Kilimanjaro group has started hiking and the rest of us are heading to the airport for home. What a huge blessing this trip has been. Thank you for praying!
Jenni
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Tuesday, June 23
We had a wonderful day today driving to the Tarangire National Park. We have seen zebra, giraffe, elephant, ostrich, baboon, impala and lots of other animals all in one day. Tomorrow we leave here and drive to Ongorogoro Park which is it's own ecosystem inside an old crater. Should be amazing.
We celebrated George Ndungu's birthday tonight at dinner. They brought him a cake with sparklers and a singing dancing Congo line. I'm sorry I am literally too exhausted to write more and we have to be up early packed ready to go early in the morning so I am heading to bed. We have quite a few sick kids with sniffles and congestion. Please pray for rest and relaxation. Other than that everyone is doing well.
Thank you for the continued prayers.
Jenni
We celebrated George Ndungu's birthday tonight at dinner. They brought him a cake with sparklers and a singing dancing Congo line. I'm sorry I am literally too exhausted to write more and we have to be up early packed ready to go early in the morning so I am heading to bed. We have quite a few sick kids with sniffles and congestion. Please pray for rest and relaxation. Other than that everyone is doing well.
Thank you for the continued prayers.
Jenni
Monday, June 22, 2015
Monday, June 22
We began at 7AM as is custom with a Jon Millet day. We ate breakfast and maintained casual conversation without understanding the blessings God had in store for us today. Today would end making sad farewells accompanied with tears of joy.
Prior to boarding the bus, we took delivery of one of four custom built round tables purchased by our sponsors for the benefit of the school for disabled children. Along with the tables, we arranged for the construction of 24 matching wooden chairs. In Tanzania, most furniture is custom built from wood. They do not have "Big Box" stores. This concludes our ministry to the school. We had the pleasure of not only furnishing the dining area but also painting the school and ministering to the families about how God loves their children and the importance of having a relationship with God.
We loaded the bus with approximately 600 pounds of food and headed back to the orphanage to provide them food and finish painting the exterior of the building. The orphanage is run by Mama Jane who asked God for children and was blessed when he provided her the vision of developing a home for orphans. Many of her children lost both parents to AIDS. Jane has developed a remarkable program which instills God's values in the children. They operate as a family which cares for each other and their guests.
During our visit Jane informed us that she trusts God to provide for their needs. She is industrious and intelligent. She runs a farm to grow produce for the kids but this isn't enough. As it turns out., she ran out of food yesterday! Again through the generosity of our sponsors, we provided her "just in time" food. By God directing us to Tanzania, we were able to meet this need.
We had fun taking individual portraits and printing pictures of the children. It is rare for them to have a photograph. We also had a fun time teaching them Vacation Bible School. They responded enthusiastically to the program.
While all of this was fun, we were blessed beyond words. We can't begin to capture the raw emotion we experienced after being fed dinner by them. They sang and danced for us. We joined them in the celebration. Then, we began an hour long series of good bye's which involved prayer, song, gift exchanges and MANY TEARS from girls, boys, students and adult leaders alike.It was simply one of the most blessed moments you could experience. We boarded the bus to head home and opened the windows to sing a farewell song. We were touched with God's love.
Then, we had to say goodbye to our six guides who hosted us during the trip. Again, we exchanged gifts, praises and tears for our newfound relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ. How much emotion can we take in one day! It was truly special seeing God's people in unison with each other.
We were honored when they informed us of their desire to implement some of our strategies in their local ministries. They were honored when we shared how much they impacted us in such a short time. God was honored because his work was done for the poor, the widows, the orphans and the children who could not help them selves.
Our prayer is for you to be honored as having been a big part of this important ministry.
Thank you!
Mike Fields on behalf of Team Tanzania
Prior to boarding the bus, we took delivery of one of four custom built round tables purchased by our sponsors for the benefit of the school for disabled children. Along with the tables, we arranged for the construction of 24 matching wooden chairs. In Tanzania, most furniture is custom built from wood. They do not have "Big Box" stores. This concludes our ministry to the school. We had the pleasure of not only furnishing the dining area but also painting the school and ministering to the families about how God loves their children and the importance of having a relationship with God.
We loaded the bus with approximately 600 pounds of food and headed back to the orphanage to provide them food and finish painting the exterior of the building. The orphanage is run by Mama Jane who asked God for children and was blessed when he provided her the vision of developing a home for orphans. Many of her children lost both parents to AIDS. Jane has developed a remarkable program which instills God's values in the children. They operate as a family which cares for each other and their guests.
