Western Michigan Christian trip to Tanzania - 2016

We just got done hosting a team from Western Michigan Christian High School. They're actually probably in the air somewhere, arriving home to the USA in a few hours. I thought I'd share what our schedule looked like while they were here. We kept them very busy, but wanted to fit in as much as possible during their trip. 

We have another group coming in 3 weeks time! They will have a different schedule than below, but some of the elements will be the same. 

Saturday, May 14

9:05pm                             Arrive Dar Es Salaam

                                             Orientation - cultural rules, expectations (if not too tired)

                                            

Sunday, May 15

7:30am                             Rise & Shine, Breakfast

8:15am                             Leave for Church - help set up for church

9:30am                             Worship at God's Tribe Church

11:30am                          Help pack up church

12:30pm                          Lunch & pack 

2:30pm                             Leave for Mikumi  (dinner at Tan-Swiss)

Monday, May 16

6:00am                             Breakfast

6:30am                             SAFARI – Mikumi National Park

3:30pm                             Leave for Dar

                                            

 Tuesday, May 17

7:00am                             Breakfast

8:00am                             Mbezi Chapel Preschool - teach lesson, craft, game, songs

10:30am                          Nuru Center - working with adults with disabilities

2:15pm                             Karama - learn about Gretchen's position with Karama

3:30pm                             Sala Sala kids club - help with the volunteers who lead this club

6:30pm                             Dinner & Debrief                       

Wednesday, May 18

7:00am                             Rise & Shine, Breakfast

8:00am                             Mbezi Chapel Preschool - teach lesson, craft, game, songs

10:00am                          Visit some Karama artisans: Mabinti, Africraft, Nzito

6:00pm                             Dinner at home

7:00pm                             Life Group - our church small group 

Thursday, May 19

7:45am                             Primary Assembly

8:10am                             Mbezi Chapel Preschool - teach lesson, craft, game, songs

10:30am                          Wamama Kahawa - learn about this small business

11:30pm                          Lunch @ HOPAC Snack Bar

12:00pm                          Grade 2 - plan teacher party

12:30pm                          Go through donations for the orphange

1:15pm                             Assist a service Learning class at HOPAC

2:30pm                             Fish Market 

5:00pm                             Home to change

6:30pm                             Dinner at Addis in Dar

Friday, May 20

9:00am                             Leave for city center : Hindu Temple visits

1:00pm                             Lunch on Kisutu street

2:00pm                             Textiles market/Sokoni/purchase ferry tickets                  

6:30pm                             Dinner  

Saturday, May 21

7:15am                             Rise & Shine, breakfast

8:15am                             Meet at HOPAC, head to Green Pastures Orphanage

12:30pm                          Lunch

3:45pm                             Ferry departs for Zanzibar

Sunday, May 22

8:00am                             English worship @ Christ Church Cathedral

                                            Zanzibar tour: stone town, slavery memorial sites, etc

3:45pm                             Ferry departs for Dar              

6:00pm                             Arrive in Dar - home for dinner

Monday, May 23

8:00am                             Pack 

10:00am                           Kunduchi Beach   

3:15pm                             Home to shower & finish packing

5:00pm                             Early Dinner

5:30pm                             Leave for airport

10:20pm                          Depart Dar es Salaam 

Grand Rapids Christian High School Vision Trip

We have a few friends who teach at Christian High. Almost all of my former youth group students from my time at Plymouth Heights attend GRCHS. So naturally, we suggested a trip to come visit us during their two week "Winterim" term, hoping it would actually happen but thinking realistically it probably wouldn't.

Guess what? It DID happen and it was AMAZING!

The group that came to visit was fantastic. They had humble, grateful attitudes and were ready to learn. They asked insightful questions and were willing to let their ideas/thoughts/hearts be molded and changed. Even the first day, when they were completely wasted after travelling/being jet lagged with little sleep and dealing with the extreme weather change, they did not complain. They may have taken a few cat naps that day, but they pressed on and were obviously ready to embrace their week here.

First day tour of HOPAC on no sleep - they were troppers!

One of our many goals was to introduce these students to what "missions" actually looks like. It can be incredibly vague, and often we think "missions" is living in a mud hut in an African village with half-naked children running around. (See my LAST BLOG POST for more thoughts on this). So throughout the week, we had different missionaries come and share a meal with us and tell us about their call into missions and what they ACTUALLY do as a missionary. We also met with local pastors and friends who have incredible ministry happening here. We heard about church planting, training local pastors, village ministry, teaching, training programs for girls to learn sewing/business skills, Young Life Africa, coffee house buisiness providing jobs/income, midwifery/mother care, and more. It was amazing for me to even hear the stories of some of my friends and their experiences. It was inspirational.

