Crossing Paths

Good morning,
Team 1 is headed to London at this time and team 2 made it safely to Nairobi. We got word that Kenya airlines oversold the flight so 4 members of team 2 got stuck in Nairobi and were unable to make the connection to Bujumbura. However, not to worry...ALARM has employees in Nairobi that will pick them up until they can depart tomorrow for Bujumbura, so they will be well cared for.

I received an email from Tim this morning with additional information about the place where they are staying and where team 1 worked this week, which is where team 2 is headed. Here is what he wrote:

The place in Muyange where the team is staying is comfortable. It is on the edge of a huge lake. The only drawback is that we dont have running water so people are bathing in the lake which isnt a big problem except this is Africa & there are rumors of crocodiles around. The food has been good but as always we are having the same thing every day. Fish, chicken, rice & potatoes. We had roast goat one day & it was very good.

The work on the clinic is going very well. When we showed up on the first day only the foundation was laid. By the 5th day, we had almost all the exterior walls & a large part of the interior walls up. Walls are made of brick with cement mortar. Some of our team members were helping lay bricks but most of the team helped carry bricks, large rocks for the foundation, or bring cement to the bricklayers. The 1st couple days it was the North Americans working & the Africans working seperately but by the 3rd day there was an obvious change in that we were no longer 2 different teams but 1 team working together. Kind of funny but Deo heard some of the Africans talking about our team & they were thinking that the North Americans must be all poor people since only the uneducated poor people in Africa do construction & heavy labor. A great testimony that our team was jumping in & getting their hands dirty.

There was some great opportunities to share the evangecube & do some VBS with the kids & that went well also. The 1st team did a great job & I pray the 2nd team will be able to jump in as well. Very impressed with all the ALARM staff. They have gone above & beyond the call of duty in making us feel safe & at home.

And last...a story to make you chuckle..and feel for whomever this was!

I havent mentioned it before as I didnt want it in the blog yet until team 2 arrived, but we have a rat problem in the place where we are staying. 2 of the girls found rat droppings under their pillow 2 days in a row & at the end of last week some of the girls saw the rat in their room & one girl had a rat run across her head while she was sleeping. She woke up & was terrified but it has made for some great conversation.

How can you pray today?
- Safe travel home for team 1 and that all of their luggage will arrive home with them.
- Continued prayer for team 1 as they adjust back to life here in the US after this trip. For some, it will be difficult.
- For the remainder of team 2 in Nairobi, that they'll make their flight tomorrow and that their luggage will make it.
- Pray for the health of one of our guys. It is very dusty, dirty and dry there and he believes he's getting a sinus infection and said he can barely talk. He's got medication so please pray they would quickly take effect.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Satan is already attacking so prayer warriors like you are critical.

We appreciate you!

Blessings,
Kelli Coblentz