Jet Lag

The first group has made it home! Pastor Dustin, Patricia, Pastor Dahlseng, Jody, Chris, and Katie have all made it back safely and are trying to hop back into our routines!

Ron and Debbie have continued on in Africa for the new bishop of the ELCT's installation. Our bishop as well as others have arrived in Arusha safely to join the celebration. We continue to pray for them and our hearts are with them as our bodies readjust to the states.
Pastor Jeff Clements is catching up on e-mails over breakfast!

Please continue to check the blog for new updates, pictures videos, and more information on the places we went. The Internet was not strong enough to load any of the videos and most of the pictures while in Africa so we would love to continue to share, answer questions, and tell you about the trip.

Thank you for your love and continued support in this adventure that changed our lives.

Maasae Girls' School

Friday completed our time at Teringurie and we were back on the road and headed to the Maasae Girls' School.

In the Massai culture primary school (Elementary) is required however Secondary Education is not (this would include ages 14-18). Once girls finish primary school in many homes they are then married off. They will come home and their parents will have picked their husband and he will be waiting for them. Sometimes as low as age 14. They have no say in their husband nor if and when they would like to get married.

The school includes the Massai culture as well teaching them about Christianity.

This school's mission is get to those girls at risk and take them back to the Maasae Girls' school the moment they finish their exams for primary school before they even get home. Once they are at the school they are protected by the government. 

They stay there like a boarding school to recieve education and financial independance. Once they achieve this they will be free to work, live, and marry (if and when) who they choose, this is something that girls only educated to a primary education are not able to do.

Once at the school the girls go to classes, learn English, have jobs around the school, and learn how to live independantly. 

Many of these girls go on to the medical field, teaching, or even return to the school to be staff/teachers. 

The school was founded by a missionary Dr. Simeonson. He was a missionary to the Massai people and after killing a lion to protect a Massai town was then accepted as Massai himself. He saw in this culture girls being married off at such a young age sometimes to men who were 60-70 years old as their 3rd or 4th wife. He founded this school to protect these women and empower them in a culture that does not value women.

Patricia was very excited to find the Chemistry class. Full equipped with a lab as well as the book she has back at her school.

Happy 2015!

We wish you a very Happy New Year from all of us here in Tanzania!

On New Year's Eve we headed to Teringurie for our time on Safari. Even just driving into the site where we would be staying we saw many elephants, giraffes, and many beautiful birds.

That evening we went out for our first safari. It wasbreath taking. We even began the trip out seeing lions hiding in the shade.

After the safari we sat on the patio over looking the park. It was the most gorgeous view. It was easy to see why Ron had called this "God's country." We all settled into the view with a drink and rang in the new year a little early.

Because it was mandatory to be in your tents by 11 p.m. we enjoyed the view, some snacks, and each  other's company and I would venture it say it was the best and most memerable New Year's Eve I have ever experienced. (Even if we were all in bed by 11 p.m.) 

We headed out at 6:00 a.m. New Years Day for a full day on safari. By the end of day we were, sun burnt, tired, dusty, a little sore, and so glad we all have been able to have this experience. 

As background for the next couple stories, there are no fences surrounding the tents we stayed in. Animals are free to roam as close as they like to you.

New Years Day after we had returned for lunch in between safari's a group of monkeys swung down grabbed a jar of honey and then a bag of someone's chocolate. They opened them up and helped themselves. From then on we kept an eye on our items that were out where they might be.

Our last evening there, Chris and I were already asleep in bed, I got up to use the bathroom that was in the back of our tent around 1:00 a.m. As I unzipped the flap that seperated the bed from the bathroom I heard a very loud growl/grunt. Whatever it was, was VERY close to our tent. I quickly hopped back in bed terrified and woke Chris up. For the next 45 minutes we heard this animal, which we were pretty sure was a lion move around our tent, paw at the outside of the tent, and grunt any time we mad a sound. It is pretty safe to say, I personally have never been more scared in my entire life. Later that morning the guard assured us the tracks around the tent were of a Dick Dick (small deer like creature smaller than some dogs) as well as he saw a large Impala by our tent (which he could have bumped while wandering around.) 

While at Teringurie we got the honor of celebrating with Ron and Debbie as they had their 20th Anniversary on New Years Day. 

The morning we left Ron surprised Debbie as the people from the lodge came out with a cake and sang. It was such a blessing to see this as well as share in the love and celebration of these two and their special day.

Massai Time

With all of the car rides and sitting we felt like we needed a little exercise. Our good friend David invited us to walk the 30 minutes from our Lodge to his house for tea.  We found this walk to be a GREAT exercise and to actually be about 1 and ½ hours each way.

This was a great experience to see people in their everyday life. We were able to ask questions and meet people along the way.

The walk was very diverse, through the city as well as through the woods. It had rained the night before and this made some of the trek quite muddy. Jody fought a mud patch but it sadly won.

We arrived at David’s home where we had tea and snacks. We met some of his family and enjoyed a nice afternoon.

David and his oldest daughter Shalom returned with us as we then headed out for a quick shopping trip.

After an emotional day it was nice to have a day to get some exercise and relax by spending time together.

An Eye Opener

Here is a very small glimpse of what we did today. Please check back once we get home for a more extensive post on each of these places.

Arusha Medical Center was the first stop of our day.  Dr. Paul Kishanga greeted us as we joined the staff for Chapel at the beginning of the day. For both hospitals we visited (Arusha Medical Center and Selian Hospital) this was a staple they did every morning before heading to work.

We toured the building and learned much about what the day-to-day life was like there.  We toured their NICU, ER, GYNO, and Outpatient, wards.  At this time they see about 350 people a day. Where as when they opened there were only about 15 patients that first day in January 2009.

We delivered our first set of blankets to the NICU unit.

We then moved on Selian Lutheran Hospital. Dr. Mollel was most gracious the whole time we were here. He showed us around and invited us for tea (which always includes food) after.

They have a very high demand of services but a very low income.  

The maternity ward and especially the malnutrition center for children were very grateful for the blankets as it is something they constantly need yet cannot always afford.

Dr. Mollel wishes to thank us (the church and Synod) for our donations to the hospital as well as the donation of the blankets.

Our last stop of the day was to Plaster House where they currently have over 80 kids being treated for things such as cleft pallet, club foot, burns, and much more.  These kids stay there until their surgery and recovery is finished and then can return home to their families.

It was great to see their smiling faces as they were so excited to get their pictures taken. They were also so grateful for the donation of the blankets we had brought.

Today was an emotionally exhausting day for many of us. However, seeing what good things these places we support are doing was well worth it. 

Blessings and Bumpy Roads

Saturday we had a slower day getting to know the area and checking out a couple local sites in Arusha.

We made a few stops including the Market and Shanga Shop (a shop that employs all handicap workers)

Today (Sunday) we got up very early for what turned out to be a great adventure.

We started the day at church at 6:30 a.m. with the Olturumet Congregation. It was a beautiful service and we were able to present the banner from Grace that Linda made to Pastor Christopher.

We were given beaded necklaces and bracelets as gifts given in love from their parish.

They were very gracious and prepared a special meal for us following the second service.

From there we stopped at Losakito, Likomba, Galilya, and Olchorovos.

We attended a 50th Anniversary celebration of friends of the Gustafsons.

We returned home at 6:00 p.m. A very busy 12 hours in which we were richly blessed by the churches, people, stories and experiences.