Chalice: Notes from the field...

This week an incredible team of Canadians and Tanzanians collaborated to support, serve and spread love in the Songea region of Southern Tanzania.    New mural in the reception area of St. Norbert's Clinic   As we drove down the bumpy red dirt road and pulled into the small but mighty community of Bombambili we were greeted in true Tanzania style - we ate, we danced and we sang.   Over the course of the week our team developed strong friendships and the deepest respect for our Tanzanian counterparts, who possess endless amounts of energy, exude positivity in the most challenging of situations and whose resilience and resourcefulness are remarkable.   Between the dancing and the singing and the painting of the clinic walls our team offered medical services to 725 community members; children, elderly and mothers.   The gratitude we were shown was overwhelming, children touched our heads and the elderly ...

Here we sit in Zurich airport, awaiting our flight to Dar es Salaam, TZ...  Some of us left home as early as 4 a.m. on Saturday morning and are still going strong, smiles in tact!  Due to the recent fire in Nairobi airport (thankfully no one was harmed), our flights have been changed and things are a bit behind schedule.  We've had an extra 3 hours in the airport here, but being Swiss, it's a lovely airport with lots of space, natural light, plants growing, great view of the hillside and planes on the tarmack, and incredibly clean.  One of our teammates, Agatha, commented upon arrival: "It's so clean, I could sleep on the floor!"  :)  I agree!!  We are enjoying these comforts while they last. 10 of our team are here and we are getting to know each other well - we are blessed with a great team dynamic already!  1 of our team has already landed in Dar, 3 more to follow in about 30 minutes now, and finally 2 more are still in Canada...