Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Global Health Ministries Video


Click HERE to view a video that was submitted in the current ELCA video contest. It is from the Global Heath Ministries and shows mission work in Africa near where we are going to be next week. There is a clip of a Maasai Choir so they are either in Kenya or northern Tanzania in the Kilimanjaro area. The Maasai is the tribe that usually wear garments of dark red color.

There are also a couple shots of giraffes, but the most inspiring shots of the video are how they are using their hands to do God's work in the clinics to help those who are needing care.

Monday, June 29, 2009

M4M Team Commissioning Service

The 11:00am Service at Atonement this past Sunday was dedicated to the commissioning of the 36 travelers going to Tanzania in July. Here the team is gathering in the front of the congregation. If anyone has a photo of the group together I would like to have a copy to add to this post.



New banner overlays were created in honor of the team and all the work being done for this mission.

Giraffes were the design on the smaller side banners - the giraffe is our team mascot and also a reminder for the congregation to pray for the TZ36 while they are preparing, traveling and in Tanzania.

Prayer Giraffes!

All of our prayer giraffes were sponsored before the commissioning service this past Sunday. Sponsors were asked to give a donation of any amount toward their giraffes and we raised over $500. The money collected will be put toward communication supplies (printer paper and ink cartridges) and internet and satellite fees for Paula and Denny at Nyakato.

A big THANK YOU to Phyllis who sewed the little giraffes and then to my mom who stuffed and finished them up.

We will be working this week on the bigger giraffes (that will go to Tanzania with us). If you would like to help sew, stuff or stitch please leave a comment below.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

bgan Satellite Hookup

Kurt, Charles and Paul are testing out the bgan satellite hookup here at Atonement in Overland Park before we take the unit off to Tanzania.

I was able to post this pic from the steps in front of the church by using the satellite unit while the boys where chatting. Pretty cool!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Updated Team Calendar

Please note important dates this week - vaccinations with Dr. Powell on Wednesday, Team Meeting on Thursday and the Commissioning Service on Sunday (at the 11:00am Service only).

Prayer Giraffe Sponsorship

On Sunday we started to ask for folks to sponsor the Prayer Giraffes we have half (18) of our them sponsored. Sponsors are asked to contribute what ever amount they feel appropriate and we have raised over $200 already. Some of the money will go to pay for the supplies to make the giraffes, but the remaining funds will be put toward communication supplies (printer paper and ink cartridges) and internet and satellite fees for Paula and Denny at Nyakato.

A big THANK YOU to Kassidy for all her help yesterday!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Prayer Giraffes

Prayer Giraffes are coming. The set shown above is an example of a Prayer Giraffe Set - and we will have 36 sets available for sponsorship over the next couple of weeks before the team departs for Tanzania.

Each set has two giraffes, a drawstring bag and several prayer cards. The large giraffe is 9" tall and the small giraffe is 6.5" tall. The pair of giraffes are to be given to each M4M team member, one for their family to keep (along with a card) as a prayer reminder and one for them to take and leave in Tanzania. The drawstring bag (along with a prayer card) is for the person(s) who has sponsored the giraffes.

More information about sponsoring prayer giraffes will be at the Tanzania/Outreach table in the Narthex this weekend.

If you or someone you know is interested in helping sew and or sponsoring a set, leave a comment below.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Asante Network

Asante Network is a nonprofit, all volunteer organization and proud member of the Fair Trade Federation and is committed to helping women in Tanzania and Uganda.

Asante Network connects the women's groups with markets in the U.S. This empowers these women to develop their traditional arts into viable home-based businesses.

ASANTE means "Thank You" in Swahili, so "asante" to Jan for finding information about the Asante Network. She and I will be visiting an Asante batik group outside of Moshi during the few days we will be in Tanzania before the rest of our team arrives.

Beautiful and well-made baskets, batik and tye-dyed textiles (clothing, tablecloths, bedcovers, and wall hangings,) and hand-carved crafts are purchased directly by Asante Network from the Miichi Women’s Group in Tanzania and NEEPU Women’s Group in Uganda. The money the women receive help them to feed their families, to send their children to school, to support their church and to support AIDS orphans. Additional funds raised help to build classrooms, provide scholarships, books and tools.

Volunteers from Asante love to speak to church groups to tell the stories of our sisters and brothers in Africa and how our work with them has changed our lives. You can help too by contacting one of the volunteers to schedule an Asante Network Arts and Craft Fair and presentation at your church. Click here for more information.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Holy Coconuts!

Our trip is quickly coming up and our coconut friends are sharing about the trip at the TZ table this past weekend.

