Thoughts from Anne

At the end of our first week here, I am at a loss for words. (Imagine that!!).  Jami has done such a wonderful job of sharing our thoughts and pictures, I have decided to take a different path.    
        
God's Other World - Tanzania and Kenya

The Beauty:
Mt. Kilimanjaro, lush green tropical areas, acacia trees, manicured gardens, morning glories, multicolored bougainvillea, God's animal world.     

God's paint brush and color pallet has been here.

The Unexpected:
cell phones and motorcycles everywhere, modern gas stations - "a thousand cars here and gas prices at $7.00 a gallon", cornfields and sunflowers (seeds made into cooking oil), overwhelming number of small Christian churches, herds of
cattle and goats along the highways and remote bush areas, extreme cultural differences, unbelievable numbers of out door markets, bags of homemade charcoal for sale stacked along the roads.

The People:
warm, friendly, welcoming, beautiful, smiling, fearful eyes, many cultures - Muslims, Maasai and different African tribes, each displaying their traditional garb and life styles.

Sight's That Touch One's Soul:
extreme poverty, living conditions, a sign reading "Tanzania for Tanzania Wealth of the world", babies carried on mothers backs for warmth and comfort, small children's laughter and innocence.. people with so little being so grateful.

Mile after mile of slum like conditions, heavy auto traffic, hundreds and hundreds of pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, outside markets, woman carrying wares on their heads, children following after....

This is God's other world, and HE IS HERE.

Day 7 - Havin Some Church up in Here

Sunday greetings from Arusha!  Fantastic day today as we were able to visit 2 churches and bring them some New Harvest love! 

We were picked up early (6:45am) this morning by Pastor William Msuya from the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church. (Yep, Mitch going back to his roots!)  He took us across town to the church he pastors.  What a delightful man with a sweet spirit!  When we arrived, church had already started........worship that is!  We entered the building and took our places in the front row. 
 

Mitch with Pastor William

We were really trusting God to bring us an interpreter who could speak good English and worked well with Mitch.  It's very different preaching with an interpreter.  GOD CAME THROUGH!  Pastor James Kesanta worked with Mitch and did a fabulous job giving the people Mitch's message in their native tongue, Swahili. 
 






Mitch encouraged the church with message of finding God's purpose in their lower story to fulfill His upper story.  If you have been attending New Harvest, this isn't a new concept!  It was received wonderfully and really impacted Pastor James and led to some wonderful post-church conversation!

 

What a blessing to be a part of people who worship with their whole body! 

 

After church, we went to Pastor William's home where his wife, Mary had a wonderful meal for us.  We shared some African tea (with milk & sugar), a peanut butter sandwich, avocado, hard boiled egg, sausage (aka hot dog), and banana.  Their hospitality was so beautiful! 

 

 

Afterwards, we got in the car and traveled to our 2nd house of worship -  Njiro Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church.  Pastor Steve Gobrey greeted us and took us inside.

 

 

 

 

 

Mitch, Pastor James (Interpreter) & Pastor Steve

 

Once again, AMAZING!  This church had a very young feel to it!  The worship team was made up of teenagers, including the keyboard player and bass player.  We heard from the kid's choir, and the teenagers.  It was so encouraging to see the YOUTH leading the charge!!  Before we got there, they did worship that consisted of HYMNS so the people were getting a great taste of all generations!  I was very impressed with the 1st row of kids under the age of 5!  They had to be at church for at least 3 hours.  They were SO well behaved and absolutely adorable!

 

 

I hope these videos give you a good taste of the incredible morning we had!  I picked up a few good moves from the younger kids and Mitch can dance with the best of them.  Anne was movin and a shakin AND even Lee was tapping his toes!  There's something so refreshing about freedom in worship! 

After the worship service, we went to Pastor Steve's home where his wife, Paulina prepared a wonderful meal for us!  The food is never ending here!  We had beef stew over rice, spinach, watermelon, bananas, oranges, and avocado.  Again, wonderful hospitality! 

Pastor William then came to pick us up and off to the hotel we went.  Tomorrow, Mitch is leading a Leadership Conference at that church for all the church leaders in the area.  We are looking forward to seeing our new friends again tomorrow!  Good night!

Day 6 Back to Tanzania

Well, it feels good to be completely caught up with our story!  Today was a travel day from Kenya where we spent the last 3 days, back to Arusha, Tanzania.  It was hard to say good-bye to our beautiful accommodations and friends we have met.  The people are so friendly and always smiling! 

