The joy of tap water!

I am back.

Back from Africa.

Back from a month-long mission trip in Africa.

I have lots to tell you about, but in the meantime let me just say what a joy it is to brush your teeth with water straight from the tap! Seriously. After brushing my teeth with bottled water for four straight weeks, I will never take clean tap water for granted again!

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst...

Last Sunday we passed out 200 bottles of dirty water to our congregation as prayer reminders. Recipients were asked to place the bottle where they will see it daily as a reminder to pray for the Africa teams that will be traveling to Tanzania this month. Unfortunately- I can't give each of you a bottle- so I present to you this bloggy bottle of dirty water.

Dirty water like the river water that young girls are sent to fetch for their families. Water that animals have pooped or even died in; people have washed laundry in; and others have bathed in.

Dirty water like the stagnant water where mosquitoes breed. Mosquitoes that transmit malaria and kill African children and adults daily.

Our Haydom Team (LeeAnn T, Jim T, John B, Robert H, Robin Z, Mike C, and David P) departs on Wednesday, July 9th and arrives in Tanzania Saturday evening, July 11th. We will travel via Land Cruiser to the remote area of Haydom where we will spend our time building a school, teaching a three day seminar in the local church, and ministering to the remote Bariki tribe. This trip is vitally important as young girls in the village have been recently molested as they go to the river to fetch water for their families. The school project includes a water source, so that girls will not only receive an education- but can bring fresh, clean water home to their families at the end of the school day. Team members return home on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Our Zanzibar Team (LeeAnn T, John B, Robert H, Robin Z, Willis C, June W, Phyllis R, and Sheila H) departs on Thursday, July 24th and arrives in Tanzania Saturday afternoon, July 26th. We will then fly to the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar where we will share God's love through a malaria clinic ministry. 99% of the population of these islands follow fundamentalist Islam, so open preaching of the Gospel is forbidden. But, thousands of women and children will pass through these clinics where receive malaria screening, treatment, education, and mosquito nets, and LOVE. Team members return home on Thursday, August 7th.

Several team members, including myself, will minister with both teams- and will return with the Zanzibar team in August. Thus- I will be away from bloggy land for a whole month... I will have cell phone access, however- and hope to post regular updates via twitter. Follow our updates via Twitter at www.twitter.com/alagmissions .

In the meantime asante sana and karibu!

Hangin' with Peaches...

Teenage Son and Teenage Daughter (along with 30 others from our church) just returned from a 10 day missions trip to inner city LA where they worked with WOW JAM International. This was Teenage Son's first year to participate, but Teenage Daughter was returning for her second time. Last year she hit it off with the WOW JAM founders' daughter. This year she was excited to hang out with her again as they worked in inner-city neighborhoods like Watts and South Central.

"Her" being the daughter (who shall remain unnamed!) of Stephen and Linda Tavani. Linda Tavani AKA Peaches. As in Peaches and Herb. As in 'Reunited' and 'Shake Your Groove Thing' Peaches.

This Peaches.



Stephen and Linda have a phenomenal ministry. And not only did Teenage Son and Teenage Daughter get to hang out with some cool people from all over CA, but they got to serve. They set up tents, passed out water bottles, canvased neighborhoods, prayed with folks, prayed over folks, and met some needs. They changed some lives.

And I think they might have come home just a little changed as well.

A river runs through it...

We spent most of today in the Big Sur river at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park near Carmel...



This was my view for most of the day...



Young Son and a friend sword fighting in the river...



Teenage Daughter getting in some tube time...



Usually camera-shy, Teenage Son poses for a rare photo...

Big Sur or bust!

My good friend L and I are a little bit crazy. Crazy as in we-have-eight-kids-between-us-and-we-regularly-take-them-on-trips-by-ourselves crazy. For the last 5 years we have gone camping. Yes, you read it right... 2 moms. Eight kids. Camping. I bet you're just dying to be the family in the campsite next to us, right?!! We've also gone to Disneyland and on several assorted road trips.

