Thursday, October 31, 2019
Recycled toothbrushes makes sense Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Recycled toothbrushes makes sense - Assignment Example 2) In addition to advertising recycled-plastic toothbrushes through the character of Harold Crick, Recycline could make use of a variety of sports stars to help promote its products. Sports stars are instantly recognizable to many in the general public and will help consumers to identify the product with their favorite role models. Sports are a big part of most peopleââ¬â¢s lives and thus are an attractive advertising medium. 3) As the company grows larger, it will have to come up with additional ways to supply its recycled toothbrushes. Currently, the companyââ¬â¢s operations are quite small and can cope with the influx of recycled products. If and when the company expands its influence nationwide, it will have to come up with a strategy to continue to receive recycled products. One such way could be to open up recycling centers in main cities and collect recycled products locally. From there, all the recycled materials could be sent to one large distribution warehouse and then made into the final
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Floods in India and Its Control Essay Example for Free
Floods in India and Its Control Essay Countries irrigated by an adequate river system are in many ways blessed. These rivers not only help agriculture, but they provide a cheap and efficient transport system for the development of internal trade. The saying goesââ¬âland divides, seas unite. But waterways bring also a good deal of misery to the people by causing devastating seasonal floods In India, for example, the sub-Himalayan regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Assam are heavily flooded by the rivers of the Gengetic basin and the Brahmaputra, almost every rainy season. It brings untold sufferings to the people of these low-lying plains. Millions are rendered homeless; men and cattle die in large numbers; the damage to property including standing crops is incalculable. Besides, floods affect the health of the locality and increase the incidence of cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases. In 1922 and 1998 flood in North Bengal left a trail of devastation, essentially in Malda, Murshidabad areas. Floods are caused by an excessive flow of water in rivers during the rainy seasons, due mainly to torrential rain in catchment areas. This may be due to two natural causes. First, the melting of ice in glacier on the mountains may thus supply a river with volumes of water much in excess of its containing and carrying capacity. Secondly, heavy rains on the mountains cause an excess of water supply. In either case, the excess water overflows the embankments and submerges the low-lying plains. Bursting of dams and also Bridges in protective embankments lead to inundation. This causes large-scale deforestation. As for example, in the Terai regions during the war, floods destroyed the natural embankments of a river. Occasionally earthquakes, by changing the course of a river, or by raising its basin or choking and silting the riverbed cause flood Another contributory cause is the construction of railway bridges without leaving provision for the natural outflow of flood-water. Of course, floods in an agricultural country have often been looked upon as a blessing in disguise. Floods leave behind on the submerged areas a rich alluvial or silt-deposit, which greatly increases the fertility of the soil. This soil on either side of the Nile owes its fertility to the annual flooding of the area, which submerges large regions, even after the construction of Aswan Dam in Egypt. Nehru used to sayââ¬âgive unto the river what naturally belongs to her, i. e. homesteads should not be built on riversides or on temporary char lands. That is a sure preventive measure, better than steps to resist after-effects. Men have tried from the earliest times to build protective embankments against the incidence of floods. Ordinarily these can be made sufficiently strong to resist the usual type of floods. A system of canals to irrigate the low-lying plains affords considerable escape route for the excess water caused by a normal rainfall. But these embankments should have to be maintained properly. Modern river engineering and hydro-dynamics, however, have led to a fundamental change in the principle. It is now realised that effective control of flood should begin at the source. Flood control, therefore, in these days has moved upstream. This includes the building of adequate reservoirs in the head stream area and the application of the principle of multipurpose river control. The building of a sufficient number of reservoirs is a long-drawn and costly process. Public sentiment may not take kindly to it; for it necessarily causes large-scale displacement of population as has been noticed in the Narmada Banchao movement of Sm. Patakar. For taming the turbulent Damodar, the age-long river of sorrow, by constructing the Tilaya, Mython and other dams across her, many Bihar villagers had to be shifted, and this was not liked by the local population. The future, no doubt, belongs to successful working of multi-purpose schemes. So petty objections, raised by individual or local interest, must give way before the larger needs of the people. In recent years, the rainy season has brought heavy floods all along the sub-Himalayan plains. The overflow of the tributaries of the Ganges and the Bramhaputra has caused untold sufferings to the people of these localities. Embankments have been broken, bridges have been washed away; villages have been waterlogged, cutting off all communications for days together. The utmost damage has been caused to the towns and villages of Assam by the Brahmaputra floods. The government must put up protective embankments; help the easy drainage of water by removing artificial obstructions, and by adopting local remedies for particular regions. It has been rightly said, Rivers that overtop their banks and flood the adjacent lowlands offer a challenge to the people who must be ready to protect their fields from inundation.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study
Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study Teresa A. Cochran Marketing is a fundamental responsibility for all activities related to advertising and sales strategies that are vital to the success of any organization. The ability of an organization to efficiently market its products and services is directly related to the success or failure of the company. As noted by Arikan (2011), metrics form the base of any effective marketing strategy. However, many firms fail to utilize metrics to calculate success or failure of their strategies. Most companies focus on the new leads generated overlooking other important formulas that analyze the actual success of any type of marketing strategy. As the business environment evolves, new marketing strategies and options are invented which requires marketers to stay a step ahead by understanding key metrics and what they mean for a companys marketing strategies. Ideally, these metrics are measurable values used to demonstrate the level of effectiveness of marketing campaigns on all marketing channels. Since marketers operate across many channels, their marketing strategy will involve a variety of activities, which makes it important to track progress and performance of their actions with the right performance indicators. This can help a business to reach its marketing targets and make improvements when facing challenges. Before choosing the right metrics, it is important to consider channels being used and who in the business will use the resultant information to make decisions (Arikan, 2011). For Athletics Supreme, following are five important metrics that the company should use to evaluate performance of their marketing strategies. For this assignment, 5 marketing metrics will be reviewed to display the anticipated success of the Pleasantly Plus, plus size retail boutique and consignment shop. Each factor is a subcategory of the marketing metrics main categories; sales metrics, customer readiness to buy metrics, customer metrics, distribution metrics and communication metrics. The assignment will review in detail equations used to forecast the following: sales growth, awareness, retention rate, number of outlets and response rate. Sales Metrics Strategic marketing plans are created to facilitate an elevated consumer awareness to promote and attract customers to purchase your product. Data related to sales volumes measure the rate at which sales of your product and is imperative for decision making for the overall fiscal sustainability and financial success This metric is also valuable for strategic planning and will determine future growth projects for the company. Athletics Supreme must also monitor sales data including total sales and types of products sold. Sales data must then be evaluated by the company to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy or to determine barriers to sales. The sales metric being utilized to determine the efficacy of the advertising methods used must be monitored with respect to creating sales through increased product awareness. In addition, this evaluation would also determine the tactics that have a negative impact on sales goals (Farris, 2010). These key indicators will be monit ored by the marketing department over multiple sales periods. Athletics Supreme can utilize sales data to monitor growth and of the new product line Sales figures for the sports apparel product line will be monitored quarterly beginning with the date of the initial release of the products. This metric will be monitored for one year with the goal of establishing sales trend lines relative to seasonal sales. Sales growth represents the variance in comparing sales from differing time periods. This data can be reflected mathematically as: (Current time period net sales- Previous time period net sales) _________________________________________ x100 (Previous period net sales) Or As applied to Athletic Supreme ($50,000 net sales qtr 2- $35,000 net sales qtr 1 _________________________________________________________________ x100 $50,000 Athletics Supreme shows a growth rate from Qtr 1 to Qtr 2 of 30% Customer readiness to buy metrics Customer awareness is a method utilized to determine the number of consumers who have been made aware of the products offered, in this case by Athletics Supreme. From a marketing viewpoint, a strong awareness of your product increases potential consumer purchase. Marketers use customer readiness such as awareness, preference, purchase intention, trial rate, and repurchase rate as performance indicators of product branding therefore these indicators have a great deal of influence over strategic planning of a company (Hanssens, Pauwels, Srinivasan, Vanhuele, Yildirim, 2014). Consumer purchases are influenced by multiple stages of product awareness before purchasing. Consideration to the consumers thought process related to decision to purchase before determining an appropriate marketing plan. Athletics Supreme enters the sports apparel market with an edge over the competition due