 

The Amboseli Sopa Lodge was very spectacular!  We had a wonderful view of Mt. Kilimanjaro at every meal from our dining room.  These pictures really don't do it justice!! 

 

As you can see, we did have mosquito nets covering our beds each night.  Honestly, I think it's too chilly for mosquitos but we used the nets just in case!!  We did not have Wifi at this Lodge, hence you're getting so many updates today on the blog....it was so quiet and peaceful (no tv and haven't missed it for one second).

 

This is the outside of our room.  Anne and Lee were right next door.  The electricity goes on every morning at 4:00am and then off at 10:00am.  It then stays off until 6:00pm and stays on until 10:00pm.  Flashlights were provided!  Monkeys were EVERYWHERE!

 

We took this picture right before we left.  We are standing in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Most of the days it's been covered by clouds, but today it was clear and we could see the top.  Breath taking!



We said good-bye to William, our Kenyan driver.  He had a great personality and spoke really good English (we really appreciate that!).  We had no problems crossing the border and it was 3 hours back to Arusha.

Tomorrow is Sunday for us and Mitch will be preaching twice at 2 different churches.  One from 7:00am-9:00am and the second from 10:00am-1:00pm (that ought to be interesting). Good thing he has been preparing for this trip all of his life!  I can't wait to hear what God has to say through him! 

No mosquito nets tonight!  By the way, we hear Barak Obama is here in Tanzania. Maybe he will be attending the Leadership Conference Mitch is leading on Monday!  One can only hope!

Maasai Dance Featuring Pastor Mitch

Thought you might like to see Pastor Mitch fitting right in with the Locals :)

 

Thoughts from Lee

As we near the end of our first week here in Africa, I continue to be amazed but that word does not convey the magnitude of what we are experiencing.  I do not have words to describe it. Anything I write can only provide a small insight
to what this experience has been.  Therefore I will simply say we serve an awesome God who is very much visible in Africa.

When we were planning the trip we thought we were going to be Gods hands and feet in Africa.  How arrogant!! The truth is that Gods hands and feet are already here - here in the heart of a young Masai Christian women whose dream is to become a mid-wife and be able to help her people; two Christian believers who gave their testimony and pray for their husbands salvation; a Christian school that gives hope to disadvantaged children (the favorite children are given the opportunity to attend to the goats and cattle and the hated one is sent to school) and there they experience Gods love, Benjamin, who wants to become a doctor, but instead has to care for his mom and five sisters, a teacher there who is a gifted communicator and pastors a small local church, numerous Christian churches which worship for hours every Sunday, a tent revival meeting
in a small town in Kenya, and many more.
The evil one is also present - present in the Muslims who withhold jobs unless the individual converts, present in the way women are treated, present in the Masai village where men take pride in their polygamy and their medicine man remedies.  Yet even there Gods Word is present.

Yes, Gods hands and feet are here and as Henry Blackaby states,  all we need to do is join Him in His work - that is my prayer.

When we planned the trip we did not have expectations but left it open to experience God's presence and we have not been disappointed. 

We do serve an awesome God!

Day 5 Maasai Church

 
 
After we left the school, we went to visit a Maasai church.  The Pastor of the church was none other than GEORGE from the school!  Yes, another dirt road and back into the village we went.  What you see in this picture is their church. 

We went inside and it had backless wood benches and some openings for air to blow through.  Along with Pastor George, Pastor James joined us.  The Maasai people speak Maasai and that's the language James speaks......so he ended up interpreting for George who speaks Swahili who interpreted for Mitch!  Now I haven't seen a double interpretation before and it was SOMETHING!

First, Pastor George explained to the people why we were there and then invited them to give their testimony to us.  EACH person there (there were only 5 people there...1 man and 4 women) stood up and gave testimony to their life in Jesus Christ.  The 1st two women told us that their husbands were not believers so we laid hands on them and prayed for their husbands by name.  It was so amazing!

Then Mitch stood up and gave a Word and it was also amazing.  He shared Acts 6 as a word of encouragement.  It's the story of a conflict in the early church that arose over the distribution of food to widows.  The story really emphasizes two important things:  one, church leadership must stay focused on prayer and the ministry of the Word.  And two, laity needs to step up and serve in strategic roles to bring glory to God.  The Church being the Church!

