Sunday, June 30th

Yo yo yo wazzuppp—Ashley here… in a bit of a goofy mood so bear with me as I attempt to tell you about my unbelievable day. 

This morning I woke up at 6:30 with a blue mosquito net in my face—a lovely mosquito net, which I am very thankful for. Grace and I quickly got dressed in our Sunday best (aka dirty skirts and white v-neck tees) and walked with our Banjika friends, Shawatu and Elionora, to the Catholic church in the area. Wow..what an unbelievable experience. The service was beautiful—even though I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I don't quite consider myself an expert in Swahili yet, but give me a few more days and maybe I'll get there. We sat in a room filled to the max with people, singing and dancing, praying and listening. Sally and Madison walked back home with us, and joined us for our first breakfast of the day. And then we went to their house and had breakfast number two (For those of you who don't know, breakfast really isn't my thing..but I LOVE potatoes. And let me tell you, they eat a lot of potatoes for breakfast here. BOOYAHHH… yes, I said booyah). After a beautiful walk home, Grace and I got out the gifts we brought for our home-stay family. We took all of the kids into a dark room and brought our some glow-in-the-dark bracelets and that was the coolest thing ever for them. They were so genuinely happy. But then we brought out the soccer ball, and oh my goodness that was the jackpot. They ran around playing with it like I had just given them a million dollars. To me, it was just a soccer ball. But to them, it was everything. I am so blessed to have seen those sweet children's smiles—nothing will ever compare. Unfortunately, then the time came to say goodbye and it was one of the most difficult moments of my life. The family was so welcoming, and I will never be able to fully explain what I experienced those two days in their home. Our Banjika friends joined us at the campsite for lunch, and then headed home as the rest of us were given the luxury of taking showers. I went on a long walk with Ms. Morgan and Casey around sunset and it was so beautiful. I am so thankful for that time to just talk about life and our experiences here. Now, I am sitting here eating a wonderful dinner at the table surrounded by some pretty unbelievable people, laughing at Greg (a daily occurrence). On a more serious note, I have no words to explain how proud I am of this group for the work we have done here.I know we will all forever be changed by the people with have met here. 

Ok, that is all I have for you. I hope you have a good night..or wait, I actually have no idea what time it is in Nashville so it could very well be morning. Have a good, uh, time :) Thank you for this indescribable opportunity.

~Ash

Hello all! Sally here. Ashley and I thought it would be easier to write individual entries because we both had such different, incredible experiences with our home stay families. On Friday, I woke up with excitement for the following two days but I was a bit nervous and questionable of what to expect of the families. Madison, Naomi, Deborah and I walked along the main road about an hour to Naomi's house where we were kindly greeted by her family. Immediately, we were offered coffee and politely accepted. I rarely have coffee and when I do it's in a mocha or sweet drink from Starbucks; so, while Naomi and her family looked away, I poured half of my cup with Tanzanian sugar cane (Best coffee I've ever had). When Naomi's mom got back from her shop in Karatu, we greeted her by saying, "Shikamoo Mama" and she then welcomed us with loving hugs. This interaction is now so normal because everyone we have met here has greeted us with so much love and compassion as if we are part of their family. The rest of the night, we played with Naomi's younger brothers and danced to Justin Bieber and Nellie. Funny story… Naomi's brother, Hezekiah, peed on me by accident out of excitement from me tickling and playing with him. That was quite the welcome. After dinner, Madison and I immediately got ready for bed and slept well after our busy day. When we woke, we were served fried bananas and nuts then walked across the road to Deborah's house. Again, we were welcomed with adoring hugs and coffee with chips (fries). The rest of the day, we helped cook (we were given meticulous, easy task like shaking the rice and cutting the green beans), visited Deborah's neighbor's animals and played soccer with her family. By the time we left, we had both fallen in love with Deborah's family and sadly walked back to Naomi's house with full stomachs. It is hard to write about the incredible experiences we had at both the homes in just one email but it was after these two days that I really began to understand the community and their immense love for everyone they know. I am sorry my writing quality has dwindled, I am now writing by the fire, listening to stories and I have lost much interest in my part of the email. (All scholars- I have not proofread my writing and I am way too tired to… please do not judge my Ensworth education) Goodnight! 

Daddyo- Thank you for letting your baby girl leave the country for the first time and let me have this incredible experience. I have fallen in love with another world. I love you and miss you .

~Sal