to having a presence in the industry. The company has a reputation for quality therefore, consumers have an established recognition of the name brand. Athletic Supreme should collect behavioral purchasing data based on preferences gathered from sales databases. By evaluating consumer purchases, Athletics Supreme can gain valuable data on consumers product preferences (Kotler Keller, 2012). Periodic surveys of customers that purchase the apparel would further assist in evaluation the most effective marketing tactics. Akrin (2011), notes that the quality advertising message will make customers more inclined to purchase sportswear. Athletics Supreme objective would be to obtain favorable response rates beyond 90 percent, and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. Videos are another medium that would be used in the raising of awareness regarding the new line of sportswear products. The number of viewers of a video is an effective way of determining whether the products receive the attention of the target customers. The target customers are expected to be impacted by the viewership of the videos to engage in the purchase of the products being marketed (Arikan, 2008). Based on the viewership metrics, Athletics Supreme should determine the most efficient marketing channel that facilitates the creation of awareness regarding the product to consumers. The Greater attention of the marketing medium that is most effective should be done to ensure that there is maximum exploitation of the medium to create awareness and influence consumers to make purchase decisions in favor of the sportswear products (Farris, 2010). As applied to Athletics Supreme, an approach to quantifying product awareness is based on cost per 1,000 contacts and then calculate the spend per contact for each advertisement. Marketing Originated Customer % is a ratio that reveals the percentage of the new business that is a result of Marketing efforts. It is computed by getting the number of customers that started with a lead generated by Marketing and then dividing it with the total number of new customers that signed up in a period; the value is then multiplied by 100 (Zikmund Babin, 2013). This metric will show the portion of customers acquisition that originated from Athletics Supreme Marketing efforts in a certain period. This metric is best analyzed using a closed-loop marketing analytics system as manual computation is tiring and takes time (Kotler Keller, 2012). Customer metrics Customer metrics is collection of data that can be used to determine what matters most to the customers: past, present and future. For Athletics Supreme a key subcategory in customer metrics to analyze would be the cost of customer acquisition. Per Arikan (2011), customer acquisition cost, is the cost incurred convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service. This metric is important to a company as well as its investors. Investors use it to determine a companys profitability by analyzing the amount of money that can be extracted from potential customers and cost incurred extracting it. Marketing specialists on the other hand use the metric to optimize returns on their advertising investment. It highlights whether costs of extracting money from customers can be reduced which would help improve the companys profit margin. Mathematically, it includes all cost incurred in acquiring customers over a given period divided by the total number of customers acquired in that period. Ideally, this includes all sales and marketing costs including advertising cost, salaries, commissions, bonuses and relevant overheads in each period (month, quarter or a year) (Zikmund Babin, 2013). For example, for Athletics Supreme, the Customer Acquisition cost in the first year will be: Total Marketing costs for the whole year/number of customers acquired within the year Therefore, if the company spent $50,000 on sales and marketing in a certain month and added 50 customers CAC = $50,000/50 =$1,000 CAC will be important to Athletics Supreme, as it will indicate the effectiveness of the money invested in acquisition of new customers. A high metric will indicate the company is spending too much on sales and marketing while a low metric would indicate that the company is using low costs to gain customers (Arikan, 2011). Customer Retention Rate Customer Retention Rate is used to calculate the loyalty of customers. Acquisition of new customers usually costs more than it costs retaining current ones (Shank Lyberger, 2014). Arikan (2011) argues that evaluating the dedication of a customer towards a company enables marketers to improve their strategies. Encouraging customers to stick with ones business for long helps maximize revenues. It is calculated by subtracting the number of new customers from the total number of customers in a certain period divided by the number of customers at the start of the period and then multiplied by 100 to make it a percentage, i.e. CRR= Customers End Period (CE)-New Customers for the Period (CN)/Customers at Start of the Period (CS) x 100. For example, if Athletics Supreme starts a month with 50 customers and gains 20 new ones but lose 15 customers in that month, the CRR would be; (55-20)/50*100 = 70% This metric will help Athletics Supreme to assess the loyalty of customers for each of its brands. It will also reveal the companys ability to nurture existing customers. Customer lifetime value (CLV) This metric is used to assess the economic value brought by a customer to a business for the entire duration the person remains a customer. It evaluates everything starting with the customers first