Giving Thanks/November 2010 Trip

November 2010 Trip

It’s hard to come back and try to describe what a trip is like. From the 20+ hours in the sky to the anticipation of the first step off the plane and onto the tarmac at Kilimanjaro, you almost forget you’re halfway around the world, but at 10:20pm the doors opened for us to depart our flying metal nanny and immediately we are engulfed by a warm wind that was filled with reminders that we are not home. We’re in Tanzania, East Africa.

On Thursday night we stayed in our old stopping grounds of Moshi at a friendly hostel that lays sleepily at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The familiarity is welcoming and after devotions on Friday morning we are on the road again to Korogwe, about 5 hours east of Moshi. We load up the rented bus and we’re off.

It’s fun to watch the expressions on the faces of those who have not experienced the trip before. We see the team gaze out the window of the bus during our long drive at things everyone has undoubtedly heard about on documentaries but never experienced first hand. From the obvious poverty, to the mama’s working harder than we could ever imagine while a child is wrapped tightly on her back. Then there are the little children with their beaming smiles, franticly waving and shouting “mazungu” (white person) as the bus rolls passed village after village.

I love it. I love the people and the customs and often I believe they are far ‘richer’ then we are.

So, about the trip, we sent out a newsletter asking for prayer and we’d love for you to know how those prayers affected us on this trip.

You prayed:

For good weather…

We had some of the best weather we’ve ever had on any of our trips to Tanzania. We found out though that they desperately needed the rain and we began to pray for rain. It was not until we left each place that it began to rain. God’s consolation was so real we could tangibly feel it. It rained in every area we went, but only when we were on our way to the next place.

For no sickness…

As you heard Anne feel sick the first day but she was fully recovered by Monday. She said she was not upset that she got sick only that she missed the experiences of Saturday and Sunday. We praise God there was no residual effect throughout the rest of the trip. Other than that we thank God we were all well.

For jet lag…

Well who knows if it was jet lag or just excitement and the inability to shut the brain off, but it was obvious that even though we didn’t sleep much it was as much sleep as we needed and we didn’t suffer from the lack. I would surmise that our intake of sugary soda and caffeine helped a bit.

Safe travel…

We were on the road quite a bit and were arrived home safe so we are thanking God, especially because we witness a terrible automobile accident where several people may have died. We have been told and we’ve read about how unsafe it is to travel the roads in the evening and we have been in some serious ‘near misses’ throughout our travels in Africa. However, Herbert sons Franky and Samwelle and great and very cautious drivers and we thank God for their service to Him and to us. May He bless them for their hearts and service to this mission.

To be sensitive to the people God brought into our path –

God did bring people into our path. We had the privilege of meeting a newly elected MP (Member of Parliament) as soon as we arrived in Korogwe. He wanted to hear about our vision and he was very gracious, even excited to hear what Africa harvest of Hope planned to do there in Korogwe. He expressed his gratitude with an open door to whatever Africa Harvest of Hope would be doing for the city and the people in Korogwe. This was a huge blessing that only God could have arranged.

We also met several city officials and the police chief of the area. It was a humbling yet exciting day.

That we would convey God’s love and His Word well –

Only God knows if this was accomplished but we had the opportunity to do so and we did.
Alan taught several times during the trip. Each opportunity was blessed and sometimes quite unexpected.

We were surprised when we arrived late to Moshi, that a group of women had been waiting, as Pastor Zachoria and his wife Redempta had prepared for a women’s seminar to begin that day, so with power of the Holy Spirit and a loaned Kanga (over skirt) from Emily, Shannon gave a message to the women.

Anne had the opportunity to share with the women’s group the next day about her journey with God. It was a blessing to all the women as they shouted and blessed God when she finished.

The next morning Redempta, Anne and Shannon did a short VBS program where several children gave their lives to Christ.

There were also many opportunities during introductions at each new place we visited where we got to shared why we come (Because of the love of God) and Joseph, Jeremy and Anne all had the opportunity to share from their hearts.

Jeremy was placed in a position (on our way back to the airport) to share with a young man who was struggling with drugs and alcohol and you could see that God had spoken to his heart. Herbert shared with him that God loved him so much that he brought someone from America to share his journey from bondage to freedom in Christ. This was also a divine appointment; The brother in law of this young man was the head of the national parks in Tanzania and it is our hope for Africa Harvest of Hope to begin a safari company soon to give opportunity for work and also to raise money for the Korogwe Children Home.


To be sensitive to the needs of the people –

God’s Word has a lot to say about helping widows and orphans and the poor in general. We have asked God to open doors for us to help and He is certainly doing that because this is His heart. We are always limited in the time we are there but we see so many needs one way we have had the opportunity to help is to just be involved with the everyday lives of the people we meet. While we were there we experienced people with needs that you and I will never have to experience. Therefore a lot of our time is spent purchasing things that we may begin helping them with, but again because of time, we trust that they will finish the work that was begun. During this trip we painted, dug a trench for water pipe to come down from the mountain to go into a new water tank at the orphanage, we put up boarders in each of the children’s rooms to brighten them up, We worked on a roof and worked on a church in Junction City. We’ve seen the faithfulness of the people finish jobs like these and many more from past trips and we are humbled because all we can offer really are the funds to help them. The real work happens after we are gone. There’s so much to share because so many things happen each day… Widows were fed, each child in the Children’s home received an examination from the doctor for malaria and HIV. Fortunately and praise God not one was HIV positive but 16 had malaria. They each had a scalp treatment – thank you Nurse Anne. So much to do and we had so much fun doing it. While the water trench was being dug we re-dressed several children who were having fun hanging out with the group. They were teaching Jeremy to count in Swahili and Joseph even killed a black mamba while digging, yikes!

God meets the needs! Sometime He uses you and me to help… We’re grateful He gave us the opportunity.

So, with that said, we thank you. We had a blessed trip and a lot of it had to do with your prayers.

More stories for later…
Bibles in Moshi
Met the coffee broker and brought back 130 lbs. of green coffee. God has a plan.
Witch doctor gave his life to Christ.
Saw Mt. Kilimanjaro clearer than we have ever seen it – Awesome work of God!