Worship On Kilimanjaro

We climbed aboard the magic bus and started bouncing and spinning and slipping our way up the wet muddy slopes toward the church.  You are gonna have to see video to appreciate this ride which at times became so ridiculous the whole group was laughing out loud. Molly especially seemed to enjoy the ride!

Our First Group Photo!

After tea with the pastor and the elders the service began.  Even the kids in our group agreed that the two-hour service seemed to go by quickly.  The adult and youth choirs sang gorgeous African songs and the Spirit of God surrounded us all even though we speak different languages and come from different worlds. After many years of preaching at Kusheyeny with Stephen by my side to translate, this time Stephen delivered the sermon and I read the English translation as he preached.

After worship we spilled outside for the "offering auction." This is a wonderful tradition where people bring vegetables, eggs, sugarcane, and even bundles of grass for cattle to be auctioned off to other members of the congregation. The purchase price of each item is then credited as offering for the person who brought it. In this way people with a little money are able to support people who have none and support the church at the same time!

While the auction was still in process, my group began playing games with the children of the congregation and before long there was all kinds of laughing and screaming going on all around us. The video clip below will give you a small glimpse of all the fun being had.

During lunch after the service a trumpet fanfare could be heard approaching the room where we were all gathered.  Our group was delighted to see that a large goat had been roasted in our honor and everyone enjoyed at least a bite or two! That goat was well photographed so I won't bother posting a picture here.

Protea Lodge

We departed from the church and slid down the mountain until we stopped at Protea Lodge to hike down to the river and enjoy the beautiful grounds. Tomorrow morning we will head for the red dirt town of Karatu to  be in position to begin our safari the day after that. This may (or may not) be the last post for a few days as internet access is scarce out there in the bush. I may be able to do a couple short updates from my phone if I have signal.

For now, I will simply report that we have already had amazing, life changing experiences together and we have not yet completed our second day! Everyone is feeling good and I could not be more pleased with the great group of people making up Vision Trip 2014!

Kwa Heri for now.