I’ve been asked by a few people within the church for more information about our planned trip to Tanzania this summer. To accomplish that, I’ll be posting periodic updates in blog form both before and after the trip. I’ve also posted prayer requests on the Global Missions (Tanzania) page that I will update as prayers are answered or new needs arise.
I won’t be intentionally repeating what is already on the Global Missions page, so please read that before any of my updates so you have a basic idea of where we’re going, what the trip’s purpose is, and some of the details. There probably won’t be many updates before our trip, but I hope to document the trip well with pictures and written updates and may even be able to post them while we are there.
Our Team
Besides myself, the team that is going to Tanzania includes Andrew Hodgson, Dean, Holly, Morgan, and Danielle Wanders, and Mike and Elizabeth Vandergaag.
Partnering with Rosedale Baptist Church
There will be a team from Rosedale Baptist Church working with EastARM while we’re going to be there. They are planning to build a playground at a site which the village has given to EastARM to host their children’s outreach in Kipo Village as well as run a VBS-like program for the children that will show up.
Our Journey So Far
As you can expect we have spent quite a bit of time planning and preparing for this trip already, and we’re still two months away from leaving. We have booked our flights, are in the process of acquiring the necessary Visa’s, met as a team a few times, and been in regular contact with Graydon and the Rosedale team.
Near the beginning of April, we met with Sean Henry. Sean has been to Tanzania twice on short term trips and left on May 1 to begin a long-term commitment (at least 2 years) with EastARM. It was a pleasure to get to know him, and he answered a lot of questions we had and gave us an idea of what it is like day-to-day to be in such a remote and impoverished area as the Rufiji River.
We also met at the end of April with the Rosedale team (they’re the other Canadian church mentioned on the Global Missions page). They’re very like-minded to us and I am personally very excited to work with them. They filled us in on the details of their playground and VBS plans. We spent some time in prayer and trust that our partnership with them on this trip will be edifying and fruitful.
That’s all for now, and I’d be happy to talk more with anyone who has questions.
