The biggest change to Tanzania was the main city of Dar es Salaam, and let me tell you, the changes were astounding. The city has grown so much in eleven years – they now have a few Pizza Hut and KFC fast food joints (because, you know, they definitely needed another spot to sell chicken!). There were other noticeable upgrades, like updated businesses, other restaurants and the airport. The airport specially was a lot different, gone are the chaotic scenes of people clamoring to help you get your bags for a few Shillings; instead, it felt surprisingly “American-like”.
As I settled into the hotel, I received a call from a friend who typically attends these retreats but couldn’t make it to this one. Her prayer for me was that I would be able to utilize my expertise during the retreat. Little did we know which expertises were going to be needed during the retreat.
We had a new group of volunteers, so we allowed them to experience the full extent of what the attendees would be experiencing the first few days of our time together. We shared on the teaching, the workshops and created space for them to process and prayed for them. It was truly beautiful to witness these ladies’ deep love for the Lord, their fellow volunteers and the women that were coming. The initial days were filled with sweetness and camaraderie.
In the next few blog posts, I will share my retreat experience.