Sunday, May 19th
Last night we made the drive to Arusha to stay at Ahadi Lodge, a very nice hotel tucked away off of a bumpy dirt road. We were able to sleep in this morning and had a wonderful breakfast with the best pineapple ever! Dressed in our skirts and nice clothes we headed to Arusha community church. This church is a non-denominational church that is filled with missionaries and volunteers from all over the world as well as local members. It was amazing to see people from different backgrounds join together in worship and praise. For most of the team it was a reassurance of our purpose here in Tanzania. One worship song said, “freely, freely you have received, freely, freely give.” I believe that this made me realize the blessings I have had in my life and how we should use those blessing to help others.
When the service was over we went out to lunch at City Park. After a meal of fish, chicken, fries and vegetables we set out to the market. It is hard to describe the complexity and the culture seen at the market. Every booth is fulled with a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, rice and many other goods. Our goal at the market was to purchase food to bring to hospice patients we will be seeing this week. However, we experienced much more than just buying food. We were able to witness everyday life for the Tanzanian people. This is the place where they sell their crops and for many this is their main source of income. It was an amazing experience and we were able to get all of the hospice supplies.
After returning from the market, we sorted our hospice supplies and made 12 packages of food. Tomorrow, half of the team will go out and deliver some of the packages to the hospice patients. After we finished sorting supplies, a woman named Anna brought handmade baskets for us to purchase. She brought bags and bags of beautiful baskets for us to choose from. I asked how long it takes her to make a basket and she said that one medium basket takes 3 days to make. We bought many baskets as souvenirs to bring back home. We finished the day with some pizza at our lodge and our daily reflection. Overall, today was a relaxing day to rest up before the busy week of working in the hospital and with hospice patients.
Excited for the week ahead of us!
Logan
