New Mwanza Hotel

... bottoms could represent a Christian symbol. As I entered the service this Saturday morning, I realized Wednesday self-consciousness might have been unnecessary since Angelo was worshipping naked from the waist down. Although church at six am is admittedly not my favorite thing, on my last day I was happy to be a part of their daily ritual. After church concluded, the children scrambled off to collect wood and begin on other preparations for the day's party.

Last weekend ...

... before leaving the country. Leah and I had bought a lot of rice, beans, flour and cooking oil earlier in the month. The market is a bit overwhelming with its row of shops under a low ceiling. It is hot with lots of flies and a place that a foreigner like me needs to keep a tight grip on my money. In addition, haggling over prices frustrates me as well as the stress involved with entrusting shopkeepers to hold onto the 100 kilo bags of food we brought while ...

... tank we realized one of the sinks still leaked. Almost a month later , now with ninety percent of our water gone, we are still bringing in buckets of water to meet all our needs. Today Leah, Carly and I were doing one of our daily water relays. Leah was pulling up the water and pouring it into other bins for Carly and I to bring into the house. At one point, Carly chucked the bucket into the well and almost lost the rope. Using a joking tone, Leah scolded her for her carelessness. On ...

... Although I know he has killed lions with only a spear, it's difficult for me to imagine him hurting a fly. Still I honestly trust him with my life. On the unlikely chance any harm were to come to one of us, I know Ema would give his life for ours. Apparently when Carly came to Hands of Mercy her first time, Ema barely knew any English. Last year, he knew a little and we developed a genuine friendship though one I would describe as the type of friendship ...

Geography of Bliss is a fun travel memoir written by Eric Weiner, who searches for the world's happiest places as well as a society's sources of happiness. According to multiple studies, Tanzania, riddled with poverty, ranks as one of the world's unhappiest places. When reading the book, I could not help but contrast this with my perceptions of Tanzania. However, I also recognized that my observations may be based more on the behavior of innocent children rather then on ...

I have been struggling to write a new blog for over a week as I question how much to share publicly. Although I do tend to err on the side of complete disclosure in these blogs, I am going to hold back the full details about the current situation in order not to compromise the ongoing negotiation process about the future of the orphanage. However, I will still try to give you a bit of an idea now about what is happening ...

Although I *m very h*ppy th*t most of the children *re in prim*ry school, it h*s led to the orph*n*ge feeling very empty in the mornings. The public prim*ry schools oper*te on * h*lf d*y schedule so some of the gr*des *ttend in the morning *nd others in the *fternoon. Priv*te schools h*ve sm*ller cl*sses *nd cl*sses run full d*y. Out te*ching schedule *s h*s ch*nged since l*st ye*r too. We now te*ch the six rem*ining nursery children in the morning (l*st ye*r they h*s their own te*cher ...

At first glance, the changes at Hands of Mercy are subtle. Since there are fewer staff to wash clothes and little soap, fewer clothes hang in the yard than the never-ending wash drying last summer. The chicks Michelle bought last year have grown-up and wander throughout the yard and often into the building itself. Some of the children do look taller, but not as much as expected. Poor little Lina recently suffered from a terrible bout of Dengue Fever and appears to have shrunk ...

Although shocking news, I was able to quickly recognize and accept that Pendo, Happy and Joy belong to Leah. After Leah and I concluded discussing the adoptions, the subject turned to the conditions of the orphanage. I am still trying to process the second bombshell of that first night.

When Jo began the volunteer program four years ago, the goal was not only to increase the children's education, but to help Joel and Gloria raise ...

Last year I hoped to get a hug from Margreth before I left. Although I had made emotional and academic progress with her, she still stiffened whenever I put my arm around her. On my last day, the long awaited hug did not occur. She ran away, giggling, when I tried to embrace her. I settled for a photo of us nestled together smiling. Needless to say, the highlight of my return was waking up to Hands of Mercy and Margreth being the ...