7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Today is a special day for me....January 10th, 2007, marks my seven-year anniversary in Africa. I arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, today in the year 2000, & experienced Africa for the first time.
Since then I've also experienced Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa & Reunion Island (I know, it doesn't actually count...I just wanted to throw that in there so you'll know I've been). Each place similar to each other, yet so different.
To commemorate my anniversary I'll tell you a story about one of my African experiences. True to tradition, it's gonna be a bus story: (Look for the word bus)

"It was during the Summer of 2002 & I was taking a road trip from Kenya, where I lived, to UG, & then to join Aaron & his team for a 10-day missionary seminar in Zambia & then back up to my home in Kenya. I was accompanied by Jer (Tina's brother), who was 15 at the time, & we had just completed a 50-hour train ride from Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to Ngola, Zambia(that's right!--50 HOURS ON A TRAIN), after a 24-hour bus ride (there's the word) from UG to TZ..... Now we were to get on a 2-hour bus (there we are again) ride from the Copper Belt to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where we were to call Dar (TZ) & get the number of Aaron & them so we could meet up, as was arranged before we got on the train from Tanzania.
And what do you know, due to the fact that the road was mainly holes & bumps, the 2-hour ride from Ngola to Lusaka seemed longer than the whole 50 hours we had just spent on the train. I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET OFF!! That was definitely the most uncomfortable bus ride of MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!--Nearly as bad as the time I got the last seat (the very back) on a night bus from Kampala to Nairobi & got a seat right on the left wheel (think bumps)....but that's a whole 'nother story in itself.
So we get off the bus (rueing the minute we got on it) & drag our stuff to a pay phone & stick the few Kwacha change we have in the coin slot & call TZ...Mary picks up & ever so sweetly tells us that she had not recieved any e-mail from Aaron & therefore didn't know where he was staying. I had nothing to say except "Ok....um...we'll look around for him"!
What? In a city of 3 million ppl that we'd never been to before? I guess I was speaking faith....what else could I speak....besides, my Kwacha were ticking away....
I hung up the phone & told Jer, "Let's pray!!" And that's exactly what we did...we called on the Power of the Keys of the Kingdom that the Lord would lead us exactly to where they were & that we wouldn't have to look long either. With that, we set off & dragged our bags to the first hotel we saw, which happened to be called 'Cairo Hotel' (the bus had dropped us smack down-town).
We walked in to the reception & asked "Are any Missionaries from Family Care staying here at your hotel?" "They're preparing for a seminar & they should be in a group of about 10 or so...?"
And I still remember this part like it was yesterday.....The receptionist pulls out a flyer advertising the seminars, with Aaron's picture on it that the team had been passing out & asks me, "These people?"
"Yes?" I said, half questioning!
"Oh, yes! They're upstairs!" was her reply.
Jer & I were stunned!!! It wasn't that we didn't know the Lord would honor our faith & lead us (He had no choice, right?)...but we just didn't know He'd do it so soon. I could hardly believe it!
We flew up the stairs to their room & told a bunch of just-as-surprised-people-as-we-were the story of how we had found them by a prayer. It was incredible.
The seminars were a Blast & several other adventures followed, which I shall relay to you another time......stay tuned.....