Thursday: Today (Wednesday) was hot. Maybe not that classical “Africa hot” you sometimes hear referred to, but definitely “Summer in the Midwest” hot. And the bulk of the team stayed out in the direct sun all day to scape and paint. They are exhausted. Physically spent. The painting is significant because government officials occasionally visit and it’s important for them to see everything in good condition. Would you trust your kids to a group that couldn’t take care of their own facilities?

Jon was the only one to escape the heat as he tailed Dan Tanner through Mwanza all day shopping for food, confirming flight plans for our return and securing the proper visas for the team with the Tanzanian immigration office. Musala, a caregiver at the orphanage came with them to sell a crop of papaya raised at Mavuno. He earned the equivalent of a month’s wages for selling 120 papayas. Dan was thrilled with the efficiency of the trip which only took 9 hours to complete and helped him establish relationships with new officials in the immigration office.

After dinner Jon, Brock, Jordan and Andrew went on a hike with Dan Tanner around the property to look for wildlife by the light of the nearly full moon. All they found were a few birds and lizards, but they had a great time searching nonetheless. While looking for animals they came upon a group of fishermen using mosquito nets, the kind many well-meaning aid groups supply locals to combat the malaria problem here, to fish illegally. The nets they use catch virtually everything in the water, this destroying the ecosystem of the lake. It was the second time they’ve been caught this week, which presents a problem for Mavuno Village because if local authorities find out about it they can accuse the mission of assisting illegal activities.

Pray for the relationships between these fishermen, who are only trying to feed their families, and Mavuno which has a responsibility to obey local authorities and wants to minister to both them and the fishermen. Pray also for an infant boy named “Praise” who is the son of one of the care givers here and has been struggling with malaria for two weeks. He was checked into the hospital on Wednesday.