Not the Final Bye-bye

November 17 blog

Well we made it back to America! The past few weeks have been busy and crazy. Full of lots of adventures, lots of traveling, and lots of fun! It's been hard though. Our last week at Namwianga was full of lots of goodbyes. We had a big lunch to honor all of our workers...our house cleaners, the people who wash our clothes, our cooks, nightguards, teachers, etc. They truly are servants. Everyday I was filled with joy because of their smiles and "mabuka buti" greetings. All the girls had a devo with our college tutors and friends. There were about 50 girls in the Mann house that night and it was an incredible night of worship. Nothing compares to singing with the zambians. I've said that a thousand times but it's just so true. That's what heavens going to be like and I can't wait! One of the college girls taught us a song that night that said "We have to say goodbye, but not the final bye bye. We hope to be together in heaven someday." That's going to be the greatest reunion ever! Brenda, Ndeleki, and Ruth have become great friends and have taught me so much. I took Brenda and Ndeleki to the havens with me one day to see my babies and it was so fun! Now I have someone there to check on them for me! Our last night at Namwianga was full of a lot of goodbyes but the hardest was saying goodbye to Webster and Justin, our nightguards. Webster is seriously the most joyful and loving person I know. And he's a great Godly man and example for us. That night he prayed over us and I've never felt anything more powerful. Our last morning at Namwianga, November 2, was a rough one...the girls woke up for the sunrise and had a little devo before walking to the havens one last time. Saying bye to my babies was the hardest thing I've ever done. I love Cathy and Matt so so much and I didnt want to put them down. I didnt want to let go. I just wanted to stare at their precious faces forever. But I had to trust God that he was going to continue watching over them. He loves them more than I do. God only meant for me to be in their lives for a short time and now I have to trust that God's going to love them and I know he has great plans for them. 

After leaving Namwianga we started 2 weeks of travel, travel, travel! America makes 6 countries in the past 2 weeks! We went to South Africa for a night before flying to Tanzania. In Tanzania we visited the Mwanza mission team and got to see the work that they were doing there. Another culture, another language. I think I know how to greet in about 10 African languages now! The team was great though and really welcomed us into their homes and churches and just showed us the goods and bads of mission work. In Tanzania we spent about 3 days safariing in the Serengeti! It was beautiful and incredible and we got to see a male lion! I was sick one day and had to stay at the lodge but let me tell you, if you have to be stuck somewhere for a day then a 5 star safari lodge in the Serengeti is the place to do it! Whitney stayed with me and we had a great day just hanging out and relaxing! After the safari we got on a plane and flew to kenya! While we were there we got to see where our teachers, the Tankersleys, used to live. We saw churches that they had planted and schools they had worked with. We had a great adventure one day with muddy roads. Its been raining in Kenya for 2 weeks straight and that causes dirt roads to become rivers. Sure enough, our bus got stuck one day and we were there for about 7 hours. By the end of the day we were covered in mud, cold, and hungry. We made it back to the hotel at 11 that night and had some sandwiches for dinner. It was quite an adventure though. During those 7 hours we met lots of people...played with the neighbor kids, talked to people our age, and had lots of help from kind strangers. The next say we got stuck in the mud again going to church but this time we got it out quickly and walked the rest of the way. TIA. I've never been so grateful for the Tarmac roads. After a few nights in Kenya we drove across the border to Uganda. This was a really quick trip but we spent a lot of the time in town shopping and at the Source Cafe. The source of the Nile river is in Jinja, Uganda so we got to take a boat ride to see that. It was so neat and a really good trip!
We used literally every type of transportation in Africa...walking, cars, buses, tractors, even a trailer on the back of a motorcycle. We used every type of bathroom in Africa...the street, the Serengeti, a corn field, someones yard, nasty latrines. I think we've experienced almost everything possible. And we've crammed it into just a short time. I can't believe our trip is already over! 
Wednesday morning at 4 o'clock we left our hotel in Uganda, drove to the airport and flew to Johannesburg where we had a 12 hour layover. At 10:45 Wednesday night we finally flew out of Jo-burg and began our 18 hour flight to DC! Our flight was late so we had less than an our to go through customs, recheck our bags, and literally sprint through the airport. It was a miracle that we made our flight. Now we're in Chicago and about to fly to Memphis! We'll drive to Harding tonight and be there for a couple days! Then home this weekend. That's a quick overview of the crazy last few weeks. There's so many thoughts going through my head. It's been a great great trip! Keep praying for our team as we finish traveling and debrief for a couple days before splitting up and going home.