His Hands & Feet

Final Thoughts from Anne

Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone to see God. This time it was to travel 10,000 miles to east Africa. Here, His presence is evident. He opened our eyes and our hearts through His work here. We experienced His people, their different life styles; His different ways of worshipping, different scenery, His different animal kingdom, and different foods to sustain us.

 

We felt His protection, His love, His provision, at every turn.  His comfort, His healing, and we saw His miraculous power at work here 10,000 miles away.

 

As was written in the blog before by our team, "we came to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but His hands and feet were already here." His footprints and handprints abound and our job is to join Him and follow in them. The opportunities for us to serve are numerous. We just need to be open, listen and trust God to direct  us to  the ones that will bring Him all the glory.

 

Not only was God present in all I have mentioned, but He was present in the relationships we experienced with His people in Tanzania and Kenya and the "new friends" we have made.

 

My prayer on day one of the blog was "I pray God's presence will be felt in all circumstances; wherever we go, with whomever we meet and the 'new world' we are about to see." PRAYER ANSWERED....To summarize my thoughts about this trip,  "Some times you have to leave your comfort zone to see God."

Final Day - TCC - Tanzania Christian Clinic

Our final ministry day began early (most of our days did). TCC clinic opens at 8:30 and we wanted to get there by 8:00 to unload our bags of medicine, meet the staff, and tour the clinic. So, off we went at 7:00. We arrived right on time and Dr. Smelser took us into the clinic. It was a chilly day and I don’t think I ended up taking my sweatshirt off until we left at 4:00.   

 

 
                                                                Patients

 

 

                                                    Patient Records

 

  Fishers of Men & Women

                            Danny & Nancy

                                                            The Team

 

We sorted the supplies……..meds went into the pharmacy to be inventoried and stocked and the other non-medicines went into the supply room. The gratitude was overwhelming!  

 

 

Anne & I got to “shadow” Sabina for most of the morning. Sabina is a Physician’s Assistant (not like ours, educationally) and the love for her job and the patients at the clinic is contagious! She does screening for all the patients but focuses on pregnant moms and children – birth to 5. She explained many things about the Maasai culture and the difficulties mothers and babies have with so many unknowns (don’t know how old they are, don’t know when they got pregnant, don’t have any records, don’t have previous health care, etc.). I loved watching her interact with the patients! She speaks English, Swahili, & Maasai. What a delight to watch someone serving in their “sweet spot.”  

                                                 Sabina







One of the most moving moments of my 16 days was meeting a young, pregnant Maasai woman who came in for a check-up. Sabina allowed me to be in the examining room and ask questions along the way. I asked Sabina how old she was……….she said 21. I asked if this was her 1st baby………..she said 4th. WHAT? I asked how old her other children were and she said 3, 10, and 11. Yes, I could do the math in my head but my mind just couldn’t comprehend the truth! A mother at 10 years old! How can that be? Actually, this is normal in the Maasai tribe. Many things about the woman’s life in this culture is disheartening! It doesn’t make any sense to us, but it’s their way…………it’s all they know.

 

Mitch and Lee spent most of the morning counting and sorting pills (not sampling!). One would write the details of the medicine on the outside of a small baggie with a sharpie and the other would count the pills and put them in the baggie! All of the medicines were ready to be distributed when needed! It’s a wonderful system. An interesting fact: the government is very strict about expiration dates on the pills! The clinic has to keep very clean records to avoid any problems. The government even shares that expired pills are dangerous. Nancy told us that tons of research has been done demonstrating that the only thing that changes after the expiration date is the “efficacy rate.” (Yes, I had to look this word up.) Meaning, perhaps a pill that is expired for a year might only be 99.7% effective. Pills are still good YEARS after the expiration date! 



                                                        Charlotte

We had a wonderful lunch at the Smelser’s home prepared by Hilda. It was fun to sit and listen to Danny talk about the clinic: how it started and where he sees it going! One of the most compelling things about TCC is the vision that Danny Smelser has for it. He is “sponsoring” education for several Tanzanian workers/medical students to further their education and bring them back to the clinic to take greater ownership. The first clinical officer (equivalent of a PA) Danny hired is now in his second or third year of medical school (sponsored). He will return to clinic in a few years as a Medical Doctor. Bottom line, the vision is to train and equip Tanzanian’s so that these indigenous people can take more and more ownership! Someday the Tanzania Christian Clinic will be run and staffed entirely by Tanzanians. This is a BEAUTIFUL MODEL!!

We will share more about the clinic and possible partnerships when we get home, but for now, please visit their website - www.tanzaniacc.org. His Hands and Feet are ever so present at TCC in an UNBELIEVABLE way thru the ministry of the Smelsers! We can't wait to share more!

