Habari Asubuhi! Good morning! It is our first morning in Njombe, Tanzania. The beds at the Lutheran Center felt wonderful at our 15 hours on the road. It is great to be finally be at our main destination after 3days of travel. We were welcomed graciously by many friends.

On Thursday, we arouse very early in Dar to start our journey south.  The city of over 4 million was bustling with activity and the world of life in a  busy African city unfolded before us. People were traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, bus, car, as they began their daily routines. Dar is a typical city, with a full spectrum of economic development.  There are tall buildings and small one room adobe houses.  There is a lot of construction, particularly on the main roads we traveld.   The landscape changed from urban to rural and we found ourselves driving through many small villages and farms. Children dressed in uniforms were on their way to school, men and women were out in the fields doing hand work, women were gathering at the wells in town centers, families were gathered around their homes doing domestic work such as laundry and food preparation, and some were taking baths in the local rivers. Many women were working on road crews. 

We only stopped a few times, and at one point had to "kick the elephant", hmmm, what does that mean? Stay tuned and you will find out! :) 

We were all thrilled when we saw our first giraffe along the road of Mukumi National Park.  We also saw baboons, elephants, zebras, and cape buffalo. It has not yet hit a few of our travelers that we are actually in Africa!

Till next time! Lynn Egesdal and Jan Rosdail

African Adventures Continued

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of activity. Friday we traveled all day to get to the hostel where we would be staying for the weekend. Saturday some of us got up at the crack of dawn (5:30) to watch the sunrise. After breakfast, we were hauled off to the place a few miles away where we would be going on the safari. There's only one word to describe the safari- Unreal. It was so fun with our small traveling groups and our drivers. In my group, Eric and the driver kept us plenty entertained, not like we needed to be with the variety of animals we saw. There seemed to be an over abundence of giraffes and impalas. Elephants, zebras, and lions were a little more scarce. We got daringly close to the lions, it seemed to us. They were quite calm even with the small cubs. It was crazy thinking this was one of the last things we would be doing together as a group. Yesterday, we had a worship service at our hostel. It was a wonderful experience, and I felt the Holy Spirit's presence for sure. After ariving in Iringa, we shopped for about 3 hours. We all seemed a little better at bargaining since it hasn't been our first shopping trip although some of us were better than others. Everyone seemed happy with all their purchases at the end of the day even though shopping is always exhausting. Today we had a long day of driving (8 hours) and have finally arrived in Dar.

Even though all of us will be happy to be home, we will miss Africa and all of it's people. See you soon!

Amanda

Adventures in Africa with Kori and Kim!

Hello everybody! Our days in Africa are slowly coming to an end :( We have been having an AMAZING time! Our group has been getting along so well, maybe a little too well sometimes. We have officially decided that our new favorite snack is karanga aka peanuts!! YUM YUM YUM! Our days have been filled with rocky places, ab parties, and teaching our new Tanzanian friends how to speak like an American like saying "Fo' Sho.'" Good stuff. Our internet time is almost done, but we just wanted to let you know that we're doing well and having a ton of fun. We're excited to come home and see everybody but are very sad to be leaving all of the wonderful people we have met and leaving behind this fabulous culture!
With Love Written By Kimberly Lori Neumann and Kori Kay Heidebrink

Big surprise!

Yesterday was my birthday. I didn't want or expect anything while I was here since Tanzanians don't celebrate birthdays' but I suspected wrong. At dinner, one of the travelers walks in with a cake and another walks in with to huge bowls of ice cream which are pretty rare here. A few minutes later, I was given a Tanzanian shirt that said Africa. Then I received two awesome necklaces and a flower to put on my shirt. Adding on, I was given an ebony carving of the word 'Karibu', which means welcome. I also received the best birthday card that I've ever seen. And lastly, I was given a a custom basket weave that said ' Happy Birthday Chris'. I was freaking out the entire time I was receiving these presents. The people have only known me for two weeks and the Tanzanians who don't even celebrate birthdays who have known me for even a less amount of time and threw me a party! I mean, I got a present from the assisstant to the bishop of Tanzania who didn't even know me. These are some of the kindest people that I have ever met and this has been the greatest birthday of my life and I will remember it forever. Asante Sana. Thank you all so much. Don't cry mom.

Chris Masad

So here we are only 6 days left:( It has been and amazing experince!! I can't believe how well we have all got along!! We have climbed moutains, rocks, traveled on dirty roads, moved bricks, put a roof on, painted the dinning hall, and played with kids!! Thank you for all your support!!

Megan Anliker<><

Big surprise:

We climbed a mountain!!

Monday we went to the proposed sight of a youth center outside of Njombe. To see the area we climbed what seemed like a mountian. Our bus couldn't get to the bottom so we walked at least a mile down hill, so coming back it was all up hill and we had previously thought we were in shape but we were proved wrong. At the top there was a gorgeous waterfall. From this waterfall one man managed to build a hydro-electric generator.

Kirstin Wessling

After the mountain we went to the deaf school where we had a brief tour of the campus. The school had about 130 students from primary school to secondary school. The kids each told us their name in sign language and they taught us how to applaud and say thank you so we could communicate with them. After we met 2 classes then we toured the rest of the campus and saw a HUGE tank of ugali. Our stay there was very short and many people wished we could have stayed longer, but time didn't allow it.

Emma Rinehart

Wonderful Experience in Tanzania

Our experience in Tanzania has been awesome! Each day is a new adventure and each day our relationships with each other grow stronger. It is a wonderful group that we are traveling with. Our Tanzanian brothers and sisters have been so welcoming and accomodating.

Our experience with the youth at the Igumbilo Girls' Secondary school was wonderful. We got the roof on the laboratory building and a few other projects done. Leaving there was very hard on Sunday as we formed many new friendships with the girls there.

On Monday we walked and walked but it was well worth it. We hiked up a small mountain, or a large hill and saw a beautiful waterfall. It was awesome!!

Yesterday, we went to Ilembula to visit the parish, hospital and orphanage. Almost everyone's high that day was visiting the orphanage.

We are all doing well and miss everyone very much. We continue to look forward to each day's adventure. Mungu Awabariki!