After their stopover in Istanbul, the East Africa team has made it back to the US! Thank you for all of your prayers for this team. Please join us in praying that the team would be able to navigate any reverse culture shock as they come home and that they draw close to God as they discern what he is calling them to next.
Make sure to ask a team member about their experience and how you can be praying for them specifically!
Mumbo friends and family!!
Today our travels back home began and wow have we made the most of them so far. Veryyyy early this morning we flew out of East Africa and landed in Istanbul, Turkey, just about 7 hours later. Praise the Lord all of our travels went very smoothly and there was a driver awaiting to take us to the heart of Istanbul where we would explore for the evening and then stay one night in a hotel.
We started off the evening in Istanbul with an incredible (and entertaining) dinner. Little did we know that Lauren’s dish came with a show that included fun music, live fire cooking, and everyone (yes that included us and all of the servers) dancing in the restaurant while it was cooked. Lauren then helped break the jar where her food was being cooked and we sat down to enjoy our last dinner as a team. This included a sweet debriefing time when each of us were able to share priceless, sweet, inspiring, and also funny moments from our trip. Getting to debrief as a team was such a sweet thing to experience as each of us were able to reminisce about the whole trip and relate to one another and our hearts for this ministry.
We then got up from the most delicious dinner and began exploring around the beautiful city of Istanbul. We had the privilege of being able to go into The Blue Mosque and marvel at the beauty of such incredible architecture. We continued walking around this incredible city and found ourselves trying all of the Turkish specials. This included the ice cream, coffee, and original sweets like Turkish delights. I think it would be safe to say that there was little to no disappointment in this amazing food and drinks!
This was such an incredible way to end and each one of us is so grateful for what God has done on this trip. We thank you all for your prayers and as for continued prayers as we fly out tomorrow and will be back in the states later Monday evening. We love you and can’t wait to tell you more about the many blessings of our trip to East Africa. Thank you for following along with us!
For the very last time we bid you goodnight, see you soon!
Lots of love,
Grace Harmon
Hi friends and family!!!
Today was our official last day on African soil and it has been sad, peaceful, and happy all in one day. We started the day with a game with the girls. It’s called Ready, and it definitely needs to be played in America! We’ll teach you all some time 🙂
After a couple of rounds, we worshiped and said our goodbyes. The girls were so sweet and made us picture frames with glued on seashells they found on the beach. Each frame had group pictures from our time at Firefly restaurant. They also gave us sweet handmade letters. As we learned from our time with the first group, long goodbyes are hard. We kept this goodbye short and sweet, but there were still many tears. I know when I speak for all of us that these girls will live in our memories and our hearts forever! Being their first Jessup team proved to be an amazing experience for both the girls and us.
After goodbyes were had, the Jessup team had a shopping spree at the local mall. However, shopping could only occur after food was eaten, so our fieldworker took us to a nice Thai and sushi restaurant. The food was INCREDIBLE! We shopped the local shops and did our best to bargain.
We are currently now waiting at our fieldworkers’ beautiful beach house for our 4:50am Istanbul flight. The camp fire is blazing and we had delicious burgers and fries for dinner. We are so excited to be home with you all, but we have one more adventure in Turkey before we are there.
See you Jumatatu (Monday)!
-Toni
Mom and Dad, tell Girly I love her and I’ll be back soon!!! 🙂
Jambo!!!
Nimechoka (Hi, I’m tired)
But my heart is so full.
It’s Alyssa!
Today we started at the house! We love to start the day with worship and dancing! Then we did VBS with all the girls. I played teacher today since Grace got to share her beautiful testimony. Some of the girls also opened up and shared their testimonies with us! It was so beautiful hearing their stories and how God has moved in their lives!
We then headed over to the beach and had games, swimming, hot dogs, s’mores, and even more dancing (which I love to do)!
We’re all a bit sad that tomorrow we say bye to these girls. It’s been so sweet to get to know them and have them come out of their shells around us!
Tomorrow will be a long day as we have about a 5am flight so keep praying for us!!
Today was great!
