Fortunately we were able to take refuge at a nearby house — as a member of the congregation pointed out later — there are no strangers in Auburn. As is only proper when a car load of girls are left to their own devices, our next stop was downtown to take a look at some of the local shops. The music store, with it’s collection of old self playing pianos was a favorite, the ladies were given the opportunity to play Flight of the Bumblebee and Namayani was given a gift by the shop-owner; one she will enjoy rather more than the rest of us on the long car rides, I’m sure.

Thursday night the Maasai sang at Huron Chapel. Our host’s daughter Sarah became an honorary Maasai for the evening, dancing up the front of the church with great enthusiasm.

Elisaba was overjoyed to spend some time after the service entertaining one of the little boys, he was treated to a special concert and danced along with great enthusiasm.

Our next stop was the Grade 10 Civics Class. After a round of intense questioning the Maasai were ready for some more singing. Fortunately our next stop was the singing class. The Maasai sang a few songs and then were treated to a concert themselves.

The students had several questions for the choir and the Maasai were given the opportunity to ask some questions themselves. The fact that there was only one male student in the class was a point of particular interest, and how the students planned to use their training once they left school was a question that turned into a discussion on the importance of music within society.

We were back at the Highschool on Wednesday evening to sing for more of the students, parents and community members. It was a wonderful time of sharing. Thanks so much again to Laura for arranging everything!

Needless to say this perplexed the Maasai no small amount but once they overcame the appearance they agreed the cake was quite tasty. We were joined for this event by the local newspaper and the service went really well.

The fellowship afterwards was a great opportunity to get to know the congregation better. Thanks so much to Laura and Philip for inviting us.

Jeremy was busy hugging people and giving greetings all night (and fielding endless questions about wife and kids) and the choir was in excellent form, singing, laughing, dancing, and having a great time. Pastor Marshall was given many hugs and greetings from Orbili (where he and Walt had visited years two years ago) and we gave the congregation an update on the construction of the school and the great progress since Walt, Drew, and Marshall’s visit.

Ezekiel and Yona taught everyone how to jump and kill lions, the ladies gave dancing lessons, and everyone shared in a time of fellowship with treats afterwards. The evening also resulted in some of the most beautiful pictures from the tour thus far – it’s amazing how the Maasai shine under the expert camera of Jeremy Stephenson!

Enjoy the wonderful memories of a time of faith building and sharing in the wonderful things that God is doing in Waterloo and in Tanzania.

The students were amazingly attentive and asked some great questions. We enjoyed a pizza lunch with the Grade 6 enrichment students who had combined with students from other schools in the area for the occasion. A big thanks goes to Celia Anand for organising the event.

After church we spent the afternoon in conversation, building friendships, talking about things of value, and enjoying lunch together. A special thank-you to Jelena for her efforts in organizing the event!

The next day began with a Maasai introduction to frost — no, this is not the snow we’ve been warning you about! Then we were taken to St Jacob’s market where we were given permission to do some spontaneous busking. Our audience was very generous and the Maasai gave their first outdoor performance bravely despite the autumn chill. We warmed them back up with hot apple fritters and spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating at our accommodation. Thanks to the crew who took us out there.

Saturday night Elevation co-ordinated an event, where we sang at St. Johns Lutheran Church. This event was particularly exciting as we were reunited with Jeremy Feser’s sister Nadine, the author of the En-kata photo book. The church building lent itself beautifully to the voices of the Maasai and we were even treated to a performance on the church organ. We were fed a wonderful dinner afterwards and enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with the congregation.

Needless to say we couldn’t have imagined a better start to our Canadian leg of the tour. Thanks so much to everyone for making us feel so welcome!

Take, for instance, the fact that we sang at Muhlenburg High School in Reading, PA. We were there because Pastor Craig Nanna organized it. We met Craig because Anita attends his church. Anita attends his church because her husband attends there. She met her husband because she was a missionary and spoke at that church. She was a missionary because her sister begged her to come with her on a trip. Her sister begged her to go on the trip because she was reading over her mom’s shoulder when her mom got an email from my mom. She and I, when we showed up in Reading, had only actually met once… in 2001. So, we could just say that we sang there because our moms planned it. (I’d like to thank God, my mom and my teammates…)

Howe’er it was, we had a fantastic time with the students at Muhlenburg, answering questions about life among the Maasai, teaching high school kids to dance like the Maasai, jump like the Maasai, and kill lions like the Maasai.

In the evening we gathered at the beautiful premises of Reading DOVE Ministry Center, and shared a wonderful time together singing and sharing. We made many new friends, and only time will tell what great things happen as a result.

The next day we set off for Philadelphia and spent a day catching up with repeat Pamoja volunteer Amanda Iman. She took us out for Philly cheese steaks and cheese cake at the Reading Terminal Market. One very satisfying lunch later we received our first song request from some journalism students, egged on by their professor. Word got around and the next two requests came from the head of PR and the general manager of the complex. Our next big challenge came in finding a way to use up the $100 worth of market coupons they gave us. As always the Maasai had a very practical answer, fried chicken, tea and candy. Another round of singing and donations later and we set out into the streets of Philly to head to our accommodation for the night. A big thanks to Amanda for providing us with a great days entertainment and all the folks at the Reading Terminal Market for their generosity.

The service was powerful, as the Maasai shared about the power of God working in their community, and about the great response of their community to the construction of the school. It was especially timely given that the congregation of Awake had just started fundraising toward a new building.

After the service we shared a meal together and caught up on what God’s doing in so many overlapping areas — The En-kata Choir, Awake Church, MAPED, Hydrating Humanity, and Pamoja Ministries. Yona also extended a forceful invitation to Pastor Matt to now return the favor and make the trip out to visit in Orbili. Karibu (Welcome) Matt, and Asante (thank you).