Well, tomorrow we travel back to the US. This blog is just a SMALL diary of our trip. I hope you were able to get some idea of our incredible journey. We have so much more to share! Some additional thoughts will be coming (to the blog) and we will have a "get-together" night at New Harvest if you would like to see and hear more....I'll let you know when!

Sunday go to meetin!

Early day this morning…….7:00 call (to be on the road) to the Church across the street from the Tanzania Christian Clinic. The only problem we had was that our driver had NO idea where we were going. He had not heard of the Tanzania Christian Clinic nor had any of the other drivers he asked! We set out for town and he stopped at one point to ask a local pedestrian directions. The pedestrian sent us to the local hospital. Hmmmm……what to do? I then remembered that we had purchased the International Data Plan thru AT&T and quickly looked up the Cliniscon the internet thru my iPhone! Yes! Modern technology to the rescue……..off to Ngaresh Juu we went! Ngaresh Juu is a rural village right outside of Arusha. The nearest town is Monduli, about 6 km away. On this trip I have wondered why we all don’t use the same standards of measurement.

 As we neared the town, we still didn’t have the exact address of the clinic so our driver asked a woman walking on the street. She actually got in our van and showed us the way. Our van weaved thru a rural road with Maasai villages on each side. Finally, we came to a gated area with a lovely home on the right (kind of American, but still African in style). We knew we were at the right place.  
 

 

Lazarus, our driver, honked twice and the gatekeeper opened the gate to ask what we needed. The clinic is actually closed on Sunday so we were not expected. Our timing was perfect as a gentleman, a college student and two children came walking towards us. We met Dr. Danny Smelser and he had us join him across the “street” for church in what has become a familiar structure! The only difference today was the goats and chickens that worshiped with us.

 

Danny and Nancy Smelser are an incredible couple that everyone should meet! Dan is an MD., a graduate of Alabama State (Roll Tide), worked in the ER in Kansas, and has wanted to be a missionary since he was young. He has a warm and peaceful presence and a wonderful sense of humor! Nancy is a Registered Nurse, has a Masters in Nursing and a PhD. in Education and has that warm friendly southern accent (sounds just like Paula Dean). SHE IS A HOOT! Nancy also dreamed about being a missionary from a young age. Please go to their website and check out this their vision of the Tanzania Christian Clinic. www.tanzaniacc.org
It’s by far the most compelling movement we’ve seen yet! More to come about the clinic tomorrow!

As we entered, hymns were being sung in Swahili. The wooden pews were filled with men and women from the Maasai villages. The children were precious……..one came and sat right next to me and stayed with me thru the whole service. She liked the acrylic on my nails and especially my yellow high-lighter that I used to underline Scripture. She kept popping the cap on and off right next to my ear.

 

 

 

Mitch was asked to give the message (on the spot). Good thing he is ALWAYS READY TO GIVE ACCOUNT. It was a perfect message for all of us to hear! God does not choose by outward appearance but looks at the HEART! He told the story of how God chose David to be the next king. I could see many listeners connecting by the nodding of their heads throughout the sermon.
One of the things that stood out to me (well two things) was how the different elements of this service were led by different “parishioners.” That word is so formal and actually sounds ridiculous in this setting! One stood and prayed, one led the hymns, one led communion, one prepared the elements, two gave the teaching, and many asked questions after the sermon for more understanding.

The second thing that is etched in my memory is the singing of the hymns in both Swahili & English. There were wonderful harmonies and such joy in our worship. I loved that we had “song books” in both languages. Swahili is not too hard to read and follow and it really helped that the hymns were in their actual tune! Even today, three days later, I am singing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” We sang all 4 verses of every hymn. It reminded me of how much I love the hymns and how much depth and meaning they have!

After the service, we went up to the clinic to leave the bags of medicine that we brought. The Smelsers invited us to lunch in town and off we went. To my surprise, we turned into a place with a big sign that said SNAKE PARK. Danny & Nancy informed us that this place was where the locals come for a great burger (beef not snake thank goodness - actually, who knows....it didn't actually taste like beef that we know....but it was good!).

Another couple and their children accompanied us. They were missionaries praying about the possibility of coming to Tanzania on assignment permanently. They were a very interesting family! Originally from Memphis, they had been in Milan, Italy as missionaries for 13 years. Tammy, the wife, was a registered nurse, and Lewis, her husband had just finished his M-div in Ministry. Tammy was a 4th generation missionary and all of her brothers and sisters were on the mission field. Lewis’s parents were missionaries. They said it was in their genes…….WOW, what a testimony of passing an incredible legacy on to the next generation!

