5-17 Travel day to Tanzania

Today was the travel day. All of the things we learned through the semester were racing through my head. Thoughts like is what we are going to do going to legitimately help the people? Or will it be toxic charity? When we arrived it was nice and hot! Just as one would expect from mother Africa! I was in awe of the beauty of the land! The people of Convoy of Hope and the local Tanzanians were so friendly and welcoming to us. There was not a moment where I was allowed to carry my own bag. This is a total different custom than in the US where usually to get some help you have to pull someone’s tooth out or something like that. We arrived at our hotel and it was beautiful. The staff was very friendly and made sure we had everything we could possibly need and more! The excitement started to build in me as we were briefed in the first order of business, visiting the first school and getting to know the head teacher and students. I could not wait to apply our knowledge and hopefully have a positive impact on the school and the kids. The quote “Even a small match lit in a place of total darkness gives off a blinding light” (63) from Sterns Hole in the Gospel came to mind as I hoped and prayed to be that small match that could be the start to a rapid wildfire growth. Attached is a picture I took of locals in Ethiopia playing soccer, which was one of the activities I was hoping to do with the kids.