John 15

Hey friends,

Do you remember when Papa Deo talked about John 15??

Well, one of the things I began to realize and pray about upon getting home from TZ & Ethiopia in August, was just that my life here in North Carolina can be as rich and full as the lives we led while in Africa, and that in fact is should be. I've a personal goal to seek to to this, with so much joy from the Lord, & with a humble heart that is ready to be molded, pruned, transformed. To make a long story short, one of the ways the Lord has blessed this desire in my life has been through the focus of my Bible Study this fall: it's all about John 15 and abiding. We are listening to a series by Graham Cooke, and I thought this prayer was so powerful. It reminded me of each of you and our nightly chats with Papa Deo in Legho. So, I had to share with you. (I included a little bit of his Cooke's words leading up to the prayer, too. They were too beautiful to omit!)

Hope you are well. Miss you all a lot.
So much love,
Meredith <><



Let's pray. For those are you who are being pruned, stand. God has real designs on you for intimacy. What he's doing when he prunes you, he's taking away all the distractions of ministry and service. There are times you know God loves you serving him, but he loves you seeing him as he really is. He wants you to see, he wants you to get him, to get who he is, to get who he is for you. He's pruning you because you need a bigger, improved revelation of who he is for you. This is a good time.

Right now God is reestablishing your affection in him. He's reestablishing in your heart the truth of how he sees you, how he feels about you. You must come to a deeper level of affection, a deeper place of joy, a deeper place of worship, a deeper place of intimacy, prayer. The Holy Spirit has designs on you to help you come into that place. You will discover about the Holy Spirit that he's a complete genius, so he tells me. He's already got a plan marked out. He already knows what he wants to say to you, what he wants to do, where he wants to lead you. Just be lead by the Spirit, so that's what I'm going to pray. So assume the position. Hands out.

Father, here we are. It's a great moment, and you are really excited. You have things to give us. You are such a great, great giver. Some of us are so behind in our receiving, but you are changing all of that. I ask for favor in the name of Jesus. I ask that in this time of pruning, in this time of rebuilding intimacy, all the intimacy that should have been ours that we haven't picked up, but all of that will come to us so you will backdate our intimacy. But also all the intimacy you want in this next season of our life, all that will come. Give us a double portion, in Jesus' name. All the stuff that we should have picked up, I pray that we won't miss it. It will come to us. All the stuff you got planned for us from now and this next season of our journey, all that will come to us, too. Give us a double portion of your intimacy, your favor, your blessing. Pour out your love on our life, pour out your love upon us. Bring us to a place of abiding, staying, dwelling, remaining, resting. Loving being with you. Loving your presence. Loving what you bring. Make this a time that you will lavish affection on us. Indulge yourself. Go over the top in what you bring to us. Remake us now in our thinking, turn our thinking to a point of incredible favor where we know that it is my privilege and my joy and my inheritance to live under the smile of God all the days of my life. Papa, lift up the light of your countenance upon us, smile on us. Bestow upon us your own intimate heart so we are touched by the majesty of your affection for us, that our thinking is changed and rearranged, that our heart is enlarged, that our concept of you and our experience of you goes to a height and a depth that it's never gone to before.

Turn us into a different man and a different woman so all our friends can relax around us. Do something awesome, something majestic in our life that's so powerful we can never go back to what we were, it is lost to us. Do something so majestic it changes our identity and our personality. Something so powerful it turns us into a different man and a different woman. Jesus deserves that. He deserves to be represented by people who are totally enamored of God, who are besotted by God. Make it big. Make it majestic. Make it outrageous. Outdo yourself. In Jesus' name, show off in our life. Be a show off, Lord. Show us what you can do. Show us what you are capable of. Show us the majesty of your affections. May it radically transform us for Jesus' sake, because we are asking it in his name, because he deserves to be represented by people like that. So we ask in his name, amen.

Re: Mambo vipi Kichaaaa!

Hey everyone!  Hope all is well with each of you.  I've had a similar experience communicating with Baraka Melkizediki, one of the Dar es Salaam leaders.  His emails are quite similar to Godfrey's.  He always seeks to know more about me and tells me how much he misses me. I've enjoyed getting to know him and been touched by how open he is in sharing about his life.  I look forward to seeing many of you in the near future.  Best to all of you till then!  Sincerely,

 

Walter Constantine

----- Original Message -----

From: Sarah Reusch

To: Alex Thomas ; Alexis Kwame - YL Tanzania ; Ali Smith ; Alison Watson (Andrews) ; Amanda Pool ; Andrews Steele ; Anne Geneveeve ; Ansley Thomas ; Ashley Yielding ; Ashley Yielding ; Barclay Keir ; Belinda Reusch (Sarah) ; Ben Haverty ; Ben Haverty ; Beth Lacefield ; BLOG ; Bo Platt ; Bo Platt ; Bob Voyles ; Bruce Cauthen ; Caroline Blair ; Conner Blair ; Drew Voyles ; Elizabeth Hershey ; Elizabeth Wylie ; Emily Woods ; Erin Blair ; Frank Bishop ; Fred Henritze ; Grace Young ; Hallie Anderson ; Hallie Anderson ; Hallie Epperson ; Heath DuPree ; Hunter Chapman ; Jacque Kwame - YL Tanzania ; Janis Rehlaender ; Jason Rehlaender ; Jim Hershey ; Joe Woods (Emily) ; Kathleen Block ; Kathleen Block ; Keith Sauls ; Laban - YL Tanzania ; Lori Bishop ; Louise Gardner ; Mackenzie Stewart ; Mark Watson (Andrews) ; Mary Block (Kathleen) ; Matt Hawkins ; Matt Hawkins ; Meredith Martindale ; Mr. Lacefield (Wesley) ; Mrs. Anderson (Hallie) ; Mrs. Smith (Ali) ; Page Harty (West) ; Papa Deo - YL Tanzania ; Patrick Bishop ; Porter Henritze ; Rachael Obrien ; Randy Eberhard ; Rebecca Smith ; Reeves Henritze ; Sara Chapman (Hunter) ; Sarah Lawton Hawkins ; Sarah Lawton Hawkins ; Sarah Reusch ; Smith Haverty ; Terry Hentritze ; Todd Blair ; Walter Constantine ; Wesley Lacefield ; Wesley Lacefield ; West Barnwell ; West Barnwell ; West Barnwell ; Wilson Carroll

Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 11:42 PM

Subject: Fwd: Mambo vipi Kichaaaa!

