Trying to Catch My Breath

(If you can't tell a lot has happened in the first 3 days, sorry it is so long with no pictures)

So , we made it safely to Tanzania. We have had 2.5 days here and we have already shot 7 full tapes of footage for 2 of our stories. Within an hour of getting of the plane we were filming the story of Manzese B Church in Dar Es Salaam.

This church is in the middle of an enormous slum. The church is unlike any other 3rd world church I have ever seen. It can hold 300 chairs comfortably and is about 2 stories in the sanctuary. By far the largest and most beautiful church and building in the whole slum area. We followed one of the pastors around the slum that afternoon, and heard the story of the church. We went to about 4 different buildings that they kept outgrowing.

The amazing story with this church is their commitment to prayer. For the last few months they have had a 24 hr prayer chain in which groups of about 15 will show up and stay for 3 hr shifts. We slept at the church our first night to film parts of this and at 3am I have never seen more devoted believers singing in harmony praying and dancing throughout the sanctuary. The prayer of this church is so amazing and encouraging. They have said that multiple people in the area have been healed of HIV/AIDS! The commitment to prayer at this church has been an amazing testimony in this 90% muslim area, as the prayer continues to break down barriers for growth!

Last night we flew North to Arusha so that we could film the story of a church dedication in the area of Karatu. We were there interviewing the villagers before it opened. There were about 50 people waiting around for 4 hours before it opened, just waiting to go inside while they were still painting and cementing the area. It was amazing to see the excitement they had as the Bishop of the area cut the ribbon. Some of these people had been walking 12 km. to go to church and now they have one in their neighborhood.

The shots we have are amazing, the people here are so loving and their faith is incredibly encouraging. Matt and I have also been quite creative in our shots, from jerryrigging the camera on a rope for pans of the people singing, to putting the tripod on top of a jeep for better angles. It has been extremely entertaining and exciting to film. I was a little timid to get close shots of the people, but am becoming more comfortable because while it may seem intrusive, it tells the story of their faith and strength to the world.

Sorry that this post is so incredibly long, I wish I was able to load pictures on it to make it more interesting, but alas it is just text and I thank you for reading it all, mom I'm sure you did, but the rest of you, thanks. Please continue for safe travels, and the Lord's blessing on our work here. I can't wait to share more stories and pictures of this trip.

Peace
Willis