Karibu Tanzania!

Welcome to Tanzania!We were so excited, thrilled and...(well, you get the point) to finally arrive safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday night.God was incredibly faithful in protecting us, helping us adjust without jet-lag and ensuring that all of our luggage arrived safely in Nairobi. Friday morning Peter, Tammy and the twins picked us up from our overnight stay at the Mayfield Guest Inn. The drive to Arusha was bumpy, but we were able to cross the Tanzanian border without any problems.

We just purchased local cell phones so we can communicate with the team and are just working on adjusting to the environment and finish unpacking everything. Our house (see below) is AMAZING and we are so honored to be able to stay in such great accommodations while we are here. While there is quite a selection of food, clothing and personal effects, the prices are still fairly high when purchasing name-brand American products - our goal is to live frugally while we are here and we hope to honor God with everything He's given us in the way of provision.



As far as diving into Wild Hope we're excited to join the morning prayer time on Wednesday and the weekly team meeting on Thursday. They are hoping to ease us in slowly so as not to overwhelm but we are excited to get our feet wet. We miss you all and are excited to Skype with you (GiveYourLifeAway) all soon. Love and Peace.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

And we really don't know when we'll be back again. We have nothing but excitement at this point - God has brought us so far and through so much. We owe debts of gratitude to everyone who has hosted us or helped us in some way. Special thanks to Don & Sharon for hosting us and allowing us to leave their home in complete disarray as we departed for London in haste on Friday.

Tomorrow we depart for Nairobi, Kenya where Peter & Tammy will meet us Friday morning to take us into Arusha. We ask for your prayers that our Visa's will be ready on time for our arrival. To Guy, Heather, Buddy, Andy & Susan and all the rest who have hosted us so graciously in London, thank you, thank you, thank you...

Isaiah's Commission

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

-Isaiah 6:1-8 (NIV)

Well. I woke up this morning and a little man inside my head (who must have been hybernating or on vacation for the last six months) woke me up and said, "What in the world are you doing?!?!" I have to admit, until now I've been so busy packing, planning and traveling that nothing has really had time to sink in... Until now. I woke up feeling nauseous for the first time really thinking to myself, "a whole entire year?" That's a long time. And it's not just around the corner, or in Boston or even Alaska, it's the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!

We're nearing the end of our three week road-trip to see friends and family and complete our fundraising (we currently have 40% of our monthly expenses pledged and 35% of our One-Time costs donated). I had an incredible time in Colorado visiting old college roommates of mine and showing Liz around my Alma Mater, Fort Lewis, in Durango. We stayed with wonderful friends, Bob & Sue, who were incredibly gracious despite some current circumstances - if you have a moment please pray for them.

We were also able to visit Mesa Verde and the ancient Cliff Dwelling ruins - there's a short video below if you're into that sort of thing. After traveling through Kansas and avoiding some pretty hairy Tornado watches we stopped by to visit our Friend Hillary and then onto my hometown, home sweet home Chicago to visit some friends and relatives. Tomorrow we leave my parents gorgeous farm in Lancaster Wisconsin to head down to Atlanta Georgia where we will depart for London in only 9 days. Please pray for safe travels (British Airways has reported an employee strike up until the day before we depart). We love and miss you greatly. Bye for now...