During our visit Jane informed us that she trusts God to provide for their needs. She is industrious and intelligent. She runs a farm to grow produce for the kids but this isn't enough. As it turns out., she ran out of food yesterday! Again through the generosity of our sponsors, we provided her "just in time" food. By God directing us to Tanzania, we were able to meet this need.
We had fun taking individual portraits and printing pictures of the children. It is rare for them to have a photograph. We also had a fun time teaching them Vacation Bible School. They responded enthusiastically to the program.
While all of this was fun, we were blessed beyond words. We can't begin to capture the raw emotion we experienced after being fed dinner by them. They sang and danced for us. We joined them in the celebration. Then, we began an hour long series of good bye's which involved prayer, song, gift exchanges and MANY TEARS from girls, boys, students and adult leaders alike.It was simply one of the most blessed moments you could experience. We boarded the bus to head home and opened the windows to sing a farewell song. We were touched with God's love.
Then, we had to say goodbye to our six guides who hosted us during the trip. Again, we exchanged gifts, praises and tears for our newfound relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ. How much emotion can we take in one day! It was truly special seeing God's people in unison with each other.
We were honored when they informed us of their desire to implement some of our strategies in their local ministries. They were honored when we shared how much they impacted us in such a short time. God was honored because his work was done for the poor, the widows, the orphans and the children who could not help them selves.
Our prayer is for you to be honored as having been a big part of this important ministry.
Thank you!
Mike Fields on behalf of Team Tanzania
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Sunday, June 21
Hi this is Marie today we went to different churches our church was very long but interesting, After a 3rd service we just relaxed and ate lunch. Then we went to a Market and I got a Braclet and a Soccer T-Shirt. All of the Market people was so nice some of them was from the church choir, Then After That we ate dinner and Scott and Ty came back from Kajiado. After dinner we had a meeting it was fun we Sang Song, We starch, Prayed.
I,am gonna miss this place but I,am coming back next year, All the choir people was so nice and wonderful, I,am so thankful for them greeting us at the airport and last night, One of them actually made me a Hat and another made my friend a Braclet
I made many friends here I don,t know if they,ll be back next year or not
It,s going by so fast working with Orphins, Disabled Children, Painting I mean this was fun and I made a-lot of friends I can,t wait to go on safari but again I,am gonna miss this place
Love Marie
And I,am Terrifyed of them going onto Kilimanjaro
I,am gonna miss this place but I,am coming back next year, All the choir people was so nice and wonderful, I,am so thankful for them greeting us at the airport and last night, One of them actually made me a Hat and another made my friend a Braclet
I made many friends here I don,t know if they,ll be back next year or not
It,s going by so fast working with Orphins, Disabled Children, Painting I mean this was fun and I made a-lot of friends I can,t wait to go on safari but again I,am gonna miss this place
Love Marie
And I,am Terrifyed of them going onto Kilimanjaro
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Saturday, June 20
Today we started with breakfast and devotions from Mike Fields. He talked about finding your ministry and challenged all of our college bound students to get plugged into a church and find their unique ministry next year when they find themselves in a new environment.
We stopped in for another "5 minute" stop for Jon to go get some paint and supplies and then headed to the school for disabled. We were happy to see the new wheelchair ramps already finished and the students did a great job finishing up painting the dining hall and kitchen. Izzy and Callie did a wonderful job painting a verse on the wall...which was the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. We had it translated so they could paint it in Swahili. While they painted Jon and I and Mike Fields all spoke to the parents of the disabled students. I shared a little about what I have been through as a mother and how I really had to give up my own illusions and ideas of what life "should" be like and how I learned to trust God to meet the needs of my children. We talked about their value and how God can use them for a unique purpose to demonstrate Gods love for all of us to the world. Mike then shared his testimony of his brother, who was electrocuted just before graduating from college, and how God has used Greg in ways he never could have imagined and tied in the gospel message. Jon tied it all together with his thoughts as a father and truly seeing the unique gifts that each person can have, even when they are disabled. He reassured them that they were not being punished by God, but that their children are a blessing, that they had a unique opportunity for spiritual growth, and experiences most people never get to witness. It was a very special time and we all felt like the Holy Spirit really spoke to those who were there. We all gave it a 20 out of 10 experience.
