Day Eight - Tanzania - Homeward Bound!

Friends and Family,

Sadly we have reached the end of the journals. This update will be the last, as we will be boarding the plane for home tomorrow night. But of course, I will give you a synopsis, however brief, of our final full day.

We started the morning bright and early, boarding the bus at 5:15. We drove a little over an hour to an animal park, where we would spend the rest of our morning. Our bus drove us around to look through the park for quite sometime, allowing us the opportunity to see a variety of different animals, including many elephants, giraffes, and zebras. We were even able to see a few hippos residing in a pond in the park. The park experience was very enjoyable, and before heading home we stopped at the gift shop and to buy cokes.

We drove back and just barely made it back in time for some lunch, and had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. Some of us stayed at LJS to pack; others went into town, while a few shopped one last time with the vendors. This evening we went to a restaurant in town that served us pizza. It was quite the sight for sore eyes. It definitely wasn't Hideaway quality, but as a college student, it was better than most of the food I eat on campus. We enjoyed our last dinner together as a team before returning to Dar es Salaam tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we will have a devotional meeting as a team, and then we will head into Dar es Salaam soon after lunch. We will have a chance to see the Indian Ocean and spend some time in the city before going to the airport. Our flight leaves just before midnight tomorrow and we will be flying over 8 hours to Amsterdam. From there we once again fly through Detroit and then home to Tulsa (or for Jennifer and Katie, St. Louis). Twenty-four hours after our first flight takes off, a tired team will return home. We all look forward to seeing you, and we all are talking about our first meal back. Something tells me it won't involve rice or beans... Please pray for safety in travel, and please pray that we will still seek our opportunities to glorify God. I've been on enough mission trips to know that some of the best opportunities to share with people
can come on the plane flight home. So while our trip comes to a close, we still have plenty left to go.

I've enjoyed writing you each evening and look forward to seeing you. I hope my long-winded journals have kept your interest throughout the week, and I hope I have provided quality insight into what our team experienced this week. Thank you one last time for your prayers and support.

Kwa hari (goodbye)
Ryan

Day Seven - Tanzania

Hello once again!

My day in a nutshell:

• 45 minutes of off-roading up and down mountains: painful
• 20 minute hike: tiring
• Singing 6 songs at an afternoon church service: embarrassing
• Helping spread the Word of Christ to the Masai: priceless
  (Thanks to Jeffrey Harrison for that introduction.)

Today was the day that Jordan, Jeffrey, Katie, Jennifer, and I all went on an adventure with Herb. I'm not sure I've mentioned Herb before so I'll spend a minute explaining who he is. Herb is an American, born and raised in the upper Midwest. He went to a Lutheran college in Iowa and also attended seminary. When he was in his 20s, he felt called to become a missionary in Tanzania, and moved here to LJS to attend language school. It was here he met his wife, and he has been living here ever since. He has lived here for over 40 years now. I will describe his typical day as I explain the events of my day.

Indeed we drove quite a distance in order to reach the village this morning. We drove about 45 minutes on the main road, and then spent another 45 minutes taking the "road less traveled." The path to the village was a dirt road. I must say that I once thought that driving on Lewis was very narrow; my perception was changed today. The road was hardly wide enough for Herb's SUV to fit through at times. I kept wondering what would happen if we encountered another vehicle on the road, but it was clear that no other vehicles were traveling on the road all day; our only encounters were with some of the local people.

The "villages" that we passed were very spread out; at times it felt as if we were searching for a needle in a haystack. As we drove along, Herb said, "If we pass a certain village, we're lost." Add this to the list of things that one never wants to hear when in Africa. A few minutes later, Herb said, "Oops," and we were forced to turn around and retrace our path. (This made that list as well.) We finally reached our destination after passing over a couple of mountains and by a few homes along the way, all made of grass, mud, and sticks.

When we got out, a lively old man was there to greet us. We thought for a time that he was the owner of the land and had an incredible amount of energy, but we later found out that he was the "town jester" who floated from village to village, encouraging people along the way. He gave us quite the tour of the land, however, and we met the cows, goats, and sheep that were on the property. He had so much energy we doubted his sanity for a little while, but he certainly made our morning memorable.