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I have seen and talked to most of you and I hope everyone has been doing well. I wanted to share an email with y'all that I recieved from William Godfrey, one of the assistant guides on Kilimanjaro. I recieved an email from him about two weeks after we got home from Africa, and we have been emailing off and on since. This is the most recent email I recieved from him and I wanted to share it with all of you because I think it just confirms how amazing the Africans' heart's are. William is always interested in how I have been and what I have been doing. I love how he always asks about my family even though he doesn't know anything about them. I think it is amazing how unconditional love can connect people who live such different lives from one another. I hope y'all enjoy the email and I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!

Love, Sarah Reusch     

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: William Godfrey <williamu97@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 8:44 AM
Subject: Re: Mambo vipi Kichaaaa!
To: Sarah Reusch <sarah.reusch@gmail.com>



Hi Sarah,
It is always great to hear from but im so sorry it take along time to reply your e-mail ithink you can understand and not feel bad YES?;How are you doing over there in USA with studying and also your daily activities?and how is your family doing?can you please pass my regads greetings to them? Well back to me here in Nairobi with my studying everything is fine. I hope you also.

Hah!hah!hah! what did you talk with Laban about me?is it something fun about me? It was long time now since are hear from him.I miss you Sarah!.Well tomorrow I will go to Arusha for three days then come back on monday because monday is a hollyday here in Nairobi so I will be there for the whole weekend then I can try to meet Laban if possible.

Sarah I would real like to hear more about you and your life and what are you doing every day over there.
For now Im siting in the library studying,
Its too had waiting to hear from you Sarah,
Love William

Please dont be angry if I will take along time to reply your e-mails I will try to have sometime on this.OKEY?

Fwd: Mambo vipi Kichaaaa!

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I have seen and talked to most of you and I hope everyone has been doing well. I wanted to share an email with y'all that I recieved from William Godfrey, one of the assistant guides on Kilimanjaro. I recieved an email from him about two weeks after we got home from Africa, and we have been emailing off and on since. This is the most recent email I recieved from him and I wanted to share it with all of you because I think it just confirms how amazing the Africans' heart's are. William is always interested in how I have been and what I have been doing. I love how he always asks about my family even though he doesn't know anything about them. I think it is amazing how unconditional love can connect people who live such different lives from one another. I hope y'all enjoy the email and I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!

Love, Sarah Reusch     

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: William Godfrey <williamu97@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 8:44 AM
Subject: Re: Mambo vipi Kichaaaa!
To: Sarah Reusch <sarah.reusch@gmail.com>



Hi Sarah,
It is always great to hear from but im so sorry it take along time to reply your e-mail ithink you can understand and not feel bad YES?;How are you doing over there in USA with studying and also your daily activities?and how is your family doing?can you please pass my regads greetings to them? Well back to me here in Nairobi with my studying everything is fine. I hope you also.

Hah!hah!hah! what did you talk with Laban about me?is it something fun about me? It was long time now since are hear from him.I miss you Sarah!.Well tomorrow I will go to Arusha for three days then come back on monday because monday is a hollyday here in Nairobi so I will be there for the whole weekend then I can try to meet Laban if possible.

Sarah I would real like to hear more about you and your life and what are you doing every day over there.
For now Im siting in the library studying,
Its too had waiting to hear from you Sarah,
Love William

Please dont be angry if I will take along time to reply your e-mails I will try to have sometime on this.OKEY?

together again!

we were so excited today as our 29 from Kilimanjaro arrived safely back in Arusha this afternoon! it was wonderful to be reunited as a whole group again and to hug their necks and see their smiling faces. although they were all ready for a shower and a bit dirty and tired, they looked the best i think i have ever seen them - all seemed to be full of peace and full with the spirit of the Lord that carried all 29 to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and back down again. being back together, sharing the highlights from the safari and hearing the highlights from the mountain has been truly moving and the presence of the Lord with each of our groups has become more apparent in hindsight. i look forward to continuing to share with each other and all of our friends and family as the reality of the past 17 days continued to sink in and impact each of our hearts, minds and spirits.

as for us, we have just finished our final supper here and are all absorbing and taking in our last night in africa together. i am certain i speak for everyone when i say that this experience has been life altering in the most amazing way and while we say farewell to africa and all our friends here, i am confident that for most of us, it is farewell for now, not farewell forever. we fly out tomorrow at 4pm africa time and then have about 30 hours of travel until we get back to atlanta, so this is our last post until we are back in the USA. please continue to lift us up in your prayers as we travel and pray that the Lord will continue to use our time here to speak to each of us in the way that Hr desires and that will serve and glorify HIM.

God Bless to all,
anne genevieve

"ari" vs. "kili"

i am pleased to confirm that 29 all made it safely to the summit earlier today and are now on their descent back to Arusha. i am sure you have been waiting with baited breath, but i am also pleased to confirm that all 12 of the "ari" crew safely escaped the charge of the tembo (elephant). we are exhausted, weary and bruised from the hours of animal viewing in the land cruisers, while safe, we are not unscathed. poor mackenzie is down to 3 toenails on the left foot.

we confirmed that our "ari" was annoited and blessed when rebecca received the gift of the bird poo upon her head. in africa, this equates to good luck. it was only minutes after this bird dumping that we witnessed simba and nala creating their young... the blessing continued through the end. we were so grateful for the experience and all we had seen - in total over 55 lions!!!! but, to be honest, we were all a smidge disappointed about not seeing the leopard. we headed out this morning for the DIRT airstrip in the middle of the serengeti where we would get on a puddle jumper and fly back to arusha. it was en route to the dirt airstrip that our lead guide "willie- style", picked it up to mach 900 and delivered us to a leopard spread eagle on a limb with its gazelle kill in hand on the limb to the right. seriously you ask? seriously.

so - all i can say is this: "ANIMALS ARE COOLER THAN KILI, however, we ARE SO PROUD OF THE 29 CHAMPS AT THE TOP, and glad to be the 12 chuey dumas (you didn't "ari" you wouldn't understand...)

peace out trouts - we'll be back to the USA in 48ish... (not counting the 30 of travel)

God Bless to all - the "ari" 12
anne genevieve, rebecca, mackenzie, preston, anna, grace, rachel, elizabeth, erin, fred, jason and amanda

All are safe!

