Malami At Last

Sorry for the delay in posting. Internet has been about of a problem. I'll be posting a few day worth today. 

After over 30 hours of travel and more than 7,000 miles we arrived healthy, dead tired, but healthy.  The last flight was the worst of the three. We passed through the gate headed to our plane and were directed to busses and taken to a remote area of of the airport. A little nerve racking to be bussed away from the crowd and have our carry on luggage taken from us. Historically these scenarios don't end well but it worked out well this time. We landed on time, cruised through customs except when I thought I lost the iPad. 

We were greeted by the other half of our team, who were dressed in traditional African garb. We actually didn't recognize them. Then we piled 17 people, yes I said 17, into a specially outfitted Toyota van and headed to the COTN compound. I guess they have different seatbelt laws here since there were no belts in the van. The "fasten seatbelt" light was flashing the whole time. 

At the compound we settled into our new digs, five guys in one hut, five gals in another. No A/C and the fan is broken. We do have mosquito nets. Then it was off to Chitipi children's home. They greeted us with songs and dance. They were awesome. Check out the video below. Three year old Thomas, who stole the show and one year old Caleb, who stole Ranie's heart. Nearly 100 kids live there and they have to cook all meals on an open fire. 

We ended the evening with a brief devotional. It was very moving as people shared their highs and lows for the day. My high was that Ranie was here sharing this with me. We were also very moved when our teammate Tom met the child he has sponsored for 12 years. He hadn't seen him in 10 years. 

Here are some photos of our day.