Lastly, Anne stood up and lead us in Jesus Loves Us This I Know AND THAT WAS AMAZING.  Remember that word, unbelievable?  You are going to hear it over and over!

When we were finished, the women wanted to give us a gift.  Each came and put beads around our necks.  It was very humbling.  Anne and I decided we would do the same and took our cross necklaces off and gave them to the women we prayed over.  Then we gave our earrings to the other two woman. 

 

 

These beautiful children below, sat in the back and didn't say a peep!  His Hands and Feet in the Maasai Village! 



Tomorrow we will travel back to Arusha, Tanzania and try to reconcile everything we've seen and heard so far!  It's nice to have WiFi again...thanks for being patient!

Day 5 School Visit

UNBELIEVABLE (to quote Anne).   Today felt like attending THE WILLOW CREEK LEADERSHIP SUMMIT….Listening to Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, John Ortberg, and Craig Groeschel.  You come away and your brain is FULL…….it’s impossible to process everything and very difficult to describe to someone else.  Thank goodness for pictures….they will definitely give you a glimpse of our day.

Breakfast was wonderful!  Fried eggs, made in front of you, plenty of fruit, potatoes, and toast.  I have been staying away from the bacon and sausage….doesn’t quite taste right and I had some stomach issues our second day (I know, too much information).  The mornings are cool but not too cold.  Anne has been wearing a sweater, but today I didn’t.  William picked us up in the jeep and we were off to the school.

The school’s entrance was gated and when we entered noticed incredible beautiful grounds with green everywhere!  There had to be a hundred different plants, trees, a vegetable garden and handmade sprinklers running all over the place.  It was immaculate!  We were greeted by one of the teachers, George,  (English and CRE – Christian Religious Education).  He was very well educated and immediately connected with Mitch.  He gave us a tour of the school and had a passion for his work and the kids that was undeniable!  Yes, His Hands and Feet are alive and well in Africa! 

The children that attend this school are from the Maasai Tribe.  By receiving an education, they have the chance to have a better life and extend the blessing to their families.  We were able to visit each classroom.  There are 4 “levels,” 1 being the beginning students and 4 being the most advanced.  In each classroom the kids asked us questions and it was nice to interact with them a little!  We moved from the classrooms to the girl’s dorm which houses 60 girls.  The boys come in the morning and leave after school.  Some walk an hour both ways and when they get home, they have to do all of their chores (homework is not the priority).  In fact, George told us that the kids that come to school are the ones that are “hated” by their parents.  School is a punishment.  Isn’t that just like God to make something beautiful out something so ugly.  (Genesis 50:20 “What man intended for harm, God intended for good.”)  We met Christine and her two kids.  She is the “house mom” of all the girls and absolutely loves what she does!

From there we experienced “tea time” (God has such a sense of humor).  The tea was made in the kitchen and milk and sugar were added.  It kind of tasted like weak chocolate milk.  It was during “tea time” that George answered our 10,000 questions (ever so graciously and honestly).  Using a Clovis Unified word, George was a STELLAR employee.  WOW!  So full of life and love for his work, his people, and his LORD!  He lives on purples every day serving in his “sweet spot.” 


We then waited for the children (teenagers) to gather on the lawn area so we could give them the gift we brought.  All different colored rubber bracelets with “God” sayings were distributed to each child.  It was almost like a scrum….they all descended on Anne and Lee like vultures and our bags were emptied  Our next set of gifts were for the teachers……….tea bags from Compassion Tea and individual Starbucks coffees.  We also had a bookmark for each with Scripture on them.  They loved the gifts and that was fun to watch.

Surprisingly, in our honor, the staff had laid 4 trees out for us to plant!  This was very special.  We decided to name the walkway where our trees are, COMPASSION LANE.  Don’t you think that’s appropriate?

Our school day ended with a special visit from a former student named Benjamin.  Benjamin is like many of the students who finish their studies there.  He could not afford to attend the University after graduating so he went back to his village to assume his former role – care giver for all of his siblings.  George told us that every year 8 students qualify (out of the 120) to attend the University but only 3 or 4 actually attend.  University attendance is only possible through scholarships from Staff of Hope.  Just think of the possibilities God is showing us!!



Next Stop…….Local Maasai Church……..

