Serengeti...Sweet Fellowship...Shopping. Oh yeah, and rain.

For the love, stop praying for rain!  He has heard and answered your prayers!!!  Just when we think we are going to have an absolutely gorgeous day, the clouds roll in and BAM…there’s rain falling.  Seriously, I should have packed some rain boots!  Oh well, at least the crops are getting watered so they can grow.  Which means there will be ample amounts of rice and beans for me to consume.  Yummy!  My favorite African meal! :)

Anyway…  Wednesday morning we got up extra early and pilled into our “safari car” with Vincent (an excellent driver who has taken me on all three of my safaris) and headed towards the Serengeti.  Once we entered the Serengeti area I was not expecting to see a lot of animals at first.  Typically, you see a few animals on your first day as you are driving in and then you see most of the animals on the second day as you are making game runs and heading out.  However, in true fashion, the four of us could not do anything typical.  Right off the bat we saw 2 separate “couples” of lions.  We joked and said that each couple was on their honeymoon and that’s why they were so far out!  As we continued to drive, we saw giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, elephants, baboons, gazelles, warthogs, crocodiles, leopards and many other animals.  I could not believe that we saw so many!  We saw more that day than I had seen on my two other trips combined.  It was crazy!  Thursday morning we got up early to do a sunrise run and then came back for breakfast and headed out again.  We drove around for several more hours before heading back to Mwazna.  Overall, we had a great trip and took a lot of awesome pictures!

Friday was definitely a fun day.  Liv decided that she wanted to throw the boys a birthday party.  A lot of the boys do not even know when their birthday is, so she wanted to celebrate all of them on one special day.  Earlier this week we went to the market and were able to buy each boy a pair of shorts, a shirt and a pair of shoes with money that had been donated.  We thought these were perfect birthday gifts!  Liv and I baked a cake and we bought pizza and cokes for all the boys.  The boys were beyond excited about everything!  We had a lot of fun helping them pick out which shorts and shirt they wanted.  We had a sweet time of fellowship over pizza and cake.  I’m pretty sure we left them all bouncing of the walls of the church from a sugar high…but it was worth it!

My favorite shirt we bought! :)

Today, Liv took Alston and I into town to the market to do some shopping while Brian studied and prepared his sermon for church tomorrow.  Shopping is always an interesting experience in Africa.  I love being able to look at the things that they have, but there’s one thing I love more…watching Liv wheel and deal with the sellers about the prices.  It was always entertaining to watch her do it in English, but it’s even better in Swahili!  She definitely got us some good prices!  However, we had a funny/aggravating moment happen towards the end of our shopping trip.  Liv had gotten this man to agree on a price for something I wanted.  So, I paid the man, he bagged the stuff and we walked away.  Several minutes later he chased us down and began to talk to Liv.  Apparently it was not his shop and when he called and told what he sold the stuff for, he got in trouble.  So, either I had to pay him more money or give the stuff back.  The price he wanted was crazy, so I gave him the stuff back and he gave me my money back.  I guess I should public apologize to my grandmother…  Sorry Grandma, you won’t be getting the really cool baskets that I found for you!  :)

Our day concluded at the church with the boys.  They sang songs and did some scripture memory.   I just love hearing them sing and recite scriptures.  As I sit and listen I imagine about what Heaven is going to be like.  One day, every tribe and every tongue will praise His name together.  How incredible is that?!?  I can’t wait.  After singing we were waiting for their food to be brought down, so I was able to take some pictures of the boys.  Once you start taking pictures, all of them want their picture taken!  It was fun just playing around with them!  Eventually the food came and Liv, Alston and I were able to plate it up and give it out to them.  This is always a humbling time, but today it was even more so.  These boys have nothing, yet three, yes three, of them “welcomed” me to eat with them.  That quite possibly could have been their only meal today, but they were still willing to share with me.

…What if? 

What if we were willing to give and to share until it hurt? 

What if we were willing to sacrifice what God has abundantly blessed us with for the sake of someone else? 

What if we welcomed strangers into our lives and began to meet their needs? 

What if?

I’ll tell you what…if all of us were willing to do this, we wouldn’t need to be ministering to the street boys of Tanzania…Because their would be no children sleeping on the streets.

What if? 

Why not?

Planes…Power…Perspective. Oh Yeah, and Rain.

Alston, Me, Liv and Brian after church Sunday!

Last Thursday afternoon we were at the airport headed to Africa.  Within the first 3 hours of our journey we encountered a very delayed flight and sprinted through the Atlanta airport (that is not an exaggeration, I promise!), 35 hours and 5 plane rides later…We made it to Mwanza!!!  Our really tired, stinky selves were greeted by Brian and Liv at the airport.  Not only was it GREAT to see my best friend for the first time in months, it was just great to see some familiar faces after our long journey!  It warmed my heart to exit the airport, get in the car with them (Yes, Liv can actually drive like a real Tanzanian!) and drive through Mwanza.  It definitely has been way too long since my last trip.

So far, the motto of this trip has been “Dear Lord, Stop the rain and let there be power!”  For all of you who have rushed the gates of heaven asking for rain on behalf of the people of Mwanza, let it be known that your prayers have been heard.  I mean, they really have been heard.  It has rained more in the three and a half days that I have been here, then in all my other trips combined.  If you would like to slack off on your prayers for rain until I get back to the states, I would be greatly appreciative! :) In all seriousness, God has generously supplied ample amounts of rain to rehydrate the dry soil.  Now that your rain prayers have been answered, pray the power stays on!  While it’s not a big inconvenience, it does get a little annoying at times because it is so random.  There is absolutely no way you can predict if you will have power or not at any given time.  Oh well, it makes for a great adventure! 

The boys eating a meal at the church.

Since arriving here on Saturday, we have spent time with the boys three separate times…Saturday afternoon, Sunday for church and then today, Tuesday.  On Saturday we were able to sing with them and then watch as each of them recited the verses they have committed to memory.  I must admit it was really cool and very humbling.  Some of the boys cannot even read, yet they have hidden His Word in their hearts.  On Sunday we worshiped with them in church. All of them were sitting in the front, listening and singing along.  My mind was blown to pieces when it was time for the offering.  They boys have nothing.  They sleep in the church at night and beg and work on the streets during the day to make a very small amount of money.  However, most of them still went forward and placed part of their earnings in the offering.  I have heard Liv talk about how they do this, but it didn’t really sink in till I saw it myself.   My perspective on a lot of things changed in that moment…

The first building going up!

My perspective changed when I was able to step foot on the property and walk through the first building of Anza Imani Rescue Center.  Three years ago Liv told me she was going to do it…I didn’t believe her…  I was wrong.   It was incredibly exciting to walk and look around as she pointed out where everything is going to go and how everything is going to work.  It’s absolutely amazing. 

My perspective was changed Sunday afternoon and this afternoon as I was able to sit on the dirty, concrete floor of the church where the boys sleep.   My job was to scoop out a portion of beans onto a plate for each boy.  Two of only four meals that we know they get on a weekly basis.  They were so thankful for what little it was. 

Liv translating as I spoke.

Lastly, my perspective was changed as I was able to teach the boys this afternoon.  While it was fun to spend time with them, teach a lesson and laugh and joke, my mind wondered somewhere else as all of these things were going on…

My best friend lives in Africa.  We skype and email on a weekly basis, so in reality, it really doesn’t feel like she’s halfway around the world.  When we got here and got to their house, it didn’t feel like we were in Africa.  Everything just seemed normal.  When we go into town or to the market it’s not odd to listen to her talk to people in Swahili.  However, today, as I stood before the boys and shared the Word of God with them I didn’t use a native to translate...Liv translated for me.  Talk about a crazy moment.  It was an incredible moment for me.  I know she is a missionary, but today I really got to see it and experience it first hand.  She stuck with me word for word and even made what I had to say work when there wasn’t an exact translation.  A year ago she had no clue, but today she rocked it. 

Once again, God continues to blow my mind.  I am constantly amazed at the incredible things He is doing.  I am constantly amazed of how He uses His children who are not worthy.  I am constantly amazed that God cares for and loves each and every one of us.  I am constantly amazed that God doesn’t need my help, but He allows me to join in on the work that He is doing.

May we never loose the humility and amazement of God, His love and His work.

Enjoying the beans and rice!

Until next time here are two funnies from our first few days…  On Sunday we ate lunch with the boys.  Silverware is not a must when eating in Africa, so we joined right in.  It was quite the entertainment watching Alston dig in for the first time!

Adding a nose so it could breathe!

Today when I was teaching I carved a face out of a watermelon as an illustration.  Everything went off without a hitch and it seemed like the boys really enjoyed it.  As I was wrapping up the lesson I asked if anyone had a question.  One boy raised his hand, stood up and then spouted off a few words in Swahili.  When he was done all the boys and Liv and Brian began to laugh.  I stood there awkwardly because I had no clue what question he asked.  My mind wondered about what in the world could be so funny.  Still laughing, Liv turned to me and said, “He wants to know how the head can breathe because we didn’t cut it a nose.”  I laughed, turned to my backpack, pulled out my multi-tool and cut it a nose.  Boys will be boys!