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