Our First Day in Tanzania

We arrived in Arusha, Tanzania on Sunday night and drove to our hotel.  A few men tied our luggage on top of the bus, and when we got to the hotel, we had to walk down a long, dusty road to get to our room.  On Monday we had a four-hour bus ride to one of Compassion’s Child Development Centers, where children are educated and taken care of by Compassion.  Once I heard that the bus ride was a four-hour ride, I got pretty scared because I thought I was going to be so bored.  However, this was not the case.  We drove through villages and beautiful nature.  I would wave at the Tanzanians and about 90% of them waved back, with a wonderful smile on their face.  I got emotional once I saw how happy the Tanzanian children were to see us.  I wish it were more like that in the U.S. where everyone is always so happy to see each other.  When we got to the Child Development Center we were greeted by children singing This is the Day the Lord Has Made, with boys on one side and girls on the other.  We walked in the middle of them.  My spirit was filled with pure joy.  They all smiled at us with the biggest smiles.  We sat down in an outdoor chapel and the children started singing and dancing for us.  When they sat down, the teachers/program directors greeted us and told us all about what Compassion is doing to serve children in their community.  Compassion serves about 65,000 kids in Tanzania.  I soon realized that all of the girls were staring at me.  They were ages 6-18 years old.  Apparently they don’t usually get visitors from America, so it was a big treat for them.  Immediately after we were excused to lunch, all of the 12-14 year old girls swarmed around me with huge smiles and giggles.  We introduced ourselves and they hung out with me the whole time we were there.  They wouldn’t let go of my hands.  It was really sweet.  They were all very interested in my hair, my sunglasses, and my porcelain skin.  We talked for a little while and they showed me their school.  It was interesting how they enjoyed listening to me reading their schoolbooks.  They complimented me on how I read then showed me some Swahili books. 

When it started raining, we went back to the chapel and the children sang and danced for us again.  It was very exciting to watch.  I got very sad when it was time to say goodbye to all those sweet girls.  They hugged me and kissed my cheeks and hands.  I don’t think I have ever felt so welcomed and loved in my whole entire life.