 Charlotte, a student from Auburn University, also joined us. She is staying with the Smelsers for the summer to get some work experience in the clinic as the Pharmacist. She was a darling young person with a passion for missions and people! I’m so glad we got to meet her!

 After a wonderful lunch, and great conversation with the Smelsers, we parted ways and made our plans to return tomorrow for our DAY AT THE CLINIC. We could hardly wait to see God at work in this clinic thru the staff! It’s hard to believe we will be finishing out time here tomorrow! 16 days has flown by!

Pastor’s Roundtable Day-Saturday (From Mitch)

Today was an incredibly impactful day.  It started off with our normal morning routine at the Mt. Meru hotel-buffet breakfast with the Kennedy’s.  I’m becoming all too familiar with buffets-which is a serious problem that will be remedied immediately when I get home at the gym.  However, it’s a treat to start the morning with my lovely bride and the Kennedy’s.  After good food and fellowship, we released our wives for a day of relaxing and hanging out at the hotel (or so we thought…to be continued).

The first thing on our morning agenda was a Pastor’s roundtable at the Hotel with Pastor James Kesanta (World Vision Director for Tanzania), Pastor William Msuya (District Overseer, PAG-Arusha and Pastor-Unga Limited Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church) and Pastor Stephen Gobrey (Pastor-Njiro Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church).  These are the two Pastors and Churches that we attended (and I preached) last Sunday. Also, the Njiro Church is where we held the all-day leadership training.  Unfortunately, after greeting one another in the hotel lobby, Pastor Msuya politely asked to excuse himself to tend to some personal family needs with his ‘mama.’  She is 81 years old and suffering from congestive heart failure (please join us in praying for Mama Msuya!!).  Pastor Msuya was kind enough to invite his Associate Wasforn (aka “William”) to join us in his absence.  Wasforn turned out to be a delightful addition.

We found a private area off the main lobby to sit on some couches for our discussion.  Lee told me later that the hotel wanted to offer us a “meeting room.”  One catch:  the cost would be $400.00 for the day!!  Lee kindly told them that our “couch conference room” would suffice.  We spent a couple of hours exploring what we’ve experienced together in our time in Arusha AND what the possibilities of a future partnership could look like.  Lee and I listened as the Pastors discussed some of the unique challenges in their churches.  The challenges include:

·         Most started rural, simple with limited leadership, now they are city churches that are growing and needed stronger, trained leadership.

·         These church-plants started with great zeal, but lacked the trained leadership to sustain and grow these churches over the long-haul.  Many of churches did not see or understand the necessity to send their Pastors and/or leaders for additional biblical training.  Also, formal training for Pastors is very limited and expensive (far beyond the financial capacity of these church members).

·         The constituency of many of these churches consists of very poor families with limited education and part-time employment or unemployed.  My observation is what they lack in resources is overcome by their incredible zeal and passion for the Lord! (Evidenced by their vibrant and lively worship-we could feel the presence of the Lord in both of these churches.)

·         Fact:  Tanzania has approximately 45 million people.  80% live in one of the 13,000 villages.  There are 12 Pentecostal Assemblies of God Churches in Arusha-5 in the city and 12 rural.  There is a tremendous need to plant more rural churches.

We concluded our time discussing a first-draft proposal that Pastor James brought entitled “Proposed partnership between Pentecostal Assemblies of God Arusha and New Harvest Church, Clovis, California, June 2013.”  They include:

1.      Mutual trust, prayer, communication and sharing of transformational testimonies and stories.

2.      Annual leadership development training/conferences, possibly June-July season.  Have trainers come from NHC.

3.      Support Church-Planting efforts(experiences, moral, financial and material support)

4.      Scholarship support to pastors with a calling but with financial constraints.

5.      Short-term mission trips aiming at visiting, working with and supporting needy communities.

We concluded just before noon.  Stage 2 of our day included visiting two church-plants.  So we all loaded up in the van and headed to our first destination-Ngusero Pentecostal Assembly of God Church.  We drove for quite some time toward the outskirts of town.  The roads were mostly congested, rough dirt with many obstacles and “road repair” everywhere.  The Pastors explained that this area of town was tougher (high crime and alcoholism).  The deeper into the bowels of this neighborhood we went, the more difficult the terrain became).  Then it happened…our van driver got stuck in a muddy pothole!  This required an unloaded of all passengers, collecting rocks to put under the wheels for traction and getting behind the van and pushing.  Lee and I only got a little mud on our shirts…some were not quite as fortunate!  We loaded back in the van and continued on to our destination. 

