VIDEO CLIP

YL ARUSHA CAMP 2009

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Last couple days in Arusha!

So 8 of us got back from Safari yesterday (6/24) and were finally reunited with Leslie and Debbie, who didn't accompany us on the safari, and it was great! We relaxed and ate and then took a trip to a couple of cool places including a snake park and a Maasai museum. It was really cool to see more amazing (and scary) animals, and we even got the chance to ride on camels! We just enjoyed spending time together, Americans and Africans, and fellowshipping together over wonderful dinner.
It has been amazing to see the way that our group from America has molded together within ourselves, but also the way that our American team and our African team has become one team. We may pray and sing and speak in different languages (although they are awesome at speaking English, and most of us are less than average with our Swahili), but we are all here worshiping and serving the same God, and that is something really uniting. We've discussed it, and we all decided that we really have become a family. It's been neat to see how each of us has different strengths, different talents, and different weaknesses, but we're all a part of the Body of Christ. We have definitely seen that these 2 weeks. I love that God planned this trip and knew each American and African that would be here long before we knew.
I know that I speak for everyone when I say that it has been a privilege to serve alongside the people we have been serving with during our time here. It is definitely sad to think that this trip is coming to an end, but the sadness is DEFINITELY far outweighed by the joy that I know each of us has experienced by seeing the many, unique ways that God is working here in Tanzania and through Young Life Africa and all it's leaders and staff.
We thank y'all so much for your continued prayers throughout our trip. They were definitely appreciated and felt. Please continue to pray for safe travel as we embark on our ride back to Kenya and 2 flights back to the States. We'll see you guys soon!!

Love,
Tanzania Team

6/23/09 Safari Day #2

We woke up this morning pretty early at about 6:15 to a great breakfast. I woke up and I’m not going to lie I was a little sore from sleeping on the ground in our tents, but we did have a nice mat to sleep on, so no complaints. The breakfast was so good. We had eggs, toast and fruit. I am so thankful for a greater variety of food in our meals. Then we left the camp around 7:30 to make our way to the crater. We had about a 2 hour drive there then we got to tour the crater that was about 600 meters deep. The animals where unreal! We got to see every African animal you could think of! We saw cheetahs, elephants, wildabeasts, lions (male and female) and cubs, tons of different birds and monkeys, baboons, zebras, hyennahs, and buffalo. It was a treat to be able to see God’s creation in a wild, new way. Our tour guides are really nice too. They have been teaching us alittle Swahili and telling us about the different wild life. We where out all day and got back to camp around 6ish and had a wonderful dinner at 7. Our cook is amazing. His name is Damien. We had potatoes, soup, meatballs, vegetables and fired bananas for desert! It was such a blessing. We then got to have some hang time to relax, play some games and chat it up. We are going to head to bed early for our drive back to Arusha tomorrow. Who knows what the Lord has in store for us. Keep praying and may God’s will be done in all we do, ad may he be glorified in all we do.

1 corinthians 10:31,
Danielle



After camp finished, I realized I have not worked so hard to sleep so well those five nights serving the kids. And they had the time of their lives! Being on safari for a second day has allowed me to really enjoy the last of our free days here to fully take in Tanzania. Along with all the exotic animals in the depths of Ngorangora Crater that I could not believe we crept up as close as 10 feet, I’ve been observing more of the local people we pass by. Colorful wraps dress the women, young children with sticks herd dozens of goats, men on bikes carry supplies to the local wood shed store. Tanzanians are ready to welcome those who pass them with a “Jambo” greeting or waved hand. It really is a completely different world, and I need photographs and more time to paint the picture I’ve seen and experienced. Most buildings are half-done: cinder blocks with no roof, sticks used as scaffolding, sheets covering doorways. Grand ideals not yet materialized. There is great potential surrounded by greater amount of patience.

6/22/09 Safari

We have all just finished the first day of our safari adventure. We drove from our hotel in Arusha this morning to Lake Manyara – and have been VERY well taken care of by Alexis since we left camp. Last night we had dinner with our group plus Alexis and Jackie, Martin, James, Wande, Hannah and Zack (all on YL staff). I am amazed every time I have conversations with them about their lives. I absolutely love the people here and the way they care for one another and invest their time in relationships. It’s actually been kind of sad to move from camp to a nice Arusha hotel, simply because we are no longer spending time with the friends that we made. What a blessing it has been to learn firsthand about the culture in Tanzania and other parts in Africa. I am so drawn to the simplicity that runs throughout life here. It allows so much room for God to work and so much time to invest in people. Thanks again for all of your prayers – camp this past week was the smoothest Alexis has ever seen it go! He was pumped, and we saw many prayers were answered. Many blessings.
Grace

The conclusion to camp was amazing. It was so humbling to even witness such a huge work of the Lord. To all supporters, both financial and prayerful, just know that your assistance has literally transformed lives. I wish you could see as we have seen. This whole process has been divine. Prayer for continual health and safety would be awesome! See you all super soon!
Beckie
PS- Happy Father’s Day E-ness! You are beyond words to me and I love you so much.