We finished up at the school and then came back for a special dinner the choir from our host church gphad prepared for us. They have been such hospitable, gracious hosts while we have been here, going out of their way to do nice things for us. The five choir members who were chosen to be our interpreters and guides, have each taken a 2 week leave of absence from work to be with us. They have not only accompanied us everywhere, but have also painted and worked alongside us too. Tonight the entire choir made us a traditional Tanzanian dinner, sang for us, and then told us they had a Tanzanian "cake" for us. It turns out that Tanzanian cake is code for Goat. It was great and a big honor for them to have gone to so much trouble to make us feel welcomed.
We did get word that Ty and Scott Westfall arrived safely in Kajiado today and spent the day purchasing food and supplies to leave at the orphanage, school for disabled and with Mama Ruth's tribe up in Rurya. They should be heading back late tomorrow afternoon. Also, Steve Wolcott just arrived back from Uganda.
Tomorrow we will be going to four different churches in groups, so please pray for Jon, Steve, Jerry, and Mike as they will all be preaching, and for the students, as they are usually asked to give a short testimony or sing. After that we will be taking a day of rest relaxing a little.
Thank you for the continued prayers. We know how many people back home are supporting us and it means a lot to know we have friends and family praying on our behalf!
Sincerely,
Jenni for the group
We stopped in for another "5 minute" stop for Jon to go get some paint and supplies and then headed to the school for disabled. We were happy to see the new wheelchair ramps already finished and the students did a great job finishing up painting the dining hall and kitchen. Izzy and Callie did a wonderful job painting a verse on the wall...which was the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. We had it translated so they could paint it in Swahili. While they painted Jon and I and Mike Fields all spoke to the parents of the disabled students. I shared a little about what I have been through as a mother and how I really had to give up my own illusions and ideas of what life "should" be like and how I learned to trust God to meet the needs of my children. We talked about their value and how God can use them for a unique purpose to demonstrate Gods love for all of us to the world. Mike then shared his testimony of his brother, who was electrocuted just before graduating from college, and how God has used Greg in ways he never could have imagined and tied in the gospel message. Jon tied it all together with his thoughts as a father and truly seeing the unique gifts that each person can have, even when they are disabled. He reassured them that they were not being punished by God, but that their children are a blessing, that they had a unique opportunity for spiritual growth, and experiences most people never get to witness. It was a very special time and we all felt like the Holy Spirit really spoke to those who were there. We all gave it a 20 out of 10 experience.
We finished up at the school and then came back for a special dinner the choir from our host church gphad prepared for us. They have been such hospitable, gracious hosts while we have been here, going out of their way to do nice things for us. The five choir members who were chosen to be our interpreters and guides, have each taken a 2 week leave of absence from work to be with us. They have not only accompanied us everywhere, but have also painted and worked alongside us too. Tonight the entire choir made us a traditional Tanzanian dinner, sang for us, and then told us they had a Tanzanian "cake" for us. It turns out that Tanzanian cake is code for Goat. It was great and a big honor for them to have gone to so much trouble to make us feel welcomed.
We did get word that Ty and Scott Westfall arrived safely in Kajiado today and spent the day purchasing food and supplies to leave at the orphanage, school for disabled and with Mama Ruth's tribe up in Rurya. They should be heading back late tomorrow afternoon. Also, Steve Wolcott just arrived back from Uganda.
Tomorrow we will be going to four different churches in groups, so please pray for Jon, Steve, Jerry, and Mike as they will all be preaching, and for the students, as they are usually asked to give a short testimony or sing. After that we will be taking a day of rest relaxing a little.
Thank you for the continued prayers. We know how many people back home are supporting us and it means a lot to know we have friends and family praying on our behalf!
Sincerely,
Jenni for the group
Friday, June 19, 2015
Friday, June 19
Today was another great day here in Tanzania. We started out with breakfast and devotions from Jerry Fudge, which was a great discussion on apologetics and how to refute some of the reasons people reject Christianity. Next we went to a public high school where Noah, Dawson, and Brittany all shared their testimonies, we sang some songs, and Jon preached the gospel. This school had a mix of kids from different religions so please pray that they heard what they needed to hear. It was pretty cool at one point we realized there was a big group of Muslim girls singing along to "I want to be like Jesus"
After lunch we went to a local Masaii market for about an hour. Jon came back with a giant spoon which I have NO idea what I'm going to do with...typical. :). We then headed to the church for our final day of VBS. We estimated over 220 kids again and had a great time. They loved the songs and games and stories from the book of Proverbs. Our students did a fabulous job of leading this and interacting with the kids. We will miss them.
