A Great Time at the Movies!

Last night was super fun. I (Dan) went to the movies with Kyle Vold, William Hoff, Janelle Cameron, Deanne Labrecque, Matthew Skretting, and Josiah Koenig! But as we exited the building, a sudden thought came to mind. I then expressed my sudden idea to the group. "Wait a minute... aren't you guys suppose to be in Honduras? And aren't you suppose to be in Colombia? And aren't you suppose to be in Suriname? ... ... This is a dream, isn't it?" Then, Miss Deanne Labrecque turned to me and sheepishly replied "...Yeeeah..."


I then woke up.


After this interesting dream, I have discovered three things: 1. I'm missing home a little bit. 2. The Malaria medication is doing it's job and 3. Deanne ruins things for me... even when she's not on my Mission Team...  and even in my dreams. Thanks Deanne. (:P)


But anyways, I'm sure you're all wondering where have we been this entire time. Umm... Tanzania? Okay, jokes aside, we have very limited internet access. We spend most of our time in rural areas where the internet is as reliable as the electricity... which it isn't. But I will do my best to bring you all up to speed!!

One thing we forgot to mentioned during one of the first days here in Tanzania was a wedding we were able to witness. The Team was touring Sanna Juu Market when Pastor Fadhili decided to take us to the nearby Lutheran Church. And lucky for us, there happened to be a Wedding going on. AN AWESOME ONE THAT IS!! By awesome, I mean everyone started dancing, cheering, playing instruments and throwing confetti every single time the Bride and Groom blinked. We even got introduced to the newlyweds... and the entire congregation... right in the middle of the ceremony. Yup, thanks Pastor Fadhili. Now this couple will have a group of 5 white Canadians on their wedding video. It was awkward at first (we felt like we were intruding just by sitting in the back!), but everyone was very welcoming towards us. It was a fun kind of awkward for us. Later, everyone was outside cheering, dancing, singing, and playing trumpets and tubas around the new car. Pastor Bildad told us they were going to do that for the next half hour. And then a 5 hour party after wards. Sweet.  Definitely one of my personal highlights of the whole trip.


The next week we visited Ngaronyi Parish. We met with the Youth and got to hike up to the Youth Center that they have. Unfortunately, there really isn't much there. Because of lack of funding, the youth don't actually have a "center", just a concrete skeleton. There's even a foundation for a groundskeeper house that was built by Missionaries form the states... 10 years ago. We hope and pray that this youth group will receive the funds they need to have their own place! On the bright side, they have lots green fields. So we decided to have a game of football (soccer) and keep away (net ball). I think I blocked 3 shots of 10 in net for football. Yeah... they're pretty decent. We later went back to the Church and had a time for Bible Study. The youth are extremely bright and had a lot of hard questions! It was very constructive.


A few days later, we went to the Fuka Parish school for Orphans. We played football, taught English through Bible verses and songs, and even met with some sponsers from Compassion! This was one of the best days on our trip. The kids were fun and loving to be around with. They constantly took my hand, which for me, was really affirming. It was a tender hearted moment, I'll admit.


Unfortuantely, that's all I can share for today. My internet time here in Moshi is about to expire. And unfortunately the next time we'll have access to the web will be on our last day here...maybe. Our apologies for the lack of updates and details. When we return to school, we'll have videos, photos, and more blogs to share about our experiences here! Please continue to pray for us!


In Christ,
Dan