Visited Mwika pretty cool school. it reminded me alot of CLBI except for the fact that they have classes that run semester instead of weekly oh and its designed to make pastors not just strong Christians.But the atmosphere seemed the same... to me. After Mwika we went to Banana Jungle lodge. we went there just for fun and to get a look at a holiday spot lol if we ever come back here for say a honey moon... atleast thats their idea. that night we had a sort of team bonding in that they let us lose to experience the town on our own. did some amazing bargaining and then had supper at a restaurant we found which was grrreat. next day we visited a market on our way to Karatu. where we are now staying we visited the school and hospital in the area was very interesting to see. Saturday we hit up Ngorogoro on safari. it was great we saw Lions 5 of them 4 Elephants. a ton of zebras, 1 cheetah which rare so that was lucky , we also saw monkeys of a few types and all other sorts of animals, unfortunately no Giraffe but oh well. after the safari it all felt kind of unreal like did we actually just see these animals. it was freaking crazy awesome. sunday we had church and a bit more shopping then back to moshi and now we come to monday and we are getting on the plane in less than 7.5 hours and we are the plane. during our journey to Karatu we went shopping Josiah and I have mastered the art of bardering ... the others still need some work. However Danielle did get offered a doury to become some ones wife 200 cows when the normal doury is a cow a goat and a blanket
anyway this is Ryley signing off see you all soon
L to R: Ryley Strand (Chaplin), Danielle Larson (Leader), Dan Shepherd (Medic), Josiah MacKay (Treasurer), Becca Bouma (Logistics)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
More Awesomeness
Becca here! So... continuing on from Dan's last post... After our lovely experience at Fuka, we basically off-roaded way out in the boonies to this beautiful school called Faraja. It is a school for children with physical disabilities and is run with the same curriculum as other schools, but the facility itself is made especially for these children. When we were there, we found out we didn't really have any responsibilities and were staying in the guest house, which was beautiful. So we basically had the freedom to do whatever we wanted, which posed challenges and benefits all at the same time. The children there were wonderful. So much fun! And, despite whatever disabilities they had, they were amazing at soccer and successfully schooled the guys. Danielle and I played clapping games, catch, and "pop all the bubbles"??? with whoever was on the side. Having no responsibilities was good because it gave us time to debrief on what we had been experiencing, gave us some much needed rest, and some good hang out time. But it also made things a bit difficult because we had to choose to leave our free time to play with the kids and when we chose to do that, it was well worth it. It was an amazing experienc and those kids are magnificent! haha.
After Faraja, we went on a road trip to Nkweseko church to meet youth there. On the way we took a little detour and stopped at a beautiful river and took a lot of pictures that definitely don't do it justice. Once we were finally at Nkweseko we unpacked our stuff to stay in the beautiful hostel and drove up to a gate to Mt. Kili and we saw some monkeys! First viewing of African wildlife! From there, some of the Nkweseko youth and the pastor led us on a hike pack to the church and we got to go into an old cave where the Chaga people lived while they and the Masai were at war and the Chaga would hide and spy from up in the cave. Pretty awesome, I must say. Once we got back to the church, we had a discussion time with the youth, hung out a bit, had some amazing supper, and went to bed. We woke up in the morning to the most amazing view of Mt. Kili. It looked so close.... ahhhh. Le sigh (french sighing?). ANYWAYS..... we are now at yesterday.... yesterday, we visited the Lyamungo Coffee research centre and saw how they grow coffee beans and drank some fresh coffee. mmmm. Quite enlightening. Then we went to lunch at the retreat centre, and then we came back to Moshi, went on the WORLD WIDE WEB, and, for supper, we met with the assistant to the bishop. Pretty cool.
And today, we are going to visit the Mwika Bible College. So many amazing experiences! I'm in AFRICA!!!!! .... in case you didn't know. I think that sometimes I forget, so I am reminding myself on this post to everyone who reads it. Okay, not making sense anymore, so this is the end. Au Revoir. and.... oh yes, "sit down in the chair" in Swahili: "Kaa Kwenye Kiti".