After our jester experience we walked about 20 minutes to another village, and then walked to where we would be having church. The location of their church reminded me of the top of the "mountain" at Camp Egan; it was on the top of a hill and was overlooking the countryside. It was small, with only a few benches and a small pulpit. The church service included about 25 people from the two villages. I should not forget to mention that in each village we met about 15 or 20 people, mostly women and children. I brought the guitar along with us today, and Herb asked us to sing multiple times during church. We were quite an anomaly to the people, and the "choir," as we were named, was warmly received.

The highlight of the service came when Herb baptized some of the people. Some young men were baptized, with ages similar to those of our group - 19, 20, and 22. There were also young babies baptized, and they were to receive Christian names upon their baptism. The children were named Jennifer, Jeffrey, and Katrina, after our group, and another was named Hoffermann, which is Herb's last name. It was a humbling experience to have children named after us, especially since they had only known us for such a short time. This village was called Choza, and Herb commented that he had only established communication with them for a short time, since April. The young men were so excited that they were being baptized, and as we have experienced many times during our stay in Tanzania, their hearts were clearly very passionate for the Lord.

The village that we visited today consisted of Maasai people. They, along with the Kami people, are the two most prominent people groups in the area, and have been the ones we have dealt with all week in the clinic. I had intentions of explaining their differences, but this short space would not suffice, and pictures would certainly help. Therefore, I will leave it for the team to describe the differences when we all return home.

I am told that the clinic was somewhat smooth today; the number of people needing medical attention was much smaller, but we were still able to see a fair amount of patients. Nevertheless, the team packed up a couple of hours early, as soon as we ran out of medications. Bert Johnson and the dental team were at the seminary today caring for the students here. We are thankful that we can help to care for some of the people that have made our experience here at LJS so pleasant.

My lengthy journal will end here for the night, as I look at my watch and realize that we are boarding the bus in 7 short hours. We are going to the animal park tomorrow and are to be ready for the bus at 5:15. I also hear that we get pizza tomorrow night! Please pray for the safety of the team as we travel tomorrow, and for patience and energy as the trip comes to a close. Thank you for your continued support.

Ryan

Days Five and Six - Tanzania

Good Afternoon America!

As promised, the internet was down last night and I was unable to write. In tonight's installment of the team journal I'll catch you up from events over the last couple of days.

Both days have been spent at the clinic once again, with nearly the exact same routine as the first two. I believe I forgot to mention how many people we saw on Tuesday; our final count was 39 children, 87 adults with medical problems; 15 saw the dentist, and 150 saw the optometrists. Our numbers have been somewhat similar all four days.

Each morning we leave LJS at 8:00 and ride in the bus to the church. When we arrive, we set up our equipment and supplies for the day, just before a large group meeting. Each morning the people sing a song or two and then Raymond leads a morning devotional. While he gives the sermon in Swahili, we were told today that he spoke about the story of Mary and Martha. After the sermon, we return to our workstations and begin our day. Yesterday, Raymond requested that I bring the guitar to the church the next morning. Therefore, today, after the people sang one song, our team sang two songs for them. The songs of choice were "This is the Day that the Lord has Made" and "Jesus Loves Me." It was quite the elementary school flashback, but our team did well and we were well received.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go and see Raymond's home. It was across the street from the church and up on the side of a hill. It took us less than ten minutes to walk to it, passing by other homes along the way. He has a nice home, where he and his wife live along with their two children and two nieces. His children's names are Happiness (Happi for short) and Emanuel. When we arrived at the house, Raymond started looking for the key that they hide under some rocks. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to locate the key, so he had to call his wife from his cell phone to see if she had it, or if she would send one of the kids to come and find it. I laughed as I realized that this paralleled many American homes.

When we finally entered, we sat in his living area on his couch and talked for some time, and I had the opportunity to look through his scrapbook that Asbury made him when he visited Tulsa in 2004. Among other things, I saw the family pictures of the Millers, Daltons, and Lesters. I also saw the pictures of Raymond's experience of driving the Dalton's van; I wish I had been there to see that! He talked about how he was going to return to school in the Fall and how he would have to pay rent of $25 per month where he was, and he was worried about the funding for it. I experienced another reality check as I realized how this money was a great sum for him, as it is for everyone in Tanzania; yet for us it seems so small.

