Africa Mission Trip Day 6 – Travel Day

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Today we said goodbye to Kenya and hello to Tanzania. It was definitely a bittersweet moment. If I were to guess this morning I would probably say about half would prefer to stay in Kenya and spend another week ministering in Kibera and the other half was ready to see what the rest of the adventure would look like in Tanzania.

The day started with a much earlier than normal breakfast. We had to have all of our bags packed and outside no later than 7:30 AM.

Our driver was there and ready to help us get everything loaded up. Our goal was to leave by 8:00 and we pulled out from the Guest House at 8:01, but not until one last group picture from Kenya.

We were anticipating about a six-hour journey. We were told it was approximately 5 hours of drive time and usually around one hour at the border crossing. The drive as about as exciting as … well about as exciting as a five-hour drive on a crowded bus can be. Most everyone took at least some sort of a power nap. Some listened to music and others were talking. I of course was the most spiritual and watched several episodes of The History Channel’s “The Bible” series. (If you don’t really know me I was just joking about that comment.)

The drive was interesting because we got to see quite a bit different scenery … everything from the mountains (or large hills), to the different trees.

Of course it is always interesting when you have to stop on the major highway (think African version of an interstate highway) as cattle or even camels were crossing the road.

We did stop once just before crossing the border to use the restroom. It was at a little souvenir type of store. It was very neat to see all the African themed arts and crafts. After our short break we headed to the border. Our first stop was the Kenyan immigration to depart the country.

Then we drove about a quarter mile down the street to the Tanzanian immigration center to enter the country. Other than the time it takes to process 18 passports and collect their $100 Visa fee it went pretty smoothly. The only hiccup was caused by immigration wanting to check to make sure it was really suitcases underneath the tarp on the bus.

We all just sat and watched as they pulled the whole thing off just to turn around and put it back on.

We arrived to Arusha, Tanzania right at 1:00 PM, almost a full hour earlier than expected. We met up with Vernon Smith, our missionary supported by North Park to Tanzania. It was great to see a familiar face, this time on his turf and not ours. We met at a great pizza place. If you are ever in Arusha, Tanzania you need to try Pepe Italian Restaurant’s Hawaiian Brick Oven Pizza.

After lunch we headed over to the Smith’s house, which is beautiful by the way. Mary Smith greeted us from her front porch with chocolate chip cookies and a couple different types of fudge. I noticed a couple what I thought were decoration pieces in their yard which turned out to be real live turtles … huge turtles that are their pets. They function as some sort of “watchdog” for them.

Some of our team will be staying at their home and some will be staying at a Guest House just down the street from them. Both are very nice.

After getting our room assignments we “moved in” to our new homes for the next several days. We left the Smith’s home around 4:30 and made our way to their church where we will be ministering this week. Their ministry here consists of a church, a school and a medical clinic. Tonight was a community-wide sports fellowship event. Shortly after arriving I was able to talk with Dr. and Mrs. Byemba for a while. It was great seeing them again. They continued to talk about how much they enjoyed their time at North Park this past November. I realized after watching him for a while that Dr. Byemba is quite the athlete too.

When it was time to get a volleyball tournament started everyone that was going to play sat down on a short wall next to the volleyball/basketball courts. Captains were selected and then teams were formed one selection at a time. I had flashbacks to grade school recess as name after name was called and none of them were mine. I assured them that my team would win it all but no one seemed to believe me. I will be honest I took it personal when several girls from our group were even selected before me. No worries though … hakuna matata right? I can say one thing for sure, these guys here definitely know how to play volleyball.

A little history of the church reveals that volleyball was a huge tool early on to get the church started and it continues to be a huge outreach today. After helping with a sports camp all week and playing in two different football (soccer) games last week, we ended up with a couple minor injuries. Stephanie got a bloody nose after taking a spike to the face and a few minutes later Chris twisted his ankle.

Both are going to survive though. It was nice having Dr. Byemba close by though.

Oh, one thing I do need to mention is which team walked away with the volleyball championship trophy … ok, there wasn’t really a trophy but definite bragging rights. Yes, yours truly along with Brooke were both on the winning team.

I don’t know exactly why they kept putting us both on the back row in the corners away from all the action … the important thing is that we won. The winning team tonight was presented with a jersey.

This was a big deal for these guys. I was told they are always pretty intense and competitive but even more so tonight since a nice prize was on the line. My only problem is when I put on my jersey I can’t really breathe. I think it would fit on my seven-year-old daughter. Nevertheless I wore it with pride.

After volleyball we hung out for a while longer, some played basketball and some were intentionally connecting with Tanzanians.

As it was getting dark we left to go back to the Smith’s house for dinner. Tonight we had hamburgers cooked on the grill along with homemade potato chips. Again, it was delicious. I didn’t know it was possible to actually gain weight on a mission trip, but I am pretty sure that is happening. Before we ate dinner we paused long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” and present a birthday cake to Lucas who is turning 17 tomorrow.

After dinner we had a short meeting reflecting on the day and some of our first impressions of the ministry here in Tanzania compared to where we were at in Kenya. The differences are extreme. I will share a little of that over the next few days and you will be able to hear even more on Sunday, June 30 at our Mission Trip Highlight Service at church.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We leave the house by 8:00 AM and won’t make it back until probably 8:00 PM. Most of our group is taking part in the church services tomorrow in one form or another. It is family day here at church with dinner on the grounds afterward. Tomorrow afternoon we will also get to tour the Medical Clinic that North Park supports very heavily on a monthly basis. Then we will be meeting up with another group that is driving down from Kenya for dinner.

Please keep us in your prayers especially overnight tonight and in the morning. Many of the ones participating tomorrow are stepping way out of their comfort zone. Say a prayer for me as I speak on the importance of family. I will be using an interpreter as I preach which always makes things interesting so pray for that as well.

Until tomorrow …