Photos: part one of many more to come!

Hooray!  I have pictures to show you.  I'm still sorting through them -- there are literally hundreds -- and putting my scrapbook together.  As I do so (and as promised) I will post many photos here and tell you about my trip in further detail.

Aron and Kevin showing us around Amsterdam.

On our way over we had a long layover in Amsterdam and we met up with two of John's friends, Aron and Kevin, who served in Tanzania last year.  It was a great time to relax, have fun, and to grow as a team. Naturally, the previous year was talked about between the three.  It was great to hear from first hand experience what we were headed in to.  The best piece advice from them was that you really had to take the initiative.  In Africa, because we are the guests, unless you offered to do something no one is going to tell you what to do.  Serving in Africa is to ask what can be done and fulfill the needs seen.  Waiting for something to happen would get you nowhere.

First minutes in Africa while waiting for our ride.

After 30+ hours of travel we safely landed in Mwanza.  Some of us were ready to jump in and others were exhausted.  When we landed I was surprised at how much green there was.  But in the city, it was quite dusty!

We were warned well in advance that we could not take pictures of everything.  Unless we were on the compound, in a church, or with the CarePoint kids, we HAD to ask.  If you don't people may get beyond angry and it had a lot to do with showing respect.  The main reason, I believe, was that they were too afraid that they would be exploited (property, too, not just people).  For instance, if I have their picture and I go and sell it, what's in it for them?  Also, cameras are a rare commodity to the locals.  It's probably just weird having a camera shoved in your face when you have little to no photos of your own.  So, not being able to take a lot of pictures in the city and of the locals was hard.  I love taking pictures -- especially candid ones.  Nevertheless, here are a few shots I was able to get of the town:

A lot of women transport objects on their heads.  They have incredible balance.  It was also a common sight to see men riding bikes weighted down with water containers, buckets, sugar cane, fruit, or boards.  While cars were many, Mwanza is filled with people who cannot afford them; but the poverty discussion is for another post.

Classic mud hut near where we stayed.  Keep in mind that there is probably no floor, electricity, or plumbing inside.

Mwanza means rock city. Many homes are built into the hills.

On the right side there is a truck.  For many, this is home.  And, homes are often multi-generational.

I will show you the inside of these homes in another post, but this is one of the boy's homes.

When we arrived many of the children ran up to greet us.  I think they were more excited than we were!

More photos to come soon!  Keep checking back!