I just spoke to Matt Hawkins here in ATL who called Alexis in tanzania this AM. He confirmed that ALL ARE SAFE and on their way down. Unconfirmed is that all 29 made it to the top but we are not completely sure about that yet. Praise God for His goodness!

Start Praying!!!

OK prayer warriors...time to go to work....Please start your prayers for our Young Life Kili climbers. As far as I know, there are still 29 on the mountain, and they will begin the final ascent at midnight (4:00 PM Tuesday our time). They will hike in the dark and cold from 15,500 to 19,000 feet plus to arrive at the Uhuru peak for sunrise. After a brief stay on the summit, they will then begin their descent to the next base camp. It will be a 14 hour hike for them and they will need constant prayer! I have not heard from the group since they left 13,800 feet on Monday AM, but I know God is their protection and shield. Pray for their strength, altitude sickness, endurance, faith and protection. The weather is cold but clear so thank you God for clear skies! I am claiming the verses below for our group over the next 18 hours...Blessings! Suzanne Haverty

Psalm 18:30-36:
"God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping."

Amen!

Countdown to Summit!

Please see latest update from Terry Henritze below. She had severe altitude sickness yesterday so that is why she says yesterday was a hard day..it was hard for her..the group is doing great! I have been praying Isaiah 40 " The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Please pray for the group!!! I think they start the final ascent at 4:30 PM Tuesday Atlanta time.





News from Terry Henritze on Mt Kilimamjaro (13,800 feet)...





Awesome day today! Yesterday I was a zero and today a 10! This has been the best
day yet as we climbed Baranco wall with the Summit as our back drop to Karango
camp. Sunny,cool, and light breeze. Absolutely magnificent scenery at about
13,800 ft. We will head to baraff camp tomorrow morning (about 5 hrs) at about
15,500 ft. We will try and sleep and head out at midnight for the highest point
on the summit Uhuru Peak. 14 hour day tomorrow!!! We can see it from camp. It is
so neat to be high above the clouds on Mt Kilimanjaro! Thanks for all
the prayers! They have been felt. We are all encouraged. A great group of kids
and guides. Such a wonderful-genuine people. We will miss them very much!!
Can't wait to see everybody Saturday!
Love,
T
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
.

Safari Day 3, Kili Day 4

sorry we weren't in touch yesterday. as it turns out, there is no wireless here at the lobo lodge in the Serengeti, and the lodge's internet connection was down yesterday evening when we arrived. unfortunately, there is also no cell service here - the lodge, which is really neat, is actually built into the side of a rock in the middle of the Serengeti, so it looks like an african swiss family robinson hotel, which is awesome, but not exactly "cell phone friendly." so, i have not spoken directly to drew and the kili crew, but was able to connect with alexis who is in arusha and speaking with me and drew to relay news of both groups to the other. at the end of today, we have 29 of the original 31 safely at base camp 4, which is just amazing! 2 of our girls are down from the mountain and back in arusha due to illness and altitude, but we are so proud of their efforts and how far and hard they pushed themselves. we all said from the beginning that each person hiking kili will have a different "summit" for some it may be 15,ooo ft, for some it may be 19,200. ft., so we are proud of each one of the 31 for going until they couldn't go any farther! As for the safari 12, we have been having an amazing experience! We left Ngororongoro Crater around 8 am yesterday, and after a stop in a Masai Village and at a local museum, we made our way into the Serengeti and arrived for lunch around 12:30ish? once we got into the park, the animals began to appear and they just kept coming out for us all day. we saw multiple lions, and in fact watched two lions mating from about 15 feet away, which was pretty cool. grace blair, the 9 year old twin sister of anna blair that made the initial statement, "animals are cooler than hiking" said that, "lions are WAY cooler than hiking. especially when they do that thing." so, we have all been experiencing the circle of life and it has been fun and educational for all ages of our group. :-) finally yesterday we saw elephants! they are phenomenal and personally, they are my favorites! still seeing lots of zebras, giraffes, widebeasts, warthogs, gazelles, hippos, monkeys etc... also yesterday we saw a crocodile, which was pretty cool and another really neat thing we saw was a lioness on the hunt. unfortunately, the 12 safari trucks around tipped off the gazelle she was after, so we didn't get to see a kill, but we are still hoping. :-) so far we have seen 4 of the big 5 - elephants, buffalo's, lions and rhinos. we are still searching hard for the leopard, and also hope to get a good look at some elephants up close. we went out this morning around 9 for our game drive, and it was a bit slow, but we saw some great elephants. just had lunch and now down time as it is hot and the animals aren't out...several of the group are lying poolside hoping to see some animals as they migrate. we headed back out around 4 pm today which was possibly the most amazing afternoon ever. we saw a pack of 22 lions - 20 lioness and 2 lions - then, we watched for over 45 minutes as 17 of the lioness took down a buffalo. watching the kill was incredible to say the least. seriously, it was incredible. preston blair said it was the "most spectacular thing i have ever seen!" i can assure you that i do NOT have enough film/memory cards if tomorrow is even remotely as awesome as the past 3 days have been. we start out with an early morning game drive tomorrow at 6 am and then back for breakfast and a full day game drive with a picnic lunch. it's exhausting as you can imagine... truly, the safari 12 are spoiled rotten about now, and having come from legho village, are so grateful for the small things like toilet seats and running water. our prayers are with the remaining kili 29 and our 2 friends back in arsuha. i know the Lord is using this experience to work in each of our hearts in his own way and we are all so grateful for the opportunity to spend time with him in Africa here among his great creations.



i'll be in touch soon with more from the kili group, but please continue to pray hard and pray strong for them - Day 4 is hard, and Day 5 will be harder as they each move towards their own summit. but the fact that 29 made it to 4th base camp is HUGE and i am confident the Lord is hearing our prayers for them and will continue to do so as they move onward and upwards on Kilimanjaro!