 

When we arrived, the church was a sight to behold.  Pastor Peter Ara was so proud of this little church and his congregation.  This church is a church-plant of Unga Limited.  It was planted about one year ago and has about 20 adults (5-6 families).  Did I mention that the Church building is more like an assembled shed.  It was windy and I was concerned one of the side walls was about to blow over.  The land belongs to one of the church members of the Mother Church and it provides a temporary meeting place.  The whole experience was very humbling.  We prayed over Pastor Peter and this sacred ground.  We headed off to our next church (or so we thought). 

 

On our way out, a LARGE Pepsi delivery truck was stuck around the same area we got stuck.  This required many people from the neighborhood to pitch in and help.  This took about 45 minutes and a ton of digging, additional gravel and rocks for traction and rearranging the load in the truck.  We took a bunch of pictures of the local kids and pitched in a few rocks.

We picked up Anne and Jami at the hotel (much to their surprise and ours) and they jumped in the van and joined us for a late lunch at Kensanta’s home.  James’ wife Phoebe served us a beautiful meal-she is a delightful woman.  They were very proud of their new home (still not completely finished…but beautiful). 

After lunch we headed for our 2^nd Church-plant-the Moshono Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church.  This church wasn’t far from James & Phoebe’s home.  It is the church they attend and serve.  WOW…what an experience.  Winding back into this neighborhood/village, down some side alleys and POOF…a beautiful, partially constructed church building with a temporary building INSIDE the partially constructed building!  This church was planted by the Njiro PAG Church in 2002. 

Pastor Mateo Lohay greeted us.  He has been pastoring the church since 2004.  This church plant is strong with about 40 adults.  The church body is vibrant and committed.  The BIG Church phase I project cost 5 million shillings ($3,125 US).  It’s amazing and humbling that this simple, small congregation has tithed and given so sacrificially to a Phase I campaign…with a FULL commitment to finish what they have begun. 

It is…and will be a beautiful place of worship.  One thing that was most impressive was the sense of pride and ownership that the CHURCH MEMBERS have in the construction of the church.  Lee and I inquired about the cost of Phase II in this 3 phase building plan.  Yes…we are already thinking about appropriate ways we COULD partner without diminishing the appropriate pride of ownership of the people.  This church is going to continue to grow!!!  And I truly hope and pray WE (NHC) will be a partner in this Kingdom work!!

 

 

 

We prayed together and discussed the next two phases of construction.  The future is very bright for this church-plant.

We headed back to hotel after a long, exhausting and exhilarating day.  The evening concluded with an invitation to the Kesanta family to join us at the hotel for dinner.  We enjoyed a lovely meal and fellowship with James, Phoebe and Josiah.  Dinner concluded around 9:00 PM and we were all tired and ready for bed.  What a special day…a meaningful day…a day SEEING the work that God is doing in Arusha…with dedicated Pastors and Church Members…all for God’s glory!

Tomorrow we head to the Tanzanian Christian Clinic to meet Dr. Danny and Nancy Smelser for church and to drop off medical supplies (3 bags…150 pounds of medicine!) 

SAFARI

Right about now I’m not sure what day it is!  Each day tends to run into the next.   Nirdin picked us  up from the hotel and left on what Lee would affectionately call our HOLIDAY.  The timing couldn’t be more perfect.  The emotional tank has been depleted and we could use some re-fueling from our Lord. 

 

Day 1:  First stop – Tarangire National Park.  Our drive took us out of the city, westward.  This drive reminded me of driving up the 99 but instead of seeing acres and acres of grapes, we saw acres and acres of corn.  Shortly after exchanging money, the highway pavement stopped and we veered onto a detour (or what the Tanzanians call a “diversion.”)  A diversion is another name for pot holes, rocks, bumps, dirt, dust and off-road terrain.   

It took about 3 hours to get to our Lodge.  We stayed at the Tarangire Sopa which was so beautiful!  We dropped our stuff off and met Nirdin for our afternoon Safari.  The landscape of this Park was amazing.  It's 1,100 sqare miles and the 5^th largest Animal Park in Tanzania.  One minute it was dry and desolate, the next green and lush.  More than 500 species of birds have been recorded there! The major attractions in this park include the tree climbing pythons (didn’t see one, THANK GOD), herds of elephants, and swamps.  It is also noted for its Baobab trees and Acacia woodland.  I don’t know if I enjoyed seeing the animals more or the beautiful landscape. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We did encounter one very irritating species in this park, the Tsetse Fly. They are sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as a tik-tik fly. They bite and inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. We applied our OFF Spray, but unfortunately, it didn’t help much. I think they liked me the best (of course) as I have a total of 5 bites that I am now itching non-stop. The blue flag below is something the locals put poison on and leave out all around the park to kill this fly.....didn't work too good :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have almost felt guilty as our weather (even though on the equator) has been in the LOW 70’s with very little sun!  Very nice weather to SAFARI in! 