That is all. haha.
After Faraja, we went on a road trip to Nkweseko church to meet youth there. On the way we took a little detour and stopped at a beautiful river and took a lot of pictures that definitely don't do it justice. Once we were finally at Nkweseko we unpacked our stuff to stay in the beautiful hostel and drove up to a gate to Mt. Kili and we saw some monkeys! First viewing of African wildlife! From there, some of the Nkweseko youth and the pastor led us on a hike pack to the church and we got to go into an old cave where the Chaga people lived while they and the Masai were at war and the Chaga would hide and spy from up in the cave. Pretty awesome, I must say. Once we got back to the church, we had a discussion time with the youth, hung out a bit, had some amazing supper, and went to bed. We woke up in the morning to the most amazing view of Mt. Kili. It looked so close.... ahhhh. Le sigh (french sighing?). ANYWAYS..... we are now at yesterday.... yesterday, we visited the Lyamungo Coffee research centre and saw how they grow coffee beans and drank some fresh coffee. mmmm. Quite enlightening. Then we went to lunch at the retreat centre, and then we came back to Moshi, went on the WORLD WIDE WEB, and, for supper, we met with the assistant to the bishop. Pretty cool.
And today, we are going to visit the Mwika Bible College. So many amazing experiences! I'm in AFRICA!!!!! .... in case you didn't know. I think that sometimes I forget, so I am reminding myself on this post to everyone who reads it. Okay, not making sense anymore, so this is the end. Au Revoir. and.... oh yes, "sit down in the chair" in Swahili: "Kaa Kwenye Kiti".
That is all. haha.
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
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
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
One step at a time
Hello ladies and Gentlemen,
this is team Tanzania coming all the way from Tanzania... shocker i know haha, anyways, thank you for your prayers and support. we are having lots of fun so far, we all got a sun burn yesterday... one of us more than the rest, yes that's me... Josiah... the silly white boy who didn't wear sunscreen. we have been doing many things here, we started out doing a youth seminar at Angaza women s shelter place thingy that we are staying at for now, and we had a good time discussing the topic of prayer with them and things like that. then after that we go to go see the Sana Juu market the other day and wow things are cheap, you can get a pineapple for 1000 shillings, about 75 cents, and a big bag of passion fruits for 2000 shillings. and it is all freshly picked its awesome. they eat bananas almost all the time and i'm not a big fan of there cooked bananas, just not my thing i guess. did you know there is over 30 different types of banana? i didn't, until now. we got to see a church service on Sunday and it was interesting, after wards the congregation goes outside for a big auction, never seen that. yesterday we went to Ngorony youth camp and spent the day talking to youth and playing games like soccer (which they destroyed us at) Volleyball, and a game they call net ball but is like keep away with teams, and that's when i burnt. we are having a good time please to continue praying for health, and wisdom, and rest as we are all starting to feel exhausted. thank you
~Josiah
this is team Tanzania coming all the way from Tanzania... shocker i know haha, anyways, thank you for your prayers and support. we are having lots of fun so far, we all got a sun burn yesterday... one of us more than the rest, yes that's me... Josiah... the silly white boy who didn't wear sunscreen. we have been doing many things here, we started out doing a youth seminar at Angaza women s shelter place thingy that we are staying at for now, and we had a good time discussing the topic of prayer with them and things like that. then after that we go to go see the Sana Juu market the other day and wow things are cheap, you can get a pineapple for 1000 shillings, about 75 cents, and a big bag of passion fruits for 2000 shillings. and it is all freshly picked its awesome. they eat bananas almost all the time and i'm not a big fan of there cooked bananas, just not my thing i guess. did you know there is over 30 different types of banana? i didn't, until now. we got to see a church service on Sunday and it was interesting, after wards the congregation goes outside for a big auction, never seen that. yesterday we went to Ngorony youth camp and spent the day talking to youth and playing games like soccer (which they destroyed us at) Volleyball, and a game they call net ball but is like keep away with teams, and that's when i burnt. we are having a good time please to continue praying for health, and wisdom, and rest as we are all starting to feel exhausted. thank you
~Josiah
Thursday, January 6, 2011
KILAMANJARO AT LAST.