Today we're leaving on a short, overnight adventure. Instead of our usual big camping trip to Big Sur, we're doing a day of floating and swimming in the river. Then we'll head into Monterey tonight and stay at the local family-friendly mega-chain hotel. Tomorrow we'll spend the day at the aquarium and then head back home...

It'll be quick, but fun. And just to show how crazy we really are like 8 kids aren't already enough we're bringing an extra friend along. So make that 2 moms and 9 kids...

Yeah, we might be a little crazy after all!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

After spending several non-stop, information PACKED! days in North Carolina, I am sitting at Chicago O'Hare (en route to San Francisco and then... Home!).

All I can say is that it was a great trip. I spent three days at a medical missions conference learning alongside of folks ranging in size from one-man ministries to Samaritan's Purse and Operation Blessing. It was completely overwhelming and awesome at the same time. We finished off by touring Samritan's purse and Operation Christmas Child's facilities. I can't even describe how cool it is inside OCC's warehouse sized workroom. It was like being in Santa's workshop, but even cooler when you realized that it was really Jesus' workshop!

Anyway- the only minor glitch on the whole trip was that my suitcase broke. I just duct taped it closed and checked in through... I'm sure I was quite a sight- checking in my bag, all wrapped up in duct tape, at the first class counter (I got a free 1st class upgrade with my miles from United).

So an hour left, and then I board my last flight home. Hmmm... If I hurry, I might just have time to grab an italian beef sandwich before my flight- Yum!

And Wesley wins again...

You know that scene from The Princess Bride where Fezzik and 'The Man in Black' are fighting in hand to hand combat? Fezzik says that he's gotten so used to fighting mobs that he's forgotten how to fight just one man at a time- and then 'The Man in Black' AKA Wesley wins...

That's how I feel about packing right now... I haven't traveled on a domestic flight, by myself in about 5 years. I've gone overseas 4 times and traveled with all the kids to Hawaii and Florida. But, solo?

Ummmm.... That would be a No.

What do I need to get on a plane by myself? I guess I don't need to pack massive amounts of snacks to keep kids happy... And I don't need to plan lots of activities to keep restless kids content... I don't even need my arsenal of pharmaceuticals to cover any potential illness from a simple cold to anthrax exposure... I guess all I need to carry on is a book and my iPod. I just don't know how to pack like that anymore...

I hope that I can do this!

Cleared for takeoff...

Young Son returned from his week of snow play at Grandma and Poppy's house in frosty North Idaho on Sunday, so I went to pick him up. I left the house around 4pm and drove 45 minutes to the airport in order to arrive in time to pick him up from his flight- which was scheduled to arrive at 5:30. Knowing that I would have to stand in line to get a gate pass from the agent at the check-in counter and stand in line again to go through security, I wanted to get there plenty early.

Early is an understatement.

It turned out that his flight left Spokane an hour late, and it was foggy in Oakland so he didn't land until close to 7pm... That ended up being good because the security line was just a little long.

Like out-the-terminal-and-into-the-parking-lot long.

In the end I made it to the gate with minutes to spare- which led me here today. I spent 15 minutes registering online and then 15 minutes at a local office getting fingerprinted and having biometric iris scans taken. In a couple weeks my identification card will arrive and then it's Goodbye security lines! Basically the way it works is that you check in at the Fly Clear kiosk next to security- swipe your card, give your fingerprint, and then you are cleared and escorted to the head of the security line. They say that you'll clear security in an average of 4 minutes... I had already been thinking about signing up before Sunday- but that experience pretty much sealed the deal.

Now if only I had some exciting destination to jet off to!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

This morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 (AM!) and drove Young Son 45 minutes to the Oakland International Airport where he got on a flight all by himself to go to Grandma and Poppy's house. Our kids regularly travel sans parents to visit my folks in North Idaho, but this is the first time that Young Son has gone without his older siblings.

