Christian and shannon
We made our first journey to Tanzania in 2006. We were traveling with Cheryl, an American friend that had lived there for some time. She introduced us to her Tanzanian friends and she was a great bridge to the people and the culture of the country. We stayed there for a brief time to see if we might live there. The big move did not work out but we love the country and feel a connection to it so we have continued to return over the years for weeks or months at a time. We have made our own friends and have led our American friends over there in groups to share our experience.
Our first trip was with a group and we were looking for a project and Tanzanian partners. We made a connection with a Maasai village with our friend Cheryl and by the end of our trip the group had committed to building a school in the bush. Under Cheryl's continued partnership with the elders in the village over many years and many trips, there is a beautiful school in Kerere called Endupoto Primary School. It has several classrooms, several teachers, rain water harvesting tanks, kitchen, latrines, teacher housing, soccer and netball fields, church building, and hundreds of beautiful students and has had graduating classes moving on to Secondary School. We have continued to assist in the growth of the project over the years.
We went with a mission to help others and found ourselves transformed. Our first experience with East Africa and its people taught us some key things. It taught us primarily and most importantly about hospitality. We learned about sharing in scarcity rather than abundance. And we had a better understanding of what abundance was and how blessed we were. We understood our privilege a little better. It made us more appreciative of our country and made us better citizens. Better citizens of our community, our country and of this planet. We, like never before, felt responsible for our world and our decisions. We became more conscious consumers. We really could go on and on, but simply, we grew into better people.
Our personal mission going forward is to invite as many people as we can into this transformational space. We have continued to do this over the years by inviting small groups of people like you into foreign mission experiences. We do this by focusing on projects but understand that the participation in cross cultural immersion is where the real magic happens.
Our first trip was with a group and we were looking for a project and Tanzanian partners. We made a connection with a Maasai village with our friend Cheryl and by the end of our trip the group had committed to building a school in the bush. Under Cheryl's continued partnership with the elders in the village over many years and many trips, there is a beautiful school in Kerere called Endupoto Primary School. It has several classrooms, several teachers, rain water harvesting tanks, kitchen, latrines, teacher housing, soccer and netball fields, church building, and hundreds of beautiful students and has had graduating classes moving on to Secondary School. We have continued to assist in the growth of the project over the years.
We went with a mission to help others and found ourselves transformed. Our first experience with East Africa and its people taught us some key things. It taught us primarily and most importantly about hospitality. We learned about sharing in scarcity rather than abundance. And we had a better understanding of what abundance was and how blessed we were. We understood our privilege a little better. It made us more appreciative of our country and made us better citizens. Better citizens of our community, our country and of this planet. We, like never before, felt responsible for our world and our decisions. We became more conscious consumers. We really could go on and on, but simply, we grew into better people.
Our personal mission going forward is to invite as many people as we can into this transformational space. We have continued to do this over the years by inviting small groups of people like you into foreign mission experiences. We do this by focusing on projects but understand that the participation in cross cultural immersion is where the real magic happens.