One of the things that we were warned about was the intelligence of the baboons and monkeys.  If any of the windows (of the jeep) were left open, they would hop in and steal your stuff!  We saw this in action right away!  We got out of the jeep to stretch our legs at the park entrance and saw a monkey head straight for someone’s jeep and jump right into the driver’s window. 

 

Day 2:  Second Stop – Lake Manyara National Park.  The cleavage, known as the Great Rift Valley, can be identified from space as the most distinctive feature of the continent.  The seam of this cleavage has developed a series of fascinating and beautiful lakes.  Lake Manyara is a shallow, alkaline lake that covers 89 square miles.   It is said by Ernest Hemingway to be the "loveliest lake in Africa.”  Every imaginable East African animal is found here in abundance.  There are great herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and several varieties of gazelle.  Mahogany, sausage trees, and monkeys are everywhere! 

We did an afternoon tour here and began with some high school students doing a video interview with Lee.  They asked him where he was from and why he came.  He explained that we were here to bring medicine to some of the clinics in Tanzania.  The students then had him give an “encouraging” word to the audience explaining WHY someone should come to visit Tanzania.  He did a great job and Mitch said not to be surprised if you see Lee preaching in the pulpit some Sunday REAL SOON!

We actually didn’t see too many animals at this park.  The most prevalent animal we did see was the monkey.  This park had more jungle-like features with the branches of the trees intertwining and what you might imagine the monkeys swinging from (or Tarzan). 

We stayed overnight at the Manyara Serena Lodge with an amazing view of the Manyara Lake below.  One of the highlights was getting to know our waiters and waitresses at each Lodge.  Most of them spoke very good English.  They go to school in Arusha to get a certificate (one year) in Hotel Services.  Lilian asked us if we were Christian.  We said, “Yes” and asked if she was.  She said, “Yes” and to please pray for her country and it politics.  She had the most beautiful smile and was so friendly (another common characteristic found in Tanzania).  Joshua and Andrew were also Christian.  Joshua had a diploma (2 years) in Hotel Services and said he had already earned enough money at this Lodge to pay for one semester of college for his brother.  Andrew thanked us for coming to the Serena Lodge because it gives him a job.  They were all so grateful to have a job and to help their families out.  Very humbling!

Day 3: Third Stop - On the 4^th of July, we visited the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  It’s the largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic crater in the world. The crater, which formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is 2,000 feet deep and it's floor covers 100 square miles.  It is estimated that the height of the original volcano ranges from 14,800 to 19,000 feet high. The elevation of the crater floor is 5,900 feet above sea level.  It is recognized as one of the 7 natural wonders of Africa.  It also receives over 500,000 visitors a year.  This place was packed!  There were Safari Jeeps everywhere!

 

It is here that we were able to see 4 of the BIG 5 - Rhino, Lion, Elephant, and Buffalo.  The only one missing was a Leopard.  Apparently, they are very hard to find because they are nocturnal and only come out at night.  Our driver, Nirdin  was AWESOME!  He did everything in his power to find all of these animals for us!  He has got SOME eye! 

We had a picnic box lunch down near the hippo pool and Nirdin told us we had to eat in the jeep because of the Black Kite Bird which hovers over people and snatches their food right out of their hands!  And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, their claws usually have flesh of some kind on them (from previous snatches) that could cause disease if the skin was scratched.  We had a fun time watching them as they were on the look-out for their next meal!

Our stay at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge was BREATHTAKING!  It was very chilly being 7,000 feet above sea level.  We actually had a hot water bottle lying in our bed to keep us warm.  I’ve never had that experience before!  There were even wild animals (deer & wildebeest) walking right by our balcony!   

 

 

View from our room SUNSET 

                    View from our room SUNRISE

On the way back to Arusha (80 miles but took 4 ½ hours…..can you say MANY DIVERSIONS??), we got to watch Mitch and Lee in action as we hit the local markets for souvenirs to take home.  This was an experience to behold!  The mark up on most of the items was about 100% (at least).  One must be patient and not fall in love with any trinkets.  I think Target will not know what to do when Mitch begins his bartering skills there when we get back to the states!

Tomorrow will be a great day!  Mitch and Lee will be meeting with the local Pastors to see what God is doing in Arusha and where He may want to use us in the future.  Anne and I are going to “play it by ear.”  Now, that sounds like a great day to me!  It’s good to be connected again!  Lala Salama!