But since there are copious amounts of snow there this year, and Southwest was having a killer deal on airfare, and Young Son has never gotten to play in the snow- we bought him a ticket and sent him on his very own, snowy adventure. (Teenage Son gets to go to Tahoe on our church's youth group snow retreat and Teenage Daughter is going to Yosemite for a week with her class- so they'll have their own snow adventures.)

Young Son took amused himself with my camera as we waited for his plane to arrive at the gate...




Finally his plane arrived and it was time to board. After the quickest hug and kiss ever, and with nary a backwards glance- Young Son made his way down the jet way...




And just a few short hours later-

Snow!

WFMW- Travel Essentials

With Shannon and Sophie preparing to jet off to Uganda- I thought I would share some of my favorite packing tips. In the last 4 years, I have been on 3 short term mission trips to Tanzania and am planning to return again this summer- this time for a full month.

So without further ado- in addition to the basic packing list of clothes and toiletries- here are some of the things that I won't travel without-

Money belt- I put mine on before I leave for the airport and wear it religiously throughout the trip. I have even been known to sleep with it on when we've been in slightly shady locations... I only keep enough money in my pocket or day pack that I could afford to lose if pick pocketed or if I lost my day pack. The bulk of my money, my passport, a credit card, and extra photo ID are safe and secure under my clothes...

Duct tape- I take a whole roll. But if you don't want the extra weight just wrap it around a shampoo bottle etc a few times. This has been invaluable when a duffel bag zipper has broken, etc.

Electrical Zip Ties- throw a few in a baggie and use them to secure a double zipper before checking a bag, securing extra items to the outside of your backpack, etc. Once when the bubbles we brought to Africa had no bubble wands- we looped a couple of zip ties and blew bubbles with them!

A carabiner- You know the things rock climbers use. Buy a cheap one or two at your local sporting goods store. I use one to hook my water bottle onto my day pack, but have also found lots of other handy uses like hooking an extra bag onto my pull along suitcase.

Split key rings- Yeah like the one your keys are on. I travel with a day pack that I keep with me all the time. When we are in airports or any other location where pickpocketing might be a problem I use a key ring to hook the two zippers together instead of a lock. I don't have to keep track of a key or remember a combination, but it's still enough to deter petty thieves.

Gallon Ziploc bags- Use them for packing- put your folded clothes inside and squeeze the extra air out. When you arrive and unpack- you'll find lots of uses for the empty bags. You can buy fancy travel bags that do the same thing- but you'll pay a lot more!

Feminine hygiene products- When I travel with a team on a missions trip I always pull the girls aside the week before we leave and give them 'the speech'. International travel can do a real number on your system and you may need supplies unexpectedly. American style supplies can be hard to find, especially in a third world country. Trust me- you do not want to have to make do with what the local women are using.

A flashlight- Power can be unreliable in third world countries. I like the mini mag light because you can easily turn it into a mini, table-top lantern.

A first aide kit- Pack one with supplies for basic scrapes, etc. I also add stuff for blisters, cold medicine, a pain reliever, pepto bismol tablets, benedryl (can double as a sleep aide), and whatever medications you regularly take.

Bubbles- Anytime we stop for a few minutes, I can whip them out and I have an instant crowd of fascinated children (and instant friends)!





So anyway- those are few of my essentials when I travel... Head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tricks and tips!

It's all fun and games until somebody pukes...

As if we weren't having enough excitement already during our trip to Disneyland. I must now report to you that Teenage Daughter is puking her guts out...

She started complaining of headache and nausea when we went to dinner at the end of our final day in the park. She drank a little root beer and ate a package of saltines at the restaurant, but couldn't manage the clam chowder that she had ordered. We had the waitress pack it up and returned to our hotel where those saltines came right back up- along with the eggs, potatoes, chocolate covered marshmallow, crayfish linguine, candy, and pineapple whip that she ate today. (I hadn't honestly realized how much cr*p she had eaten until I listed it all out!)