6/21/09 Last Day of Camp

SIKU YA FURAHA YA BABA!!! (Happy Father’s Day!)

We have finished the last day of camp at Peace House and are now at our hotel before we go on Safari. Last night was the final night of camp and it was A-MAZING! We got to witness over 50 kids at camp be convicted by God’s spirit! It was amazing to listen to Martin (YL Staff) give the club talk about the Gospel in Swahili and then watch as 160 Tanzanian teenagers sat in silence for 20 minutes thinking about and responding to what they’d just heard! We got to sing over them in Swahili and English when the 20 minutes ended and it was absolutely beautiful- a glimpse of heaven if you ask me!

Anyway, we wanted to give a shout out to some of our Dads today on Father’s Day because most of our phones don’t work so we cant call you! Here it goes:

Happy Father’s Day Robert Schaaf ☺..LOVE YOU! Hope you read this ☺….but if you do, can you tell mom about it and forward her the blog. Everything here is going really well…so keep reading the blog because that is the updated stuff. Love you and you should be expecting a phone call from me if possible in the next few days. I am being taken care of by the Lord and the great people of Tanzania and Kenya. Love you and talk to you soon. Give everyone at work a shout out for me!
Love your daughter,
Danielle Schaaf

Daddy,
Happy Father’s Day! I love you and miss you, but probably not as much as you miss me ☺ (Mom and Lanes, I miss y’all too!) –Carlie

Happy Father’s Day Dad! I miss you tons. I cannot wait to share experiences with you – and I am so grateful to be here. What blessings you have given me! THANK YOU. I hope you are having a wonderful day and know that I’m sharing it with you in spirit all the way from Tanzania. You’re the best! Love you, Grace

June 20, 2009 Camp Day #3

After the all camp dance-off last night (which the Americans lost miserably), the Lord woke me up early this morning, I went out on the porch to have quiet time, and I was so moved. I looked across the field to see a couple of campers pumping water out of the well so they would have water to wash up for the day. I was reminded and convicted that we as Christians also need to go to the well each and every morning to get strength from God to serve our purpose as Christians. I thank The Lord for that precious moment I got to experience in Africa. The group has had so much fun serving as Work Crew for Tanzania Young Life. This camp is such a treat for these children and their excitement level for the simplest things, such as 3 meals a days and free time, makes me really appreciate the wonderful life God has blessed me with. After breakfast the campers were surprised to find out they were leaving to go on a day Safari, they went CRAZY because most of the teenagers have never seen any wild game or even left their village. Keep praying for us and the children, some of whom are listening to the Gospel for the first time.
~ Kendall

6/19/09 Camp Day #2

I’ve always told people how awesome Young Life is because its ministry embodies Christ’s love for others in a relational way. Just like Jesus who met the people of his day where they were and loved them unconditionally, Young Life focuses on leaders meeting teenagers where they are in life, loving them for who they are, and sharing Christ’s love for them. It is no different here in Tanzania. And I’m amazed at how faithful God is to bring the teenagers – from the secondary schools and neighborhoods, as well as all the way from the herding tribes of the Masai in this country – to camp! I’m encouraged by the Kenyan program team who are full of Christ’s joy and servant heart, as well as this team of God hand-selected to unite, to give these kids the best week of their lives. I’m humbled and excited to see the things people donated in Atlanta on the fields for games, hanging from the dining hall for club, and worn by the kids here. I’m humored by the goats grazing the grass where teens play soccer and volleyball. At night, I stare at an expansive sky of endless stars I never knew existed. I must admit, we have been pushed to exhaustion to prepare cabins, serve meals, and run obstacle courses but know His strength and grace with this team and for His purposes is totally worth it!
Robin

Thank you so much for your prayers and patience with our blog! Tanzania time runs a little differently. Now as for today… we woke up early, served an awesome breakfast, cleaned cabins after o-course night (woo!), watched incredibly competitive and high-spirited field games, served a delicious lunch (ugali), had some downtime to get together as a group and rest, and just finished serving dinner. What a blessing it is for these campers to be served three meals a day. I hope you are able to get a glimpse of where your prayers are going. We just want to assure you that they are heard and much appreciated!
The Tanzania Team

