After almost 24 hours in the air and a 2 day land journey, the team has reached Iringa.
This report and pictures were received Fri July 16.
Friday July 16th, in Iringa, Tanzania:
The St Stephen mission team made it to Iringa without major problems! The biggest difficulty has been that Courtney Smith’s suitcase did not make it to Dar es Salaam (our arrival city in Tanzania) so she is getting pretty tired of wearing the same outfit. Good news is that it was found two days ago by Dennis Ngede, our guide from 2001, who is now living in Dar. We expect to get the bag today!
(Latest news - it arrived!)
Team Devotions in Amsterdam
Our first day was spent driving to Mikumi National Park, which is about half way between Dar and Iringa (where we will spend most of our time). We ate lunch there with another mission group from Our Savior’s church in Hastings. No sooner had we sat down for lunch than three elephants wandered into the nearby watering hole - a mama, her baby, and an older child. Some of us went for a game drive in the afternoon and saw quite a few animals, while others stayed behind and went swimming in the very tiny pool.
Since arriving in Iringa, we have noticed a few readily apparent changes since 2001. The most obvious to Americans is the existence of a number of new Internet Cafes which should provide us extra opportunities to stay in touch with friends at home. Yesterday we spent time at the market and will go back there again today. It has been great fun for returning travelers to see Africa through the eyes of those who did not journey to Tanzania the last time. We are looking forward to spending time at our sister parish, this coming weekend. Today we will visit the bishop, purchase blankets and other supplies for the camp, and bags of rice and beans for Lukani. This evening we will be guests of Rev. Ngede at his home.
Happy Birthday to Wendell. We sang in your honor yesterday!
Jerry, we enjoyed a Kili in your honor.
