June 15, 2010 O.I. branch in Moshi!

What an interesting day today was. Let me first say, these people never stop amazing us. We met up with David M., the Arusha branch manager of O.I., and drove to Moshi to meet the O.I. Moshi branch! The Moshi branch is pretty much brand new and already doing great, which is such a blessing. After talking with the employees and asking as many questions as humanly possible in that short of a time, we were off to meet another trust group! This trust group was not a far along as the first trust group we met due to how new the branch is. However, they were great none the less. Let greeted us with open arms and a prepared speech that gushed with gratitude and joy. Hearing and seeing how dedicated and appreciative these people are is inspiring in and of itself. It really makes you think how much us fortunate Americans neglect. After listening and thanking them for their time, we hurried on to walk through the markets to visit some of the actual people from the group's shops in the market! And once again, amazing. I think that's a fitting word for this day, and every day for that matter. I can't seem to use that word enough! But it's true in every aspect of the meaning.

June 14, 2010 KBT at Imara

Today was not quiteeee as busy as our days typically have been so far, thankfully! In the morning we met at Imara where Karen gave another wonderful Kingdom Business training session for the employees. Afterwards, we met back at our hotel where we had scheduled an appointment to meet with another micro finance organization. The purpose of this meeting was not to work out any partnering deals or anything of that sort, but to compare and contrast the facets of micro financing organizations! It was a very, very interesting meeting. Hearing all the different ideas and perspectives that we had not quite even thought of yet was truly eye opening on a whole other level.

June 14, 2010 O.I. and meeting a trust group!

One thing we've all definitely learned throughout this trip so far is that regardless of your situation, there is always hope. Today was without a doubt a complete example of this exact belief.
After waking up before the sun even came out to say hello, we were off to meet with David from Opportunity International (a business loans organization). David showed us all around 0.I. and introduced us to every employee within his sights! After the enjoyable tour and meet and greet, we went to sit in on a trust group meeting. Trust groups are groups anywhere from 5 to 30 people who are either training for a bank loan or already have a bank loan. They meet frequently and hold each other accountable on payments. In the meeting the people introduced themselves, told us about their business, and their status on the loan. Every piece of information we obtained from both David, the trust group, and the loan officers was pleasantly surprising. The functionality and amount of people going for business loans is amazing! It was so great to witness.

June 13, 2010 Church and the picnic

Today we attended a great and very different church service than we are all use to! The service was a very open and upbeat service that offered the ability to just walk in and out as needed. It was at a local restraunt with a large patio outside that had enough room for many, many people. This is a church that began with missionary family that currently lives in Tanzania. The service was filled with many missionaries from the UK, Australia, U.S., and Africa. After the service, we all drove to the location where the new church is being built to have a picnic! Can you say, "BEAUTIFUL". This country is breath taking. At the picnic we met with Tammy Russell and had a great discussion about KBT and her own non-profit business she began called, "Wild Hope Artisans", which works with women from the Masai tribe. After only anticipating the talk to be a short one, it turned in a multiple hour conversation addressing multiple business topics.

June 12, 2010 Widow's Tea

This day was an amazing day for all of us, widows included. In Karanse, we work heavily with the widows. Our goal for today was to encourage the widows and share the gospel with them. We had scheduled the meeting for an hour earlier than it actually happened, but that's no surprise in Africa! We're learning not to be American's by being so time oriented.. because here there's really no such thing as being "on time".. or anything called "traffic laws". But that's a whole other story.
Anyways, once the widows did arrive, Kathy Stewart began her teaching on the Prodigal Son. Although the story is about a son, she tweaked it to be about a daughter so the widows could relate. This turned out beautifully! I've never heard so many people say amen. Towards the end, each of our team members went around and embraced every single one of the widows. Without even having to ask, you could simply tell from their faces that this gesture meant the world to them. When they began filing out, we then wrapped them in Kanga's as they all sang in unison. They lined up outside of the building and began cheering and dancing with us. These women were so grateful and upbeat, even though they are all struggling so heavily.
I've never seen anything like it, and it's a truly beautiful thing. When you have nothing to distract you from the important things in your life, it's much easier to really open your eyes and to understand and appreciate the little things you do have. That is exactly what these women do. Even though they don't have much, with every bit they do receive, they are more grateful and thankful than any person in this world. This is a truly inspiring thing that I wish everyone could witness.

June 11, 2010 KBT and meeting with Saccos!

So first, I'd like to explain what "KBT" and Saccos are. "KBT" is an abbreviation for Kingdom Business Training, which is what we are doing throughout the region. The difference between regular business training and Kingdom business training is that KBT is all about basing your business on the foundation of God, His word, and your personal relationship with Him. Saccos is the local bank that is owned and operated by three Christian business men in the village of Karanse.
Now! We started the day with preparing for our business training. However, despite our preparations, God obviously had a different plan for us due to the fact that the over-head projector went "pop" and began to smoke heavily. After that unfortunate event, we opted to go on with the presentation with no visual aid and only a hand out for each of the participants. I believe this turned out to actually benefit us and helped the people understand much better. Even though in America power points are very handy, these people prefer personal interaction.. which is exactly what ended up happening. [:
As we anticipated, the training went VERY well! We explained the basis they should have for their business, cash flow, and the "3-envelope" idea. Towards the end of the training when we asked if they had any questions (which many did), we learned that many of them had come in hopes that the wazungu (white people) would be providing the envelopes with money inside! We found that very funny but we're glad they came regardless of whether or not they received them.

June 10, 2010 Karanse

So today was our first day in the village of Karanse! It was great for all of us to see the village, school, and people we love so dearly again. For our first thing on the agenda we visited with our sponsored children. Seeing these children was such a blessing to both the kids and ourselves. It's amazing how grateful these children are who have virtually nothing most of the time and to see how ungrateful we are at so many times!
After visiting with the children, we began our first interviews! Which, might I add, was very exciting. We began the interviews with a few students and three teachers. Each interview was alike but very different at the same time due to their responses. A series of questions were asked to each of the students and teachers and they responded, sometimes with a bit of difficulty due to the rough language barrier, but each answer was with great thought! Once again, amazing to see the gratitude these people have.