Tomorrow we're driving home.

And a major storm system is making it's way through California.

So let's recap- that's 6+ hours in the car; at least one sick child; rain, high winds, and possibly snow on Interstate 5; and a pulled muscle in my back (from the above mentioned 'excitement').

It should be one heckuva day!

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up...

Well, it finally happened- I had a LeeAnn story at Disneyland today. In Disneyland's California Adventure to be exact. Not only was it a story but it was something totally dumb too...

The kids had just gotten off Mulholland Madness- a mouse trap type roller coaster and wanted to browse in the Route 66 shop next door, so I went over to sit on a low, wide railing while I waited for them.

I sat down and somehow (I still haven't quite figured out why or how) fell backwards into a semi-landscaped area. I managed to fall straight back and landed flat on my back- knocking the wind out of myself upon impact. Evidently, as I fell, the large gold Mickey medallion on my pin lanyard hit a large metal pole making a loud noise- causing the total strangers around me to think that I had hit my head. And hit it hard!

So as I am laying on the ground unable to talk for the first minute or so, they all think I'm really hurt and are telling me not to move, that they're calling for help etc. In the meantime, I'm just trying to get my breath back to say that I'm really OK...

Of course as this is happening- the crowd around me is continuing to grow. So not only have I demonstrated how totally clumsy I am, but now I have an audience as well!

After a couple of minutes or so (which felt like forever), I managed to get my backpack off, get myself up off the ground, and climb back over the railing. After managing to convince the bystanders (who really were very kind, and were honestly concerned) that I did not hit my head on anything (and having visions of being hauled out on a stretcher against my will) we moved away from the area before I could cause any more commotion...

We finished off our day in the park, and made it back to our hotel by 6:30... I'm none the worse for the wear- except for the fact that my back is a little sore, I think I managed to pull a muscle when I fell...

Oh and I may be getting this for Christmas next year...

Road trip!

Yesterday my mom, the kids, and I drove to Southern California for a few days at the happiest place on earth... I had good intentions of taking lots of pictures and putting up new posts while we are here- but it seems that the happiest place on Earth could right now be called the most crowded place on Earth. So while my intentions were good- right now I am, quite frankly, pooped.

And I'm in serious need of an Advil and a soak in the hotel's hot tub...

Got Garlic?

I have a hangover....

A garlic hangover, that is. Since I gave J Jersey Boys tickets for his birthday, last night we went to the city for a special evening out. We planned to start out our evening in North Beach where we had reservations for dinner at The Stinking Rose. This was our first visit to this particular restaurant. I had heard about it from my good friend Llama Momma and had seen it profiled on The Travel Channel as well.

Never knowing how bad traffic in the city is going to be, we left early. It turned out that traffic was non-existent and we arrived in the North Beach neighborhood at least an hour before our dinner reservation. After briefly exploring the neighborhood, we decided to get some coffee while we waited. We stopped in at this cool little espresso place and ordered an americano (for J) and a latte (for me). While sitting at our table near the window we noticed a number of people stopping to take their photo in front of the establishment. Curious, I googled Caffe Trieste when we got home and discovered that it was the first place to serve espressso on the West Coast. In addition it had been used in the filming of several movies and TV shows. It was also where Frances Ford Coppola wrote much of this obscure little screenplay. Anyway- after enjoying our coffee in ignorance, we walked over to the restaurant for dinner.

After being seated at a cozy table for two, we ordered the bagna calda appetizer- whole garlic cloves roasted in olive oil and butter with anchovies. As yummy as that was, it was all over for me when I discovered the garlic rose relish. Our meal then progressed to prime rib (for J) and the chicken asparagus pasta (for me). We finished our evening off with the garlic ice cream sundae and more coffee. Yes you read correctly- garlic infused ice cream. And it was yummy!