God Bless and love to all,

anne genevieve

safari day 1, kili day 2

i can say with confidence that the safari 12 had an easier day than the kili 31, but am happy to report to all that BOTH groups are well, in good spirits, good health and at their respective locations for the night! i spoke with drew earlier this evening while he was hanging off teh side of kili to get cell service (you have to love technology!) and he said that they had arrived safely at their second base camp and all was well. they were getting ready for dinner and then worship and were hitting their tents early as tomorrow is a BIG day for them, so please continue to pray hard and pray strong for the health, safety, strength, endurance and will of each one on the mountain. as for the safari 12, anna blair, who is one of the wisest 9 year olds i have ever met made a very astute comment the other day that was confirmed in absolute truth today by the 12 of us. anna said, "animals are way cooler than hiking." NO DOUBT they are! today we say tons of zebras, a lion! a lioness with her kill, wildabeasts, wild boar hogs (i can't recall the real name), a giraffe, a rhino!, hipps, birds, gazelles, antelopes, ostriches, flamingos, a really rare cat that looks like a mini leopard (also can't recall name) - but the point is, animals are way cooler than hiking :-) there is no doubt that the presence of the Lord is here as we have had the opportunity to view some of his most exotic creations and landscapes, and they are nothing short of magnificant. need to scoot as i am on the hotel computer - as it turns out, there is no wireless or room internet, only one computer in the hotel with internet, so pictures are still on hold for now, but i promise good ones as soon as the wireless comes through - TIA!... but, so far so good for both groups - please continue to pray that the Lord will continue to work in each of hearts as we journey through this amazing experience.
love to all and God Bless,
anne genevieve

The Safari 12 are back in Arusha...

and the Kili 31 are on their way to the summit! Please lift them up in your prayers as the rains in Legho left some with a bit of a cough/sore throat and not feeling 100%. I know the Lord is carrying each of them, especially as today is their first day on the mountain. I expect a call from Drew in the next 30 minutes/hour to give me an update on how their day was and will report back in to you all tomorrow night - provided that our safari lodge actually has internet, which allegedly, it will. :-) Walter has some wicked blisters from earlier in the week, so please shoot some special prayers his way as well, that his feet will heal swiftly and he will manage through the pain. (As a blister-er myself, I know how awful they are and can not imagine hiking that mountain with the holes he has in his heels.)

We are back at the Arch Bishops Hostel tonight and I know speak for all 12 of us when I say that we each found Legho Village to be an amazing experience. There is no way one could miss the presence of the Holy Spirit there, but, we are THRILLED to be back in the land of running water and a mattress on a bedframe, not a cement floor. Also, the lack of mud in Arusha and the sunshine is definitely refreshing. Running out of time, so that's all for now - will be back tomorrow night with an update from Kili 31 and Safari 12 after Day 2 on the mountain and our drive to teh crater and first day on the hunt for African wildlife!

Also - hopefully more pics to comer tomorrow!

God Bless,
anne genevieve

Asphalt and Plumbing

Hallelujiah, half of the group is safe and sound in Arusha and resting up for the safari migration while the others arrived at the base of Mt. Kilamajaro this morning and are SLOWLY making their first ascent. WE are well and overwhemed with thanks for our time in Legho. I walked down the paved street in search of a phone card and found a DHL shipping office with DSL....but I am being kicked off because they do not want to run the generator. TIA!!
I love and miss my family.

Latest News before Climb and Safari

Thank you so much. We got better showers tonight, have packed, and been debriefed by our kili guides. Everybody on both safari and kili super psyched. New and different challenges than rain in Legho but we've learned a lot about perserverance in difficult circumstances. We all seem to be in good health other than a few minor head colds. We had our home stays today and shared this evening over bonfire out on a point from the mountain where we can see as far as Kenya. Popa Dao prayed over us and binding satan. Very powerful. Everyone shared about the families we spent the day with and the stories were amazing and heartbreaking. We were split into groups of 5 and hiked with directions to our homes. Our particular family was Modest Massawe. He is a 64 yo man married with 5 children. They live a stick and mud hut. We were served food and treated incredibly graciously. He shared his dreams for his children which are no different than ours but it may be generations before his dreams are realized. We had the opportunity to prayer for his family, take a long mountain walk, and then he escorted is all the way back to Legho on the muiddy path. We were all humbled in all our groups of their hospitality, sacrificial generosity, and servants attitude. We all had the exact same experience to a man. Lots of other personal stories and testimonies I will try and save for later but am heading to sleep to be rested for the climb tomorrow. We read Psalm 121 this morning to the group and said it was from all of oir prayer warriors back home. Drew, Alexis and the YL staff both from Atlanta and Africa have been awesome and deserve yours and my kudos for their hard work and encouragement to each one of us! God bless you all. We are half way home!Terry

More Good News from Leghos

Terry sends at 5 PM their time today...

Everything great today. Make sure folks back home know we're ok! Today much better-home stay fantastic-sunshine out! T

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Last night in Leghos

Praise God! The weather has been better for Thursday. After three long days of rain, they have packed their belongings and are heading down the mountain for their homestays tonight. According to Terry, the team is doing very well...a little dirty and muddy but all are well. Please pray for their time with the families that God would provide an enriching time of fellowship. As I write, it is 5:00 PM in Leghos. Please pray that they all get a good night's sleep as they prepare to leave Leghos at 8:00 AM on Friday to begin either the climb or the safari. Please pray for God to restore their strength and energy, to stay healthy and for fabulous weather over the next week. We continue to commit each of you into His mighty hands! "God - His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him."
Our prayers are with you!

