here we are...wow

apologies for the delay in our first official blog post since departing... hopefully you were on the email list that received our note of safe arrival in Ethiopia Thursday night. We stayed at the Crown Hotel there, which is not affiliated with any type of Crown Hotel with which you be familiar... there was one rat incident in Ali and Sarah Lawton's room, but they took it like champs. We arrived at the airport at about 7:30ish and left Ethiopia Friday around 10 am. We flew into Kilimanjaro with a quick stop in Nairobi. To say we were all really excited to FINALLY be in Tanzania is an understatement to say the least. Getting through customs was less of a hassle than I would have expected for 35+ Americans , and we were greeted with huge smiles, happy faces, hugs and the warmest welcome we could have imagined from from the Young Life Tanzania crew - Alexis, Jacque, Laban, Christian, Richard, Doreen, Irene, Isaiah and Linus - once we got everything loaded up onto the buses, we went to a local "market" to get our first feel for local African life. Market is a term I would use loosely when describing the scene... picture goats, cows and other animals for sale on an open, flat, grass/dirt area - definitely not the "markets" that we are used to seeing in the states! Our group caused a bit of a stir... picture 35+ white people cruising through the African farm animals... but we had a great time and really enjoyed the experience. Afterwards, we had some lunch at a local pizza and art gallery and then headed into Arusha to the Arch Bishops Hostel where we are staying. Supper that night was the first time all 44 of us have been together, which was really a treat. Afterwards we had the opportunity to share some thoughts about our first real day in Africa and worship together - then, exhausted, we all tried to sleep to the sounds of the chanting monks which sounded something like wild coyotes. Again, the Ambien was flowing... up next was Saturday in Sokoni One - more to come on that shortly...

love to all and God Bless,
Anne Genevieve