After dinner we drove to the Curran Theater to see the show. This was the second time I've seen Jersey Boys, but a first for J. I have to say, I think I liked it better this time around... The one bad thing was that I kept burping garlic up (hmmmm.... I wonder why that was!), I pretty much spent the entire evening sucking on altoids non-stop, in order to avoid offending those around us. I hope I suceeded...

We arrived back home around midnight. After waking Teenage Son to let him know that we had returned safely (Yay- no babysitter to pay!) and taking a couple of tums to prevent a middle-of-the-night-heartburn attack. We hit the sack and I awoke this morning with... the worst morning breath ever! Oh well, I guess that's the price you have to pay...

And you know what? It was totally worth it!

Into Africa... Part 3

A few of the many children we saw at the clinic-



Our first day of clinic work in Zanzibar was extremely successful with over 600 families attending the malaria education classes and receiving nets.

Day two was equally successful- despite attempts by local religous leaders (not Christian) to shut the clinic down.

They first disputed the validity of our permit. Our permit, however, was signed by the Minister of Health (the island big-wig!) who fully supported our efforts. (In addition to putting on the clinics, CHaRA is facilitating the donation of $100,000.00 worth of medical equipment to his hospital.)

The local leader then decided to stop the mothers from bringing their babies for treatment by blocking the entrance to the church. The pastor of the church where we were working responded by confronting the man, finally telling him "Fine then- you tell these women that their babies will not receive any care and you tell them where they can go to receive the nets!" At that point he left, knowing full well that his religious organization was not going to supply those things for these mothers who would probably tear him apart if they were denied!

They then sent 'spies' into the clinic to try to catch us proselytizing so that they could report us to the authorities. It was slightly humorous, not to mention obvious, to see these men attempting to be covert as they entered the clinic (which was for women and children only). One sat in the front row of my class as I taught about preventing and treating malaria. At the end of each class I would ask questions and give prizes to women who could answer correctly- the 'spy' raised his hand and not only answered the question correctly, but recapped the highlights of my entire class. And yes, I gave him a prize!

Come here to see the doctor-





Over 1,200 families learned how to prevent malaria and received nets over the course of both clinic days. Not only was the clinic hugely successful in meeting our immediate goals, but it also set groundwork for future clinics on the island...


J tries his hand at plastering to the amusement of the local workers...





After two days of clinic work, we spent a morning working on the school building. Unfortunately, our best efforts at plastering were not as successful and honestly, we were not much help. (Except for maybe amusing the workers who found our lame attempts somewhat entertaining!) Afterwards we went to the hospital for a tour and Q and A with the Minister of Health.

Q and A with the Minister of Health



Next installment... On to Ikwiriri!

Into Africa... Part 1

Blowing bubbles with children in Ikwiriri Village.



I've spent the last week mulling over the details of our recent trip to Tanzania. It was an amazingly quick trip- it always frustrates me to know that we spend weeks prepping for these trips and they just fly by...

Our team photo just before we left for the airport(left to right- M, Frazzmom, J, JB, and I)




Our team of 5 joined up with three others from California at San Francisco International airport before departing for Tanzania on a red-eye flight to New York on Friday, September 28, 2007. We met up with the remainder of our team (from North Carolina) at JFK with moments to spare (they had a very tight connection) and we all departed for Dubai.

Photo taken of Dubai City as we landed. The tall building is the Burj Dubai, currently under construction- when complete, it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world.



After a 3 hour layover in Dubai (last chance for Starbucks!) we departed on the last leg of our journey, arriving in Dar Es Salaam on Sunday afternoon. After some general chaos, we were escorted through customs by the local chief of police who had arranged to meet us (we have been hassled in the past by local customs officials who demanded bribes in order to release our bags).