We started the day of learning a new word, Shagalbogna (chaos). I also have no clue if I spelled that right… That was the word that describes many of the pictures from today!
We all woke up and headed over to the girls’ home and began our day with a team devotional, and then we headed out with the girls to Bagamoyo (where I lay my heart down). A historical port where a huge portion of slave trade took place in East Africa. It was known as the place of no return. If a slave made it to Bagamoyo alive, which only 1 out of 5 did, they knew they would never return to their family or home.
On our way there, we stopped at a snake park where some of us thrived, and some of us internally died. I always say Satan was a snake for a reason. We saw many snakes and even got the chance to hold one. (This is where most of the snake haters hid… rightfully so). Randomly, we also saw a zebra, ostrich, porcupine, and even got the chance to ride a camel.
After this stop, we continued our drive to a historical museum and cathedral where we learned the history of slave trade and of Bagamoyo.
Traveling from the cathedral, we ended the day at a peaceful restaurant/hotel called Firefly. It’s such a beautiful spot and a great way to end the day.
As we headed back to the home, we sang many many eya eyas and the few Swahili songs we know many times in the bus. Such a great time getting to know the girls more and seeing them step out of shells and be more comfortable with us!
As we come towards and end of our trip, if you all could pray for our team to finish strong and to love the girls as much as we possibly can in our last day here.
Thank you all for your support and prayers!
Enjoy the photos!
-Isaac
Jambo!
Our third day in this second location was spent entirely at Courage House with the girls. Days typically begin at the hotel with breakfast on the garden terrace, then a short walk to Courage House, where we have devotions with the Courage staff and drinking fantastic coffee. The team jumped straight into praise and worship with the girls, with Kenzie and Hope sharing their personal testimonies. Grace, our fearless VBS leader, continued the story of Joshua, encouraging the girls to be “strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:9). A few quick games and onto lunch.
In addition to my professor role at Jessup, I enjoy sharing what I teach my students with organizational leaders. Today, I had the opportunity to facilitate a design thinking workshop with the Courage leadership team and Mr. Edwin Mugambila, Human Rights Lawyer, Author, Speaker, CEO of Tanzania Relief Initiatives, and Founder of TANAHUT (Tanzania Network Against Human Trafficking) and two amazing members of his team. Edwin is also on Courage’s Board of Directors.
These transformational leaders are producing change and building lives in some of the darkest and most dire circumstances related to human trafficking. Sadly, more humans are being trafficked worldwide for labor, sex, harvesting human organs, etc., than when slavery was legal. It is sobering, but there’s hope. Some of the leaders I met with today included former victims of human trafficking, turned survivors, and now leaders. They are the lights in some of the darkest places. Please continue to pray and partner with them in the incredible work God is doing here in East Africa and globally. See Courage for more information: www.courageworldwide.org.
The afternoon included bracelet making, a volleyball skills clinic complete with Jessup jerseys for the girls, dancing, and English and Swahili language games. Topping off the day was a beauty spa where the girls had their nails painted and makeup and hair done (some of our team included).
Before I conclude, I would like to brag about our Jessup students for a moment. I have yet to hear anyone complain, and I have seen each team member love in a way that reminds me of Jesus welcoming the children to come to Himself in the gospels. It is a joy to see God not only at work through them but also in them. God is working in ways that only he can, and I know you’ll be excited to hear all about it when they return home.
Ubarikiwe (Be blessed),
Dave Heitman (team leader)
Jambo!
Today, we started the day off with a hot cup of coffee and very good devotions from Kenzie and Suzane (an amazing social worker with Courage).
After the morning coffee, we got to see the girls and wish them a good morning. As we were speaking to the girls a few of us got to hold the super cute babies (see pictures down below ⬇️) Today was a beach day, everyone was getting prepared and dressed to go.
When we made it to the beach house, you could instantly see the ocean! And let me tell you, it was fan freakin tastic! Once we got situated, we jump right into VBS. The girls really enjoyed it and got to share a few things that they took away from it.
After lunch, we went straight to the ocean! It was so amazing. The water was at the perfect temperature and everyone had a really good time. We played soccer and a game that the girls taught us.