Disabled School update:
Tomorrow we will head back to the disabled school. Jon and I have been told that many families here believe that having a disabled child is a punishment by God. We have asked to meet with all the parents of the disabled children tomorrow so we can encourage them and help them see that it is actually a blessing and that they can be used by God just as much as any healthy person. Please pray for us as we speak to them tomorrow morning. While we speak to the parents, everyone else will be finishing up painting in the dining, kitchen area. We will post before and after photos. We have also been able to purchase 4 wood tables and 24 new chairs for their cafeteria, as well as some food to stock their kitchen and a huge new shelving system to keep their food and supplies up off the floor.
We also noticed the other day that there was no working wheelchair ramp at this school. There was a partial one that dropped off about 2 feet from the ground and the rest of the school porch is a good 4 foot step up. We inquired about putting in a ramp for them and found that it will only cost $60 to complete the existing ramp and put another one in that will lead from the dining Area to the playground. We hope this will be a great blessing to them. Thank you to those of you who have supported this trip financially. These are the kinds of things your money is providing and we are so honored to be able to present such things on behalf of so many of you!
Tomorrow Ty and Scott Westfall are leaving to travel to Kenya to visit Mama Ruth and the Masaii tribe we have been working with the past several years. We are grateful that we are close enough to send them on our behalf. They will also be visiting Pastor Charles church, the orphanage, and the school for disabled in Kajiado that we went to last year. They will be taking along about a months worth of food for the kids at the disabled school and the Kajiado orphanage.
Tomorrow afternoon we will also be having a fellowship and having dinner with the church choir at the church. They have been gracious hosts all week. Also, Steve Wolcott should return tomorrow afternoon from Uganda.
Please continue to keep the group in prayer as several have some minor health issues going on...tummy aches, cold and cough and exhaustion mostly. Also, Mike Fields who had such a hard time getting here, has hurt his back and is in a lot of pain with limited motion, although he is still plugging along as though nothing is wrong. He was able to get some medicine today, so pray that he
will get some relief!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers!
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet for the group
After lunch we went to a local Masaii market for about an hour. Jon came back with a giant spoon which I have NO idea what I'm going to do with...typical. :). We then headed to the church for our final day of VBS. We estimated over 220 kids again and had a great time. They loved the songs and games and stories from the book of Proverbs. Our students did a fabulous job of leading this and interacting with the kids. We will miss them.
Disabled School update:
Tomorrow we will head back to the disabled school. Jon and I have been told that many families here believe that having a disabled child is a punishment by God. We have asked to meet with all the parents of the disabled children tomorrow so we can encourage them and help them see that it is actually a blessing and that they can be used by God just as much as any healthy person. Please pray for us as we speak to them tomorrow morning. While we speak to the parents, everyone else will be finishing up painting in the dining, kitchen area. We will post before and after photos. We have also been able to purchase 4 wood tables and 24 new chairs for their cafeteria, as well as some food to stock their kitchen and a huge new shelving system to keep their food and supplies up off the floor.
We also noticed the other day that there was no working wheelchair ramp at this school. There was a partial one that dropped off about 2 feet from the ground and the rest of the school porch is a good 4 foot step up. We inquired about putting in a ramp for them and found that it will only cost $60 to complete the existing ramp and put another one in that will lead from the dining Area to the playground. We hope this will be a great blessing to them. Thank you to those of you who have supported this trip financially. These are the kinds of things your money is providing and we are so honored to be able to present such things on behalf of so many of you!
Tomorrow Ty and Scott Westfall are leaving to travel to Kenya to visit Mama Ruth and the Masaii tribe we have been working with the past several years. We are grateful that we are close enough to send them on our behalf. They will also be visiting Pastor Charles church, the orphanage, and the school for disabled in Kajiado that we went to last year. They will be taking along about a months worth of food for the kids at the disabled school and the Kajiado orphanage.
Tomorrow afternoon we will also be having a fellowship and having dinner with the church choir at the church. They have been gracious hosts all week. Also, Steve Wolcott should return tomorrow afternoon from Uganda.
Please continue to keep the group in prayer as several have some minor health issues going on...tummy aches, cold and cough and exhaustion mostly. Also, Mike Fields who had such a hard time getting here, has hurt his back and is in a lot of pain with limited motion, although he is still plugging along as though nothing is wrong. He was able to get some medicine today, so pray that he
will get some relief!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers!
