Firsts...

There is always a first time for everything. Do you remember the first time you rode a bike or stayed at home all by yourself, or had your first job? For some on our team, the last two days there have been many firsts!

Yesterday, many from our team had their first transcultural worship experience. We got to go to church, Tanzania style! Our team was split up into two groups; one team went with Tammy and the other team went with Peter. Both of the churches are near where Wild Hope has purchased land and in the near future will have their ministry center. So you may be wondering, "What is church like in Tanzania? Let us tell you.

There is no trouble finding parking because most people walk. So, if you are tired of not finding parking at CA, just come to church here! The services are very lively, filled with wonderful worship and very expressive praying. It is interesting, because people start off having very serious looks on their faces, but when they start to worship, their demeanor seems to change. Don't plan on being out of the church within 90 minutes. Services here are longer than in the US. There's a lot to be thankful for, lots of worshiping to do, and lots of preachin' to be done! Both teams had the opportunity to have every person share in their respective church services. We are sorry to state that one of the teams when asked to share a song, got up and sang "This Little Light of Mine" (sorry, Tommy!). We are pretty sure we won't get invited there again. All in all, it was a wonderful experience to worship with brothers and sisters in Christ from another culture.

Today, some in the group experienced teaching English for the first time as we began our English Club! So, here is the lowdown. Peter and Tammy are working with a group of kids and young guys who are a part of the soccer team called Nyota (which means "stars" in Swahili). Their goal is to encourage and share the love of Christ with these guys. So, this is the platform by which we are running our Club. So, this week we will be teaching kids in the community some English, with the hope that this will help increase their self-esteem, help them develop, and eventually give them an opportunity to be employable when they start to look for employment.

We split up the CA team into two groups. The morning group (Liz, Joanne, Tim, and Jaime) taught eighteen students who are 15 years old and above. The afternoon group (Kinda, Annette, Christine, and Oliver) taught over sixty kids who were under 15 years of age. Both groups were led and coached by Kim and Sally! We have been preparing for this English Club the last couple of months and Kim and Sally have put together a wonderful curriculum. Our goal is to get many of these kids speaking more English so that they get comfortable with the language. At the same time, we are training six of the older guys to continue the English Club and keep teaching the kids.

This being the first day started off a little slower than we planned. Yet, it was to be expected! If you have ever been on an outreach you know that NOTHING runs as expected and that the only thing you should expect is change! So, we did just that. Our time with the students was great. Some of them surprised us while others needed extra help. Yet, what was so encouraging was to see these kids be so willing to learn. We are excited to see them grow this week.

The morning team also got to visit the home of one of the Nyota boys who had been in our class that morning. He is a Muslim guy who lives in one of the poorer parts of town. We got to visit with him and his dad and were even invited to pray for them. It was such an eye-opening experience to be in a such a challenging environment, yet we prayed for the presence of God to fill that house.

Please pray for the following:

• Energy for the team as the days of teaching can get long
• Strategy and innovation in teaching
  
• For Kim and Sally as they coach us

Thanks! We love you!