Hello readers! WE DID IT . We are finally through all the long flights and lay overs in the airports, they went smoothly with no real complications at all- well except for ALMOST missing out connecting flight from Ottawa to Montreal but we all managed to get on and have arrived at our destination! We have spent our very first night in Tanzania Africa. Stepping off the airplane I got an overwhelming smell of earthy dirt and cigars it was lovely and we had a 30 min drive to where we are currently staying at Angaza womens center located by the town Sanyu Juu, West Kilimanjaro - it means light and we are indeed hoping our mission here will be a light to those arount us. Karibu sona (i think that is spelt right) is swahili for a very warm welcome. Once arriving at the center we ate right away- the best mushroom soup I have ever had and then were taken to our accomadations, we are staying in a very cute little house WITH A SHOWER AND FLUSHING TOLIET. We have spent the day wandering the center seeing the different things they teach there- cooking, gardening, tending cows and sheep. SHOCK for me was seeing a WHOLE goat roasting on a spit with its head still furry and another one about to be slaughter bleaping tied to a tree. AS IS LIFE. They kill goats for special occasions such as weddings I think this one was killed for the celebration of a being done a council meeting or something. We have met some of the youth we will be working will doing vocational bible studies over the next few days I believe we will be leading five different small groups for disscussions after presentations/speechs. We spent some time at the market being bombarded by sales people, they have some very creative people here in Africa. BEAUTIFUL artwork. So far all of us are doing pretty well with jet lag and we are trying to keep up our pace. Please continue to pray for safety and effectiveness in our ministry. Thanks Danielle (Team Leader)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Here we go!!
Well, this is it! It's 12:45am Alberta Time, and I'm being reckless and irresponsible by neglecting myself of sleep! Just kidding. In less than 5 hours, Ryley and I will be heading out to Edmonton International Airport where we'll meet the rest of the team. Then at about 8:40am, we'll be flying away! It's been crazy how much time has flown! Right now I still feel unprepared. I really don't want to go into this new culture and socially "freeze" up. I hate that feeling. But hopefully, by the grace of God, I'll be able to adjust... very quickly.
All there is to say now is thank you! Thank you for your prayers, your donations, and for taking the time to read this blog. We'll all do our best to keep everyone up to date with events from Moshi! If we don't update over the next three weeks, then that could only mean two things: 1.) We all got to Jesus before you did. Or 2.) We have little to no internet connection. I think the latter is most likely... hopefully. ;P
I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm ready. I'm unprepared. God... let's do this!
Peace be with you all!
Dan
All there is to say now is thank you! Thank you for your prayers, your donations, and for taking the time to read this blog. We'll all do our best to keep everyone up to date with events from Moshi! If we don't update over the next three weeks, then that could only mean two things: 1.) We all got to Jesus before you did. Or 2.) We have little to no internet connection. I think the latter is most likely... hopefully. ;P
I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm ready. I'm unprepared. God... let's do this!
Peace be with you all!
Dan
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
counting down the days
Well Christmas is over and the time for taking off to Tanzania is fast approaching. With one week till we fly the days are becoming are blur. It seems like yesterday we were being assigned our teams and we were racing all over the school trying to find our flag so that we could find out where we were going.
As the weeks flew by we didn't know what were getting ourselves into and hey ... we still don't. All that I can tell you is that there is definitely a lot of good stuff a coming as well as challenges, which will be absolutely excellent!
We thank and appreciate you for all your support and could really use some prayer for these things:
-Safety while travel
-Safety while in country
-Health, leading up to and during the trip.
-Ryley
As the weeks flew by we didn't know what were getting ourselves into and hey ... we still don't. All that I can tell you is that there is definitely a lot of good stuff a coming as well as challenges, which will be absolutely excellent!
We thank and appreciate you for all your support and could really use some prayer for these things:
-Safety while travel
-Safety while in country
-Health, leading up to and during the trip.
-Ryley
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