Preperation of Windmill factory dedication ceremony

Well, today we spent on the compound getting everything ready for the Big Party tomorrow for the dedication of the windmill factory here on the compound. Moving tables, chairs and decorating the area for mass at 9am and then the ceremonies. The decorations are very Tanzanian and look great. We finished with blowing up balloons to be hung & hopefully they don't all pop during the night. We should be done by about 3ish but that's Tanzanian time so who knows!
The kids at the school have some plays planned for all the guests and some of the compound workers have a choir so there will be singing. they have beautiful voices.
Ana, Peter and girls arrived safely yesterday and they are all doing great. I'm sure they'll be surprized tomorrow. They get to stay in the new rooms above the factory.
Fr. Tim pointed out to us the other day that our windmill is the first one produced in the new factory!! We feel honoured to be apart of the dedication ceremony tomorrow. There are 350 people expected to be there. It's just a small Tanzanian celebration!!
Everyone here is still doing great and feeling great also.

Keep praying that God's work will be completed.
Blessings,
Anna

The windmill tower is up!!

Today we got the windmill tower standing, the motor and fins are not on yet. We have been working with the windmill team of Ralphiel, Lenord, Moses, Doto, and Gabriel. We go back next Tuesday and we will have the windmill pumping clean water!!! I know other people have said the ground is hard, and it is very hard work digging/chiselling the ditch. We have met some of the villagers and are starting to learn their names and ages. We still have a long way to dig to get the water from the windmill to where the tanks will be. Hopefully the villagers will continue digging the ditch. Everyone is working hard and spirits are good, even though we complain about the hard ground. The final goal is worth every blister, sunburn and bruise we get. We are trying to post a picture of the well, but the internet is not allowing us at this time, but we will keep trying.
Kwa Herini
Lloyd

Long day in the dirt!

So today was the first of our hard working, dusty, blistering days :) We started out with an early breakfast and a tight schedual before hitting the extremely dusty trail to Chihikwi. When we arrived we began digging 4 large holes around where the well has been dug. the holes had to be a meter wide and 2 meters deep. Back home on Canadian soil this may have taken about a half hour. . . but here the ground is actually as hard as rock or cement. i was expecting hard, but not like this. There were 5 guys on the windmill crew and about 20 other men from around the area helping dig the holes. Our group tried to dig the holes but we sucked so bad that the men would come up and actually take the pick axes and shovels right from our hands and start laughing. haha they seemed to get a kick out of our weakness. while those were being dug our group moved over to where we needed to start digging the trough for the water tanks. it has to be about a meter deep and a half a kilometer long. . . we made it about 1/4 of the lenght and maybe a 1/2 a meter down. it is absolutely exhausting work! all the villagers were so excited that even the women with babies wrapped onto their backs were picking up pick axes and helping. it is so remarkable to see the community help like that. something we would most deffinatly not find back home. there were about 30 little kids all dispersed about the area and they were terrified of us! everytime we would take a step closer to them they would scream and run away. hahah i guess to them WE are the boogie man. for lunch, the women cooked for us. it was really good actually. we had rice and a meat stew. but the meat was really fresh, and we knew this because we watched it get slaughtered in the feild beside us while we worked...i didnt know goat could taste that good, but when lucnch is 3 hours late on a day like today that none of us are really use to, everything tastes good, even if we did see it before it died haha... after lunch for us, the windmill crew ate and we headed back to the compound. we were so exhausted and most of the kids showered, then slept. But for Meaghan, Katherine and myself we decided to go out to the pool. It was pretty cold but still alot of fun. we were later joined by Steve and Cale. we tried to maked human towers but ended up super unsuccessful :( but anyways, i am super tired and need to rest up before another long day.

P.s. Mom i cant upload any pictures....the comp is much to slow :( sorry <3

-Nickey

A day of relaxation

So Nickey, Claire and I are currently sitting at the slow computer desk right before lunch time. The last couple of days have been pretty chill because it was the weekend and Father Tim had to catch up on some work in his office. This morning we had a morning of reflection with Father Tim and Father Joseph (who is a new priest ordained only in May here in Dodoma). It was really cool having silent time to just think about why we have all come here at this point in our lives. After lunch we will be packing the truck full of tools for our first day of work tomorrow in the little village of Chihiki (or however it's spelt). Anyways lunch is on the table, and we must run! Later.

-Katherine

A Week Already Passed...

SOOOO todays the one week mark and so much has happened already. I can hardly remember what we've done. It's all been such a blur. Here I am at this luxurious compound in Dodoma. The food is great and the building is beautiful. The showers are WARM.. not like the last place we stayed. Yesterday Father Tim gave us a tour of the compound. We got to see all the classrooms the kids study in. This morning we went to mass in the village. The music was great and the choir was lively and dancing and singing. The people here are very friendly and warm. After mass everyone was outside socializing... not like at home were we all run along to do our things. ANYWAYS I'm gonna go play crazy eight countdown with Kateri and Steph now. I hope I didn't bore you with my rant.
Peace
Karen

We have arrived in Dodoma!!

It was a very long flight from Vancouver to Dar Es Salaam.The first few days were spent touring around in Dar Es Salaam. Seeing some sights and trying to get our bodies on the correct time. We visited Bwagamoyo, a historic site of the slave trade. We also went to the cathedral in Dar. We even got to try some bartering at the markets, that was an experience!
Today we travelled from Dar to Morogoro and visited the St Gaspers Seminarian College. From there we were back in the "blue Limo" (big blue truck) to finish the trip to Dodoma. It was a long day of bumping up and down. Our arms are tired from waving at everyone in the villages as we passed by, there were a lot of villages.
We are all doing great. More to come.
Kwa Herini

Get ready, get set, go!

Well we are down to our last day before flying out on Sunday! Everyone is making their way to Vancouver today and then meeting at the airport by 5:00am Sunday. I don't think many of us will be getting any sleep tonight. We will meeting Fr. Tim in Amsterdam. We will be in Dar Es Salaam for the first few days and I don't think we will have access to a computer, so it may be awhile before our first post from Tanzania. Keep us in your prayers as we "Help others help themselves"
Lloyd