Once we were done with the beach, we had yummy snacks provided by the girls. One was local candy (hand-made), juice (hand made), and popcorn. All was so unforgettably good, can’t explain it!
At the beach house there was a coconut tree. I was so in awe!! I asked if it would be possible during our stay if we could get a fresh coconut somewhere. One of the field workers said yes, here and now! They got a ladder and brought down a coconut and peeled, and cut it open. Then, boom, I had a fresh coconut in my hand with a straw. I might have gotten a little too excited and shedded a few tears.
At the end of the day, we had dinner at the Courage office and ended the day with some team time.
Badi! (Later!)
-Lauren
hello !! today has been a whirlwind of fun and funny moments!
this morning we were stuck in the Zanzibar airport ! our layover was extended to 3 hours rather than a quick 10 minutes! so we got to our actual destination @4:30am and then drove to our hotel, getting there @5:30am! it was crazy !!!
so we got up this morning around 10:30am and had a little team meeting! then went to meet up with our fieldworkers! we got to the ministry house around 12 and had lunch! so yum!
we then met the girls! they are so beautiful and kind! the group here is much smaller and there are more babies! so much love and joy! the girls love to dance and are working on their english! it’s so amazing to see the love of God through these girls.
so excited for the next couple of days! please be praying for a great night’s sleep tonight for our team and energy in the morning! and no mosquitos lol!
-Kenzie!
JAMBO!!
It’s Hope:)
Well this day was packed full with tons of things but I’ll try and keep it short;) Our day started with a very early Safari ride through the Serengeti, where we got the treat of seeing a pride of lions chasing a hyena and a buffalo. Plus, many more elephants, zebras, ostriches, and thankfully, some giraffes (an answer to Lauren’s prayers) The sunrise was gorgeous over the savanna and mountains. After a beautiful beginning of the day, we then spent the rest of the morning hanging out on the patio playing card games and reading until lunch.
After the most delicious lunch, we packed up and started the drive back to the airport. The drive started with lots of singing and talking but quickly turned into a sleep fest. We stopped for dinner at a Coffee Lodge 2 hrs later, where we hung out for a while, stalling time till our flight.
The last leg of the car ride was filled with much more singing and an amazing view of the sunset and the stars. We made it to the airport around 8 and said goodbye to our most amazing driver who somehow put up with us this whole week. Our next flight will take us to the coast of Africa! where we can’t wait to meet so many more amazing girls.
Continue to keep us in your prayers as we meet our new friends tomorrow!
WAHELI!
-Hope
(P.S. Mom, the food here is so much better than home, that I think I’m a changed person 😉)
Jambo (hello) friends and family!
Yet another incredible day here in Africa! Today looked a little different as we traveled to another location and took on a Safari tour! I know, AMAZING!!! Just wait until you see the pictures below…
We took a long 4 hour drive to our next location but stopped at the most amazing place on the way for coffee but we found so much more. There we watched glass making and blanket making in the most beautiful form. We have constantly been inspired by the way things are created here and love taking it all in it along the way.
We then got back on the road and entered into quite the bush wondering when we might see some wildlife. Sure enough we were not even on our safari yet when Dave spotted the first elephant!! We were of course in awe and yet had no idea what we would encounter next.
As we arrived at our lodging destination we were greeted with the most incredible view full of many elephants across the vast and open land! This was beyond breathtaking and we simply could not believe our eyes. Next, was the safari and let me tell you wow, just wow! Hundreds of zebras, elephants that walked straight up to our jeep (yes this brought tears to some eyes), and giraffes out at a distance. We enjoyed the most beautiful sunset, sweet devotions, and yup you guessed it… another incredible dinner. Some of the team joined back together and ended the night with many rounds of the game Nertz (with Isaac taking the win)!
While this has been an incredible and unforgettable experience, we are preparing and prayerful as we look towards another week of more sharing the love of Jesus in our next location.
We could use some travel prayers as we will be traveling again tomorrow (a drive as well as a short flight). We love you and are so grateful for your prayers!
P.S. Love and miss ya mom and dad!
Signing off,
Grace Harmon 🙂