His home was by no means large for our standards, but it seemed nice compared to the other homes here. It was built on a solid concrete slab and had strong walls and a metal roof. The entire home was smaller than most one-bedroom apartments, but it works for their family. I noted that behind his home there was a small shed where he kept his goats. I asked him about them and he explained that he had six goats, and he was saving them so that he may buy school
uniforms for his children in the fall. All in all, I enjoyed the experience of visiting Raymond's home.

Our hearts pour out for these people as we continue to medically serve them. We've seen far too many cases to explain in a journal entry, but it's quite amazing to hear some of the stories. One man had a tumor growing on his shoulder blade that had been there for ten years and had been putting stress on his lower back for the past five years. We had one man that cut open his foot and tried to clean up the wound with battery acid; needless to say we had to send him to the hospital. We have noticed that when we ask a patient about malaria, we don't ask if they have had malaria, we ask when was the last time they had it.

Speaking of malaria, Linda, a nurse that lives at LJS, had it a couple of days ago (I mentioned her in the last entry; thank you for your prayers, she has fully healed). It amazes me the hearts of the missionaries who live here. For those missionaries who live here long term, we don't ask if they've had malaria, we ask when they last had malaria. Some of them have mentioned that they (only) get it about once a year; they say it causes flu-like symptoms, but there isn't much they can do to prevent it from affecting them. We were told that a family of six moved here and within 18 months, all of them had suffered from malaria at one point, and two of them had gotten it 3 times each. It's one thing to devote much of one's time to service; it's quite another to do it at the expense of one's health at times. The people here are not lukewarm about what they do; they truly are passionate for the African people and it is inspiring to absorb their attitudes and spirits. The Lord has truly blessed them with servants' hearts.

Last night we were able to attend the Wednesday night service that is held at the seminary. Along with many students, we sung hymns, listened to songs of praise by the choirs, listened to a sermon (in English), and received communion. We enjoyed the experience to worship alongside our Swahili speaking brothers and sisters in Christ.

My last topic of the day will concern our translators. Most of them are in their early 20s and live at the seminary. They have a variety of different aspirations for their lives; one is going to medical school in September, another is a Swahili teacher here at LJS, and another will be attending college soon. They have been so incredibly helpful this week; I can't describe it enough in this short space. Aside from translating for us, their attitudes have been very positive, never once complaining about being tired or hungry or anything else. They work hard and have been a joy to be around. Additionally, the cooks and all of the other people we have worked with have had similar attitudes and have been uplifting to our team.

As 8:00 local time approaches now, I must go to our nightly worship meeting. Please pray that we will have enough supplies tomorrow; the amount of drugs that remain is thin. The team is becoming slightly more tired, but grumbling is still rare. As a praise report, supplies seem to keep showing up like loaves and fish. As soon as we don't think we will have glasses for a patient, one pair seems to appear in the bottom of a bag. As another example, Scott Mays had a patient today that cut her foot open about a year ago, but it never fully healed. He gave her a bandage, but she wanted to run on it soon and would not be able to without a brace. He happened to bring along one foot brace on this trip, and it just so happened that it fit perfectly on the injured foot of his patient. Praise the Lord for the plans he had in store long before we came! Thank you once again for your continued prayers.

Ryan

Day Four - Tanzania

When I say Habari, you would respond with "Nzuri." This was my Swahili lesson of the day. So once again, I will greet you with Habari!

Structurally, today was very similar to yesterday, as we setup the clinic at the same location. This will be the scenario daily until Friday. The only exception is that Jeffrey and Dana took an adventure today and went into the village today to learn more about the people and their way of life. I have been told that I will be taking that same adventure on Friday along with Jordan Hill, so if that happens I will certainly share my experiences at that time.

Each morning vendors greet us at our bus stop. Each of them has a variety of items that they obviously are trying to sell to us. The rule of thumb is to not buy at the beginning of the week and risk something not being there in hopes that the price will decrease as the week progresses. It is Tuesday and I have yet to purchase anything from them, although I have my eye on a few things. The big winner on our team started at a price of 150,000 shillings (roughly $150) and worked him down to 40,000. Most of us have enjoyed the daily bargaining, and hopefully will have great souvenirs to show from it.

