Day 1: Arusha, Tanzania

Today marks the beginning of an incredible journey! Everyone has arrived safely at Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania. Similar to Mount Kilimanjaro, which comprises of three volcano cones, Mount Meru is also a dormant volcano and stands at 14,968 ft. Let’s hope our climbers have good weather on Mount Kilimanjaro because on a clear day, you can see Mount Meru from Mount Kilimanjaro which is 43 miles west! Keep an eye on this trip journal! We’ll be posting everyday from now until the end of the trip!

We started our day with a devotion from Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling. “Come away with me for a while.  The world, with its nonstop demands can be put on hold.  Most people put Me on hold, rationalizing that someday they will find time to focus on Me.  But the longer people push Me into the background of their lives, the harder it is for them to find me…”  What a wonderful reminder as we step away from the world and step toward the largest mountain in Africa.

We had a lovely group kick off dinner where we started to get better acquainted.  We are a group of 8 so we’ll be well bonded by June 17.  We had a staggered arrival time - with the Coats family enjoying a 3 day Serengeti Safari after 3 Days hosted by Papa Deo at his home in Legho Village, on the foothills of Kilimanjaro.  Kim, Sarah and Laura arrived yesterday and had a great one day Safari to Tarangire National Park.  Both groups saw LOTS of wildlife and marveled at God’s creation - in the majestic animals, brilliant morning glory flowers, curious and hungry monkeys, baby animals, protective mothers of every species and lush trees against the backdrop of the African sky.

Matt and Dana arrived from their long flights in time for our kick off evening.

The hotel was without internet today so we couldn’t share pictures from our adventures but this post will have some pictures.

Huge thanks to Drew & Beth for all their help and planning.  We know we are in good hands.

~ Kim Grady