The February 2011 FFCC Team has had an INCREDIBLE couple weeks in Tanzania!  It is difficult to put into words the impact that each of you - whether traveling abroad or supporting the teams from home - are having on the people of Tanzania!  THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!  This past week included so many activities... we'll try to give you at least a snapshot!

After a wonderful welcoming presentation (video clips: Part 1 and Part 2) by the children who are fed at the Children's Center in Singida every day and laying the groundwork for the playground at the Center, the team traveled to Nkungi.  This is the village that we have been partnering with for the past several years on many initiatives, including the building of the girls' dormitory at the Gunda School (which was completed last summer).  The students at the Gunda School met the team and shared in some of the local outreach efforts, which was a fantastic way to get them involved in "giving back" to their own community.

From Nkungi, the team traveled out to the Hadzabe tribe where they had a ground breaking ceremony for the medical dispensary that will be built to provide desperately needed medicine and aid supplies.  The celebration included a visit from the Commissioner of Tanzania, which was very important, demonstrating that the government officials in Tanzania continue to be engaged in and supportive of what FFCC is working to accomplish there.  Despite some rough roads and threatening rain, the team made it safely back from their visit to the Hadzabe people after sharing a meal with them, joining in on some singing and dancing, and playing a game of soccer!  Click here to read more about the Hadzabe people and their challenges to survive.

Before leaving Nkungi, the team fellowshipped with the people in the village and were blessed with singing and dancing from the local church choir.  They also worked to install several water filtration systems throughout the village - setting the groundwork for clean water distribution in the area.  Read more on how you can support these clean water initiatives today!

Back in Singida, the team worked very hard on the children's playground, as well as a business kiosk (which will create a source of income for the Center).  The physical exhaustion must be incredible after leveling the ground by hand with hoes and shovels, stomping the sand down foot-by-foot (literally), building forms for concrete pillars, pouring a couple slabs of concrete, and off-loading 800 60lb blocks - by hand - that will be used to build an 8 foot security fence around the playground.  None of that work, however, dampened the spirits of this team, whose told us that they are "experiencing sweet team unity and are truly bonded", with lots of fun and laughter throughout each day.

Project Clean Water continued into Singida with the establishment of several more water filtration systems in homes, government offices, a hospital, health center, vocational school for the blind and disabled, etc.  Many of the team members are now experts in setting up these simple systems and training the local people on how to use the filter systems to protect the thousands that will be served with each.  Not only do these systems provide clean water, but the local people said that it will also significantly reduce expenses associated with the purchase of charcoal for boiling water.

The stories you will hear from team members who return will no doubt be filled with many more details of the experiences they encountered.  The FFCC team continues to work with many government officials in Tanzania to be sure that we can continue to bring effective resources and life-changing collaboration efforts to our friends across the world.  Other follow ups conducted during this specific trip included the (hopeful) future Children's Center in Manyoni, as well as discussions with country officials regarding adoptions between Tanzania and the US.  Stay tuned for more updates on these efforts.

You should be very proud of those that you have supported, sent and prayed for these past two weeks!  They worked very hard but we guarantee that they played very hard too!   The key to these trips is the building of relationships... relationships that stand the test of time.  That takes effort but it is so worth it.  Tanzania feels like home to those who go.  Not because it is comfortable with flat screen TVs, nice cars, etc.,  but because of the time spent building relationships.  It is these relationships that drive people when they come home.  Come to our food packaging event in March (sign ups start March 6th) and you will see members of this team work their tails off, they will invite all their friends, and they will infect their community to change lives half a world away.  They will never be the same and that is a good thing!!

Thank you for your support of the team, the notes you sent, and most of all for your prayers.