Since I am a "helper" this week, I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of different areas. I hope that by sharing my individual experiences, it will provide a general picture of most of the areas in which our team is working. I started this morning in triage; Janet Craig was kind enough to teach me the routine and before long I was on my own. The patients' first stop is at triage, where their vitals are taken along with their chief complaint. From there we release them to go wait for the doctor. The last two days triage has worked much faster and we have had a brigade of patients waiting for physicians by lunch, so we have shifted those working in triage to seeing patients and helping in the pharmacy in the afternoon. Fortunately our team is very flexible, and it seems that we have just the right cast of characters for our tasks. A medical student named Alexis, who grew up in Asbury, has joined us this week. It has been a blessing to have her, and she is now seeing many children to help ease the workload. She is spending her entire summer in Africa, and God has so clearly set her heart on the African people. Nancy, a fourth year PA student, has also been able to make the shift from triage to seeing patients, which also helps to ease the strain on everyone else. It has been made so clear to us that the Lord has handpicked our team; each member has a specific purpose that he or she is fulfilling so well. Our entire team has been so helpful and encouraging throughout the week, and when hardships are encountered everyone is willing to help or be flexible in all the situations that have arisen.

As I was working in triage, most of the cases began to sound similar: headache, stomachache, back pain, rash, etc. After a while I got used to the routine and started to coast, when one woman had a slightly different story. "What's wrong," I asked. "I'm HIV positive," she replied. I paused for a moment, not exactly expecting such a strong answer. It was a little bit of a shock and made me realize once again that I was in Africa, a continent plagued by rapidly spreading cases of HIV. Although this was the first person that I had seen who was confirmed as HIV positive, I'm sure that there were many others like her, but they did not share their entire story with me.

Late in the day when most of us were finishing up our last patients, some of us had the opportunity to play with the children that were hanging around the clinic. We recognized some of the children; many of them were at church on Sunday. Jordan Hill worked hard to teach them the names of different body parts in English, enough to teach them the song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." It was quite the sight to see four of us leading 30 kids in singing this song. After they mastered that, we taught them the chicken dance. Unfortunately some of this was caught on film; something we may regret as soon as we return to the states. We enjoyed spending time with the kids, however, and we love getting to build relationships with them. I am looking forward to seeing my favorite children the next few days, and I am sure that they are exciting that we will be returning.

We became much more popular when they discovered that the optometrists had sunglasses that they were giving away to some of the patients. Everybody wanted sunglasses, but we did not have enough to go around. But Scott Mays, who has a seemingly bottomless bag of toys for children, was able to give all of them a new pen to enjoy (not just a regular pen, they all clicked on and off... much to the dismay of mothers everywhere). We joke that if we were patients, we would want to see him because he has so many fun toys.

I will mention a couple more short stories before I finish for the night. First of all, Jordan Hill is afraid of bats. When I say afraid, I mean terrified. We had one that was flying around the dining hall this morning. This did not phase most of us, but Jordan was not "most of us."

This story is still developing and may become funnier as the week progresses. We're all enjoying making comments about bats to Jordan, which are always followed by a "gotcha!" or a "made ya look." To make matters worse, this afternoon Jordan was walking in the seminary and one bat flew right by his head and another flew right into his chest, hit him, got back up and flew around right in front of him before finally flying off. As I said, this story continually becomes funnier. I will keep you updated.

My final comment will be on the fact that we had chicken tonight for dinner. Chicken! We couldn't believe it. And it was actually pretty good! I have been told that overall the food has improved here over the last three years. Mom, maybe you should get their recipe for the chicken. (I'm serious; it was good!)

I will finish today's post by listing some specific prayer requests, as some of you have requested them. Nancy broke her collarbone about three weeks ago and it is still very sore, so please pray that it will continue to heal and will not trouble her during the day. Linda, a missionary nurse who lives at the seminary, was of great help to us on Monday, but unfortunately last night she was struck with a case of Malaria and was bed-ridden throughout all of today. It was her fourth time to get malaria in the 2.5 years she has lived here. Please pray for a speedy recovery for her. Please pray for the children that we are seeing; many of them may not get adequate treatment because their parents will not take them to a hospital when needed. Thank you all for your continued prayers and emails. I look forward to writing you tomorrow!