Update of above post

They have asked to pray that the rain will stop....(sorry it dropped the text when I posted it above)...Blessings!

News from Leghos

From Terry Henritze

Despite the poor conditions we taught at the school and worked on the clinic
construction. Later in the day we went to a shack on the mountain that would be
like a cantina and sang, danced, and as we did it attracted kids from the jungle
area to sneak up and after much encouagement come in. Since no electricity on
mtn we used Drews portable ipod speakers for music. We then held club and it was
great to see these kids of all ages laugh, dance, and participate in club. We
hurried back up the mountain before dark and more rain thru thick mud. Slipping
and sliding along the way. We love and miss you all!
Come on sun! I will read psalm 121 in the morning when we are all together
again!
T
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From Suzanne Haverty...The conditions at Leghos have gotten worse and we have been asked to pray for the rain to stop. We may lose contact with Terry until Friday because they have lost power due to the weather. As soon as they leave Leghos, they will be able to update the blog. Terry has assured me that, although the conditions are not good, that Ben Haverty, Todd Blair, Fred Henritze and the YL leaders are taking good care of the group and that the group will be in Leghos for their village house stays for Thursday night and then the group splits for Kilimanjaro and the safari. Please pray for our sweet Lord to clear the skies so the group can enjoy the beauty of His creation in Leghos for their last day..."Because you have made the Lord - my refuge, the Most High - your dwelling place, no harm will come to you; no plague will come near your tent, For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all of your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Psalm 91 Thank you God!

We are praying for all of you there, and send our love! I am sure that God is blessing you and those around you, even and especially, in the rain and the mud! Anne Genevieve, I am assuming you are remembering your Illahee days of wet and soggy clothes! You are a mud veteran! :-) McGiver was thrilled to hear that your knife came in handy! :-) Love, love, love to all! Carol Anne

More Great News from Terry Henritze on the Team

First:Special hug requests have been delivered! I had to sub out the actual hug for someone else to deliver b/c I had cleaned my feet with wipes and then took giant banana leaves to lay down to walk on to get to my sleeping bag so my feet would be relatively clean for the night. By the time I climbed into my bag I read the emails and decided a "sub-hug" would be appropriate. Second Emily Woods wanted me to tell her mom she takes her medicine on Thursday Third. Smith and Hunter Chapman did the skit tonight and we were in absolute stitches!Fourth we are on a muddy mountain-the nastiest shoes and socks you could imagine-worshipping and having meals outside under leaky tarps in cold wet downpours and we had an absolutely amazing day. We had about 3 hrs of dry weather where we prayed, shared testimonies, and listened to Alexis and Popa Dao take us to the mountain top and showed us the property from above of where they want to build the African YL retreat for all the YL groups and leaders of Africa to gather. From the top of the mountain it looked as if we could see all of Tanzania. Wilson Carroll and Hunter shared how God spoke to them this morning when we all were bummed about not getting back to the school. As we finished worship, we held hands, prayed, and sang. We then turned and the kids from the school met us on top of the mountain, walked us down to a grassy area near by (on the slant) dug four holes, cut 4 big sticks, planted in the holes for goals and played an awesome game of soccer. The Deputy Headmaster of the school wanted to know where the "white girl" was who played with all the boys yesterday and with that Alex Thomas jumped in the game with her inch thick of mud on her hiking boots and didn't miss a beat. Patrick Bishop played barefoot since most of them were barefoot. Preston Blair scored a goal (youngest playing) Jason Releander (my good friend's son from Connecticut who will be a senior at Duke next year) was an awesome goalie, and Porter who had the winning goal as we had to go to a shoot out at 3-3 (getting dark). We finishing shaking hands and taking a group picture. We did high/low tonight and as we sat under the leaky tarps in the wet cold muddy pouring rain I listened to these kids share highs (no lows today by the way) from these kids that would melt God's heart. The bottom line is this-you have nothing to worry about- I have been blessed to experience this trip with such a fun, enthusiastic, encouraging group of kids who are sincerely seeking Gods heart. They are open, honest, and listening to God. We would like the rain to stop tomorrow but God took us down a different path today that wouldn't have happened without the rain. On a lighter note-today I stuck my head in a bucket filled up about a third of the way with water and developed the most ingenious way to wash my hair! I never thought I could be so thankful for a bucket shower as I was tonight. I also cut down large banana leaves (with the awesome knife AG's dad equipped her with before the trip that she said he would be so proud it was put to good use) in order to line our room as a carpet to help control the mud in our room. As we are climbing into our bags after discussing books we are reading like The Shack and what it really means, and a couple of games of Catch Phrase, I listen to Mama Irene (she's sleeping out here with us too)tell the girls stories and sing as we turn out the lights. It doesn't get much better than this as a mom and after watching the boys each day it appears to be the same with them as well. Love to all and we miss you all as all the girls know I'm writing have asked me to send xoxoxo to each of you so God Bless and good night!In HimTerry :)

Communication and Updates

I am sending this out hoping that many of you on this blog are parents or friends of kids on the Africa trip. I am trying to post emails I am receiving from the group to the blog and suggest if you get any info from your child/friend to post it to the blog. Just copy the email and paste it to a new post so we all at least get some info on how to pray while they are in Legho. The biggest need right now is for the rain to stop and for the sun to come out and dry things out. They are in a mud bowl right now making it hard to reach their construction site and no way to dry out their clothes etc...Continue to pray for their work, their faith, their health, their protection, the weather and their safety...They are in palm of our great Lord and all are well...Suzanne Haverty

Prayer Request From Group

I need to request one more immediate prayer. Our hosts and hostesses here work
tirelessly to make us comfortable as they recognize we are out of our comfort
zone. They scrub mud off front porches with twigs-they haul water over the mud
trail in the rain for us to wash with-they provide 3 meals/day on glass dishes
and clean up afterwards-they provide protection throughout the night. Pray God
will bless them abundantly! Ephesians 3:20 From Terry Henritze
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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Please pray that the rain will cease..it has become a mud bowl and made getting to the construction site very difficult..it is 1.2 miles down a hillside in the mud so please pary for our Great God to clear the skies! Suzanne Haverty for the Group

