Zawadi

When I wrote up the review of the mission team and their activities a couple of weeks ago I left one major part out.  Not because I did not want to talk about it but I did not have the pictures to go along with it.

Zawadi means gift.  When the team came over they brought me some of the items I like most that I can use here.  Spam, beef jerky, tea mix,  lemonade mix, cheese powder, sugar-free chocolate treats.  

My mom and dad even brought over the remaining Vienna sausage cans my dad can no longer eat.  This is food with flavor which is not something I get a lot of.

In case you can't tell from the faces of the team members in the photos we had a lot of fun with it all.  They even brought over some bar clamps for me to work with.

Probably the physical item that I was not expecting was from Jerad.  He brought me a set of welder sleeves to protect my arms and a good set of welding gloves that will not melt.  But best of all he brought over a welding hood with Autodarkening lens.  

What a great gift for someone who welds in a country where they think sunglasses is protective eyewear.  I so wanted to show you pictures of everything I was accomplishing with this new gear but that can't happen just yet and is a story for another day.

There is also the nonphysical gift of the team being here.  Getting a chance to hang out with friends from church.  Several of whom I have led on this trip to Tanzania in the past and to Peru.

It was great to see new faces light up with the kids and on safari.  It is great to hear my dad talking about his next trip over and what he wants to do.  It was even better when I saw the photo Karalee uploaded of her baiji ride with my parents.  The smiles on their faces were relaxed and very genuine, not the ones we put on for a photo but the one someone catches in a rare candid shot of life in a world of staged selfies.