We arrived at our ministry point tired from our overland from Dar es Salaam to Pemba, in which we traveled for 3days through km's of nothing, crossing the Rivuma river in little boats, camping in elephant walkways, and braving drenching rain, but were warmly welcomed and settled in.
I think we were all surprised at the freedom we had, but our Dad knows we needed to just rest the first day and refresh ourselves. We were really blessed in our 2 weeks there with receiving awesome inspiration, and serving at the same time: We had hospital outreach: going to the hospital, hanging out with the sick and praying for those who wanted us to; homegroup: us visitors sharing with each other; jail ministry: visiting the people about to go on trial and praying with them; beading with the village ladies; chatting and just loving them; village children feeding: giving some entertainment and then food to the kids in the village; beans and rice weighing and distribution; the baby house: where you play with and just give your time to the little kids; bush outreach: we went on for 3days into the middle of nowhere to go love whoever needed it; teachings: we sat in and just received a bit; and physical labor: helping with a roofing project and a jungle gym.
We all went through the many emotions of this being our last ministry point: being excited to go home, but sad because it's the end. . .but still wanting to give your best 'till the end. And only our Father could help us do that, it really could not have come from our own strength. It was such a good reminder to us all that even though we made it- we got through this year and experienced so much, it was only Him that got us through, and that gave us hope and helped us go on- knowing that even ending the journey doesn't mean our relationship with Him or the things we learned end.
We could really see Him confirming this to us through encouragement and especially in our time with the other visitors- its awesome to have people from all over the world come together for one common purpose: to honor the One who changed our lives, and to share Him with those who haven't heard of His love before… Thank you also to all you amazing people who took the time to listen to us, laugh with us and pray for us- we love you so much!
And thank you to everyone who kept us in your prayers, we appreciate and love you very much!
Many blessings,
EA