Visiting the Hindu Temples (priest is in the middle of the pic)

One of the things we continued to talk about was both the beauty and the brokenness of what we saw and experienced. It was neat to see the students really grab hold of that. We wanted to make sure that they saw not only the broken things here in Tanzania, but the ways that God's beauty is all around us. Of course in the animals, the ocean, the palm trees, but also in the people, the ministry happening and the ways God is already powerfully at work.

I've previously posted our schedule (SEE HERE), so I won't go into all the details, but I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite moments with this group.

* A conversation on the bus from Mikumi National Park (safari site) back to Dar with a few of the students who were asking incredible questions about systemic poverty, following God's will, entitlement, materialism, faith.

* Being trapped in an open air banda because an elephant was too close to move out of it while we were on safari. He was interested in the trash can, which he tipped over and went through.

* Catching up with two of my former youth group students who came on the trip. Just amazing.


* Discussing spiritual warfare with a few students after hearing about the reality of these encounters by some of the missionaries here. They had doubts and questions, but listened and asked good questions.

* Having 12 people from Grand Rapids, Michigan in our home in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. They've been here! This really is incredible to have 12 more people who have seen and experienced a bit of life here.

* Seeing things through the eyes of people seeing it for the first time. Even after only being here 1 1/2 years, some things have become 'normal' - traffic, bumpy roads, the heat, etc.

* Hearing one of the students say, "I actually never really knew what it meant to be a missionary before, and now I'm starting to understand!"

One of our dear friends and Christian High teacher, Mark VanderWerf, wrote a reflection about his time here with the group:

Mark with Isaac (and a nice photobomb by Kendra!)

"Exploring God’s world, exploring God’s kingdom, and discovering God’s call. Those were our three goals for the Grand Rapids Christian High School Winterim trip to Tanzania…and what a success! Steve Tuit and I and 10 students were richly blessed by Gretchen and Marc’s leadership as they shared their firsthand experience of life in Tanzania. We experienced the rich beauty of Mbudya Island, the rich cultural and religious diversity of downtown Dar, and the stunning beauty of a safari. But more than that, our eyes were opened and our hearts stirred as we experienced some of the deep brokenness present in Dar: false religions, broken families, and systemic poverty. Through all of this, we were constantly reminded that God is at work in and through a whole range of people who have heard God’s call to serve – sometimes in radical ways and sometimes in subtle ways. This trip would not have been at all possible if were not for the amazing work of Gretchen and Marc Driesenga. Thank you guys for sharing your life and ministry with our students! Their lives are changed because of you. Asante sana!"

We had a group visit - will you be next?

Ever wonder what a visit here might look like? What would you see? What would you do? Who would you meet?

I thought I'd post the schedule from the Grand Rapids Christian High School winterim trip here, so you could get an idea. We have another potential group coming in May from Western Michigan Christian, and we hope that in the summer of 2016 our home church, Plymouth Heights CRC will be sending a group. We love hosting groups, but also individuals as well. This is one of the reasons we picked a house with an extra room. If you've ever considered coming to Africa, we encourage you to come! Send us an email!

GRCHS Winterim Trip

7-January, Wednesday

3:30am            Arrival to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
5:30am            Arrive @ ministry center
9:00am            Karibu Tanzania - expectations/culture/rules
10:30am          HOPAC - tour of school
11:15am          Lunch at snack bar
12:00am          Nuru Center - meeting artisans with disabilities
4:00pm            Young Life Africa ministry center  - Ben & Mary Cook
5:30pm            Dinner @ Dunkers (rice, beans, mchicha, cabbage

Debrief/hangout

8 -January, Thursday

9:00am            Wamama Kahawa - Doug & Lyndi Buckley (pastor & owner of coffee shop)
11:00am          Mbudya Island - boat ride, snorkling, swimming
5:30pm            Dinner with the Dunker & Medina families (training local pastors & church leaders)

Debrief/hangout

9 - January,  Friday

9:00am           Head into City Center - our friend Izzy joins us for the day
10:00am          Hindu Temple Visits
12:00pm          Lunch at Chow Patty Indian restaurant
1:00pm            Textile Markets
6:00pm            Dinner @ ministry center (Ugali, rice, banana, mchuzi)
7:00pm            Lola to size for shirts and skirts made from fabric bought that day

