MOUNT KILIMANJARO

G'day friends & family,

Just wanted to say a quick hello from papagayo, on the tanzanian coast--more to come when we return!!! Tomorrow we may take a boat to zanzibar then to our next destiantion further south, insted of riding on the bus!!

Our time on Kilimanjaro was absolutely amazing. establishing long-lasting friendships with the kids was definitely one of the highlights. our first day we met all the kids who would be going on the hike. we treated them to sunglasses off the street (to protect from kili's sun) then walked with them around town, visiting some of their homes and families. Sheban, Neema, Anna, Vayan, Paul, & Emmanuel were the most amazing kids.

Elizabeth and I kept saying to eachother: "how can people, with so little & such a difficult upbringing, be so happy & so strong, and why is it that some people who have so much can be so miserable?" All of the kids had unique stories, which they shared with us. Also, their smiles were the biggest and brightest we have seen on anyone in awhile--we will go into more detail later.

Apart from trying to speak swahili, climbing kili was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The altitude was brutal, and starting the ascent to the summit on the last day at 12AM was a shock to the system.

The real joy of the trip was the tanzanian youth--watching them & learning from them all the time. We all fell in love with their stories, their eager determination, & their strong faith. Saying goodbye was difficult.

THE CLIMB HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Staying on our guide's farm at the base the first night, including running down the paddocks to a waterfall & a swim
2. Setting out the first day & getting rained on--arriving to camp wet but in good spirits as we had hot water to bathe with and hot tea and coffee
3. waking up each morning with a knock on the tent and one of our porters asking if we wanted coffee or chai (their tea)
4. seeing first hand the struggles of everyone--especially the kids--fending off the cold and the tiredness
5. seeing kilimajaro for the first time on day two, as the sun rose in the east and illuminated the snow fields of kilimanjaro out our tent window.
6. Learning from the kids--each day was dedicated to a life skill "topic," including goal-setting, confidence, peer pressure, & role models
7. the commeradery between every porter/guide on the hike and all of us, we were 'Together'
8. Tupo Pamoja!!!! we chanted a song each day with the kids, tranlated "we are together"
9. Every day we arrived to camp, the tents were set up & our porters & crew were singing and dancing--we always joined in
10. we had 38 crew members, from cooks to porters!!!
11. perserverance--ALL BUT 1 CHILD MADE it UP THE HILL & ALL BUT ONE OF US DID TOO!!
12. sunrise over kilimanjaro at 6:30am when we finally got to the first summit, gilman's point
13. We weren't sure who would make it, including us, and were so excited to see the two young tanzanian girls make it to the top.
14. team work--for the 6.5 hour summit climb at 12am, everyone was struggling--kid's were freezing, weak, and tired. between our camera man from SOUTH AFRICA, to Tait and the guides, we made sure the stayed warm, fed, motivated, & hydrated--not an easy thing to do when we all were tapped out as well.
15. Elizabeth having to go number two, at 2am, at about 17,000 feet--she did it, don't know how
16. seeing two of the kid's carry on to the final summit--uhuru peak--and watching them playing with the snow and staring at the glaciers.
17. of course it was a great feeling to make it too, as well as see my wife go all the way. I had a major headache from gilman's to uhuru peak, & just wanted to lay down and sleep. From about 2am onwards, I don't think elizabeth uttered a word, as she was in survival mode


In summation, the trip has been amazing. we all miss our kids tremendously, but have vowed not to say goodbye, but to say "until later," as we know in our hearts we will return to TANZANIA soon.

We thank all of you who have supported & prayed for us--together we made it. TUPO PAMOJA!!!!


Many thanks and much love,

Elizabeth and Logan