Ryan

Day Three - Tanzania

Habari! (It means hello in Swahili)

I was told before we came here that Grant does not wear a watch because hours and minutes really didn't matter here. To a large extent, that is very true. Outside of the meal times being somewhat consistent from day to day, the sun dictates when we rise and when we go to bed. Since we are so near the equator, the day is right at 12 hours. Therefore, it is light at 6:30AM and dark at 6:30PM (quite the change from the late summer sunset at home). We have worship nightly at 7, and by this time it is pitch black.

After breakfast we went to the village and setup the clinic in preparation for the day. We actually held the clinic in the same buildings that were dedicated yesterday, the church and the evangelistic center. These two buildings actually provided the perfect location to hold a clinic, as there was enough space for everything we needed. The people waited in a line outside of the church, upon entering their first stop was triage. The nurses checked their vital signs and found out the gist of what was wrong, before assigning them to their final destination. They had three choices, optometry, dentistry, or medicine.

Katie and Jennifer (our optometrists) established an efficient system very quickly - they saw the most patients and finished the day with a count of 156. This number becomes even more impressive considering their machine that was going to assist them quit working not even one hour into the morning. The girls said that everyone was very grateful to receive glasses, especially the ones that needed a strong prescription and couldn't see before receiving them.

Once the doctors and the pharmacy had a little practice under their respective belts, the business started rolling through much more quickly later in the day. The collection of physicians that we have is actually perfect: one pediatrician, one family practitioner, one internist, and one cardiologist. It provides an excellent balance and they have learned to work very well as a team. Each has his own exam room, as does our dentist. The patients are sent to the pharmacy to receive their medications after their exam, where our amazing pharmacist, Alison Anderson, and her team work hard to fill the prescriptions and get the people on their way.

The numbers from the day are as follow: 58 adults and 43 children were seen by the physicians and 14 patients were seen by the dentist.

I will mention that while many of the cases that we saw included Malaria and worms, I will comment on a couple specific stories from the day.

I held a variety of responsibilities throughout the day, and part of it I spent shadowing physicians. My dad, Rodney, saw a 73 year old woman who experienced some back pain and also joint pain in her hands and knees. After speaking to her for a short time, he diagnosed her with having arthritis, prescribed her with something to help, and was ready to see the next patient. She kindly thanked us and then said something that stuck out among everyone from the day: she had walked over 4 miles to see us that morning and was so thankful to see the doctor. We stood there stunned for a moment trying to imagine what it would be like to:

1. Walk to see a doctor while being in pain
2. Walk four miles period (especially in Tulsa)
3. Walk four miles with arthritis while being 73 years old

My second and final specific story of the day involves our dentist, Bert Johnson. He and Pastor Tom pulled teeth for most of the patients they saw. While they were pulling one particular person's tooth, after the initial force, the tooth flew out of the mouth, up into the air, and straight down into Bert's shirt. Amid the surprised expression and laughter from the room, he shook the tooth out from the bottom of his shirt and admitted that it was the first time that had ever happened to him. The rest of the clinic had a good laugh and after he cleaned up, Bert was fine.

Bonus Feature of the Day: Pictures!

We have not taken a group photo yet so I cannot send a picture of everyone, but each of these includes different members of the team. Let me make quick comments on all of the pictures although I believe they speak for themselves.

Janet Craig is seeing a patient with a translator in one of them. In another, Nancy Thompson and Jordan Hill are talking to patients.

Pastor Tom and Bert Johnson are showing their pearly whites as they help to make others' look as nice. There is one shot of the many people we helped today as they were waiting to see a doctor; as you can see, our first day was busy!

The final picture is of Marilene and Gregg as they are standing with a translator on the far right and an evangelist next to him. His story was fantastic and I thought I would share. A few months ago, Asbury sent some money for famine relief; these people desperate needed food and their next real stock of food would not come until the corn was harvested in three months. With the help of Robert, an agricultural specialist (and the fifth person in the picture), they were able to grow a special kind of pea that would harvest much faster than the corn. These peas also provided much more nutritional value than the corn that they would be eating. The community had reached the point at which they could not even eat everyday, and they had to ration their food; thus it was truly a blessing for them to receive these crops.