News from the Blair Family

My soul finds rest in god alone. A moment of rest finds all of us in legho
village.
What a glorious 2 days this has been we bid farewell to our comfort zone of
running water and paved roads to the lush africa mountains where the clay is mre
red than ga
Papa dea and mama irene greeted us with loving arms
Yesterday we were schooled on africa time arriving thirty minutes late to church
we all enjoyed the analogy of god being compared to a land cruiser that never
runs out of fuel
After our hike to the village and picking the perfect floor space, we all
praised god in thanksgiving for our arrival
Papa deo chaalenged all of us to slow down, be afican, and ask ourselves how
attached we are to our materials for that makes us further from our father
He encouraged all of us toi stop and listen to gods voice
Our first morning in legho was truly phenomenal and a demonstration of gods hand
Men women african american worked side by side hauling rocks boulders and soil
in the construction of the medical center which will be able to serve 1000
people. It was amazing to watch the women carrying the water for miles to mix
the concrete we spent the remainder of the day with the school children colring
dancing and smiling
It is an absolute marvel at their sheer delight. Thi simplicity is another
african lesson we are learning
The afternoon broght a serious game of soccer with the locals and american
claimed the victory
The rains have come and drenched us with mud but the lord is stirring our hearts
every moment
Sent by Blair Family via AT&T Blackberry
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Prayer Requests from Legho

Our travelers are in Legho Village now where they do not have internet access.  Legho is a remote village at the base of Kilimanjaro.  They have worked on the floor of the medical clinic which we began on Into Africa last year, and also visited the children at the local school, where they gave out candy and beanie babies.  They will be working there this week, worshiping and experiencing God in amazing ways- as they are all now way out of their comfort zones!  On Friday they are going to stay in homes in the village, before leaving on Saturday and dividing up.  Please pray for the Kilimanjaro group as they prepare mentally and physically for their climb that begins on Saturday.  Pray for the home stays to go well, as this is a first for the villagers, also.  Lastly, please pray that the clouds will clear before they leave.  If that happens, everyone will get to see Kili, which is quite awe inspiring. Steve Larme (YL Africa) said last fall that, to many in Africa, the mountain is like God.  Even though they often cannot see the mountain for the clouds, they always know that it is there.  God is the same;  He is always with them. How awesome for each of our group to experience that in their own personal way, to be still and know that He is God, always faithful and always true.  Be exalted, O Lord. 

a few photos from Sokoni One...

Saturday in Sokoni One

Sokoni One is the the poorest neighborhood in Tanzania, and it is where Alexis, Jacque and team run Young Life. For me to sit here and type to you about the work they are doing and tell you it's amazing may be the understatement of the year. I wish that words could explain the looks across the faces of the children that live here - they are filled with more hope and love and happiness than I would ever have expected, which is somewhat ironic considering the basically have nothing but their faith and each other. Here it is truly about community. We spent time today with the orphans in Sokoni One... there are several women in the community who are known as "the mamas" and they, along with Young Life, care for the children in the community who have no mama or papa of their own... they have built a school for them and also make sure they get fed at least one meal a day by providing them lunch. I think the thing that stunned me the most about hanging out with these children was their desire to just be held and loved. It didn't matter to them that we don't speak their language and they don't really speak ours. What they needed from us went far beyond what words could have described - they just wanted to be held tightly, to feel safe, secure and loved - which is interesting, because while we live a continent apart from these children, and each one of us here have so much more than they could ever fathom having, our need is the same as theirs. And that is the beauty of God's grace and the love Christ has for each of us, and as I sat there today, looking around at the faces of these children that we can never save from this poverty, to whom we could never possibly give enough, or love enough, I was overwhelmed with the peace of the Lord, because I know that what we can not do, HE CAN. and that is what is happening here - HE IS WORKING, HE IS SAVING and HE IS HERE - EVERYWHERE - and it is awesome.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for our energy, our strength, for the Lord to speak to each of us in the ways that we need. To reveal our own brokenness to us and to allow us to go to Him to hold us tightly.

We will be in Arusha again tomorrow and then head to Legho village through the end of the week. Getting to the internet has proven to be a bit more difficult than we initially anticipated, so don't worry if you haven't heard from us in a few days. We'll be back in touch as soon as we can, and in the interim, know we are walking in the light of the Lord, and it just doesn't get better than that.

God Bless to all of you from all of us!
Anne Genevieve


PS: Happy early Birthday to Anna Hawkins! love Sarah Lawton :-)

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

The Prayer of Habakkuk

Three years ago, Drew Voyles, his sister Kelly and I all had the pleasure of spemding time on Kilimanjaro with our guide Gabrielle and his excellent team. The prayer that gave me strength going up the mountain was the last verse of the small book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament. There it states: " The sovereign Lord is my strength. He make my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to go onto the heights". My prayer for each of the climbers is that God will do the same for you. All of you are in our prayers every day. Blessings to you.

Last year's trip was and continues to be such a blessing to our family. Our hope is that this year's trip will be a lifelong blessing for each of you and that your eyes will be opened to see the fullness of God while experiencing His love in new and challenging ways. Know that every morning we will be praying for each of you with anticipation of the great things God will be doing in your lives. Matt Hawkins and I will also be praying for good weather, especially while you are on Kili. Enjoy the treat of being with Alexis, Jaque, Laban, Papa Dio, Irene, Gabriel and all the YL staff. God's speed!

T Minus 24

I am so excited for how God is going to use each of you and bless each of you in the days ahead. I am commited to praying for each of you by name...for His unconditional love to shine through you that you may be a reflection of how much Jesus loves each of us...sleep well, prepare your hearts and start your malaria medication!

Blessings,
Suzanne Haverty

Africa or Bust!

Packing lists are shrinking and we are making final preparations to embark on a great adventure surely to be ordained by God. I hope I can keep my hands out of my candy bag as this is the 4th trip to the store to replenish! Janis and Jason-can't wait to have you meet and join the group in Washington. Love to all!