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet for the group
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The Fields got in safely today!! It's cool having two new team members.
Today we went back to the disabled school to paint the walls after breakfast and devotions, and the routine that the group has now gotten used to. The kids weren't there today, though all of our time was spent scrubbing grease off of kitchen walls, and painting their main assembly room. With only one bottle of bleach, and thin, terrible sponges, we somehow removed mountains of grease from walls which couldn't have been cleaned in 50 years. We washed and sanded all the walls, and painted both rooms in like 3 hours. It was tight. And Brittanys arm hurts because she is so lame and weak. After painting at the disabled school, we took lunch and had time to relax before vbs. At vbs, today's lesson was about commiting our work to The Lord. I got to use a puppet in a skit and throw crayons everywhere and then complain about it. Brittany was the teacher, and got mad at me for throwing crayons everywhere. Jenni was sick today and couldn't be there for most of the day, so we are writing the blog instead. We somehow managed to run vbs without her. It's late and were exhausted, so sorry for any scattered thoughts. Please be in prayer for Steve as he travels to Uganda, and for the rest of the group to remain healthy, and be able to speak Christ's words instead of our own.
-Max and Brittany (the best people you know)
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Wednesday, June 17
Okay so Scott and Noah are going to be very unhappy because they wrote this great post for tonight and when they gave my iPad back for me to publish it, the wifi wouldn't save it and it was lost. I will try to recap what it said. Actually I'm adding a lot but theirs was great.
Today we started out the day with a morning devotional from Steve Wolcott, who always has amazing stories from his life experiences as a full time missionary. He talked about being a fragrant aroma to The Lord and told a story about his experiences with 2 witch doctors he was called to help years ago. One turned his life over to Christ and got rid of all his things from his former life, but the other could not give up his stuff, including his Koran, and went off never to be seen again. For some the fragrance of speaking out for Christ is life to life but for others who won't believe, it is death to death.
After our morning talk we went back to the orphanage to continue painting. We finished the front building, started on the second, and broke some ground for the foundation of their new chicken coop. We decided just to hire a fundi to build the coop right since none of us seem to have much experience building chicken coops...except Carrigan, and only because she lives in the country and has actually seen a chicken coop before.
Steve left around noon to head to the airport to take care of a previous commitment back in Uganda. He will come back in a couple of days. Please pray for safe travels for him, AND that his phone would miraculously turn up. It was lost the first day we were here somewhere in the hotel.
The staff at the orphanage made us lunch of a mix of beans and maize. A few of us took pity on the poor skinny residential dog, named Smartie, who is usually napping on their porch, and accidentally
dropped some lunch near his mouth. He was quite happy with the Americans. We stayed at the
orphanage until about 2:30 and on the way back stopped to buy a big shelving unit we had spotted on the way up there that we thought would be great for the school for disabled. We strapped it to the top of the bus and will deliver it tomorrow when we go back to paint at the school for disabled. We are hoping to repainting their entire kitchen and dining area for them, plus buy them some food to stock their pantry.
We got back just in time to put on clean clothes and run over to the church (it's literally one block behind our hotel) for vbs. We estimate we probably had a little over 200 kids again today. There was a slight bit of chaos with the passing out of candy as they left (only at Mr. Millets door...not Jerry Fudges door - he would like to point out that his door was completely under control the whole time) so Mr. Millet has banned candy from tomorrow's program. But other than that the kids seem to really be enjoying all of the music and fun. Scott and Noah asked for prayer for talking with a boy named Ambrose tomorrow who said he had some questions about life he wanted to bring them. He is a refugee and has been looking for his father for the past six years.
We came back for dinner and had a fierce competition between George, Jon, Noah, Christopher (our reigning champion), and sweet little Karoline to see who could chug a cold fizzy coke down the quickest. The challenge was made a few days ago so everyone was quite excited to see who would win. I can't tell you who won yet but let's just say the Millets are not even remotely close to being in the running, because both Jon and Noah took very small sips over about a three minute window. We had our evening prayer time, made some preparations for tomorrow and headed off to bed.
Right now Jon, Jerry and George are on the way to the airport to pick up Mike and Dawson Fields, who finally managed to get on a flight over here after trying for a couple of days. We are all excited to see them, but after almost 36 hours on four different planes, we know they will arrive around 1
a.m. exhausted...and breakfast is at 7 a.m. Please pray for them to get some good rest tonight!