Unfortunately I cannot promise that I will be able to send anymore pictures, because I had to borrow a student's laptop in order to upload them onto a computer. The computer that I'm typing on right now (circa 1997) probably could not handle digital pictures. You should see us trying to use these computers; it's quite the test of patience. It takes me about 15 minutes to check 5 emails each night; broadband has spoiled us. Additionally, I was told that this is one of the faster internet connections that Tanzania receives.

Everything else is going well thus far! Thank you for your prayers and also for your emails! It was great to see the inbox tonight. Oh, and Frank, please send drugs!

Ryan

Day Two - Tanzania

Let me preface this entry by introducing to some of you to three main people in our lives this week.

Grant Miller - Our full-time missionary from Asbury who lives here in Tanzania. He lives at LJS and some of us are actually housed right next door to him this week.

Raymond Dunia - an evangelist who serves at Fulwe and is going to school to become a pastor. We have developed a relationship with him throughout the last five years as we have come here on various mission trips for construction and drilling water wells.

Bishop Jacob Mameo - We met Jacob a number of years ago and helped to fund his education in Washington State. He is now the acting bishop over a number of churches in the area and has become one of our greatest success stories as his influence has grown immensely.

Last night we were receiving a synopsis of today's events and the dialogue went something like this:

Team: "What time will we leave tomorrow?"

Grant: "We'll head out about 8:30."

Team: "Oh, that's good, what time will church be over?"

Grant: "Well, tomorrow's service should be pretty short, I think we'll be out by about 4:00."

Team: "Oh, alright; when do we get lunch?"

Grant: "As soon as service ends."

Today we went to a building dedication ceremony for the congregation at Fulwe; two buildings were opened today, an evangelistic center and a church.

These buildings had been funded by Asbury and the people planned the dedication ceremony around our arrival. The morning started with a brass band playing and the people singing songs of praise as everyone entered the area before worship. The congregation sang hymns before the dedication. The singing was beautiful; they must have had five different harmonies, all in perfect pitch. It was quite a sight to witness the music they could produce.

After the singing, we all walked around the church three times to complete the dedication. Our team made many jokes about not walking around seven times and yelling, or else the walls may come tumbling down. After this the church service began, numerous dignitaries were introduced. There were four choirs that came from all over Tanzania to perform for this special occasion. We learned that some of these choirs practice up to three nights a week, and it certainly showed. Their performances would have made Hart Morris and Geoff Logan proud, as the choirs were more animated than I've ever seen any Methodists. Their love of Christ was evident on their faces and they weren't afraid to show it. The people were proud that they know Christ, and it was refreshing to see such energy in worship. Some of us commented that at times the singing was so amazing that it felt as if we had front row seats to a Broadway musical.

We had the privilege of sharing in communion with the people, and they were very warm in welcoming and receiving us throughout the entire service. Some of our group commented that even though the songs were sung in Swahili, some of the members of the congregation tried to help incorporate us by pointing out the words and helping us to follow along with the songs. It was quite an amazing experience to worship with such a passionate and loving people.

I must comment that even though the service lasted over four hours in another language:

1. It was never unbearable for us; at times it seemed a little long but not too bad
2. The children weren't screaming up and down the pews and had no problem sitting still for that amount of time
3. Nobody left early
4. The people were energetic the entire time! When we were losing energy toward the end, it seemed as if the service had just started for these people.

So often it seems as if we take our church for granted, but these people absolutely cherish each and every moment of their Sunday in fellowship with fellow Christians. Without sounding repetitive I just want to note once again how refreshing this is compared to our normal weekly lives at home.

During the offering, many people brought forth items that were to be included in the auction after the service ended. Such items included goats, tea, bananas, watermelons, and cloth. Tom won the bidding on the first goat and then proceeded to donate it to one of the women in the church. Many of us did the same, with Raymond and Grant helping us bid on the various things that were being sold.

Lunch was served (right on time, at 4:00), and we soon returned back to LJS. Dinner soon followed, and then we had worship, reflection, and a devotional. I'm sure we will call it an early night, as our first day of clinic begins tomorrow. Hopefully the men will not encounter the same problem that we had last night - a rooster started to sound off at 3:15 in the morning. Oh the joys of living next to the animals.