Day 4 Maasai People

We ended our day in the Amboseli Game Park by getting an “up close and personal” look at the Maasai Tribe.  Our driver, William, took us to a village where we got to learn about this people group.  We were greeted by the Chief’s son who spoke pretty good English (YAE).  He told us what we were going to see and do.  We were also greeted by an unknown number of flies that became unbearable as the tour went on.  One of the elders gave Anne something made of Elephant hair that she whipped around our face to shoo the flies.  It didn’t work very good, but it was better than nothing!

The people gathered (about 20 women and 15 men) outside the thicket fence and welcomed us with a song and dance.  The men would take turns jumping up and down.  Surprisingly, they could get VERY high off the ground!  They invited Mitch to join them and we got a good laugh as Mitch tried to imitate them!  He didn’t quite have the “hops” that the tribesmen had but gave it his best shot!

Next, they encircled us and the Chief prayed a blessing over us.  They mentioned they were Christian and it would be important to bless us.  Did I mention the flies were driving us crazy?

 

 

 

We entered the fence that was made by the men with some heavy brush.  The huts lined the inside of the fence and were made of cow dung, branches, and some special twine that comes from a plant.  The women build the huts and it takes about 3 weeks to complete one.  We were able to go inside and see “not really see because they were pitch black” what they looked like on the inside.  There were 3 rooms, one for the kids, one for the parents, and one for the fire needed for cooking.  In the morning, the women gather wood for the fire inside.  Once our eyes adjusted, it was pretty amazing!

We then went outside to sit and learn about building fire (where they showed us how to do it with 2 sticks) and about the homeopathic medicines made from plants.  The whole place was filled with cow dung and the flies covered the people at all times.  It’s just like what we see when watching a National Geographic special. Honestly, I don’t know how they can stand it!

The next part of our tour was outside the thicket fence where the women have all of their “makings” displayed on blankets.  They do a lot of beadwork and sell them to make money for the tribe.  The women looked so old and worn.  Such a difficult way of life!

 

Lastly, we were taken to the school about 300 yards outside the village.  This was where the children go during the day to learn English, Math, Writing, and other subjects.  The teacher was a young man who had grown up in the village. He was fortunate enough to get some education outside the village, and then came back to “give back” to his community.  The children were delightful and sang for us and then we said our “good-byes” and took the jeep to our final destination of the day the Amboseli Sopa Lodge.

Honestly, we couldn’t wait to get in the jeep, and out of the fly infested place!  We were filthy, dirty and thought perhaps our shoes were ruined and would need to be thrown away!  Thank God for a hot shower and some clean clothes! 

 

 

The Amboseli Sopa Lodge is very nice.  Our dinner was wonderful and we are hoping to get a good night’s sleep because today was the 1^st day we didn’t have to take a nap around 4:00.  The time change has taken a while to adjust to!  As usual, we had wonderful prayer time and anticipate anther great day tomorrow as we drive to the Oloile Secondary School in Kimana, Kenya.  As we gather each night, we have NO idea what we are going to experience each day!  What we do know is that God has a purpose for our every minute that we are here in Africa.  We pray that He will reveal His plan to us and that we would have the wisdom to know what to do with each day that He gives us!  Mosquito nets down and good night!

Day 4 Amboseli National Park

We woke up early (4:00 am) to the chanting going on at the Mosque, nearby.  It was loud (over the speaker) and happened about every hour.  Mitch said this is what he heard when he was in Pontianak but it was much louder there.  The Muslims have their prayer at certain times of the day and they “share” it with everyone around them. 

We had breakfast, took some pictures of our surroundings, and left on a travel day thru the Amboseli National Park on our way to the school we will be visiting in 2 days.  I continue to reflect on our day yesterday with Faith and the incredible work she is doing with her people.  Anne kept using the word “unbelievable.”  For me, the word that comes to mind is “humbled.”  It’s easy to be self-centered and think about how I/we will be coming in to a third world country to make the people’s lives better.  We want to “fix” their situations and bring God to them.  God was there LONG before we got here……….He doesn’t even need us to accomplish His purpose.  We are here to JOIN HIM in the work He is already doing – and believe me, HIS IS DOING A WORK AT THE KAREO CLINIC THRU FAITH! 

