Our Eastern team consisted of Floyd and Bonnie Parker, David Kay, Sam Quinley, Kip and Kim Miller. We arrived at the children’s home in Iringa mid-morning, Saturday, June 2nd. After a late breakfast, we visited the Daily Bread Life Children’s Home (DBLCH) and were greeted warmly by the children and staff, which included welcome signs, smiles, and song and dance. Each one in the group shared personal greetings and a few words with the children and staff. Afterward, the children sang and danced some more as they worshipped. Honestly, there is nothing quite like the greeting that you receive upon arrival. I wish that everyone at Eastern could experience it.

On Sunday we went to worship services. The week then consisted of a morning camp for the children at an Iringa fun park, afternoons were spent teaching at the Bread of Life Secondary School (BLSS), in Kidete, followed by a time of recreation. This is the fourth year since the school began, and we had the opportunity to share one last time with those who were graduating the following week.  In the evenings a teaching conference was held back in Iringa for local business people. The conference began with song and dance. There are rumors that Kip danced with the worship team on Wednesday evening and there may be videos to back it up. Find BLSS on Facebook here.

Thursday afternoon time was spent eating at the Café operated by Daily Bread Life (DBL). The Café is near a bus stop in Iringa and is one of four businesses owned by DBL that provide revenues to help support the ministry and jobs for the students as they graduate from college. After lunch we spent time mixing with the locals and buying souvenirs. Friday consisted of a visit to the Orphanage in Nzihi and an afternoon safari drive in Ruaha National Park, the largest national park in Tanzania.  We camped overnight at Mwagusi Safari Camp. During the night, Kip and Kim were greeted by thousands of ants making their migration to – we don’t know where. There were so many ants throughout the Banda and in the bed, they had to pack up and leave. They wandered through the open camp (yep, open as in… wild animals roaming) to locate the camp director and secure an uninfected Banda (BTW, the ants are still biting Kim!). Saturday morning included another safari drive and then back to Iringa. Saturday afternoon we began our trip back to Greenville.

All who made the trip agreed that our visit to Tanzania was terrific!

From David Kay –

This was one of the best mission trips I have ever been a part of. The team really worked well together and the week ran as smoothly as one could possibly imagine. We did bible camps in a park during the first half of our days and taught the students at the secondary school during the afternoons. Thirty-five students received Christ as savior! I am forever blessed to be a part of something so life-changing, not only for those in Tanzania but also for our team that went.

From Sam Quinley –

This was my first time visiting the Daily Bread Life Ministries in Tanzania.  I was assigned to Recreation for the week and had a blast playing games with the kids.  The kids were so kind and so fun to be around.  I taught the kids American games like kickball, which they learned surprisingly well, considering how hard it is for an English speaker to explain what a “force out” is to someone who speaks Swahili!  There’s no question that I had as much fun – if not more – than the kids from the Children’s Home.  As an Eastern employee, you hear about the work that is being done overseas.  However, actually seeing it in person helps clarify all the good that Eastern does and really makes me proud to work for a company that looks after the needs of others.