ALAG Missions

2010-07-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

DR Congo...

It's not a country who's name conjures images of idyllic beaches on the Indian Ocean. It doesn't lead you to think of conquering Kilimanjaro or trekking across the Serengeti tracking lions on safari. There are no pyramids or sphinx to photograph...

DR Congo...

For millions of Congolese Africans it's home. Home in a war-torn country filled with refugees and victims of endless conflict where there is no infrastructure, and few hospitals. Where there is rarely even a primary school, and seemingly no hope that things will ever change for the better.

But we know hope- His name is Jesus and He is the one who can bring change to the Congo. This is why ALAG has sent a team to the Congo. Led by Pastor Greg, our team will be encouraging local pastors and breaking ground on the Kindu Bible Institute. A school who's purpose is to bring hope and change to this region by shining a light in the darkness- by shining THE LIGHT.

Please pray for our team- Pastor Greg, Pastor Jim, John B, Michael C, Jerry F, Jason S, and Erik W. Pray for their safety as they build. Pray for them to be an encouragement to those who will stay behind and continue to minister long after our team returns home. Pray for our guys to be encouraged as well.

Pray for our team...

Pray for DR Congo...

Pray...

Operation Christmas Child

2008-11-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

Last spring I was in Boone, NC attending a medical missions conference which ended with tours of the World Medical Mission and Operation Christmas Child facilities at the ministry headquarters of Samaritan's Purse. As our group entered Operation Christmas Child's cavernous warehouse, my immediate thought was, "Wow! It's just like Santa's workshop". But as I looked around and saw row after row of packing stations with small toys, colorful gift wrap, ribbon, tape, and scissors; I realized, "This is better than Santa's workshop... This is Jesus' workshop!"

I immediately knew that we needed to be a part of it.

On November 30th, 2008 we will be kicking off our annual Christmas outreach by joining with Samaritan's Purse in a worldwide evangelistic, Christmas outreach. ALAG attendees will be provided with all the details on how to pack a simple shoebox gift. Bring your shoebox back to the church on Sunday, Dec 14th and we will ship them to Samaritan's Purse who will send them all over the world to be distributed at their evangelistic crusades.

For more information check out Operation Christmas Child's website, or come to ALAG on Sunday, November 30th. We're looking forward to worshipping with you and blessing children around the globe with a simple Christmas gift and the Gospel of Peace.

-LeeAnn

Tanzania- Here We Come!

2008-07-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Two teams from Abundant Life will be traveling to Tanzania in July of 2008. Here's a overview of what we'll be up to...

Haydom Team- LeeAnn T, Jim T, John B, Robert H, Robin Z, Mike C, and David P

Departs on Wednesday, July 9th and arrives in Tanzania Saturday evening, July 11th. We will travel via Land Cruiser to the remote area of Haydom where we will spend our time building a school, teaching a three day seminar in the local church, and ministering to the remote Bariki tribe. This trip is vitally important as young girls in the village have been recently molested as they go to the river to fetch water for their families. The school project includes a water source, so that girls will not only receive an education- but can bring fresh, clean water home to their families at the end of the school day. Team members return home on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Zanzibar Team- LeeAnn T, John B, Robert H, Robin Z, Willis C, June W, Phyllis R, and Sheila H

Departs on Thursday, July 24th and arrives in Tanzania Saturday afternoon, July 26th. We will then fly to the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar where we will present the Gospel through a malaria clinic ministry. Thousands of women and children will pass through these clinics and receive malaria screening, treatment, education, and mosquito nets. Team members return home on Thursday, August 7th.

Several team members will minister with both teams. LeeAnn, John, Robert, and Robin will remain in Africa when the Haydom Team returns and will return with the Zanzibar team in August.

Please pray for team members as we travel and minister in Africa. You can follow us via Twitter by checking back here or through www.twitter.com/alagmissions .

Missions banquet recap and more...

2008-02-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Your 3rd, and final, clue for the Indiana James Saga was-

Just like Indiana James our 'Mystery Traveler' was famous for his NT journeys.