Terry

2 days

In two days we are off... where has the time gone? I feel like the past month or so leading up to our trip has just flown by! 

If you are at all like me, you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to make sure you have everything together and ready, that you haven't forgotten anything obvious like underwear and that you have also remembered less obvious things, like a gift for your home stay family... 

Part of what excites me most is trying to grasp the shift in mindset we'll experience once we arrive... I am looking forward to experiencing a different way of life; a culture that does not exist on how many things you have and how fast and how much you can accomplish in a day.

I am looking forward to peace, stillness and quiet. To slowing down and serving the Lord through our serving others in need. To hear Him speak to my heart and to draw nearer to Him in the solitude. I know He has great plans for us. Plans to use us in the lives of others and plans to use others in our lives. 

Drew and others have continued to tell us to be ready to be flexible, "TIA" (this is Africa), and not to have any preset expectations, but I do have one expectation: I EXPECT and KNOW that the Lord will do HUGE and AMAZING things through this trip. I EXPECT and KNOW that HE will blow my mind in just about every way possible and that HE will make HIS presence known. 

This is going to be amazing - AMAZING. Huge thanks to Drew, Grace, Heath and everyone on YL staff that have worked so hard to bring us all together. Huge thanks to all of the wonderful folks that have opened their homes to us and allowed us to meet and prepare for this journey together. Huge thanks to all of our friends and family that will be here praying for us and lifting us up to the Lord. and Huge thanks to the Lord our God, for making each of us and bringing us together to glorify His name.

I pray each of us has a safe and stressfree next two days as we prepare and that each of us will be able to slow down for at least a moment to pray about what lies ahead. I can't wait to see y'all at the airport on Wednesday at 11:30 am! until then, pamoja pamoja!

God Bless, 

Anne Genevieve 

4 more days...

I can't believe how fast this past month has gone by and that we are actually leaving in 4 days. I'm excited and anxious for all that we will be experiencing together. I'm praying that the Lord will prepare our hearts for what lies ahead and bless us with saftey, health, and good weather while we are there. I'm excited to experience the Lord in a new way and to spend time getting to know everyone on our trip. Only 4 days away....
In Him,
Sarah Reusch

Into Thin Air!!

Dear Friends of Henritze Family:

I will try and post often so you can communicate with us. The trip and the folks we will be traveling with are awesome! Sue has asked for specific prayer for Ben to be organized (ha-ha) and we also would love prayer for safe travel and great weather. I am still wearing my boots to Publix with my running shorts. I am so on the fashion train! We are excited about the trip and can't wait to see how God is going to work through us and the leaders in Tanzania! 

Love,

Terry H

This isn't America

My husband and I arrived home this afternoon after a four week road trip across the beautiful USA. It was an absolutely amazing experience to see this great country. Yes it is the land of the free and the home of the brave and the freedom, opportunity, and luxury that is at our fingertips is immeasurable. We spent our days crossing state borders, hiking national parks, refilling our cooler at local supermarkets, swiping the AMEX at gas stations ($5.55/gal), and pitching a tent wherever our hearts desired. While it is so easy to take our daily lives for granted, there wasn’t a day that went by where we were not so thankful for the abundant blessings and opportunities we encountered. We were proud and very grateful to be Americans.
Tonight, I rushed to make the final meeting about our journey to Africa and was hit clear in the face that it is nothing like our world. They have nothing. They want for little. Their hearts are pure. Their life is simplistic, their community strong. And the need for our service is so great. As Drew talked more about our comfort zone, my pulse started to race with excitement as my heart was filled with the chance to touch and change lives. Yet in my mind, I know that our friends in Africa will change my life more than I can imagine. I looked at all the anxious faces in the room. Not anxious with expectations but with the desire to learn, grow, and serve. This was awesome. While the packing may seem tedious, the travel tiring, and the work ahead daunting, none of us really know what to expect, nor what wonderful things our sovereign God has in store. But every one of us has a gift to give and all are up for the challenge. See you in six days.
Rachael

8 days to go - where has the time gone?

The past few weeks seem to have flown by... it's hard to believe we are just 8 days out and that next Wednesday, our group of 45 will journey together into Africa...

I am excited, anxious, and so eager to see what the Lord will reveal to us through this experience. I pray He is preparing our hearts as we attempt to prepare ourselves with medicines, the right clothes, bug spray, snacks, etc... I pray He will lift our hearts today and ready them for what is to come. That He will break them in the places they need to be broken, and He will heal them where they need healing. I pray He will use us to glorify His name and that everyone who stands in our midst or passes our way will feel the mighty and amazing power and love of Christ radiating from us. 

Have a happy and blessed day - in just about week, we'll be off!  

God Bless,

agg

22 days and counting... one quick thing

One quick request of all: we are creating a "master list of email addresses" and would like to collect email addresses of any friends and family that you would like to receive the daily updates from our trip. Please send your list to Anne Genevieve at aggallivan@gmail.com  - We encourage you to include as many of your friends and family as possible on this list.  Remember, people do have the power of delete, it's a quick and painless button to push, so go ahead and include anyone that may want to know what you are up to in Africa. 

We are only 22 days out now - hard to believe how fast the time of preparation has flown by!  We missed those of you that were unable to join us last night to hear Bruce speak about Africa, the country of Tanzania and the city of Arusha. We have amazing things in store for us and I continue to get more and more excited about what is to come! 

I pray you all have a blessed day and that the Lord will continue to prepare our hearts for the journey that lies ahead. 

God Bless - agg

Lord, lift us our hearts and spirits

Heavenly Father, 

In your infinitely perfect way, you have brought each of us - unique individuals of all ages, places and life experiences - together for this trip. Many of us are at different stages of life, different stages of faith and at different levels of physical, emotional and spiritual preparedness for this trip. Lord, I lift up each person going to Africa, each individual you have placed in this group - I lift their hearts and spirits up to you now. I know you are preparing each of us in your perfect way; may you continue to do this Lord. I pray you will not allow our "human-ness" to get in your way. If we resist your will Lord, I pray you will push us to see the beauty that comes when we surrender to you. Break us where we need to be broken. Humble us where we need to be humbled. Strengthen us where we need to be strengthened. 