Thank you for your continued prayers and also for your emails. I don't think all of the team has checked their email yet but some of us do daily, and words of encouragement are always welcome to find in the inbox.

Ryan

Day One - Tanzania

Greetings from Tanzania!

It's wonderful to finally be here! We had quite the flight schedule on the way here; it included a long layover in Detroit and two 8+ hour flights to Amsterdam and Dar es Salaam. After about 36 hours of fairly smooth traveling we finally reached our destination, albeit exhausted and ready for bed. The Lord has blessed us with safe travel, and prayers have been answered as all of our team luggage (and therefore our medication) arrived on time. Additionally, customs did not give us many problems and we were able to leave the airport without much resistance. Grant was there to receive us and it was very comforting to see a friendly face after such a long travel.

Walking outside of the airport felt very similar to a warm Houston night, very humid and muggy. The city is right on the coast of the Indian Ocean, hence the moist air. Contrary to popular opinion, swarms of mosquitoes were not there to greet us as the sliding doors opened to the outside, but we have had our fair share of swatting the pests. We rode by bus to a Catholic Guesthouse. By this time it was about midnight local time, and we were certainly ready for bed. The quarters were quite nice and we all had showers, which was our primary concern.

The next morning we had breakfast and left for Mogoro, the location of the Lutheran Junior Seminary, where we will be staying the rest of the week. The bus ride was about three hours long, which allowed plenty of time to make observations. Poverty seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. It looks very similar here as it does in Guatemala City, where I have been on youth missions. The nicer homes near the road we traveled on were made of cinder blocks and metal sheets; others were made of wood and straw. We saw some people "mowing" the native grass along the side of the road, but it wasn't with the lawn mowers that we are used to; they were swinging machetes back and forth, cutting down the grass until it was an acceptable height.

Since it was Saturday, it was a busy day for the various markets that we passed, and when the bus stopped the people tried to sell us the many items that they had. The nice buildings and cars that we are surrounded by at home were nowhere to be found. Logic told me that if there were so many old cars, then at one point we would have to pass some newer cars, but I was wrong. Occasionally we saw a newer building, but it was rare. Ironically, we passed an enormous stadium that was being built, and we were told it was going to be for soccer. On a related note, the airport was by no means luxurious but somehow it had flat screen televisions that were replaying World Cup highlights. These people love their soccer.

The drive was interesting; we all fit on a bus that seemed to hum and rattle a little at high speeds. Also, passing other vehicles on the two-lane highway doesn't feel like the safest activity, but we made it to our destination safely. On our pit stop about halfway, I noted that while Pepsi and Coke was only 30 cents per bottle, gas was more expensive than back home, coming in at a little more than $3.50 per gallon.

We arrived to LJS just after noon, and immediately had lunch. The food was good - hot dogs, rice and beans, and the best pineapple I've ever had. The team's spirits were high as the good meal came as a surprise to some of us. We settled into our rooms and spent the rest of the day relaxing. The doctors went to the nearest pharmacy to purchase more medicine. I was told they were able to buy $300 worth of medications that would have cost about $3,000 in the states. As you can imagine, this was yet another blessing.

This evening we ate dinner and had a worship and devotional time, which was followed by an "unpacking party," in which we sorted the medications and prepared for the rest of the week. As a random observation, I asked Grant this afternoon if it would be a good time to write this journal; he said yes except for one problem: the electricity was turned off. He mentioned that this evening when it was back on, I could write it, assuming the internet was working. I then found out that on Saturday afternoons they ration the electricity in order to save money. Fortunately it was quite the pleasant day, so it was hardly missed during the day. As you can tell, these journals may miss a day or two, depending on the conditions here.

Thank you again for your prayers and your support. The trip has only just begun but the Lord has blessed us as so many things have gone right already. I look forward to writing you again.

Ryan

Asbury Team Arrives in Tanzania!

