July 17, 2015 Update

Hello from Tanzania, East Africa

I made it! Landed Thursday, July 2nd around 9:44 am local time & 11:45 pm Wed SoCal time. Left LAX at 5:30 pm Monday, June 29^th! I'll let you calculate the hours of passage. It was broken up by an overnight in London & an overnight in Nairobi due to a missed flight! 

Landed & dove into helping host, for the weekend, a group of 16 from America here to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. My jetlag didn’t allow me to be 100%, but I helped as I could. The group is raising support for staff housing here on the Wild Hope land. Twelve of the 16 made it to the summit which is pretty amazing.

After saying farewell to them on Sunday last we had a bit of rest before diving into plans for the next big event = a 'Send Off', here on the land, for Skyler - my nephew & his fiancé, Justine. That will be in the afternoon Monday, July 20th. This is a party for those not able to attend the wedding on Saturday, August 1^st, which is in another city & has limited space. A lot of the local neighbors will be attending. A good mix of the formal Tanzanian way of celebrating & the casual gathering of expatriates. Thanks for your prayers as I understand how to help Tammy - my sister-in-love - who is doing the bulk of the planning. I feel a wee bit hobbled to help as I don't know the language well nor how to get about town. (The land is about 20 minutes from the Arusha town.) Being a sounding board & doing what I'm able has helped. 

Many thanks to those of you who used my 'Joy L. Russell At Your Service' services Monday, June 21st-Wed, June 23rd. Much money came in to cover some unexpected expenses...my car needing a new radiator being a big one! 

My living situation is pretty posh for being in a tent. I sleep in a twin bed, have a solar light, the wifi almost reaches my tent, wake up to such a variety of birds chatting away & am getting used to the cold. Must admit I'm enjoying staying in bed in the mornings & it's not just from jet lag. I'm hoping to get into a walking routine. One time around the land takes about 20 minutes. Would like to work up to three times around. The wide variety of fruit & vegetables here has helped me be able to stay pretty on target with my new way of eating. Have to get used to not having a microwave to heat things up quick. 

You’re wondering about power in the land, are you???? They are set up with a nice wind/solar system that runs the kitchen, restrooms, workshop & newly built Kibanda (meeting/ kitchen area). When that power runs out the gas powered generator is started. There is also a wifi system that gives sporadic access to the internet. Seems like there is less & less bandwidth as more neighbors use it - smile. 

I look forward to claiming back more of my understanding of Ki-Swahili & the 'lay of the land' as that will help enhance this time here. 

I look forward to family & friends arriving for the wedding. Kim MacDonald, gal from my home church who climbed Kilimanjaro landed on Tuesday, July 14th. She'll be here for a week & has been put right to work. Sianna & Leighton - Peter & Tammy's twins - will be arrived Wednesday, July 15th. It is good to see them. They are officially now high school seniors! Next to arrive will be Chase (Peter & Tammy's middle son) with his wife Amanda. They'll land on Tuesday, July 21st with Tammy's dad, Larry, arriving a couple hours later. Next day my Aunt Dorothy will arrive from Ethiopia. We'll all have the privilege of attending the Maasai Blessing Ceremony for Skyler & Justine, in Maasai Land on July 24th. (Thanks for prayers of logistics of getting 26 of us out to Maasia Land, two nights there & then back again. Think extreme camping where you have to carry everything in & everything out!) Last to arrive will be Jake Walker - Skyler's good friend from my home church - on Saturday, July 25th. We'll all head out to the wedding location on Thursday, July 30th & be there three nights. A lot to take in, I know, but it gives you a glimpse of my life right now.  

I'll end with a Ki-Swahili proverb: "Haraka haraka haina baraka" which means “hurry hurry has no blessing”. I'm enjoying the slower pace here in Tanzania & time to just sit and think. There are times when I’m forced to not hurry due to the power shutting off, etc, as well. Blessings to all of you as you enjoy your own times of non-hurry.

For those of you who haven’t heard from me in a long time I have recently traveled to Tanzania. The reason for my coming is my nephew, Skyler’s wedding – August 1^st (as mentioned above). Since I was able to get here and because my life circumstances are in flux I decided to stay for three months. My brother, Peter, & his wife Tammy have a ministry called Wild Hope International (here’s their website if you’d like to know more: www.wildhopeinternational.org). My time will be spent 1) helping prep for the wedding events 2) hanging out with family & 3) seeking what the LORD has for me next.