Africa is Calling

Well it's only 6 days before I leave for Zambia. I can't get any work done I am so excited! I really love to travel and to meet people. Two years ago John Hanson (team leader) and I kept a journal. Here's a short excerpt from one of the days we travelled up the Zambezi River to a little village. I felt like David Livingston! Anyway, enjoy the read. This is what I have to look forward to:

Day 14: Sunday, June 29, 2003.
"What a beautiful morning. After a good breakfast, we set off for the river and on to the next leg of our adventure. The boat ride down the Zambezi was magnificent. The river was fairly calm, but you could see how strong the current was, and we would not want to challenge that kind of power. The scenery was without equal, and it was neat to see all of the villages on the side of the river with their hand-dug wooden canoes. Along the way, we saw about 4 pods of hippos, a herd of water buck, and some impala, and then a large troop of baboons. Some of the hippos were out of the water, and it was neat to see such a huge animal running quickly to the safety of the water. After a fifty-minute boat ride we arrived at the Kavaramanja area. We tied the boat up to a tree on the bank, and scrambled like goats up the steep bank to continue on foot. The trail followed a dry sandy creek for about a mile to the village. Along the way we found several elephant tracks and a fish eagle came soaring close overhead. He looks very similar to our bald eagle. As we entered the village we were met by Daniel Mulenga, a principal of the school and a member of the church. He escorted us to his house where we waited for the congregation to assemble. The church met under the largest fig tree that any of us had ever seen. Moses Hall brought the lesson to about 30 people. After the service, the people asked lots of questions, primarily about baptism. One man, named Peter put on our Lord that day when we returned to the Zambezi River and then walked up stream about half a mile to a sandy beach. While Wellington performed the baptism, we kept watch on some nearby reeds to ensure a crocodile did not come our way. We also kept a sharp eye on the river itself in case one came from the deeper water. Africa still holds many surprises for us."