Day 2: Young Life Club and Meeting with Mountain Guides
Journal Entry
Pamoja Pamoja,
Together together,
Two words that are only going to increase in meaning as we all challenge ourselves and hike closer with God.
Our morning started off with a bountiful and delicious breakfast at our hotel, and quite a few cups of coffee and espresso for some our team members. When we all finished breakfast, we loaded up onto a bus and headed towards the village of some of our YoungLife leaders. We parked our bus and walked into where the YoungLife students meet. You could feel God moving in that room. You could sense that these walls have seen transformation happen in the lives of young people here in Arusha. Our friend Naju told the story of how the sport of soccer with YoungLife brought him to Christ and forever changed his life. Another YoungLife leader, Beatrice, gave insight on what challenges young people here in this area face and how we as a group can pray for them.
After a group prayer that resonated with us all, we split into two groups to go see the homes of two of our YoungLife leaders. Walking through the neighborhoods, we saw individuals making shoes, we waved to smiling small children, we watched women balance groceries on the tops of their heads, we experienced a lot that we are not used to, but we could feel God moving in this place. We all loaded back on to the bus with new perspectives and a lot to think on. We went to an outdoor restaurant for pizza, it was a great opportunity to debrief the morning. We stopped for a soccer ball on the way back to the hotel, big soccer fans on this trip!
We made our way back to the hotel and began gathering up our gear for the trek, the excitement has started to truly build and build!
We met our guides for the trip: Gabriel, James, Innocent, and John Simon. These gentlemen gave us a synopsis of what the next few days are going to look like. They answered our questions and truly made us feel like a team.
After having all of our gear checked out, we sat down for a group dinner on the back patio of our hotel, saw a beautiful sunset, ate tasty food, and had meaningful conversations. This group is really starting to mesh. One of our local Beyond staff, Papa Deo, asked us to stand up one by one and answer the question, “Why are you here?” There were many thoughts and emotions put into the answers by the group. The excitement only kept building.
After a Kili-tip session by Drew. Papa Deo had us all stand up in a circle, grab hands or put arms on shoulders and speak a prayer out loud all at the same time. If you have not done this before, it can be odd or intimidating at first, but if you put your heart into it, it will move you!
Tomorrow, the trek begins, God is going to use this mountain and experience to teach all of us. We are nothing but excited to embrace these teachings and grow closer together along the way.
Pamoja Pamoja
~ James Kelley