Christmas in Africa

Week two was a lot of adventure, a little relaxation. I spent the week with Jonny and a new friend Gabi. I asked Jonny to plan the trip but told him I wanted to be surprised, not to tell me anything about the week. He keeps secrets pretty well.

We went camping in Livingstone (where Victoria Falls is, in Zambia) for two nights. While we were there we enjoyed the sights of the mist, for a while they had me convinced that it was the only part of the falls I would actually get to see. We arrived at the camp site on Sunday and I didn't actually get to the falls until Tuesday. BUT, that was the exciting part. They took me to swim in the Devils Pool. It's a spot off Livingstone Island where you can swim above the falls and "defy death." That was our Christmas Eve adventure. Swimming in the Devils Pool and visiting the falls. Oh, while I was there I also jumped off a cliff, they called it the gorge swing. Don't worry, I'm still alive but it was real scary.

The gorge swing. 

The mist part is Victoria Falls. 

Sunset behind Victoria Falls.  

They finally took me to see the falls. It was beautiful.

Pictures don't do it justice.

Devils pool

After seeing the falls we headed back out on the road. We were off to Botswana where we stayed at Senyati Safari Camp. It was close to Chobe National Park. The park is widely known for its spectacular elephant population: It contains an estimated 50,000 elephants, perhaps the highest elephant concentration of Africa, and part of the largest continuous surviving elephant population. Christmas morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast cooked by Gabi. Jonny had brought us all stocking/Christmas hats to unwrap and they lit up. He's so thoughtful. 

Merry Christmas! 

River boat tour. Elephants on the horizon. 

The bachelor herd. They crossed the river right in front of us.

The day after Christmas we did our own safari through Chobe Park after a lovely sunrise. We were able to see a lot of impala and not much else. We went back at dusk and were able to follow around a family (at least that's what I am calling them) of giraffes. That was pretty cool. 

Botswana sunrise.

Lots of impala. I mean, tons.

Peaking through the trees to check us out.

We left the next day, had a pretty long day of traveling but the trip was certainly something I will remember for the rest of my life. So many fun adventures and to be able to explore in another country, not many people can say they have done that. Thanks to Weaver and Gabi for planning everything, in turn making it stress free for me. 

Check back soon, I'll have one last update on week 3.

Stories from Zambia

I don't even know where to begin. My time in Zambia was amazing, that's almost always a given when you allow God to be in control.

Actual travel, in the planes, went smoothly. I was delayed in Cleveland, but it worked out fantastically, each connecting flight I had just enough time to get to the next gate and continue on the journey. When I stepped off the plane in Lusaka, the first thing I noticed was the smell. It is hard to describe, it's not necessarily bad and I'd never smelled Africa before, but I knew that was the scent of Africa. Oh, the heat gave me a nice warm welcome as well.

When I finally made it through the airport getting my visa, Jonny was waiting for me with my bags and we were ready to tour the city. It was nice to see a familiar face after all that traveling. I wasn't too tired but I knew as soon as I stopped moving I'd be asleep. I quickly learned that Zambians walk every where. The roads were made for walking, in fact if you splash someone with mud while you're driving past, you've broken the law. You must pay them. After seeing a bit of Lusaka and having my first taste of restaurant food it was time to meet the Country Director of Family Legacy, Clay Hughey and his family. I stayed with them the first week, and I was able to meet some of the children at Tree of Life children's village. Each day a Zambian staff member (Uncle Teddy) picked me up and took me to meet kids, or to help people with different tasks before Dream Camp. I'm going to add some pictures that will hopefully show you how much of a blessing my first week at Tree of Life was.

Most of the kids were visiting family on holiday. There were a few who, sadly, didn't have any family to visit. I was lucky enough to spend a couple days with them just enjoying them and allowing them to love on me.

They discovered the self timer on my phone. :)

They clearly loved pictures!

If you look closely, there's a fly in my mouth. He wouldn't move.

Big muscles.

Tree of Life Children's Village. (notice, David is in the picture twice)

I also organized a library for the education department. (I tried my best.)

You'll have to look back soon for weeks two and three. Those will be another blog post. For now, thank you to all who were able to support me whether it was monetarily or in prayer. The first week was such a great experience and I am so grateful to have been a part of these kids lives.