Outside the airport, we met up with Ron from CHaRA, the organization we were working with. After towering all our bags onto one small truck, we got on our rented bus and went to our hotel. After a little time to rest, we had a team meeting where we got a chance to meet everyone and were briefed on local customs, what to expect etc. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant owned by a friend of Ron's (After doing two trips with Ron- I am convinced that he has at least one friend who owns a restaurant in every village or town across Tanzania!).

We returned to our hotel to repack our bags (J and I only needed to take one bag to Zanzibar between us, we left the other bag at the hotel in Dar). In spite of the jet lag and general exhaustion, I only managed to get 4 hours of sleep before we were up again at 5am. We left the hotel at 6am to catch a flight to Zanzibar in order to arrive in time for breakfast.



Coming tomorrow... Malaria clinics in Zanzibar!

Elijah

Part of traveling to a third world country is seeing hard things. It's not uncommon in Tanzania to see adults crippled by polio, children with bloated tummies due to worms, or babies suffering from malaria.

This trip was no exception.

At the end of one of my malaria education classes in Zanzibar, a Masai mother came to me with her baby. She lifted the shirt on her son, Elijah, who looked to be only two or three months old. I immediately saw that he was laboring to breath and his chest was retracting (chest muscles pulling in with respiration- a sign of breathing difficulties and respiratory distress).

I took the mother and baby to see the clinic director, Carol, whom we were working with- thinking that we would send this mother and baby to the hospital for respiratory treatment. Carol got Pastor Paul to translate for us and he asked the mother what was wrong with her baby. She told us that her tiny baby is actually a year old and that he had been born with a heart defect. The doctors at the hospital have told her that there is nothing that they could do for Elijah. He is simply going to die.

Carol then informed me that I was going to pray for this baby's healing. We gathered two of the African pastors that were working with us and a couple of Americans from our team and we prayed for baby Elijah's healing.

Then I returned to teach my next class.

Walking away from this baby was the hardest thing I've ever done. My American sensibilities were screaming to take him to a cardiologist, to get him surgery, to do whatever was necessary to save him. All things that are not possible on a small island in a third world country. An island where there is no cardiologist, no neo-natal intensive care unit, no open heart surgery...

Only prayer.

I believe in prayer. I believe that God heals. I know that He heals people in third world countries with frequency and power that we don't usually see in the USA- where we have access to specialists and life saving medical procedures. But I'm still struggling with it all. I want to pray and seek medical intervention- because that's what we would do in America.

But he isn't in America. He is in Africa.

So I continue to pray for baby Elijah, knowing that God holds this precious child in His hands. And I continue to struggle with my feelings of powerlessness and my lack of faith.

And yet I pray.

Cipro or burst!

I came home from our trip to Africa with some kind of stomach bug. After four days of 'the trots', I finally gave up on the idea that it was just my body reacting to 30+ hours of transit, airline food, and the 10 hour shift in time zones... So yesterday I started taking the Cipro that my doctor prescribed before we left. In case you don't know about Cipro, it's the antibiotic that was in short supply a few years ago during the post 9-11 anthrax scares.

Yes, you read correctly- they use it to treat anthrax.

Anyway- the good news is that my stomach is finally settling down, so I guess it was something bacterial after all. Hmmm... I wonder if the symptoms of anthrax include diarrhea? So, now that I'm able to leave the bathroom long enough to write a post- I can start telling you all about our trip. I was pretty determined to avoid a LeeAnn story this time. Nothing happened to me personally, but we did have a couple odd things happen to our team as we traveled...

Our first flight was a red-eye to New York. A couple hours into the flight there was a jolt- it was like turbulence, but with only one bump. About 10 minutes later the pilot comes on the intercom and says something along the lines of "In case you were wondering about that bump back there, folks, that was not turbulence it was wake turbulence." In other words- we passed through another plane's jet wash.

Jet wash? Like in Top Gun?!! Great... I felt a lot better when I thought it was just regular turbulence- thanks for clearing that up!