Help us to be ever mindful of your presence; to look for you and see you in all things. Father, I pray for your blessing upon each of us. I pray for your healing grace to cleanse our hearts, minds, bodies, spirits and souls of anything that is not wholly of you. I pray you will remove the burdens that weigh us down and separate us from you; if we do not have the strength to give them over to you Lord, I pray you will take them from us. Open our eyes to see the weaknesses in our faith, to be aware of the ways we make ourselves vulnerable to Satan. Father, I pray you will safegaurd those vulnerable places. That you will block Satan from each one of us. That you will flank us with your angels and give us the strength to stand firm and strong in your name. As we go through the day in this crazy human world, allow us to remain rooted and grounded in the only real and true thing there is - your amazing love for us. 

I pray all these things in your name and the name of your son, my savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen 

"Let us go forth in worship, let us go forth in grace..."

I heard the song Hallelujah Never Ending by Caedmon's Call the other day and it reminded me of this amazing adventure that the Lord is sending us on...

"Let us go forth in worship, let us go forth in grace, let us take to the nations a saving faith.  Let us show the world His mercy, let us be the salt and light, let us serve God together in the fight. For he who is broken has taken the day, with heavens host let us proclaim, praises be to God our King.  Praise to Him who gives us all good things, men and angels sing, hallelujah never ending."

I pray the Lord will continue to move our hearts, minds, bodies, souls and spirits towards our place of readiness as He prepares us as only He can for the exciting unknown of what is to come! 

what lies ahead?

If you are wondering about what lies ahead and haven't had an opportunity to check out the blog from YL's trip to Africa last summer, take a look at it.  http://nwatlanta-tanzania-2007.blogspot.com  

I have no doubt that the Lord is preparing our hearts right now for an amazing experience!  Hope all have a blessed and happy Friday!

agg

40something days to go...

I thought I would get our "blogging" started by sharing a few things with all of you, and I am hopeful you will commit to sharing back to the group through our blog as well.  The purpose of this blog is to give us all a place to share our excitement, anxieties, ask each other questions, pray, give thoughts and words of encouragement and whatever else we want.  It is simply a way for us to come together as a team as the Lord prepares our hearts and we attempt to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.  It's a way for us to share this experience with friends and family that can't accompany us physically, but are with us in spirit and in prayer, as we get ready here at home by raising money, securing items to take and give to the local people and YL Africa staff, having our shots, getting our passports and paperwork in order and whatever else it is we are doing in advance.  and it's also the way we can share our journey day by day as it unfolds with family and friends once we are actually in Africa.  Your comments can be as short or as long as you like, I just encourage you to share where you are.

For those that don't know me, my name is Anne Genevieve Gallivan (I go by the whole thing - Anne Genevieve - not Anne and definitely not Angie, although AG or AGG or pretty much anything else is fine if that's easier for you.  I am named for both grandmothers and I would hate to leave one out...)  I am a volunteer YL leader at Woodward Academy and I am so excited that the Lord cleared the way and the paved the road that has made this trip a reality for me.

I am blown away by what I hear from the Lord when I slow down long enough to listen, what He reveals to me when I open my eyes to see and what He teaches me when I am a child that is willing to learn.  He breaks me in ways I never knew I needed to be broken, and then He builds me back up IN Him.  Time and time again He proves He knows my heart better than I do, and in every way possible, in ways I could never imagine, He lets me know just how BIG He is, and it is just awesome.

I am stoked for this trip. I can't wait to see what He does in my heart, in your hearts, in the hearts of friends and family who share in this journey with us from home, and of course, what He does in the hearts of the people we meet.  I am praying for huge things from Him. I praying He will put us in the paths of the people He wants us to meet.  I am praying He fills our hearts, minds and mouths with only the words He wants us to speak.  I pray that He will fill each of us with his never ending bountiful love and that we will share that love with everyone we meet.  I pray He will break down the barriers we may face in ways that only He can and that He will not allow us to limit Him - that we will remain ever mindful that HE IS GOD.  I pray that His grace, peace, love, forgiveness, hope and joy will burn so brightly within each of us that it radiates from us, that we will be on fire with the love of Jesus Christ and that His love will be impossible to deny or ignore.

Keep praying - the Lord is BIG, He is HUGE; He has plans for us.  As we are told in Jeremiah 29: 11-14, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." 

Let's call upon Him together, pray to Him together, seek Him together, find Him together and allow Him to use us according to His plan so that we, and all His people, may prosper. 

God Bless,

Anne Genevieve 

Preparing Our Hearts

We invite you to "post" anything here you'd like to share, aka. encouragement, thoughts, verses, prayers, etc... Our hope & prayer is that this "Blog" would serve to help record the story behind the awesome Journey the Lord has in store ahead of us, as we set out together this summer to serve Young Life's Mission in Arusha, Tanzania. While we're in Tanzania, we'll be posting "Trip Updates" on this page, to allow family & friends praying for us at home, to share this experience with us. Our Trip will leave out of Atlanta on July 16, & return on August 2. The bottom line here is simple... this is God's movement, not ours... & He's going to use this journey together with Him into the heart of Afrika, to change each of our lives forever.

KEEP PRAYING....

"If you CLING to your life, you will LOSE it, but if you GIVE it up for me, you will FIND it." MATTHEW 10:39

"But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths, all ideologies, is that GOD is with the Vulnerable and the Poor. GOD is in the Slums, in the cardboard boxes where the Poor play house... GOD is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives... God is in the Cries heard under the rubble of War... GOD is in the Debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and GOD is With Us... If We Are With Them." - Bono

"People ask me, "Doesn't it Paralyze you to walk so closely & intimately with Suffering?" "No," I tell them. "If I've learned anything from my time in AFRICA, it's that though the suffering is overwhelming, so too is the HOPE." - Jena Lee

"He is no fool who GIVES up what he cannot keep, to GAIN what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliott