During our time with them in October, they mentioned they were coming to Tanzania and Kenya for a safari tour in February and hoped we could meet up. Last week we got a call from them saying they were here and would let us know when they would be close to us. They were on a tour with 24 people so they didn’t have the freedom to come and see us, but perhaps we could meet up with them when they were in Arusha, which is about an hour and a half away from Moshi.
On Saturday, we found out they would be in Arusha the following day. So, we began to think how we could get there without a car. Bus would be cheapest, but they wouldn’t be in Arusha until late afternoon. Because of Nala, we had to get back by evening and no buses go from Arusha to Moshi in the evening. Next option – borrow our friend, Eddie’s car. He is a taxi driver and has let us use his car a few times. Unfortunately, he called to tell us his car was in the shop due to an accident. Bummer. Ok… how about Saidi? He is another taxi driver we use sometimes. We called him and he said he could probably do it. He would call us after church. So, on Sunday morning, George went to church. I stayed behind otherwise Nala would have been locked in the house for 12+ hours. When George called Saidi after church, Saidi said his car wouldn’t make it that far. Oh no…. But he found another driver who could take us. Hooray!
George picked me up and we left around 1:45. I thought Eli would take a nap during the two hour drive, but he didn’t. He started to get sleepy just as we arrived. I thought for sure he would melt down at some point, but he didn’t. He did great. He loves to be out and about and was very happy the whole time. We arrived at 3:45 and were thrilled to see Dave and Susan. Their group was camping at a place called Snake Park. I wasn’t happy to be in a place with that name. I guess they have lots of snakes, reptiles, owls, camels and other random animals. Fortunately, we just sat and talked and I didn’t see any snakes.
Eli and Susan picked up where they left off. She has a way with babies… especially ours. Eli loved her once again. We had to leave by 6:00pm so we just chatted and got caught up. We were filled with so much joy being with them. Jimmy and Amanda sent a photo album with photos from their visit in October for them to give to us. It was such a special gift. Eli was SO tiny!
It was neat meeting their fellow campers. They joined a tour already in progress. It began in South Africa in December and ends in Cairo, Egypt in March. They are just going with them for two weeks to see Tanzania and Kenya. What a trip!
Too soon, our time was up. It was sad to leave them. Being with family even for a short time was wonderful. It was nice, too, talking with Americans. It had been a while for me! I didn’t have to talk slowly and could chatter away as much as I wanted. We said goodbye and look forward to see them when we are able to take a furlough in the US. They are two of the nicest people we know and blessed us very much.
We left at 6:10 and I thought Eli would just sleep since he missed his afternoon nap and it was close to his normal bed time. He passed out right away… for twenty minutes. Then the little stinker stayed awake until 10:30! We reached home around 8:30, but he was off his schedule and very confused. I didn’t realize how much his routine mattered. At least he slept until 5:30 this morning without waking which was nice for us.
I’m so glad we found a way to see Dave and Susan. We had to drive over four hours to see them for just two and a half, but it was worth it.
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