Our second unusual event occurred on the 5 hour long, return flight from Dar es Salaam to Dubai. On this flight our team of 15 people were scattered around the aircraft, seated in groups of 2 or 3. About an hour before landing, a member of our team, D, came by my seat and asked me to pray for another team member, P. It seems that P was having a panic attack in her seat because someone on our flight tried to open the plane's hatch at 32,000 feet!

It turns out that D had witnessed the event and had ID'd the attempted-hatch-opener (AHO) to the crew after they investigated the door due to a warning light that was prompted by removing the door handle's cover. The crew quietly moved the AHO to the rear of the plane and isolated her until we landed. By that time, P was having an anxiety attack caused by the "what if's?" (She settled down quickly afterwards.)

We landed in Dubai under emergency protocol- they kept the plane far out on the tarmac, away from the terminal, and took us off there. D and P had to remain behind to give a statement to the local police and the AHO was taken into custody (her story was that she was looking for the bathroom). D and P caught up with us later inside the terminal in plenty of time for us to catch the next leg of our flight to New York.

So like I said- no personal LeeAnn story this trip. I was kind enough to share my moments with the whole team...

Anyone want to take a trip with me?

Gone...

Gone to Africa... See you in two weeks!

One day and counting...

So I've mentioned that J and I are going to Africa several times now. And have I mentioned that we're leaving tomorrow?!! I guess I should start packing today, huh? The good news is that my mom is flying in this afternoon, so that will help me get some stuff done...

Since I know you're just dying to ask (or maybe not!), I thought I might give you the answers to the questions people have been asking me about traveling to Africa...

How long will it take you to get there?
It's a 30 hour trip including layovers in New York and Dubai.

Where is Dubai?
It's on the Persian Gulf and is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (if you watch the Amazing Race- it's the one with the cool skyscraper that looks like a sailboat and a man-made island that looks like a palm tree from the air).

How many hours ahead is Tanzania?
It's ten hours ahead of San Francisco.

Where do you stay when you are there?
In past trips we have stayed in very basic, but clean, budget lodges. Guest houses (more like a very basic hostel, this is where a Tanzanian would stay if traveling), and on a Bible school campus. This trip we are in nice hotels when we are in more populated areas, and in a guest house when we travel to the village.

Are you going on Safari?
At the end of the trip we have a couple days in Mikumi National Park for a game drive (driving around looking for game to photograph).

What will you eat? Do you have to eat weird foods? Do you have to eat bugs?
The food is great! We eat lots of beans and rice, stew over rice, collard greens, fruit, chicken, and beef. Occasionally we are served goat as well. The worst thing that I have been served is beef liver (it was prepared well, I'm just not a fan).

How was the goat?
It's not my favorite, but I like it in a stew over rice. It's a fairly stringy and tough.

Do you have to eat it?
Yes- part of being on a mission trip is eating what you are served and being gracious, even if you don't like it!

What are the bathrooms like?
In the hotels they have western style toilets. When out during the day there are squat potties or long drops (just a hole in the ground).

Did you have to get a lot of shots before going?
Only for the first trip. Many of the vaccinations are good for several years or even lifetime immunity. The basic list includes- Hepatitis A, Yellow fever, Polio booster, MMR booster, DPT booster, Flu shot, Typhoid (oral or injectable) and a Tetanus booster if needed. In addition you need to take a malaria preventative while traveling.

Do you have to learn to speak Swahili?
No- almost everyone in Tanzania speaks at least some English. We have translators who travel with us as well. It's nice to know enough Swahili, however, to greet people and respond to basic questions like Habari? (what's the news?) with an appropriate response Nzuri (I'm well).

What are you doing there?
On this trip we will be doing Malaria screening, treatment, and education (including distributing mosquito nets). We will also be doing crusades, ministering in local church services, and doing kid's day camps during the malaria clinics.

When are you coming home?
We return on October 11th. And on that note- it's time for me to get packing!