These coconuts are the ones we used their milk to make our soup for the Taste of Tanzania dinner.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Swahili Lessons

The YouTube Videos posted below are by a young man named Moses from Ohio. He is a Foreign Language Consultant and has almost 200 language videos out on YouTube.

Some of the other languages he teaches are Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Tibetan and Zulu.



For some of you PC/Windows users you may have just a white block showing - try clicking once in the middle of that box to launch the video.





This second lesson has a first and second part - he takes a long time in the first part writing everything on the board in the first part so I have only posted the second part where he goes through the translation and explanation.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Giraffes on Display

The display case is now filled with information and images all about giraffes. The prayer giraffes are coming soon.

Walking Update

Twiga Brusi has reached the continent of Africa and is a little more than half way of the 9324 miles to Tanzania.

As of the beginning of June, we have walked a total of 4912 miles - only 4417 miles left!

We need to keep walking and pick up the pace or we will be arriving in Tanzania before Brusi gets there.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Psalm 121

Click on the image for a larger view.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Team Calendar Updated

Click on the calendar for a larger view.

Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone

A new eight part series has just started this past Sunday on the History Channel called EXPEDITION AFRICA. For those who missed Sunday’s show, it can be seen this Wednesday at 10:00 pm. Some episodes will air after we leave on our trip but it will give a good peek into what some of the wilder parts of Tanzania are like. (Thanks to Cindy S. for sharing about the show.)

Four modern-day explorers are heading toward the unknown, the deep interior of Tanzania. They'll travel 970 miles through African terrain that is stunning as it is fraught with danger. Using only a compass and basic maps, they will attempt to recapture the spirit of one of the world's most remarkable adventures - Journalist Henry Morton Stanley's perilous 1871 journey to find Dr. David Livingstone. Click here for more information on the History Channel website.


Their historic exploration has been captured by one of the premiere storytellers of our time, Mark Burnett, for the eight-part television event, EXPEDITION AFRICA: Stanley & Livingstone

This is not a competition of a game, it's a real-life adventure. Four explorers: navigator Pasquale Scaturro, wildlife expert Dr. Mireya Mayour, survivalist Benedict Allen and journalist Kevin Sites will trek across a vast, unforgiving landscape of dense swamps, rugged mountains and barren deserts. They will face severe dehydration, deadly diseases, wild animals and more than 29 kinds of venomous snakes - only to learn that the greatest danger may actually be one another.

Stanley & Livingstone

"Doctor Livingstone, I presume?"

David Livingstone arrived in Africa in 1840 with two goals: to explore the continent and to end the slave trade. In England, his writings and lectures ignited the public's imagination regarding the "Dark Continent" and elevated Livingstone to the status of a national hero.

In 1864 Doctor Livingstone mounted an expedition through the central portion of the African continent with the objective of discovering the source of the Nile River. As months stretched into years, little was heard from the explorer. Rumors spread that Livingstone was being held captive or was lost or dead. Newspapers headlined the question "Where is Livingstone?" while the public clamored for information on the whereabouts of their national hero. By 1871, the ruckus had crossed to the shores of America and inspired George Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald, to commission newspaper reporter Henry Stanley to find Livingstone.

Henry Stanley was a remarkable man. Orphaned at an early age he spent his formative years in a workhouse in Wales, crossed the Atlantic at age 15 as a crewman of a merchant ship and jumped ship in New Orleans. Befriended by a local merchant, he took the man's name - Henry Stanley - as his own and went on to fight in the Civil War before working his way into a career in journalism.

Leading an expedition of approximately 200 men, Stanley headed into the interior from the eastern shore of Africa on March 21, 1871. After nearly eight months he found Livingstone in Ujiji, a small village on the shore of Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871.

Stanley is often remembered for the words uttered to Livingstone upon finding him: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", although there is some question as to authenticity of this now famous greeting.

Swahili Trivia


FYI - Swahili people don’t like “hanging consonants” – consonants that are not followed by vowels.

Therefore, if your name is “John” with a hanging “n”, they’ll call you “Joni” – with a vowel “i” added at the end.

If you’re “Bruce” – with a hanging “s” sound – they’ll call you “Brusi”.

If you’re “Rose” – with a hanging “z” sound – they’ll call you “Rozi”.

And of course the Arabic name “Salim” becomes “Salimu”.

You have to watchout if your name is “Cook” or “Cooke” because they will call you “Kuku” which actually means “chicken” in Swahili!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Tanzanian Shilling


The national currency is the Tanzanian Shilling (THS).

As of Tuesday, June 2, 2009:
1 US Dollar = 1,349.12 Tanzanian Shilling
1 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS) = 0.0007412 US Dollar (USD)

Click here for a currency converter website.