Well...Noah and Scott said way less than that, but they will get another chance to entertain you probably tomorrow. Thank you all for the continued prayers!
Sincerely,
Jenni for the group
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Tuesday, June 16
Jambo world!! This is Caroline Fields and Karrigan Blagburn. We want to tell you about our day. So listen up!
This morning we ate the usual (hard boiled egg, mystery sausage, and awesome fruit ... And chai).
We then headed to the school for the disabled after being thrown around on the bumpiest road you've ever experienced ever. The school was on the most beautiful land on the base of Mount Meru. About fifteen lovely special needs kids waited with their teachers and a couple of mothers on the campus for us. We toured the campus and doubled the span of our Swahili with diagrams the school had painted on their walls. Then we played three songs for them and they all jumped around and were so joyful. We performed an oscar worthy skit featuring yours truly, and then made a craft with them (drums made out of cups). The rest of the morning we played with and loved on the kids. Special shout out to Jordan and Jeremiah, who showed SO much joy and laughter even though they couldn't walk.
We came back for lunch (rice and meat...fanta/stoney(refer to Christopher's post)). After a much needed nap, we returned to the church for another evening of vbs. The kids seemed even more excited and energetic than yesterday, and they even remembered a few of the songs. Vbs went well. The kids painted little crosses (as well as a few of the pews...).
Back at the hotel, the bros and I (karrigan) played three sack whack ( the most intense game anyone could play with a hacky sack) until dinner time (more rice, pork ... Fanta). We gathered for evening devotions and now we are sitting in our luxurious hotel room writing a blog. These rooms are nice, so mom, don't worry I feel like a princess with these mosquito nets. :)
We are tired so bye. Thanks for reading...don't forget to subscribe. Thanks for supporting us too!!! Kwaheri (goodbye)!
-karoline (I didn't lose her trail mix...)
-carrigan (still mourning the trail mix Karo left in Paris)
This morning we ate the usual (hard boiled egg, mystery sausage, and awesome fruit ... And chai).
We then headed to the school for the disabled after being thrown around on the bumpiest road you've ever experienced ever. The school was on the most beautiful land on the base of Mount Meru. About fifteen lovely special needs kids waited with their teachers and a couple of mothers on the campus for us. We toured the campus and doubled the span of our Swahili with diagrams the school had painted on their walls. Then we played three songs for them and they all jumped around and were so joyful. We performed an oscar worthy skit featuring yours truly, and then made a craft with them (drums made out of cups). The rest of the morning we played with and loved on the kids. Special shout out to Jordan and Jeremiah, who showed SO much joy and laughter even though they couldn't walk.
We came back for lunch (rice and meat...fanta/stoney(refer to Christopher's post)). After a much needed nap, we returned to the church for another evening of vbs. The kids seemed even more excited and energetic than yesterday, and they even remembered a few of the songs. Vbs went well. The kids painted little crosses (as well as a few of the pews...).
Back at the hotel, the bros and I (karrigan) played three sack whack ( the most intense game anyone could play with a hacky sack) until dinner time (more rice, pork ... Fanta). We gathered for evening devotions and now we are sitting in our luxurious hotel room writing a blog. These rooms are nice, so mom, don't worry I feel like a princess with these mosquito nets. :)
We are tired so bye. Thanks for reading...don't forget to subscribe. Thanks for supporting us too!!! Kwaheri (goodbye)!
-karoline (I didn't lose her trail mix...)
-carrigan (still mourning the trail mix Karo left in Paris)
Monday, June 15, 2015
Monday, June 15
Hello everyone,
Firstly, everyone is alive and well just in case y'all were wondering. Isabel had to stay at the hotel today, but she is feeling better now. Our day was fun; we began painting the Olevolos Orphanage a vibrant, luminescent shade of yellow-green. After a yummy packed lunch of boiled eggs, chicken, grilled cheese with tomato, bananas, and coffee cake, we returned to the church for our first day of VBS. We had approximately 220 children and are expecting many more tomorrow. The children enjoyed songs, skits, games, and making drums out of paper cups (the drums were loud). We returned to the hotel for some free time where we played hacky sack until the sun set. At dinner Christopher Fox chugged a Stoney (a super strong ginger ale that burns a little when you drink it) in 13 seconds. He was hospitalized....
JK
Sorry this blog was so short we don't really do this much.
This blog was engineered by Michael (hi mom and grannie) and Christopher.
God bless.
