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| Team Tanzania |
Jambo Friends, Family, and Sponsors!
I hope that this blog post finds you well. I can not believe that I leave in less than 100 days.
Since the
last update, Team Tanzania has had a few ups and downs. We lost a team member due to financial reasons (our other male), had conflict, and felt stress. This was all to be expected, but it is sad that the "honeymoon stage" is over. However, we survived through
it and came out a stronger team.
We just returned from a 3 day retreat up in the mountains,
where we received culture training. It was a great retreat that united the entire team, but also gave us a break from the "school grind". At this retreat we did a simulation/ dramatization that left me near tears. It is hard to explain, but the entire group (which was about 150 people all made up of mission teams that are going around the world this summer) split up into separate teams.
We were led one by one into the dining room. Upon arrival, I noticed that the entire dining room had been emptied except for one table. This table had fine china and was the picture of eloquence. I was given a cup full of brown water and a bowl of mush. We then sat on the floor around cardboard tables and ate our mush.
As I watched different
groups file in,they sat around the different cardboard in the dining
room. When everyone was seated, they
brought the last group in. This group sat at the center table, where they
served steak and chocolate cake. All of us had to watch as this group enjoyed
this luxurious meal. One of the groups on the floor, tried to grab food of the table but
that quickly started a "riot". At that moment, my heart almost broke because I
understood what they were trying to convey. WE (as in the 1st world) are the people at the table. We
do not purposely deny people food, but world hunger is a thing and it is a
happening. I have been to Uganda and seen hunger, but I had never been on the other side and "lived" in the 3rd world.
I then found out the “mush” is actually from the food packages we
are giving out in Tanzania. Those packages contain soy protein and the nutrients
needed for survival. Those packages go a long way in Tanzania and one box fed
everyone at the retreat. This is what caused me to have a break down. At that moment, I realized how truly blessed I am and what a privileged individual I am.
Here is my honest moment: For some reason, I was feeling slightly jealous of the other mission teams, because they get to play with kids, cook with locals, medical
outreach, or surf with natives etc… I felt that perhaps that this trip would not
make a relational impact, because I will be installing water filters and handing out food. But during this simulation, the Lord brought this passage to my mind:
- “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)
After this, I fully understand the importance of clean water and food. It doesn't matter if no one will ever notices that I am
there or I make close friendship with the locals. What matter is if I feed someone and give them something to drink. The water filters that we are installing will last 150
years. That will make a lasting impact on a village and many lives. That is enough for me.
Finances
Thanks to many of you I have reached the halfway point of fundraising. That's right, I am halfway to my goal. I am only $1,972.00 away from being fully funded for Tanzania. I am completely amazed with everyone's generosity. My heart is so overwhelmed.
At school, I have started Tanzania Tuesdays. This is the day where I carry around an empty can and ask for spare change. In Tanzania, 25 cents can feed 5 people and $2 dollars can feed 40 people. So the image above is from that. I have been asking that people give me 2 dollars on Tuesdays. (pretty simple)
If you would like a support letter please send me an email with your address or download it here.
If you would like to make a donation you can give online: Click Here. When filling out the form, Make sure to select Team Tanzania and fill out name: Danielle Ernest.
Fundraising
One of the things I am doing to raise money for Tanzania is offering my photography skills. In lieu of payment, I would like you to make a donation to my trip. I have done family portraits, senior photos, headshots, and engagement pictures. If you would like to schedule a photo session or get more information please click here.
Prayer Requests
- For Tanzania and the people we will meet this summer.
- My team- that God will bless them for their obedience and that he will provide for them.
- Team Unity
- Pray that God will provide a bike expert somewhere in our path and that we will be able to put all the bikes together. (see previous post if confused about the bikes)
- Continue to pray that our funds will come in and that the floodgates will open up. We have a few "fundraising" ideas planned. Pray that God will provide.
- Pray that we will be able to bless and minister to all different types of people, especially when sharing about our trip.
- Continue to pray for strength and that we will be encouraged.
Thank you all for you prayers and support. They have meant the world to me. Your words of encouragement have kept me going on those hard days.
If any of you would like to grab a cup of coffee and discuss any of these things above or life, my schedule is always open to you!
Blessings!
Asante,
Daniellah (My African Name)
You and I have an average of about seventy or eighty years on this earth. During these years we are bombarded with the temporary. Make money. Get stuff. Be comfortable. Live well. Have fun. In the middle of it all, we get blinded to the eternal. But it’s there. You and I stand on the porch of eternity. Both of us will soon stand before God to give an account for our stewardship of the time, the resources, the gifts, and ultimately the gospel he has entrusted to us. When that day comes, we are convinced we will not wish we had given more of ourselves to living the American Dream. We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.
