MISSION GROUP

We have been busy preparing for a mission group from Takoma, Maryland to come to Havilah. They are a group of 31 people, mostly high school-aged young people. There was much to do to prepare for their coming -- houses to clean, slashing the grass, planting the garden, maintenance, buying supplies for building while they are here, landscaping, and even haircuts for the children. They arrived last Friday.

The mamas and I prepared a meal for them with traditional African food. We made chapati, ( a flat bread like a tortilla), beans and rice, ugali and greens, a fresh vegetable salad, and platters of fresh fruit like mango, pineapple, and watermelon.

So this week has been incredibly busy. We had 10 people staying in our house and the rest of the

group staying in the other empty house. The girls in the group stayed with us, and the boys stayed in the other house. It was a blessing to have them here.

They have been working on the new administration/learning center. This is the building project that we are working on right now. We have two houses that are empty that we are working to fill with children and when the new building is finished we will move into an apartment there for the directors. James and I will also have an office for each of us.

While the group was here they were busy seeing sights as well. On Sabbath they hiked for about 3 hours up Mt. Kilimanjaro to a waterfall. They also went in town to Arusha to the Cultural Center. They went on Safari to the Ngorongor Crater. They visited ADRA and the Cradle of Love baby home and a Maasai market in town. We went on the safari with them. What a beautiful place! The Crater has some of the most beautiful scenery. We saw many animals that day as well, but not too many that we haven't seen already, except we saw some lions from a distance. That was really cool. Can't wait til we get to heaven and we can see them up close and have no fear of them! While we were there, we visited a Maasai village. What a great experience! We saw dancing, we went inside their homes (which by the way are made from cow and goat poop -- lots of flies!) We visited with them and learned more about their culture. They have some very interesting traditions. Sabbath evening ended with a wonderful dinner at the Ngordoto Lodge (a beautiful 5 star hotel about 2 miles from us). Thanks to 2 very generous ladies that paid for the whole group. We ate some traditional African food and got to see some acrobatics and dancing. Really cool. Some of the kids even took a swim. What a beautiful evening. It was so nice to "get out". The group left on Sunday and things have been back to "normal" this week.

Blessings to you all for a wonderful week ahead.