6/18/09 Camp Day #1

Today we welcomed over 150 Tanzanian teenagers to Young Life camp in Arusha. After spending much time at camp over the years, I found that the process of preparing camp on Day 1 was not very different from American camps. Young Life is Young Life, wherever you are. Still, welcoming the Tanzanians had some exciting African twists. For example, the whole work crew hid behind bushes with tree branches as the bus drove up with a Tanzanian wedding band and the program team leading – only to jump out from hiding screaming and waving our branches. It was awesome. I am so amazed by the joyful spirits of the staff running camp here. They have so much to teach us. The love of Christ was clearly flowing through the crazy dance moves and welcome cheers as the campers tunneled out of the bus. Though this quality is not unique to Africa, I have seen over the past few days a freedom that is harder to find in America. A freedom to love and to make a fool of yourself without feeling self-conscious. It’s been a picture of something I’ve been trying to fathom this year – inexhaustible love. God’s love is limitless, and I am so baffled by the way the people here give that love so freely. From the first day we met the staff running camp – James, Alexis, Martin, and Richard – we were loved. And it has been awesome to fill this place with campers and watch the leaders love. Let’s pray that we all allow God’s love to overflow out of us!
Grace

ARRIVAL in AFRICA

Hey everyone! We HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE IT J. God has already provided in numerous ways... The plane rides were pretty long…8 hours each, but it was still awesome. It was a great time to get some sleep…for those who actually got some; but our bodies were not adjusted at first. I was freaking out because it was about midnight on the plane and I was getting my iPod ready and put the eye mask over my eyes to pass out and next thing you know the lights get turned on the plane and breakfast is being served and it was light outside! It was craziness!

We then spent the night in Nairobi and ate a wonderful meal with our YL Kenya Staff friend, James, at the hotel. We woke up the next morning to begin our 6 hour drive from Nairobi to Arusha! After a couple negotiations made between Drew and the border people, we made it safely into Tanzania! As we traveled the bumpy, dirt roads, we passed a procession of 500+ children in school uniforms celebrating African Child Day 2009 as well as caught a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance through the clouds. We were welcomed by YL leaders from Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, all who are going to be leading program/speaking at camp this week. It was such a blessing to come together as a team finally!

We are staying at a beautiful boarding school called Peace House Secondary School (www.peacehouseafrica.org) in Arusha We’ve been hanging out and getting to know each other as well as the YL Africa staff. This morning we woke up and Sam the Man (and Debbie) cooked breakfast for all of the ladies! Beckie went on a run and came back herding twelve goats. Camp starts tomorrow (Thursday) and we are all so excited! We are expecting over 150 Tanzanian kids, many of whom are either part of the Masai tribe or from Muslim backgrounds. Thank y’all so much for all of your prayers and support; we can’t wait to update more and let you know how amazing camp goes this week!

Love, Grace & the Tanzania Team

Blog email

No worries, Drew. Oh, and I will likely be arriving at your house around 5:00-5:30 tomorrow (I think you asked us that). As for the blog, I am currently trying to send out a mass email to our supporters, however, I'm having some trouble with some of the email address. My gmail keeps saying that I have incorrect information in the "To" box...and I'm stumped on how to fix it. Could yall just check the address you sent me and make sure they're correct? We may be sending out this email tomorrow...thanks guys!

Can't wait to meet you all.
Blessings on your night and travel time tomorrow!

Preparing our Hearts

We invite you all to "post" anything here you'd like to share.... aka. encouragement, thoughts, verses, prayers, anything you want... Our hope & prayer is that this "Blog" would serve to help us record the story behind the awesome Journey the Lord has in store ahead of us, as we set out together this summer to serve Young Life's Mission in Arusha, Tanzania. While we're in Tanzania, we'll be posting "Trip Updates" on this site, to allow family & friends praying for us at home, to be a part of and share in this experience with us. Our Trip will leave out of Atlanta on June 14, & return on June 26. The bottom line here remains simple... this is God's movement, not ours... & He's going to use this journey together with Him into the heart of Africa, to leave our hearts & lives changed forever.

KEEP PRAYING....

"If you CLING to your life, you will LOSE it, but if you GIVE it up for me, you will FIND it." MATTHEW 10:39

"But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths, all ideologies, is that GOD is with the Vulnerable and the Poor. GOD is in the Slums, in the cardboard boxes where the Poor play house... GOD is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives... God is in the Cries heard under the rubble of War... GOD is in the Debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and GOD is With Us... If We Are With Them." - Bono

"People ask me, "Doesn't it Paralyze you to walk so closely & intimately with Suffering?" "No," I tell them. "If I've learned anything from my time in AFRICA, it's that though the suffering is overwhelming, so too is the HOPE." - Jena Lee

"He is no fool who GIVES up what he cannot keep, to GAIN what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliott