell me where my bag is, or when it will be here, or offer any sort of solution. It wouldn't really matter if it was just clothes, but my camera battery charger is in there and I hate the thought that my camera could die before the trip is even halfway over. So, we are praying that it is on the last flight out and will be here at 3:30am. That way we can pick it up before we leave town tomorrow at 6:45am. Speaking of which, please pray for safe travels tomorrow. Also, please pray for me to have strength and stamina. I am absolutely mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. And we just got here. I don't think I was prepared for how hard this trip is going to be. Don't get me wrong, this is such an amazing opportunity and I am so thankful. But just taking it all in and processing it can be a little overwhelming. I guess I'm just feeling a little culture shocked. Throw in the lost luggage, the sleep deprivation, hormones, and about a million other things and it can start feeling a lot overwhelming. 


What really matters though, is that people who don't have clean water today will have it before the week is over. And that is incredible. God is so good!