Congratulations to Margie F who solved the puzzle and won the grand prize during our missions banquet- a $100 gift card to the Elephant Bar Restaurant.

Congratulations also to- Bill and Roz E, Shane H and Michelle H, & Phil and Jen C who won prizes for their creative table decor. Bill and Roz had an amazing under the sea theme, while Phil and Jen took their table on a pirate adventure. Shane and Michelle provided an adventure theme that we'd all like to avoid- with a trip to the hospital for an Operation!

We were also blessed by our guest speaker- missionary to Poland, David Lewandowski. David's message enlightened us on the spiritual need in Poland while challenging us as we make our missions faith pledges for 2008.

We have one more guest speaker as we wrap up our missions emphasis month. Please join us next week to hear from Todd and Amy Churchill, missionaries to the Congo.

In the meantime, please be praying in preparation for making your missions faith pledge for 2008 (if you haven't already done so!) and join us on another year-long adventure of giving in faith!

Week 2 clue...

2008-02-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here's your clue for week 2 of our MEM treasure hunt...

Just like Indiana James our Biblical 'mystery traveler' had an encounter with a basket.

Good luck!

M.E.M. 2008!

2008-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

For where your treasure is there your heart will be also... Matt 6:21

Welcome to Abundant Life Assembly of God- Missions Emphasis Month 2008 (AKA M.E.M.)...

We're kicking of our month with a treasure hunt. This week's clue is-

His name is 'short'

Each week we'll have another video with another clue. Collect the clues to figure out who our 'mystery traveler' is and bring your answer to the banquet at the end of the month. We'll have a drawing from all the correct answers and the winner will receive a prize.

In addition to our ongoing treasure hunt- we've got a few other things going on that you'll want to know about-

Sunday, Feb 10th- Special guest speaker Scott Hanson, missionary to Tanzania

Sunday, Feb 17th- Special guest speaker Sam Huddleston, assistant superintendant of the Assemblies of God NorCal/Nev district

Sunday, Feb 17th- Potluck missions banquet at the Quinlan Center with special guest speaker David Lewandowski, missionary to Poland

Sunday, Feb 24th- Special guest speaker Todd Churchill, missionary to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

We'll wrap up our month by making our missions pledges for 2008... Because, while the treasure hunt and 'Indiana James' are a lot of fun. We're doing all this for a reason- to raise faith pledges for missions. We are setting a budget of just over $98,000.00 this year and it's going to take everyone's pledges to hit our goal.

So enjoy missions month, and join us on a year-long adventure of giving in faith.

ALAG missions opportunities in 2008!

2007-12-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

2008 is going to be an exciting year for ALAG's missions department! In addition to continuing with our local outreach projects at Garden Gate School and San Francisco Rescue Mission, we are planning 5(!) short-term mission trips-

Rancho De Sus Ninos (two separate, one week trips)

WOW JAM (one, ten day trip)

Tanzania, Africa (two separate, two week trips)

Click on the links above to learn more about each of these trips. Contact the missions department at ALAG if you are interested in joining us!

-LeeAnn

ALAG missions opportunites 2008- Tanzania

2007-12-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

ALAG's 2007 Africa/CHaRA team

CHaRA stands for Construction, Health, and Relief Acts. It's is also the Greek word for joy. Through this ministry, Ron and Carol McDonald are sharing the Gospel and bringing joy to the people of Tanzania by providing clean drinking water, building schools, and through malaria treatment and prevention programs.

We have been privileged to partner with Ron and Carol by providing monthly financial support as well by joining them as several short term mission trips. Most recently, a team from ALAG joined CHaRA to minister in Zanzibar and Ikwiriri, Tanzania. While there we screened for malaria, provided treatment, educated about malaria prevention, and supplied families with life saving mosquito nets. You can read about that trip (and get a good idea of what a mission trip to Africa is like here). In 2008 we are planning to join with CHaRA on two separate, two week trips...

