Sunrise. Sunset. Sunrise. Sunset…

Traveling to Ngaamba was  no easy task.

First there was a 3:30am wake up call. A long line. No coffee. Then coffee later. A two hour flight. A wait for a few hours. Another long line. A lunch. A thirteen hour flight. A game of Uno. (Or a few games.) 

A two hour flight. And finally, after a night’s rest a few hour bus ride to the dusty, dry village of Ngaamba. 

Our mission for the week was two fold: To conduct a kids camp and to encourage and support a group of native Ngaambians (Yes, I believe I made that up.) who volunteer their time in the schools to help raise up a new generation in Ngaamba that knows their identity in Christ. 

 Our hotel was located outside of Ngaamba and honestly I have no idea of the town/city/location of that hotel, but it was close…that is all that is important. As we drove into the town, our bellies filled with anticipation, excitement, and dread…we discovered eyes. Lots of staring eyes. But as we filed off the bus those eyes became filled with joy and were accompanied by smiles.

Hugs and smiles were all around as we greeted these team members (The 252 Team [or Rejoice Project] to be exact) who walk miles to their schools, volunteer their time…

…simply to tell these children about God and who He has created them to be.

It was an instant friendship.

 Love at first sight, if you will…

 …and even if you won’t

 We made our introductions…

 And theirs, of course, included a song…”It’s only you, God.”

And it was only God that brought us together for the incredible adventure we embarked on that day…

And so our journey began with a song…and a friendship…and as if that wasn’t great enough…

 we painted.

 We painted posters for the 252 team to facilitate in their teaching…

Honesty….

 

individuality…

Compassion

Those were the virtues we focused on.

Love…teamwork…

and joy were not things we painted onto our canvases….

…but were certainly present in the room.

They were so focused 

and attentive to every detail…

It was a simple day, but a great day. These people were the ones who made the rest of the trip the incredible experience it was for so many of us. 

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So many things to write and so many pictures to share…more tomorrow.