Missing Clean Water

Sorry the blog has not been updated in a while. But to be honest nothing has been too exciting. Jessica has said that they are REALLY missing clean, clear tap water. What a common necessity that we take for granted? During the day Mike works outside and Jessica teaches a group of girls. They love her and never want her to leave. The village has given them some African clothing but they are pants and Jessica is not for sure if she can wear them to church, since they don't allow women to wear pants in church. Monday there are going to go on a safari to see some animals in the wild. I think that would be so cool. It will surely be an unforgetabke experience.

Today was their day off so she walked with some girls to their water hole to get water and the girls told her that you couldn't come at dark or the gorillas would get you. YIKES!!! To get to the water hole they had to walk 3/4 a mile and through the jungle.

She has been eating a lot of rice and oranges. The other day she noticed that she had noodles in her rice. Sure enough she got sick, luckily she was able to make it back to the hotel before she got too bad.

It is a very poverty stricken area the houses that are more modern don't even have windows or doors. The people there don't feel that it is a necessity. I know that they are really enjoying their time there and God is really using them to spread HIS word.

Doing Well

Jessica called today and spoke to my mom. She said things are still going well. They went today to visit some girls that had hid up in the mountains because they had been used for prostitution. The girls had not eaten in 4 days so the group Jessica is with bought them 200 pounds of rice and beans which was $100. That should be able to last them for a while. Everywhere they go they have a body guard with them and even when she steps out of the hotel to make a call a security guard follows behind her.

On a good note they have not seen any snakes, spiders or scorpions. They are able to take a shower every night, since there is running water in their hotel. It's brown but it's better than nothing.

They have finally found a safe food- rice, beans and some type of plantain. We should all feel so blessed to live in a country where we have clean water, schools for our children, chicken without lungs and feathers and we are safe to walk down most streets.

Mambo everyone! (Hello)

(mike typing)

We are almost finished with our second day here in Morogoro and today was alot of hard work. We went up the mountain to a highschool in Chamwino and worked on building a dorm for the kids. Its amazing to see how hard our friends here work - non stop. Tonight we're going to be heading back to the church to work with more of the kids (and hopefully play a little futbol !)

Mike's time is over. This is Jessica.
We are in a land where they pee in holes, eat corn meal with spiders in it, boil entire fish and call it good, and clean dishes with dirt. And we LOVE it! I have fallen in love with the children. I have hugged a child, laughed at a child, cried over a child and cooked with a child. And we have been here less than two days. I love the Ugali (cornmeal and water) and stay away from the chicken. (We found a lung and a feather in ours.) I am teaching at a school with 30 students ages 18-22. Most of the girls have had children (for money) and they are trying to further their education. The people here LOVE the Lord and experience true joy.

We ride around in a pink van that has broken down three times. We have run out of gas, had a gas leak, had a dead battery, and I'm sure it will continue.

I think Mike and I belong here. We are more than okay. To Mom and Dad- I miss you and love you and wish you could experience these people. To Amanda- you have to come back with me! And to Little Andrew and Allison, the children here are wonderful...but not as wonderful as you!

I love you all and miss you like crazy- but I am literally having the time of my life sleeping under mosquito nets and trying to pee in a hole!

Love to you all! Kwa Herie!

They Made It

Jessica called about 10:30 this morning, CST, to let my mom know they made it safely to Tanzania. They have already checked into their hotel, which Jessica said was gated and had good security. She said things have gone well so far, they did have to wait 4 hours once they landed in Tanzania for the bus to take them to Morogoro. She said they felt over-whelmed and that they had met the people they would be working with and were anxious to get to work. Please keep them in your prayers as the real work begins for them.

On a lighter note, Bentley has been a little brat since being at my mom and dad's. She threw up yesterday repeatedly and someone peed on the floor either Diesel or Bentley. And my mom said Jessica forgot to remind her that her dogs like to go out at 6:30 every morning so my mom has had an alarm, i.e, Diesel's face in hers every morning at 6:30. Plus Diesel is scared to walk on hardwood floors which is all my parents have in their house. It has been very comical to see a 100+ pound dog frightened to death of the floors he's walking on.

Jessica can only call for 5 minutes a day so if and when she calls again, I will keep you updated. Thanks for all the prayers that have been sent their way.

Headed To Ethiopia

Jessica called last night and they safely made it to Germany. They then had a 16 hour lay-over and left today about 2pm our time. She called to say they were about to leave from Germany and that everything was going great. They were concerned yesterday that their luggage would be over the 50 pound weight limit and all 3 of their suitcases were.....but they had a fellow Aggie who was checking them in and he let it slide. If not they would have had to pay $50 for each suitcase that weighed over 50lbs. She says she will call Monday once they get to Tanzania.

While they are away please pray for their safety, and that they may truly touch many lives there. What a great blessing for them to be able to travel to Africa and be able to spread the word of our Lord while there. The conditions are no where near optimal so pray that that will not deter any of those traveling with them about why they are there.

I will try and update this blog anytime we hear from them, until then continue to pray for them.

And we're off!

Today is the big day! We're off to our African adventure! I'm sure we forgot to pack something, but as long as we have our passport, toothbrush and underwear- we're set! We are leaving at 2:30 and we will arrive in Germany around midnight, US time. We will be there for 16 hours before we leave for Ethipia on a 7 hour flight. 4 hours in Ethiopia and then 3 to Tanzania!

My sister, Amanda, will be updating the blof from this point on. If we ever have access to internet, I will try to post something, but she should be updating the blog daily.

Please continue to pray for our safety and for open hearts. There is definately a language barrier in Tanzania so pray that the Spirit will speak through us in a way that they can understand.

Until then- kwa heri! (Goodbye in Swahili)

Last Minute Details!

We're leaving in four days, and I don't think we are any closer to being ready then we were four months ago. It seems like I buy something, set it in a pile, buy something else, set it in another pile, make a list, make a new list, lose the old list, and have to start all over again!

I don't think it is real to either of us yet. I have a feeling the Mike will be panicing Thursday night, and I'm sure we will make a few midnight runs to Wal-Mart. We have our flight information. We will be on a nine hour nonstop flight from DFW to Germany, leaving Friday at 2:30. We have a sixteen hour layover in Germany where we will join the Germans from ANdernach City Chruch for food and fellowship...and maybe some naps. From there, we have a seven hour flight to Ethiopia with a four hour layover. Lastly, we have a two hour flight to Tanzania where we then drive a couple of hours to Morogoro!

I've included a picture of our group that is traveling to Tanzania. Please excuse the photoshopped head of Amy. There are four couples traveling (including Mike and I), and two women whose husbands will remain in the States. Everyone, besides me, is a mother leaving their children. Please pray for the families that are left with maybe one phoen call a day. We pray that the enemy doesn't penetrate their thoughts and imaginations. Please pray for comfort for the children. Kids can have very extravageant imaginations, which leads to worry.

I will keep you updated until the day we leave. Until then, please continue to pray for our protction and that the Lord's Will will be done.