5-26 Saying Goodbye and Traveling home

Travel day home. We said goodbye to our friends made at the Green Mountain Hotel and our Convoy of Hope friends as well. It was sad but more so for me it was encouraging to see the sadness. To me it meant we made a difference and our aid was not toxic. We all made certain connections with certain people and I am hopeful everyone will want to go back. I know that I do! And I hope to go back relatively soon so I can continue to learn from the people in Tanzania as well as hope they will learn from me. I thought of all we did on the plane rides and all the relationships I had made and I came to the overall conclusion that although the trip was too short that It was an incredible one. It brought many thoughts to my mind that will linger and I am hopeful I wont forget to work on my relationship building and love for others even if I am different or do not believe in what they are doing. The biggest thing I learned on this trip was how to truly love on someone and show the Gospel by living it, not necessarily preaching it all the time. Living through ones actions is the most important and useful tool one can use and I am thankful that this was brought back to the front of my mind again. I think I better understand the hole in our Gospel now and think I know how to aid in closing the gap. It was a truly enlightening experience and I really loved the opportunity I was given.

5-25 Safari

We stayed in a very nice resort the second to last night in Tanzania and went on an amazing Safari the next day. It was incredible to see all of Gods creation only found in Africa and a select amount of places. Seeing these giant giraffes, elephants, lions, rhinos, as well as other magnificent creatures is truly breathtaking and it shows how small we truly are in the world of Gods creation. I fell in love with all the beauty of the crater and again, although I was around my classmates I was able to meditate and really appreciate everything I had learned and the opportunity I was presented with. I am so thankful for becoming good friends with some of the locals and the relationships I had made. The small projects I had aided in and the interactions with the kids were incredible as well. I was at a complete calmness like it was too good to be true and in a way it was because I was leaving the next day. I really didn’t want to go home. I wanted to continue working and exploring such a magnificent place. One thought that kept going through my mind while on the Safari was how all these animals, predators and prey could just live together in close proximity without freaking out. If only we could accept life as it is and live with our opposites. Not only could we learn from the people but the animals as well. Truly an incredible relationship and respect between the animals and the people.  I really enjoyed that.  My favorite quote from all the reading is from Lupton, “The poor, no matter how destitute, have enormous untapped capacity; find it, be inspired by it, and build upon it” (191). We can learn from this as well. All we need to do is give a little inspiration to spark a flame and success can happen. We need to apply this to our daily lives as well.

5-24 Church and Evangelizing

We went to a church service this morning after seeing ruins of past people who lived there a few thousand years ago so that was really interesting to hear about. The church service was really long but it was filled with different peoples involvement including our leader Daudi and our professors who spoke a couple times. We were honored guests and had open seats that were reserved for us! It would have been good to be able to know what they were saying exactly so it was a little hard to engage but it was a beautiful service with beautiful people and beautiful singing! After church we went to a few different families homes and evangelized. There was a Masai choir that traveled around with us and they would sing and we would say an encouraging word then pray as a group. There was no story alike and each were heartbreaking. Although there were some circumstances that were not ideal each person still had a smile on their face and did not mope around in their sorrow. We can learn this from the people as Americans. We are so spoiled and yet we always complain about something that is not going our way but in reality we live like kings compared to most! Lupton speaks of this in Toxic Charity, “[…] we might feel and inner nudge to stop immediately and help a person, offering food or money or a ride. This may well be the intervention of the divine showing unconditional grace at a critical point in someone’s life” (49). We really need to put our selves aside and focus on what matters, like lending a hand to others and building relations on a personal level with people. One action or talk from us to another in need can make that small difference. It could be the small snowflake that starts the avalanche of success.

5-23

Woke up sore from soccer but was really excited for a real Africa adventure! We were heading out to camp out with the Masai tribe! They slaughtered a goat for us to eat and took very good care of us, providing each with a bed! It was an incredible experience! We were able to see everything in the sky. The stars were so bright and the telescope provided by Convoy really allowed us to see some spectacular things! Not many people get to see the Milky Way galaxy that clearly in their lifetime. We even had personal guards sleeping by the gate and checking for critters every half hour or so. I personally slept under the stars and loved it so much especially as I was raised to love the outdoors. I really was able to reflect on everything we were doing and what I was learning on this night. I think what I have really learned so far is to enjoy what you have and do what you can to help others, even if it is just to talk with them and give a smile. In Sterns Hole in the Gospel he states, “I see a world unraveling at an alarming rate as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, creating greater and greater social and international disparity and isolation” (105). I really believe this to be due to lack of caring and relationships. Even those that are “poor” are rich in relationships that are the best rich. Relationships are so important and we do not take advantage of that what so ever in America. Its all about us and all the Tanzanians seem so invested in everyone else’s lives, including the visiting group of Mizungas!