interaction with the company to the final purchase. It is a comparison of revenues generated by a customer and the costs of acquiring and maintaining the customer. Calculating this metric helps to reveal whether there is value in maintaining long-term marketing channels. If the CLV value is high, a company needs to invest more in retaining customers for the long-term (Arikan, 2011). For example, if Athletics Supreme fills 300 orders with revenue of $20,000, the companys Average Order Value (AOV) would be $66.67. To determine Purchase Frequency (PF), the number of orders is divided by the number of unique customers. Assuming Athletics Supreme had 200 unique customers, PF would then be 1.5. Customer Value (CV) would then be AOVxPF, which is 66.671.5 =$100 Once CV is determined, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is determined by multiplying the CV by the duration the customers have been in the company. Assuming the orders have a 4-year contract, CVL would be: CVL = Customer Value (CV) x Customer Duration with the Business =1004 =$400 This means, Athletics Supreme Customer Lifetime Value over 4-year duration is $400. Athletics Supreme will use this metric to analyze the potential value customers will bring into the company. According to Shank Lyberger (2014), a high value of the metric means customers are bringing high value which the company should aim at. A very high value would however mean the company is under spending and thus restraining growth. Distribution metrics Simon (2012) considers percentage of shelf space, or the space necessary to sell an item as an essential marketing data point. Athletics Supreme would ideally like to occupy as much of the display space as possible. By occupying a large amount of shelf space, Athletics Supreme has effectively monopolized the stores All Commodity Volume (ACV), or the rate of everything sold in the store. Despite its retail prominence, Athletics Supreme must remain effective by maintaining a successful supply chain logistics. As Simon, (2012) argues that even if Athletics Supreme obtains maximum display areas for the new product line, including overstock for internet sales, it will lose customers if the supply is not adequate. Overall, most retailers with make decisions on inventory based on the potential of selling the item quickly. Communication metrics is the gathering of data that can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of the varying forms of communication channels used. In this case, Athletics Supremes a key subcategory is effective reach. Effective reach is the subset of the target segment of the population that can be effected by an advertisement during a specified time frame. Additionally, the response rate data measures the rate of response that customers respond to information sent to the target market. Communication Metric) Per Arikan (2011), marketing influenced customer percentage is similar to Market Originated Customer %. However, it factors in all new customers where marketing efforts touched and/or nurtured the lead at any point in the sales process as opposed to only originating the lead. For example, if the sales person of Athletics Supreme found a lead who later attended a marketing event and closed, the new customer is assumed to having been influenced by Marketing. This percentage is usually higher than that of the Marketing Originated Customer % as it is more inclusive. It usually ranges from 50-99%. The retail industry is very competitive, therefore, Athletics Supreme must monitor the effectiveness of all forms of customer communication. For example, emails, coupons, and discounts offered on the next customer purchase. Increased sales figures after an email campaign would be a key indicator of the effectiveness of communication. The company can also measure its response rate via satisfaction surveys, Facebook and Twitter followers, and click through rates online. Per Kotler and Keller (2012), Athletics Supreme should focus communications based on frequency of purchase, which can manipulate response rates to double-digits. Conclusion Using metrics effectively will help Athletics Supreme understand the success of its marketing strategies. It will reveal areas where the companys marketing team excels at and where the team needs to improve. Therefore, metrics play an important role in marketing efforts and the company should use the above metrics as well as add others that are relevant to its business. References Arikan, A. (2011). Multichannel marketing: metrics and methods for on and offline success. John Wiley Sons. Farris, P. W. (2010). Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press. Hanssens, D. M., Pauwels, K. H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M., Yildirim, G. (2014). Consumer Attitude Metrics for Guiding Marketing Mix Decisions. Marketing Science, 33(4), 534-550. doi:10.1287/mksc.2013.0841 Jeffery, M. (2010). Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know (1). Hoboken, US: John Wiley Sons, Incorporated. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing management Shank, M. D., Lyberger, M. R. (2014). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge. Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J. (2013). Essentials of marketing research. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Friday, October 25, 2019
A Separate Peace - The Role Of Minor Characters :: essays research papers
Without the minor characters the story "A Separate Peace" would be missing major points and it wouldnââ¬â¢t run smoothly. The minor characters in the story play an important role in the way the story falls together and in causing Finny to die. The minor characters in this story set up kind of props for other things to happen in the story. For example Brinkerââ¬â¢s conflict with Gene. The first part of the conflict begins in the butt room where Brinker brings Gene after Finny has his fall. Brinker tries to tell everyone that Gene in fact did knock Finny off of the tree. Gene gets out by making up a crazy story but he is still mad at Brinker for this so he must get even. So later on in the story, at the winter carnival, Gene gives Brinker a reason to hold a stigma against him. Gene, caught up in the excitement, and getting back at Brinker for the butt room incident, pours some cider down Brinkerââ¬â¢s throat. This cider almost chokes Brinker which causes him to be angry at Gene and he must get even with Gene later. So even later in the story, as his revenge, Brinker sets up another trial about Geneââ¬â¢s pushing Finny off of the tree. He gets everyone into his ""court room" to watch the trial and he t ries to prove that Gene did in fact push Finny off. The result of all of this revenge and the result of Brinkerââ¬â¢s existence is that Finny finds out the truth which is that Gene did knock him out of the tree on purpose. The major result is that Finny dies because of Brinker. So Brinker, being a minor character, has the role of partly causing Finny to die in the end. If it wasnââ¬â¢t for Brinker, Finny would have still been alive. Minor characters also add plot and volume to the story and keep it alive. For example Leperââ¬â¢s going to the war. When Leper goes to the war, it is brought as a surprise. This is because Leper is not expected to be a war going type of guy. Leper is a quiet, non athletic guy, making him not a very ideal war person. Brinker would have been expected to be the first to enlist in the war because he is so big and athletic. This is one part of the minor characters adding plot to the story.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
A Message to Garcia Essay
A Message to Garcia is an award winning essay written in 1899. It serves as an inspiration to some as well as a lesson. In the essay President McKinley needed to have a message delivered to Garcia in the jungles of Cuba, he trusted one man with this mission, Rowan. He gave Rowan clear instructions on what to do. He gave him no tips nor told him any way he could complete this mission, he simply trusted Rowan to get the job done with his skill alone. What Iââ¬â¢ve taken from this is the leadership and trust that is put into action throughout a unit. The company commander passes down an order to the platoon commander who in turn passes it down to the platoon sergeant and then to the squad leaders and fire team leaders who are tasked with accomplishing the mission. The trust that was put in Rowan is the same trust that is tasked throughout squads and fire teams. We have to be able to use the resources that we have on hand and the skills we learn throughout our training to be able to accomplish whatever mission and task is set before us. It gives examples at the end of the essay of different types of people who could be tasked out for missions but get lost along their way and lose sight of what needs to be done. It talks about people who need to do work when the ââ¬Å"bossâ⬠is away and does work as well when he is at home. The man who when given an order doesnââ¬â¢t question it, but obeys without hesitation and does his job proficiently and thoroughly. The leaders who step up when it is needed and when it is not to be able to build trust in one another and earn the respect of his peers. A Message to Garcia highlights a prime example of the leadership that is need in a battalion, company, platoon and squad sized element, as well as the society we live in. A Message to Garcia Essay Written by, Elbert Hubbard, is a story written about trying to find the ideal messenger, or employee. And in many cases is hard to find even when it comes to a simple task, in this case, delivering a message. Hubbard goes on to explain that some individuals, when tasked with such a job will make it rather difficult. They will either ask questions, ââ¬Å"who is Garcia? Where is he? Why canââ¬â¢t you do it? Have someone else do it.â⬠Hubbard points out the most common flaws or unwanted qualities of employers when all he, or any employer are looking for is someone who is hard working and can be trusted with an important task regardless of what it is. And that is the type of worker that no employer can afford to lose. No matter when you are, regardless or your occupation, type of company or size, there will always be the workers that are replaceable, irreplaceable, or those who no one will hire. Hubbard explains the vast majority or employees that are in the work force. Lazy, irresponsible, untrustworthy, or are just plain worthless. However, the search for that one who will work hard even when no one is looking is rare to find, and that when he is found, he cannot be let go. After reading this book, it makes one realize, and actually look at whom they work with now, or in the past and see whom or how many actually fall into the category or workers Hubbard described. I for one was able to actually put faces with some of the examples given. More important than that, was looking at where I fit in, or which one describes me the best. Hardworking and the one that is rare and every employer is looking for, sure we would all like to think that but the reality of it, may not be as close as we would like to think. When tasked with delivering a message to Garcia, I would think it be natural for one to ask, ââ¬Å"where is heâ⬠, such information is