The travelers spent Monday at Mikanjuni Lutheran Parish. The task for the day was breaking ground for the playground that will serve Saint Luke Mikanjuni Nursery School, the parish, and local children. The day’s task was to remove grass and level off a large plot in front of the school building. Amber Staniz worked with a local man painting a mural of the Tanzanian and US flags on the building. They each painted the other country’s flag. Although language barrier made it impossible to stop some inaccuracies in the US flag, the final mural is both charming and a wonderful reflection of our global relstionship.

Even though it is winter in Tanga, it was an oppressively hot day by Pennsylvania standards. The team worked hard, but began to fade by midafternoon. Several members of the Parish were there and continued until the lot was leveled and a truckload of sand was spread. It was clear that they were much more capable of working in the heat than their American counterparts, but they were far too kind and gracious to indicate if they were amused by us.

After the work was completed we returned to our hotel to shower away the dust and sweat. Half of the travelers walked to a nearby hotel to go swimming, the other half focused on resting, showering and blogging. The team plans to spend time organizing all of the items that will be donated to the nursery school and gifts for our hosts from Mikanjuni Lutheran Parish. Tuesday will be our final full day in Tanga, filled with every possible opportunity to learn more about our partners here and the  city they live in.