Haydom Building Trip- approximate departure date July 11th, 2008- Team members will participate in building a school for the village of Haydom in northern Tanzania. In addition to the school building itself, this project includes a well to provide water for a village in desperate need of clean drinking water. Water is currently being collected from a local river where clothes are also washed, animals are watered (and subsequently defecate in the river), and people bathe. Women and children walk many kilometers to collect water in buckets weighing over 20 pounds which must then be carried home to be used for cooking and drinking. Children often do not attend school, because they are needed to fetch water. Tragically, young girls are also being molested as they go to and from the river. Drilling the well at the school encourages families to send these children to school- where they not only receive an education, but clean water for their families as well. This water project will remove the need to fetch water from the river, thus keeping these young girls safe.

Haydom is open to preaching the Gospel, team members will also be involved in evangelistic outreaches to the village as well as mosquito net distribution and malaria education. This is a remote area of Tanzania so accommodations will be primitive, but the rewards will be great!

Zanzibar Malaria Clinics Trip- approximate departure date July 26th, 2008- If you have always wanted to go to Africa, but were afraid of the conditions- this is the trip for you! Team members will work with CHaRA to staff malaria clinics (no medical experience is needed) in Stonetown and outlying villages. Malaria is the greatest cause of death in East Africa- it is estimated that every 5 minutes a child in Africa dies from malaria. Simply giving out mosquito nets is not enough- clinics provide malaria testing and treatment as well as education about the disease. Zanzibar is not open to preaching the Gospel so we will be sharing Christ's love through our actions instead.

Accommodations in Zanzibar are very comfortable. We will be based at the Tembo House Hotel in Stonetown.

Approximate cost for each 2 week trip is $3200.00 which includes airfare, ground transportation, lodging, and all meals. Trip costs are tax deductible.

ALAG missions opportunites in 2008- Rancho De Sus Ninos

2007-12-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

Rancho De Sus Ninos (RDSN) is an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico founded by Assemblies of God minister, Steve Horner along with his wife, Cathy. Steve and Cathy began ministering in Tijuana in 1987. Since that time, the initial project has expanded to include the (over 500) children in the orphanage, a family day care center, schools, and a youth center. In addition, RDSN continues to reach out to the surrounding neighborhoods through evangelistic outreaches.

ALAG has a long history with Rancho De Sus Ninos. Our first Mexico team, led by Pastor Greg, worked at the orphanage in March of 1992. Through the years we have continued to support the orphanage both financially and by continuing to send teams. ALAG team members have volunteered in projects ranging from mixing cement and laying bricks to presenting puppet shows and dramas for the surrounding community.

Working at RDSN in 2006

Hanging out with the kids at RDSN

This year we plan to send two separate teams to minister at Rancho De Sus Ninos. One team will go in April- as well as in August. Each one week long trip costs approximately $600.00 which includes airfare, ground transportation, accomodations and all meals while at RDSN. Trip costs are tax deductible. If you are interested in either of these trips, contact the missions department at ALAG. You can also learn more about the orphanage here.

Important! The US state department will soon require passports to re-enter the US from Mexico. If you do not currently have a passport, it is recommended that you apply for one ASAP. More information is available here.

ALAG mission opportunities in 2008- WOW JAM

2007-12-26T20:21:00.001-08:00

For the past several years ALAG's youth have participated in annual summer outreaches with WOW International. Founded by Stephen and Linda Tavani, WOW JAM evangelistic outreaches are making a HUGE impact in inner city communities.

This year we are excited to open the 2008 WOW JAM trip to LA up to the entire church. The WOW JAM team will depart June 21st and return June 3oth. Lead by Pastor Shane, our team from ALAG will join with hundreds of other volunteers to minister in neighborhoods like Watts and South Central.

The following excerpt is from the WOW International website...