10 - January, Saturday

8:00am            Leave for Green Pastures Orphanage - hear from Pastor Douglas
1:00pm            Ministry Center for lunch
2:00pm            Tingatinga art market and Slipway shopping
5:30pm            Dinner @ Addis in Dar Ethiopian restaurant

11 - January, Sunday

8:15am            Depart for God's Tribe Church          
9:00am            Church
12:00pm          Leave for Mikumi from Mlimani City

 Dinner @ Tan-Swiss Lodge

12 - January, Monday (public holiday - Revolution day)

6:30am            Breakfast at Tan-Swiss
7:00am            Mikumi for Safari - lions, elephants, zebra, cape buffalo, giraffe, hippo, croc, etc
3:00pm            Depart Mikumi for Dar
                       

13 - January, Tuesday

9:00am            Wamama Kahawa - plan Bible story for afternoon kids club        
11:30am          Tegeta Market - split into pairs to buy things from the market

12:30pm          Lunch at Steens House

1:30pm            Meet with Shawn Graham (missionary to salasala area)
3:45pm            Salasala kids club (share bible story to 100 kids - 40% muslim)
6:00pm            Dinner @ ministry center with Sheshi & Trudie Kaniki (church planters)

 14 - January, Wednesday

9:00am            Leave for Bagamoyo Town  - Slave Trade History

2:30pm            Return - down time until football
5:30pm            Football at HOPAC
7:30pm            Dinner @ Driesengas with Lucy & Hosea
                         Worship

15 - January, Thursday

9:00am            Sifa Threads - SIFA THREADS
12:50               Benaco school visit w/ Trudie  (government school - read to kids)
3:00pm            White Sands Resort
6:30pm            Dinner @ Dunkers (Chipsi mayai & Mishkaki)
                          Final debrief/pack
11:00pm          Depart for airport

16 - January, Friday
12:00am          Drop off at airport
4:30am            Depart from Dar

As you can see, we kept them very busy, but I think the experience was worth the exhaustion! :)

 

Group Visit: Tuesday

TUESDAY
Tuesday Marc went to work and Isaac to school. We had a bit of time in the morning for some coffee and then ventured over to the Nuru Center, which is a center for diabled folks - many of them deaf. Some of them live on sight, but others commute and just come during the day. They make craft items to sell as a source of income. A post will come someday when I know more about the true limits of those with diasbilities here in TZ.

We were able to hear a bit about the center, and then sit with the folks and work on craft items with them. It ranged from cutting strips of paper to make beads, making bead, sanding wood pieces and watching Geneva and another baby play. :) Despite one of the staff telling me (in sign language) that I've gained weight since he last saw me, we had a great time! Ha! He said I must like Chipati (similar to tortillas) a lot!

 

 

We stopped by HOPAC for a quick bite to eat at the snack bar and to pick up my dear friend, Trudie. She works at HOPAC as one of the Service Learning Coordinators, and her husband is our pastor, so she wears many, many important hats! She has connections in the community, and our group from WMC had collected books to bring to a school and an orphanage.

Trudie took us to Benaco school which is about a 10 - 15 minute drive from HOPAC. There is a group from our school that goes to this school to read to the students in English, so it was fitting that we were able to visit and bring little kids books in English for them to read!

After meeting with the principal of the school, Jake, Kyle and Selina all got to take turns reading a book to one of the classes. This school has over 1, 250 student and has 6 classrooms. There are 60+ kids per class with one teacher.

We returned home and got supplies ready for my neighbor kids to come over. The WMC group brought tons of craft supplies and a few simple games (Go Fish & Memory), so we had an extra special play time with the kids.

 

We ate an AMAZING Tanzanian soup, called Kande, made again by Lucy. She said it's a special soup they eat on Good Friday and she maybe has it 3 times a year. It's amazing. I'll write up her recipe in a future post.

Does all of this sound amazing? Are you temped to come for a visit yet?

Group Visit: Monday

MONDAY
After a quick tour of HOPAC, Marc took the group to the city center for the day. We live about 30-45 minutes (in no traffic) from the heart of the city and do not get there often. It's crowded, full of businesses, buses, shops and markets. The purpose of the groups trip, however, was mainly to go into to the Hindu Temples and see the outsides of the Mosques.

Other World Religions are prominent here. We hear the Muslim calls to prayer 5 times a day. We see the different styles of dress all around us. We notice the lack of pork in many butcher shops. We dress more modestly as to not offend other culutres and religions. Marc has Hindu and Muslim students in his classes. We have several friends who have converted from Islam to Christianity. It's real.