Firstly, everyone is alive and well just in case y'all were wondering. Isabel had to stay at the hotel today, but she is feeling better now. Our day was fun; we began painting the Olevolos Orphanage a vibrant, luminescent shade of yellow-green. After a yummy packed lunch of boiled eggs, chicken, grilled cheese with tomato, bananas, and coffee cake, we returned to the church for our first day of VBS. We had approximately 220 children and are expecting many more tomorrow. The children enjoyed songs, skits, games, and making drums out of paper cups (the drums were loud). We returned to the hotel for some free time where we played hacky sack until the sun set. At dinner Christopher Fox chugged a Stoney (a super strong ginger ale that burns a little when you drink it) in 13 seconds. He was hospitalized....
JK
Sorry this blog was so short we don't really do this much.
This blog was engineered by Michael (hi mom and grannie) and Christopher.
God bless.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Sunday June 14, 2015
This is Marie and Callie, today we went to the three church services at the hosting church here in Arusha. In the first service, Mr Millet gave the lesson and in the second and third services Mr Steve Wolcott and Mr Jerry Fudge taught as well. All three services were amazing and were filled with the congregation's wonderful singing which distracted from the fact that the first service started at 7 and that the third ended 1. So it was fun, but very long. After the last service we came back to the hotel for lunch and a nap before we went back to a church at 3:00 for another activity with the youth, kids, and ladies. While Mrs Millet and Mrs Orten were studying and sharing with the women of the church, the rest of our group was split between the children and the youth. Our team members in the youth who planned an afternoon for 12-20 year olds were shocked when they realized that the "youth" group was actually ages 12-40. However, that did not stop them from having a great time singing, playing games, sharing their testimonies, and having insightful and fun conversations together. While they were doing that, the rest of us were with the little children ages 3-12. With that group we played games (simon says, hide-and-seek, etc), sang songs, and our group even put on a puppet show which was improvised and a little rough, however the kids seemed to still enjoy it. It was so much fun working with the little kids. Then we came back to the hotel for dinner and an intense game of Hackie-Sack. In our final meeting of the day we discover that Dawson and Mr Fields missed their flight (unless Mr Fields was pulling our leg) so please keep them and our team work tomorrow in your prayers. We start painting at the orphanage tomorrow.
-Callie and Marie
-Callie and Marie
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Saturday, June 13th
This is Max and Brittany writing for Jenni since she is too tired and lazy!! Today we finally got our luggage, although some items were missing from peoples' bags. Some people are missing hiking boots, socks, skirts, underwear, belts, etc, and are unsure whether they were stolen or were misplaced. Please pray that they would be returned, or that these items can be replaced. Also, please pray for the hearts of whoever might have taken these items. Other than that, everyone is fine and healthy. Because of the delay in the luggage arriving, we got a late start to our day, sanding and scraping the walls of the pastors office at our church host in Arusha. We will be repainting the office later in the week. After working for a few hours, and eating lunch prepared for us by members of the church, we returned to the hotel and received all of our luggage. After taking a short break, we drove to a snake park and saw pythons, and other sweet animals. They were all behind glass, and in cages, though many of us held a small garden snake around our shoulders, and I held the hand of a baboon. They also had a museum about the life of the Masaii people, and a shopping area where we could buy carvings, jewelry, spears, etc. After these two areas we were able to ride camels for under one dollar, until it was time to return to the hotel for dinner and our evening devotions. Most are in bed now, and tomorrow we will be attending three church services at our hosting church in Arusha. We will be singing, and leading children's, youth, and women's services in the afternoon. My Dad, Jerry, and Steve will be preaching in the morning. Please pray that everything will go well and that Christ would go before us, and would be seen instead of ourselves. Kwaheri!
-Max and Brittany
Friday, June 12, 2015
Friday, June 12
Hi everyone. I was planning on having the students all take turns updating the blog for me but, unfortunately my iPad is plugged in charging so I can only update from about a 3 foot radius from my wall right now AND everyone else has already disappeared for bed. Everyone is doing well but extremely exhausted and still a little jet lagged. I am usually kind of wordy and so if you don't want details, don't read this. I am mostly writing this for about 3 or 4 people who want details. You know who you are.
We arrived last night in Arusha around midnight and were welcomed by the entire Arusha church choir! Each of them had a sign with one of our names and a blanket for us and then after a warm welcome they started singing for us. Let me tell you they were AMAZING! I have a video of it on my phone I will try to upload later.