Through WOW (Winning Our World) International, a non-profit organization, Stephen and Linda have led more than 330 WOW JAMS in more than 40 cities, engaging more than 200 churches, mobilizing 120,000 volunteers, and training 1,680 interns. WOW JAMS repaired 28,671 bikes, fed more than 985,242 people a hot meal, took more than 11,794 family photos, gave away 22,609 potted plants, gave 7,568 hair cuts, provided 40,811 bags of groceries, baptized 3,528 people since 2002, and ministered before over one million people. Most importantly, over 404,729 people have committed their lives to Jesus Christ through their ministry. They demonstrate a passionate, fruitful, and credible commitment to reaching our cities for Christ, while engaging churches, mobilizing believers, training emerging leaders, and developing corporate sponsorships.

Stephen and Linda’s fresh and creative urban evangelism not only has direct evangelistic effectiveness, but also benefits the greater church through modeling innovative approaches and providing practical training and opportunities. Stephen and Linda build relationships among churches in cities that often continue beyond shared sponsorships of WOW JAMS, and helps new churches effectively launch with an influx of new believers.

Pastor Shane will be having an informational meeting for anyone interested in going on this trip in March, 2008. You can also check out more information about WOW JAM here.

On safari...

2007-12-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

After distributing thousands of mosquito nets at two successful malaria clinics in both Zanzibar and Ikwiriri, the team had earned a couple of well deserved days of R&R... After returning for a quick overnight in Dar Es Salaam, we drove to Mikumi National Park for two days on safari. After arriving at the park and checking in at the main gate, we went up to the lodge for lunch at our tented camp, Vuma Hills.

After stowing our bags in our tents (complete with hardwood floors, electricity, full bathroom, two queen beds, and a veranda) we piled into two safari vehicles for an afternoon game drive.

Game drive- meaning driving around in open safari vehicles looking for wild animals...

We saw the usual suspects- zebra, cape buffalo, impala, baboons, giraffe (my favorite!), and more. Then we headed over to the hippo pool where we hit elephant pay dirt! We arrived to find a large family of elephants frolicking in the pool. We spent at least 45 minutes enthralled by their antics before they ambled off into the bush. We were then able to get out of the vehicles near the pool to see the hippos and crocodiles.

After more driving in hopes of seeing lions (which we did not see) we were blessed with a gorgeous sunset. We stopped the vehicles so that everyone could get some pics, then returned to the tented camp for dinner- another great meal...

We spent the evening sitting around the campfire while team members reflected on the trip and our experiences. While we were sharing we started hearing some low, growling noises behind us... I was mildly concerned (thinking about the lions we hadn't seen yet). The growling continued- at one point escalating so loud that one of the team members jumped out of her seat! It was then that we saw what was making all the ruckus- four HUGE badgers were scavenging for food below the stone patio where we were sitting. Later we also saw a bush baby in the tree next to us...

We were escorted to our tents by a masai guard before the power went off (the camp runs on generators which are shut off at night). The night sky was amazing from the deck of our tent- with no towns or lights and the stars were brilliant and bright.

The majority of the team got up early the next morning and embarked on another game drive in hopes of seeing a lion. (I stayed in bed and spent the morning sipping coffee on the patio- having seen lions in Ngorongoro Crater on our last trip). They were rewarding for their quest- seeing a young male hunting just after sunrise.

It was a great ending to an amazing trip!

-LeeAnn

Build it and they will come... Africa part 5

2007-11-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Ikwiriri school children...

After a couple of stops and one very bumpy road detour, we arrived in Ikwiriri- exactly one week after we had departed from California.

The malaria clinic was to be held in a school building on the local TAG (Tanzania Assembly of God) church property. As with many of our experiences in Africa, there is a bit of a background that you need to know...

The local pastor had been given permission to build a church on this piece of property with the condition that he build a school for the local children as well. The church was built, but there was no money left for a school. After a couple of years had passed, he was in danger of losing his property- since the building conditions had not been met. The area bishop (what we would call a presbyter) contacted R and C McD, founders of CHaRA. Not only was CHaRA able to build the school, but they added a much needed water project as well.

Women fetch water from the well (the church building is in the background)...

Water projects are vital. Beyond providing the obvious- desperately needed clean water, a well also creates a connection between the local church and the surrounding community. Local women come to the church daily to fetch free, clean drinking water for their families.

