Jambo Friends!

Jambo! This is Meghan Ray posting from St. Joseph Medical Center. We've arrived safely in Tanzania and we are now in Karatu preparing for tomorrow's mosquito net distribution and celebration in the village of Getamock. Our internet connection here is not as fast as we expected - HAKUNA MATATA (no worries) - as they say! Thanks to all for the wonderful wishes and prayers on behalf of our mission. We all feel blessed to have your support on this journey. So far, we have had a safe and healthy trip. We arrived at Kilimanjaro airport on Sunday night after a very long flight. There was a lot of fanfare upon our arrival. We like to think it was for us but in fact KLM airlines was celebrating the very first flight/landing of their new 777 jet in Tanzania (TZ). We stepped off the plane to the sights and sounds of African dancing on the tarmac. WOW! I have to give kudos to our Durango group. They have shown wonderful patience and good spirits in the midst of lost luggage. I am happy to say it arrived this afternoon. We had a restful night at Ngordoto Mountain Lodge and woke up to the sounds of birds and wildlife I cannot identify. :0) We ate breakfast watching the marabou storks who were strolling around like they owned the place! Our first stop on Monday was at the Faraja school for Handicapped Children. We purchased nets to give all of the children and staff there. Faraja is a very special school and is one of two for handicapped children in TZ. Unfortunately children with physical handicaps are often overlooked in their home villages and many stigmas exist for handicapped people. Faraja is educating the children with the same curriculum sanctioned by the TZ government. There are about 80 students and some of them come from Karatu district and the villages we serve as part of the VillageWellness Program. Pastor Killeo and the children welcomed us with open arms and the gift of song! Imagine 80 students and staff singing "We are walking in the light of God" in beautiful harmony. It was a lovely welcome that brought tears to our eyes. I think for most of us we saw the light of God in the children and their spirits. Despite significant physical problems, their smiles were a mile (or in TZ a km) wide! We shook hands and hugged for quite some time. The children are well loved and the staff does a remarkable job. We gave gifts and toys and the bubbles and stickers and hand clappers were a BIG hit (thanks Leigh Chapman). The new bed nets were received with much appreciation. It was precious to see the kids walk with the nets down the hall to the classroom. The packages were bigger than some of the kids! We enjoyed lunch and some dancing with the children. To clarify, the children danced for us. We did not dance...yet! After lunch we got to play with the children out on the swingset and shared a lot of laughs. It was very hard to leave this special place! We left for Karatu inspired by the work at Faraja and mentally preparing for a 3+ hour drive to Karatu. After we stopped at the bank in Arusha, we stopped at the Shop Rite supermarket for some water. They have Christmas decorations up. Apparently the holidays come early all over the world! As we got closer to Lake Manyara we enjoyed the beauty of the setting sun and for me, the inside of my eyelids as jet lag was catching up with me! Our group is spread out in 4 vehicles and we watched as the first car veered to the side of the road suddenly. We quickly spotted the amazing herd of giraffe against the background of the sunset. It was truly spectacular! Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully some photos! Our internet is pole pole (slow) here. Thanks for reading!