Our travel took us on another dirt road.  It wasn’t half as bad as the road to Karero, but it was a bumpy dirt road, none the less!  We traveled about an hour and a half to get to the Amboseli Park Entrance.  The next 5 hours we spent driving around this beautiful Game Park.  We saw all kinds of game and had lunch at an observation point that overlooked the Park and Mt. Kilimanjaro.  It was a bit overcast, so we didn’t get to see the peak of the mountain but it was spectacular.  Most of the animals there are herbivores except for the lions, hyenas, and cheetahs.   We only saw a couple lions and one hyena from a distance (not close enough to take a picture), and we never did see a cheetah.  But we did see elephants, zebras, antelope, baboons, monkeys, hippos, ostrich, and giraffe.  God’s creation……….. SPECTACULAR!

 

This says it all!  Next stop....Maasai Village....

 

 

Day 3 - Karero Medicine Drop

I am so proud of myself because in the middle of the night, I realized I could use my I PHONE as the Wi-Fi connect point with my Hot Spot feature!  Modern technology is amazing!

 

Today began in typical fashion with an early breakfast and departure to Kenya.  As we began our journey to the village of Karero, we should have known God was up to something special!  It was an hour and a half drive to the Kenyan border where we saw our first giraffes just gallivanting on the side of the highway.  At the border we had to go thru customs and get a Visa.  It was relatively painless and we were then on our way.  About a half hour into our drive, we turned left onto a dirt road and traveled another 2 hours winding our way into the interior.  There were many people along the way moving donkeys, goats, and cows.  I don’t know where they were going, but they were going somewhere!  I was a little worried about Anne and Lee as the terrain was ROUGH.  If you have ever been on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, you understand what difficult travel this would be for 2 hours.  As you would expect, Anne & Lee were troupers! 

 

Mitch & our driver, Nirdin

 

Finally, we arrived at our destination……the Karero Clinic that Compassion Now supports.  We were greeted at the door by FAITH, the medical assistant (one year of college at the University).  Her English was good which was nice!  She gave us a tour of the clinic…..not at all what I had imagined.  I thought we would see something like clinics we have in the inner city.  This was just a building with several rooms with very little to offer.  She, however, was very proud of the facility, which was not a surprise once we got to know her. 
 

Karero Clinic

Faith has been at the clinic for 4 years.  She serves HER people (the Maasai) and she has a real heart and passion that is VERY evident!  I thought WE were going to be His Hands & Feet in Africa.  No, His Hands and Feet are already there, evidenced by Faith.  More than medical assistance, Faith brings encouragement, hope, and education to a nomadic people.  Her LOVE for her people is contagious.  She lives out Genesis 12:1-3 - We are blessed to be a blessing. 


Faith and her baby, Abigail

Medicine Drop


After our tour of the Clinic, we noticed the village children waving at us in the distance.  We went to greet them and they were a bunch of "giggle boxes!"  They especially liked to see their picture after we took it with our phone!


Children in the Village



About an hour into our conversation with Faith, a man from the village came and relayed the message that in our honor, the men were going to slaughter a goat and we would share a meal with them.  Fortunately, we did not see the slaughtering (though our driver, William did – he said he will never be the same).  They skinned it and cooked it over the outside fire and brought it to us on 2 big wooden skewers.  Then, someone sliced it in to bite size pieces (in front of us) and we ate it with our fingers.  We were told they only have goat on special occasions:  when a baby is born, when someone dies, and when visitors come.  We felt very honored and enjoyed it though it was very chewy,



Elder in the Village




Goat Skewers!

It was time to say, “Good-bye,” and off we went onto the dirt road for the City of Namonga.  We are staying at the Namonga River Hotel tonight……….very different from our hotel in Arusha, though very nice for a third world country.  This is what you would image when visiting Africa.  We will experience sleeping with mosquito nets covering our bed and have begun using our OFF WOODS DEEP spray.  The sounds are very similar to those of THE JUNGLE CRUISE ride in Disneyland (but they are REAL). 

Tomorrow we will travel through Amboseli National Park where we will see our first elephants.  We will stay in the park overnight and visit the school the day after.  Good Night!


Mosquito Net for our bed

Good Night - Lala salama

We had a full day today.........Nirdin (our driver) picked us up at 11:00 and we did a little sight-seeing.  We went to the Market Place to exchange currency, traveling on the main highway (which is 2-lane).  It's not only the main highway, but the ONLY highway.  You can imagine the traffic.  Buses, vans, motorcycles and pedestrians GALORE!  We traveled at about 10 miles an hour! 

The market place reminded Mitch of the city of Pontianak, and it reminded me of Tijuana... storefront shops, people pan handling, a huge "farmer's market" with every fruit and vegetable imaginable!  The cars filled up the streets and you couldn't find a parking place anywhere.  It's like everyone in the city was outside standing around, visiting with friends or selling their merchandise. 

We had lunch at what we could call an "open air" café.  Our order - chicken & chips (or what we would fondly call FRENCH FRIES).  The exchange is 1,600 shillings  to our 1.00.  It was interesting.... Nirdin told us that the merchants would prefer the shillings over the American dollar because they don't understand the exchange rate.

When we got back to the hotel, we ALL crashed for a nap.  We tried really hard to go without sleeping, but our travel finally caught up to us!  dinner was at 6:00 in the Arabica Café where Mitch and Lee had pasta dishes.  Mitch said he would order his dish again which says a lot!  Anne had a burger and I had a club sandwich they both tasted interesting and we will leave it at that. :)

Every night we (Lee & Anne and Mitch and I) meet and debrief about our day and finish the evening with prayer.  We have more questions than answers at this point - What are we dong here?  What does God want us to do?  How do we make sense of it all?   How does God's Upper Story correlate with what we see in our Lower Story?  Isaiah 55:8 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  That's always been a difficult passage to grasp......the "WHYS" of life.  So we stand on Proverbs 3:5-7 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." 

We are all looking forward to tomorrow!  Our day begins at 6:30 for breakfast and then it's off to Kenya to the medical clinic in Karero.  We will cross the border and then ride off onto a dirt road for several hours.  I'm not sure if I will have internet service for a few days, so just stay tuned.  I will journal and then get you all caught up as soon as I can!

We have been praying specifically for our driver, Nirdin.  We don't know where he stands with Jesus, but we are praying for an opportunity to share Christ with him!  He has a sweet spirit and a great smile.  His parents live in a small village with his sister and he helps them financially.  He also has two kids, 5 and 1.  Please join us in this prayer. 

What a blessing to share this experience with Anne & Lee.  We sense their great compassion
toward the environment and the living conditions of the people here.  So little opportunity, so few good paying jobs.  We both sense there is so much need and wonder, "What is our part?"

Well, time to pack our things up and hit the hay!  Hope to write soon..........Love, Jami

Day 2 - Getting Settled

Good Morning from Arusha, Tanzania. We had a hot shower, a good night sleep (6 hours) and we are ready to go! Today is an "adjustment" day. Money exchange, getting water bottles, post cards, and working out the time change!  We were surprised to wake up to rain and wind. The weather reminds me of the east coast....humid and so green! It's a little cooler than I thought it would be, but it is "winter" over here right now. We are staying at a nice hotel for our 1st two nights....kind of like a Marriot (see pictures below). Our hotel is on the main highway....Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya.  Breakfast at the hotel was buffet style with fruits, potatoes, eggs (with white yolks), miniature french toast (for Mitch), cheese, and an interesting fried bread.  Lee, Mitch and I had coffee and Anne had tea (surprise, surprise).  Tomorrow we will travel into Kenya and visit our 1st clinic where we will be able to give them the supplies we gathered! EXCITED!

Day 1 We Made It!

20 hours of travel and 1 more hour in the van.....and we have arrived!  Especially happy for Lee to be out of the plane as the leg room was very little and he has LONG LEGS!  We were greeted at the airport by a relative (we think) of our guide, Evans.  We whizzed through visa and customs and all of our luggage did make it!  Evans met us outside the airport with the driver of our van, Nirdin.  There was no hand shake from Evans.........huge bear hug for all!  He greeted us like we were long lost friends....it was so warm and inviting!  He reminds me of a happy, loving, Michael Orr (from the Blind Side).  I wonder if he knows Jesus (Yezu).  It's going to be a fantastic adventure and I (Jami) can't wait to tell you all about it!  It's time for bed (11:05 Arusha time).  We must get ready for day 2!  Tomorrow we will take the day to get acclimated to our 10 hour time difference and take care of some administrative details.  I can't wait to see Arusha in the daylight! Mungu (God/Jah) akubariki (bless you). pronounced: Moongoo akoobareekee.  This is a term will will be using all the time!  Lala salama (Good Night)!