Just a brief note to let everyone know that I talked with
Grant a few minutes ago (midnite Friday here - 8 am
Saturday in Tanzania). He and Raymond were getting ready to
meet the team downstairs at the guesthouse in Dar es Salaam
for breakfast. Grant said that everyone arrived safely, on
time, and with all their luggage. No problems at all. It
apparently took a bit longer to take care of currency
exchanges, so they did not get to the guesthouse until
around midnight their time. After breakfast they will be on
their way to the seminary, arriving in time for lunch.
Praise God for safe travel and all luggage accounted for!
I'll post any incoming emails just as soon as I receive
them. Stay tuned...
Donna M.

Tanzania Medical Mission 2006

Eighteen members (and friends) of Asbury UMC will be departing for Tanzania this Thursday, July 6, 2006. There are four physicians, four nurses, two optometry students, a pharmacist, a pastor and several helpers. While in Tanzania they will be conducting medical, dental and eye clinics. This will be the seventh year that Asbury has sent a large medical team to minister in Christ's name to the people of Tanzania. Many of the team members have participated in previous mission trips to Tanzania and many are taking family members with them on this trip. Your prayers for the safety and success of team are treasured.

We hope to be bringing you regular updates from the team as often as they have access to the internet from their location. Please check often for a journal of their experiences and to learn of specific prayer requests. In the meantime, please pray for safe travel, good weather, favor with customs officials (for their medical supplies) and for Christ to be honored and lifted up in all they say and do. Please also pray for the team "that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love..." (Col. 2:2 NIV)

Estonia Update - Saturday

Hello! We are in Parnu at the Agape Methodist Church and they have somewhat high speed internet. As you may have guessed from the lack of emails, the internet at camp gideon is not really working. Artur's wife Valentina tried very hard to get it to work on her laptop, but the phone line would drop every time I started an email. I will try and update as well as I can, but am going to be sort of brief so I can send the email before any connections fail! We had the most wonderful week at camp! Our team stayed all together in two rooms near the dining hall, which is different from years past because we usually sleep in the lodge in separate rooms. We had the six ladies in one room and the four guys in the other and shared a small kitchen. We have all decided that this was a blessing because we were close to the campers and closer to each other. We used some sidewalk chalk to set up some four square games and things got pretty competitive.

This was youth camp rather than children's camp so the campers were high school age. They had small group time and recreation and worship, just like at home only in Russian! The staff was also amazing, they had such a heart for the youth in estonia. Recreation was the
most complicated and competitive stuff I have ever seen. Basketball, volleyball, soccer, skits, relays on the beach, water balloons....we did it all. Then immediately afterwards was crafts, dinner, service that lasted about three to four hours. Estonians can sit still.

Thursday evening some of us went down to the lodge because they were holding a prayer service for anyone who wanted to stay up late and pray. It was such an incredible experience. Students were pouring out their hearts and we prayed for them and with them. I feel like the Lord is doing something significant in the lives of these people, students and adults alike. Estonia is growing more influential and may certainly become a lighthouse for the rest of Northern Europe. We need to keep praying for men like Artur who have such a broken and willing heart. He and Valentina pray every morning at five AM for the church and the country. They have met God in some extraordinarily tangible ways. Its very cool and very humbling!

The biggest blessing for me has been friendships with the other campers. David, Rachel, Tiffany and I had so much fun being with them on the beach and hanging out with them like we had been friends for a long time. When I was here five years ago I met a boy named Pasha who became my little friend, we took a picture together that year and he was a foot shorter than me. He was here again at youth camp this year, now a foot taller than me and no longer a little boy. He and others were our special friends. We took another picture together so we can laugh at how we've changed.

We just got back from walking around Parnu and are resting up to go to the beach later. We are tired from all the Russian rappers and fireworks last night! haha! The ocean here is such a picture of God, its so big that you stand in awe, there's so much that you can't see, but also something that draws you in, you just have to jump in no matter how cold the water is!

I'm so sorry that the updates have not been regular, but if teams are going to be at camp it may just not work out! We will attend the worship service here in the morning and head back to Tallinn right afterwards. Mom, Meeli lives right down the street, so if I don't see her in the morning I will leave her note with the Pastor's wife here. Please pray for safe travel and rest, and now you can all begin praying for Rachel and I, maybe we are supposed to live here next summer!

Love you all and we'll see you in a few days! - Emily