Tanzania – Monday
The team arrived at church Sunday a.m. to learn the well had been completed on Saturday!
Yesterday was a blessed day for the Hope team and for the Tanzanian villagers. I can’t describe it better than Steve W.’s own words:
"Sunday was an amazing day all around. After finding the well had been completed we went inside the church structure for the service with the Tanzanian congregation. While their number was small, their enthusiasm and joy were equally large. Words cannot describe the beauty of Swahili gospel music sung by voices like those we heard Sunday. We will probably never see these people again until heaven, but when we see them there we will recognize them by their song.
The local district bishop spoke more than once during the service about how they could not repay the team for our efforts, but many of us felt that the exact opposite was true and the gift they gave us with their kindness, warm welcome and music leaves us in their debt. Ron Hanson, the local missionary who arranged this project, also commented during the service that while we had helped them build a church building it is God who will build His church, and that is not constrained by walls, skin color, church denomination, or continent.
We had been told to expect the service to last for two to three hours. However, it was cut to less than two hours by the wind, which caused the tarp that was acting as a temporary roof to break free from its restraints. So after another round of pictures and goodbyes we left the site and headed out to Dar Es Salaam.
We had one more experience of the rough roads before we met our bus at the paved road. From there we drove into Dar and through downtown before having lunch at a shopping area that had a couple different restaurants to choose from. After a week of rice and beans we were quite happy to be able to order burgers and fries. We did some shopping after lunch at a nearby market where we all were given the chance to learn and practice bargaining skills. After checking in to our hotel, which has air conditioning, TV, hot showers and real beds, we went out again for dinner at Ron's favorite Chinese restaurant and then came back to the hotel to crash. We are looking forward to a few days of being tourists now, but the past week has been simply amazing."
The team is travelling today to another region of Tanzania where they will have the opportunity to witness more of God’s wonderful creation.
Please pray for their safety in travel and refreshment from their hard work. They will be flying out of Dar es Salaam on Friday afternoon.
Tanzania – Saturday
Today’s news is really Friday’s news… and it’s all exciting!
After another glorious sunrise at the campsite the team began an intense workday as far as physical building and team building. In the morning they split into groups working along side Tanzanians, moving components for concrete and forming an assembly line
The source of many sore muscles and the dirt for the church floor.
to make the last 8 trusses. Then some carried buckets of concrete to others on the walls who poured it into beam and concrete forms, while others moved and releveled scaffolds as this work progressed. It was like a well oiled machine!
Working together to build trusses for the roof.
After a lunch of rice and beans, watermelon and bananas and a few games with local children, the team went back to work and finished all the concrete work, all the trusses… all the site work, as well as disassemble and clean the scaffolds, all by 5 pm.
The final count... 16 completed trusses!
After dinner and some missionary adventure stories from veteran and host, Ron Hanson, the team decided to have a day of rest on Saturday, beginning immediately. They were wiped out!
Some time to relax and hang out together at the end of the day.
They are looking forward to a service at the church this weekend!
The Hope Tent City!
Tanzania – Friday
The team has been working VERY hard as evidenced by the progress on the church building.
Eight trusses have been built. The question is... how are they going to get them on top of the walls???
The team writes that they divided up into 3 teams on Thursday: one to build trusses, one to work on forms for concrete on the building, and one to try to fill the interior floor with dirt using shovels and buckets. By lunchtime, the dirt crew was done for and several went back to camp to try to rest.
The forms and trusses went well but they are still running a little behind schedule. By Saturday afternoon they hope to have the bond beams, supporting columns and trusses done. This picture shows 8 of 16 trusses completed.
But the team also finds time to celebrate the arrival of the missing bags… and for a game of Capture the Flag on the beach after dinner.
Pray that the team will continue to work well together and that their attitudes will be right.
Tanzania – Thursday
” From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” Psalm 113:3
The above sight is what greets the TZ team each morning as they awake for a new day of service to our Tanzanian brothers. Days start early and end late. Their time at camp is centered around the pictured structure where meals are served, experiences are shared and tents are pitched.
The center of the TZ team's campsite.
Our team is working hard to build a church building in a new village. This building will provide the Living Water for Tanzanians.
Linked with the church building will be a fresh water well (the beginnings of which you can see here). Thus Hope is providing Water for a dry and thirsty land, both spiritually and physically.
This is the beginning of the village well near the TZ church.
Tanzania – Wednesday
Yes, Melanie, he really is there!
Today’s good news is that all 10 bags have been located in Dubai and will be in the air Thursday morning on their way to Dar es Salaam! A huge thank you to all at home who have been relentlessly tracking these down and “urging” the airlines into action!
Steve Wisner has been faithfully sending home email updates from the team. Today he wrote: ”It’s fun but it’s a lot of work. We get up at 6 every day and leave for the work site by 7. We get back to the camp site around 5 or 6. The scaffolds are temporary so we just put them back up and they just had to redo that section of wall.” Steve has sent so many pictures of everyone else he finally sent one of himself… yes, he IS there! (Notice the Indian Ocean in the background.)
Continue to pray for our team as they face daily joys and challenges! Pray that through it all, God is glorified and His kingdom grows!