In Tanzania, where children often do not attend school- it has an added benefit. Water projects encourage school attendance. Parents will spend precious shillings on uniforms so that children will go to school. The children bring empty water containers with them in the morning and return with containers full of clean water at the end of the day.

Clean drinking water...

So when R and C contacted this pastor, he agreed to host a malaria clinic at the school. But he related to R and C that the local woman would only cross the church property to get water. Any other time that they passed through the area, they would walk completely around the outskirts of the property. He was not optimistic that anyone would come- since a malaria clinic meant that women would not only have to come on the property, but inside the actual buildings as well!

Posters advertised the upcoming clinic...

After arriving on Friday, we had lunch and then a prayer time with the pastor and other workers. We returned early the next morning to set up before the clinic started. The pastor was delighted to see a group of women waiting for the clinic to begin.

Within an hour or so, the crowd grew...

By mid-afternoon, we had a new problem. So many mothers came to the clinic, that we ran out of nets! Not wanting to turn anyone away, we came up with a quick solution... Since the mothers are required to attend the malaria education class before they receive a net, we gave one presentation to all the women who were outside waiting for a net. We then issued tickets as rain checks. The women could return in one week to the church and exchange their ticket for a malaria net (CHaRA arranged for additional nets to be purchased and delivered to the church).

Teaching the malaria education class to the crowd outside...

Some of the families who were issued rain checks...

All told we gave away all of our 500 malaria nets in Ikwiriri and issued rain checks for 600 more. It was definitely a successful clinic!

-LeeAnn

Inward and onward...

2007-10-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

After spending 4 days working in Zanzibar, it was time for us to return to the mainland. We hopped another quick flight back to Dar Es Salaam and checked back into our hotel for the night. The next morning, we departed for Ikwiriri Village- a three hour drive south of Dar.

Along the way we stopped at the Rufiji River Restaurant for a bathroom break and sodas. We stopped at this particular establishment for one very specific reason involving my husband, J, and JB- another member of the CHaRA team.

The restaurant exterior

In 2001 both J and JB were team members on our church's first mission trip to Tanzania where they were doing a building project in Kibiti. Since there was no place to eat there, they ate each day at this restaurant in nearby Rufiji River. At the end of their stay, Pastor G asked the restaurant owner if the team could pray for him before they left. The Muslim owner agreed and the team prayed for him and for his business to prosper. The team then moved on to their next project in another village several hours away.

The restaurants menu- tea, bread, beef soup, rice, potatoes, egg, soda, and chicken soup...

A couple of years later, R and C McD (the missionaries with whom the original team had worked, who have since gone on to found CHaRA), were passing through Rufiji River. They stopped at this same restaurant. When they went inside they discovered that the owner had made quite a few improvements and expanded his establishment. They asked the owner about the changes and he told them about how he had prospered financially since they had last seen him...

(L to R) JB, the restaurant owner, J

He related that shortly after that team had prayed for him, an outbreak of cholera had swept through the village. Every restaurant in the vicinity was closed due to health concerns except this restaurant. Needless to say, business boomed! The owner immediately recognized that this new found prosperity could only be attributed to the team's prayer for him, and he made sure that R and C prayed for him again before they left that day and each time that they have seen him since. We were privileged to pray for him before we left that day as well...

Next installment- a malaria clinic in Ikwiriri Village

-LeeAnn

Elisha

2007-10-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

Part of traveling to a third world country is seeing hard things. It's not uncommon in Tanzania to see adults crippled by polio, children with bloated tummies due to worms, or babies suffering from malaria.

This trip was no exception.

At the end of one of our malaria education classes in Zanzibar, a Masai mother came to me with her baby. She lifted the shirt on her son, Elisha, who looked to be only two or three months old. I immediately saw that he was laboring to breath and his chest was retracting (chest muscles pulling in with respiration- a sign of breathing difficulties and respiratory distress).