We wanted to share with our visitors this reality of our friends/neighbors worshipping in temples or mosques and the heaviness and seriousness of what (and who) is truly at work. It's not something you would see often, if at all, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You would have to search out an experience like this, where in Dar it's a part of everyday life for so many. We wanted to share with them that it is not necessary to fear, but it IS necessary to pray. There are so many in our world who are lost and searching for Christ. While we all have idols in our lives that we put ahead of Christ, it's a different experience to walk into a Temple and see a god and witness people praying to it.




After visiting several Temples, the group ate some Indian food, met up with our church friend, Izzy and then ventured into the markeplaces to see textiles, spices, fruits, vegetables and anything else you can imagine. They had a long day and in true Dar fashion, got stuck in traffic on the way home.

While the group were downtown, I had the priviledge of subbing for Marc in his Grade 8 and Grade 9 classes.

We all arrived home and had a delicious Tanzanian meal of Pilau and Ndizi, prepared by Lucy.

A group came to visit & you won't BELIEVE what they said when they left...

In true BUZZFEED fashion, I'm going to attempt to use catchy titles like this for my future blog posts, which will certainly increase my readship, no? Made YOU click the link, didn't it? :)

We had five visitors last week and so much to share about what they saw, learned and experienced here in Dar Es Salaam! We have two groups coming in 2015, with a potential third group as well. I thought I would break down our week for you, in case YOU want to come for a visit or bring your own group! Karibuni (You are all welcome!)

In order to not make this post too long, I'll post a few days at a time.

Saturday: Picked up Kyle, Jake and Selina (connected to Marc through his previous school) from the airport middle of the night. They slept for a few hours and then we headed to the Artisan Market. It was over 50 booths/vendors of artists that made hand crafted items ranging from beaded jewelry, clothing, hand woven sheets, music and SO much more. These artisans are all trying to make a living using their handiworks. For example, there is a drug rehab group there - they teach these women a skill in order to make a living. Or an AIDS widows group who makes purses to provide and income as their spouse has died from AIDS. This takes place on the penninsula, where a lot of international folks live, so they didn't quite feel like they were in the minority yet. We came home to my dear Tanzanian friend, Lucy, who prepared a traditional dinner of rice, beans and mchicha for dinner. She ate with us and shared a bit about her life and culture here in TZ and her heart for sharing the Gospel message! She's an amazing woman.

Selina, Lucy and Jake

Jake and his dad, Kyle, on the beach for devotion time.

Sunday: Marc picked up Erica (my former youth group student - now just friend!)and her friend Kelsey at the airport middle of the night. We arrived at church, God's Tribe, at 8:30am for me to have worship rehersal and the rest of the group had personal devotions on the beach of the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful morning.

Our Pastor preached on spiritual gifts, and it was neat to see that theme resurface during the week with our guests.







Marc took the WMC group to Kurusini orphanage after church for several hours. They learned about the orphanage from the director and spent time playing games, football and just loving the kids there.

I took Erica and Kelsey to a local market to do a little sovenier shopping. We also visited the TingaTinga co-op, which is an art school for tingatinga art. They had spent 2 weeks in Uganda and had been working with kids the whole time. We all arrived home for a homemade pizza dinner and spent some time discussing what had stirred our heart that day over dinner.

The Slipway market is on the penninsula, so we had to get an ocean shot!

Kelsey & Erica at the TingaTinga co-op

Stay tuned for Monday and Tuesday!

Your spring cleaning might = Our wish List

We have a few visitors coming in just under a month & they are able to take a few tubs for us!! So, it's wish list time once again.

If you happen to have any of these USED items laying around your house that you're looking to part with, please let us know! My sister is going to get a tub together and hand it off to our visitors in a few weeks.

* Bed sheets - double and queen or king TOP sheets (our mattress will be an odd size, so we have to use top sheets tucked in)

* bean bag covers (1-2)

* Bath mats (3)

* Beach towels (2-4)

* Big pots

* cookie sheets

* guitar stand (small/collapsable)

And if you happen to go to Meijer & want to pick up any of these, we'd love you for it:

* chocolate chips

* bags of dried black beans

* parmesan cheese

* Candy of any kind

* fruit snacks

* dry/powder flavored creamer

I will likely think of more, but just wanted to get a list going in case anyone is beginning their spring cleaning!

THANKS!!