We had to stay at the airport a while because apparently, even though all of our bags were scanned and given a barcode, the airport here in Arusha has no way of reading the barcodes so they were handwriting a detailed description of each and every missing suitcase. (Which was ALL of them, except for Brittany who had joined us in Paris). Anyway, the choir members all accompanied us back to our hotel and stayed up until about 2 in the morning until we were all checked in. Five or six of them have all taken 2 weeks off of work in order to stay with us and accompany us in all of our ministry! They have been incredible and we are enjoying getting to know them.
Today we slept in until 10 and had breakfast and devotions and lunch before heading out. We went to get a few supplies and then went to visit the church we are partnering with. We met some of the kids and told them all to invite 5 friends to VBS which we will host at the church Monday through Friday from 4-6. Please be in prayer for this each day as this is a great outreach for the area. We have been told to expect 30-50 by a couple of the church members, but other members said they are expecting 300-500! Hello! We have no idea what's going to happen so please pray for us!
After visiting the church we drove way up in the hills to the orphanage we will be ministering at. The kids are so cute. They have 16 boys and 20 girls that live there, plus a dog, a bunny, and some chickens. Our guide George said he visited several of the area orphanages to determine which one needed the most help and felt God leading him to this one. We will be painting, building a new chicken coop (a small building) and doing short portions of the VBS for them each day.
We came back for dinner, and practiced a few of our songs and skits for vbs and headed off to bed. Tomorrow we will be up early and our luggage is SUPPOSED to be delivered first thing. Most people packed at least one change of clothes so we are ok, but it sure would be nice to have all our vbs supplies and guitar and things we brought for ministry!
That's it for now. Will try to post some pictures and stuff later.
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet for the group.
We arrived last night in Arusha around midnight and were welcomed by the entire Arusha church choir! Each of them had a sign with one of our names and a blanket for us and then after a warm welcome they started singing for us. Let me tell you they were AMAZING! I have a video of it on my phone I will try to upload later.
We had to stay at the airport a while because apparently, even though all of our bags were scanned and given a barcode, the airport here in Arusha has no way of reading the barcodes so they were handwriting a detailed description of each and every missing suitcase. (Which was ALL of them, except for Brittany who had joined us in Paris). Anyway, the choir members all accompanied us back to our hotel and stayed up until about 2 in the morning until we were all checked in. Five or six of them have all taken 2 weeks off of work in order to stay with us and accompany us in all of our ministry! They have been incredible and we are enjoying getting to know them.
Today we slept in until 10 and had breakfast and devotions and lunch before heading out. We went to get a few supplies and then went to visit the church we are partnering with. We met some of the kids and told them all to invite 5 friends to VBS which we will host at the church Monday through Friday from 4-6. Please be in prayer for this each day as this is a great outreach for the area. We have been told to expect 30-50 by a couple of the church members, but other members said they are expecting 300-500! Hello! We have no idea what's going to happen so please pray for us!
After visiting the church we drove way up in the hills to the orphanage we will be ministering at. The kids are so cute. They have 16 boys and 20 girls that live there, plus a dog, a bunny, and some chickens. Our guide George said he visited several of the area orphanages to determine which one needed the most help and felt God leading him to this one. We will be painting, building a new chicken coop (a small building) and doing short portions of the VBS for them each day.
We came back for dinner, and practiced a few of our songs and skits for vbs and headed off to bed. Tomorrow we will be up early and our luggage is SUPPOSED to be delivered first thing. Most people packed at least one change of clothes so we are ok, but it sure would be nice to have all our vbs supplies and guitar and things we brought for ministry!
That's it for now. Will try to post some pictures and stuff later.
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet for the group.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Heading to Tanzania!
So for anyone who has not heard, we have relocated our mission trip this year to Tanzania. We are excited about the ministry opportunities we will have and look forward to meeting some new friends. George Ndungu, our trip guide will be with us again and has coordinated places for us to serve with a VBS, a school for Disabled, an orphanage, as well as several schools and churches.
We will be leaving Wednesday, June 10, so please keep us in your prayers for safety and health as we travel for 36 hours. We will try to update daily once we get there.
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet
We will be leaving Wednesday, June 10, so please keep us in your prayers for safety and health as we travel for 36 hours. We will try to update daily once we get there.
Sincerely,
Jenni Millet
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Welcome
Welcome to the 2015 TCA Mission Africa blog. This year's mission trip is scheduled for June 11-26, 2015. Check back later for more information and updates.
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