Tanzania Team

Last Minute

Well . . . 16 hours and we will be on the plane. I know we are in the the midst of last minute hectic packing. I am reminded tonight . . . and I was thinking about this last night . . . that we can't lose site of who God is and who we are in him.  Acts 17:22-28 is an awesome passage . . . in it Paul is reminding the men of Athens who God is and who we are in God.

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD ' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

That one little verse in the midst of this powerful passage . . . "for in Him we live and move and exist." Pretty all encompassing . . . pretty awesome. A promise and challenge wrapped all in one.  "For in Him we live and move and exist" . . . leaves little room for anything else. 

Prayer

Over this past week I have been able to have the experience of people praying over me and it has been so amazing! I have felt Gods presence even more and realized that there are people who are truly covering us and this trip with prayer. Listening to their unique prayers has shown me all the different aspects of our trip, some of which I had never thought about. It also is convicting me to pray more and to seek out Gods will in the little things as well as the big. With such a short time left before we leave I (and my lovely, absoloutely wonderful mother) have been racing to get everything done and pulled together. I have been blessed by God to have such patient and loving parents and sisters. They are a huge part of getting me ready to go and are always here to encourage (and admonish me) when ever I need it. This Tuesday will be the comissionig service during chapel at school and I'm pretty sure all or at least some of us will be speaking. Please pray that we will listen to the words God is giving us and that any of our nerves will be calmed. Pray also that the messages will be clear and fall on open ears and hearts.

One Week

Thanks to all of you who have supported us with your prayers and encouragement as we have prepared for this great adventure. We leave one week from tomorrow and covet your continued prayers as we travel to and serve in Dar Es Salaam. The following is info about some of the specific places where we will be ministering.

Asante! (Thank you)

Ministry in Madala Village:

We will spend a full Sunday in a Tanzanian village. There we will attend a Swahili church service and minister to the people during the rest of our time with them. Pray that we will form friendships with the villagers and that they will see the love of Christ through us. Coach Freace will be preaching and the girls will be leading a Sunday School Class.

Ministry at Changamoto Mbezi:

This is a clinic for recovering drug and alcohol addicts, where we will spend our day working with them and showing them the love and grace that our Father has shown us. Pray that we will be able to encourage these men and women to continue on their paths of recovery and that we will be a witness in their lives and lead them to Christ.

Ministry at Sala Sala Primary School:

Imagine a school with 500 kids, only five rooms, and only five teachers. This is the situation at the Sala Sala primary school. They have asked that we bring school posters so they can have some decorations for their bland concrete walls. This will make the school a more comfortable and fun environment. They have an immense need for simple books, written in English, from which they can read and learn. Many of you have donated books for us to take with us. We will spend time reading these books with these students.

Huruma Children’s Home:

We will spend our time with the children at this orphanage and help in any way necessary. There is a local Augusta ministry raising money to build a transition home for the older boys who are "aging out" of the home. "Minus 1" orphan ministry has raised money to send with our team to support the orphanage. This home will teach them skills of independent living, allow them to complete their schooling, and have a mentor so the will be better prepared to be on their own. It has been well named the Timothy House. They estimate a cost of $15,000 to build this home and meet the immediate need for a water storage system at an additional cost of $700. Thanks to many of you who have made contributions. Donations can be sent to the school or to First Presbyterian Church of Augusta. Donations may still be made but must be received before May 30.Please make checks payable to First Presbyterian Church and write Minus 1 in the memo line.

Carrie

Prayer

10 days! I can hardly believe it. It feels like just yesterday that we started planning this trip.

As our departure quickly approaches, I hope you all are praying for us. We just finished the book Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado, and it talked a lot about prayer. Lucado quotes 1 Thessalonians 5:17, which says "pray without ceasing." I think this is very important right now because God only knows what will happen to us while we are in Tanzania. Pray for our health, our safety, and our security. Pray for our mission, our purpose, and our plan. Pray for our hearts, our minds, and our spirits.

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ." Colossians 4:2-3

Sabrina

Goats

We are down to less than 2 WEEKS!!! This trip is seriously all I can think about, the people we are going to meet and the things we are going to see and be apart of! Its so exciting! Mr O told us this week that the village in Madala (which we are going to be in Sunday the 3) wanted to slaughter a goat for us!

Now if you're like me then the first thought that comes through your mind is "ew.. no thanks" but then I realized that this was super generous for them. Mr O told us that this one goat could be food for around a year in the village

WOW. They would give up their source of food (a necessity!) for US. I cannot tell you how selfish I felt realizing that I have a hard time donating my own little pocket change for a school fundraiser because I'm thinking of the shoes at Forever 21 that I want to go get after school.. Talk about a low point. We were able to talk them into saving the goat for themselves but the thought is so humbling.

I cannot wait to go to this place where it is going to seem like a different world where the saying "whats mine is yours" actually exists and the love, happiness, and hospitality for even a stranger is overwhelming and genuine. God is going to be revealed to me in ways that I have never experienced, and I know that I will not be the same person when I come back home. I can just feel a permanent "Jesus High" coming on me and I am so excited!

