Good morning from Tanzania!
Good morning from Tanzania! This is Anya Hockenberry on July 15th, reporting on the foot washing team’s progress.
We’ve foot washed three times, once on the base, and twice off. It’s a 4-5 hour event, including set up and tear down. We go to locations where the Teen Missions staff teach Saturday schools. We load up our supplies in the pick up truck and split the team between the truck and the bus. On site, everyone has a designated task. Ms. Pat has a rotation so everyone gets to foot wash and evangelize equally. Two team members sort and distribute shoes, one runs between the foot washing site and the shoes to get sizes, eight wash feet, one provides medical supplies, and seven evangelize (EV includes puppets, balloons, and soccer).
The team works so well that us leaders hardly need to help! Yesterday, Mia O and Elijah S were shoe sorters. They organized in three groups: toddler, child, and adult, then lined up by half sizes like a histogram. They stayed near the shoe area and gave runners shoes in record time. Yesterday, we washed eighty children’s feet, from infant to teenager. While children waited for their turn, the EV team ministered to them. They perform 4 puppet songs, make hats and swords out of balloons, and teach soccer games. Some of the younger children are scared of us, so the EV team coaxes them and relieves fear.
We’ve gone out twice to explore Tanzania, once for church and on Tuesday for souvenir shopping and lunch. Team members purchased drums, authentic paintings, jewelry, and (of course) coffee. Tomorrow, we’ll leave at 5am for Angola-Gora, the sightseeing tour. Because the schedule is so different, multiple team members work KP on one day. Today, Kathryn S made banana coffee cake in the morning, Aric R made white bread for tomorrow, and Ellia M made PB&J pockets for Saturday. It’s a busy time, but team members are thriving under it.
Lots of working time sometimes distracts us from our purpose, but morning and evening devotions keep us on track. Last night, Sadie H read Matthew 7:24-27 and reminded us to build our house on God, who is the solid rock. She chose “The Cause of Christ,” a team favorite, and we finished with “Lord, You Are More Precious Than Silver,” our team song.
Stuffy noses and coughs are less frequent; evening tea and honey has helped. Josh H ran into a wire clothesline a few days ago; he was joking with our missionary, sprinted away without looking, and smacked into it. He has a scratch but is otherwise fine. He wants to wish his mom a happy birthday.
Please pray that our final days of foot washing are smooth and that we can witness to the children. The team gained a new understanding of poverty and third world living, so please pray they mature well. God bless!
“This team is cool. I love all the kids here.The kids and locals here are cool. That’s all from me.” -Kathryn S.
“Dear family, I am absolutely loving it here in Africa! The foot, landscapes, and people are so different from home, but I am going to miss it all when we leave. I love you all and will be excited to see you soon!” -Abigail H.
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