key. Rather than blindly searching for a man named Garcia with out so much of a direction. Does a question make one any less of their overall work ethic? I would think not, but when it comes to questioning the motives andà what is in the letter is completely different. Irreverent questions to the task at hand are unnecessary and would be seen as lazy or nosy. Overall it was an interesting book that makes you think other wise of not only yourself, but also those you work with all well. I would recommend any employer to have their employees read this book for they start working. That way it gives them something to think about, think about themselves and which type of employee they truly want to be. Also gives them an idea of what that employer is looking for in their workers, that way there is no question about what is expected. ââ¬Å"He is wanted in every city, town and village- in every office, shop and factory. The world cries out for such: he is needed, & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia.ââ¬
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Cross Cultural Field Experience
Cross cultural experiences can be defined in many different ways. Some people view these experiences as a way to interact with individuals who are diverse, often experiencing things one would not typically experience within their own culture. A cross cultural experience allows someone to share within anotherââ¬â¢s culture. These experiences can enrich the lives of those who participate by offering experience, knowledge, patience and an understanding into ones culture. Jesus Power Assembly of God I had the pleasure of attending a Sunday worship session on June 2, 2013 at Jesus Power Assembly of God. This church is a bible based and primarily immigrant church located in Columbus, Ohio and founded by Pastor Bismark Osei Akomeah. Reverend Akomeah is the Senior Pastor of Jesus Power Assembly of God church. He has planted four other Assemblies of God churches in Cincinnati and Georgia. He has also created French and Swahili speaking churches. First Impressions My daughter arranged this visit for us since she has a friend that attends the church. As soon as my daughter and I pulled into the parking lot I realized that this was going to be cultural experience for us. We were the only people in the whole church that were not dark skinned. We were starred at. There were whispers behind our backs. We were approached almost immediately by Pastor Bismark Osei Akomeah with welcome arms. I am sure he was wondering how we ended up finding our way into his church as the first thing he asked was if we were invited by a member. Hailey and I found our way into the sanctuary and took a seat in the back. Truthfully I wanted to make sure I could make a break if we needed to. The music and the singing were phenomenal! There was a choir and a band and there wasnââ¬â¢t anyone sitting in their seats. All were up and praising the word of God. The singing went on for a good amount of time before we actually started the sermon. The people were friendly and welcoming. We were approached several times and encouraged to move up closer to the front of the church. Many people came by and shook our hands and spoke to us. In fact, I actually felt more important and ââ¬Å"lovedâ⬠at this particular church than I have ever felt at any other church I have attended. The Sermon The sermon itself was given in both English and Swahili. The church has large screens in which the words to the sermon were put on so that people could follow along. It was an active service. I was especially surprised at the events for the day. The service started at 10 am with an opening prayer. There was praise and worship for 45 minutes which consisted of a combination of singing and talking. For about 10 minutes following the initial sermon there was time set aside for the welcoming of visitors. Each person took the microphone and said their names and identified how they came into the church. Hailey and I declined to take the microphone and all were understanding and sympathetic. Following the introductions of visitors, there were announcements for the church, more songs and music. The Pastor took the stage at about 11:15 with the sermon for the day. The sermon lasted for about an hour and a half. This was an extremely long service compared to what I am used to at a typical church service. When the sermon was completed there was an additional hour of praying, singing and the passing of the offering plate. The entire service from start to finish was 3 hours long! The one thing that was surprising to me was the difference in the length of the service compared to what I have experienced in the past. The longest service I have ever been a part of was an hour, at the most. These people spent almost the entire day together. Once the service was completed they went into another room in the basement and had a huge spread of food they shared. Church to this group of people was a family event. They prayed together, sang together and broke bread together. There is a clear difference between a Swahili service and a Lutheran or Christian service. Conclusion This experience was an emotional and eye opening event for me. I was able to share in another cultures religious experience and the group welcomed me with open arms. Sharing this experience with my teenage daughter was a valuable lesson for her as well. Although I have always raised my daughter to be accepting of all people regardless of color, religion or culture, she was able to immerse herself in anotherââ¬â¢s culture and see what it was like.
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