Pray that as these last weeks come we will not stress about any unfinished preparations, pray for illness (thanks to the pollen), pray for security and comfort, and pray that we stay focused on the purpose of the trip and the One who we are going on the trip for!

So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life. The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause.-Isaiah 55:12

*Kaitlyn*

We spoke at Day School Chapel today! And yes, it did take me a while to remember all of the salute to the Christian flag! As we told them about our upcoming trip, it was so fun to hear their questions and see the expressions on their faces.

In our first chapel, Kaitlyn asked the kids what they knew about Africa. Immediately, hands went up. I was expecting to hear about lions and zebras and giraffes, but instead heard about orphans and water shortages. The Pre-K and T-K kids already knew about the problems in Africa!

The second chapel was the slightly older group, so we told them a little bit more about what we will be doing while in Dar. Then Mrs. Ames asked the students some questions-- pretty tough ones! I couldn't answer some of them-- I think we need a geography lesson.

Last, but certainly not least, was the fourth and fifth graders. These students were very attentive and willing to engage. We had to actually stop taking questions after a while because they had so many. Kids asked questions like, "What sports do they play besides soccer?" and "Do they teach in English at Sala Sala Primary School?" We each looked at each other and did not now how to answer several of the questions, but Mr. O'Neil and his son Tommy were able to help.

We tried to communicate to the students mostly about The Sala Sala Primary School. We helped them visualize a school with no posters or books and without any color. When we told the chapels about the student- teacher ratio, which is 500:5, the teachers were shocked. The bottom line is we are so fortunate to go to a school like Westminster, and we were trying to communicate that to the kids. We also asked the students and their families to continuously pray for us.

I ask all of you to please bathe us in prayer. And if you have any spare books or posters, please bring them in!

Sabrina

As the time to leave grows closer and closer, I am getting strangely calm about this trip. I still have so much to do, but God has been good to me and has been giving me some peace in hectic times. Awseome things have been happening as we near our time of departure. Currently we are doing a book drive to bring childrens books, teaching posters and Bibles over to Tanzania. These will be given to Sala Sala Primary school and the mobile library there. This school has 5 classrooms, 500 children and 4-6 teachers. Mr. O'Neil showed us pictures of it and I was truly touched. It really convicted me about how flippantly I sometimes take my education and how blessed I am to have all these teachers and resources at Westminster. Please pray for us as we collect these books, that more will keep coming in and we will find a way to pack everything. May God bless you!

23 More Days!

Today during Chapel, the Letchfords spoke about their missionary work in Kenya and in other parts of Africa. Although they have never worked in Tanzania, I know their story is still very relevant to our trip.

Dr. Letchford told a story about a robbery. When the police officer was notified, he told the people to come back at a later time and they would try to find the robber. This story shows us a lot about "African time." In American society, we are so concerned with efficiency and productivity, that we sometimes forget about how important the relationships are.

I pray that my American mindset will not get in the way, but will be changed for the better. I pray that while in Africa and when I am back home I will focus more on strengthening relationships, taking the time to build connections.

Philippians 2:4-5

"not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus"

GOD IS SO GOOD!

30 hour famine was last night and it could not have been any more amazing. God is so awesome and so powerful! It literally brought tears to my eyes to worship and pray to Him with 45 other students outside under His stars. The unification of the students with addressing poverty and hungry in places like Africa was amazing preparation for them and myself; and the flood of prayers that the Team and the victoms of poverty and hunger received through the night (along with the money we were able to raise to send to these victims!) were amazingly overwhelming and so greatly appreciated and valued. God is SO GOOD!

~kaitlyn~

28 Days!

So as we now have about 28 days left before we leave and it just hit me tonight of all the things that i have left to do!

we are in DESPERATE need of children's books and posters (for school decor) to take with us, so if you have any that you would like for us to take with us please contact anyone on the Tanzania team or our mothers. know that you are helping out a great cause and are an answer to prayer for one of the 5 teachers in a school of 500 kids.. yep thats a 1:100 teacher to student ratio. So PLEASE look up in your attic for some old books or even at the dollar store for posters!

i am pretty certain that i speak for the whole team when i say how excited we are to get on this plane! just thinking that in less than a month we will be in a world completely different from what we know and where we will see God working in ways we have never experienced.

i know the rest of the month is going to seem like a race against time to make sure everything is in order and prepared for us,

so please pray for organization- that our plans will be enough to give us a sense of hope that we know what we will be doing (although we must still remember what mr oneil has told us repeatedly.. AMBIGUITY AND FLEXIBILITY!)

pray for confidence- that we are certain that God is going to work in us and through us, and of our purpose there.

and lastly pray for safety- and under this for our parents' (mothers especially) that they will be comforted about our time in Dar.

Thank you all of your continual prayers, you have no idea how much they are appreciated and how much the team and myself can feel them flooding over us!

~Kaitlyn~

Tanzania Team

Tonight we had everyone over at my house. Haleigh shared an inspiring devotion, quoting Max Lucado's book several times. My favorite quote is, "no one can do everything, but everyone can do something." We are trying to focus in on that "something" that we can be doing. What is it that we will be doing in Africa? Well, we aren't totally sure yet. We are hoping to work with orphans and children. No matter what we are doing, though, we know that God will use us for "something!"