I took the mother and baby to see the clinic director, C McD, whom we were working with- thinking that we would send this mother and baby to the hospital for respiratory treatment. C got Pastor P to translate for us. He asked the mother what was wrong with her baby. She told us that her tiny baby, Elisha, was actually one year old and that he had been born with a heart defect.

The doctors at the hospital have told her that there is nothing that they could do for Elisha. He is simply going to die. C then informed me that I was going to pray for this baby's healing. We gathered two of the African pastors that were working with us and a couple of Americans from our team and we prayed for baby Elijah's healing.

Then I returned to teach my next class.

Walking away from this baby was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My American sensibilities were screaming to take him to a cardiologist, to get him into surgery, to do whatever was necessary to save him. All things that are not possible on a small island in a third world country. An island where there is no cardiologist, no neo-natal intensive care unit, no open heart surgery...

Only prayer.

I believe in prayer. I believe that God heals. I know that He heals people in third world countries with frequency and power that we don't usually see in the USA- where we do have access to specialists and life saving medical procedures.

But I'm still struggling with it all. I want to pray and seek medical intervention- because that's what we would do in America. But he isn't in America. He is in Africa.

So I continue to pray for baby Elisha, knowing that God holds this precious child in His hands. And I continue to struggle with my feelings of powerlessness and my lack of faith.

And yet I pray.

-LeeAnn

Destination Zanzibar!

2007-10-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

After a quick (20 minutes!) flight to Zanzibar and breakfast at our hotel, we boarded our dala-dala (the traditional local transport) and went to tour the historic slave market.

Our dala-dala awaits!

Zanzibar was the main point of export for the Arab slave trade. Included in the slave market tour is a descent down into the actual holding cells used to imprison slaves before they were auctioned. While sitting in the cramped cell, we were reminded how terrible the conditions were- beyond what I could even imagine...

The slave monument was created using original chains from the slave market.

Next door to the slave market, was a nursery school. I can't tell you what a contrast it was to just stand and watch the happy children playing after the tour.

School children washing their dishes after a snack of uji (porridge).

After lunch we went visit at a local orphanage where we brought new shoes for all the children. Then we were off to the church to set up the malaria clinic. We used the new school building that is under construction as well as the church building itself. After spending the afternoon figuring out the clinic flow and general logistics we went to check in at our hotel.

I managed to get 6 hours sleep that night and we were up early the next morning. After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the church where mothers were already lined up with their children to receive the mosquito nets that were going to be given away. The basic clinic flow went like this-

Registration- Mothers, children 5 and under, and pregnant women were registered for the clinic (as per government guidelines). During the registration process the women and children were screened for malaria symptoms (high fever, chills, or flu-like symptoms). Anyone with symptoms had DR written on their paperwork, so that they would see the doctor before leaving with their net.

Education- After registration, they came to the class. There they learned how to reduce the number of mosquitoes around their homes, why and how to use the mosquito net, and how to recognize malaria symptoms and the importance of seeking prompt treatment.

Diagnosis- After attending the class, those with a DR on their paperwork saw the on-site doctor. Malaria was diagnosed by taking a blood sample and viewing it under a microscope (the parasite is visible under magnification). The Tanzanian doctors and nurses hired by CHaRA also treated children for various maladies such as worms, as well as doing well baby checks.

Nets- After seeing the doctor (or directly after the class, if a doctor visit was not required), the women went to pick up their net. One net was issued per family (mothers and children sleep together) and a large "N" was put on each woman's forearm with a permanent marker to prevent anyone from returning for a second net.

In spite of the non-religious nature of the clinic itself, we were met with opposition from the local, non-Christian, religious leaders who accused us of doing malaria clinics only as an attempt to convert their women and children (we did hold one crusade initially, but didn't do any more, for fear of repercussions to the local church). Simply holding the clinic on church property was already viewed as a real threat to these leaders' hold on their followers.

Next post- an attempt to shut the clinic down...

-LeeAnn

Finally arriving in Africa...

2007-10-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Fly Emirates!

After meeting at the church to load bags and pray, we left for the airport. Our ALAG team joined up with three others from California at SFO before departing on a red-eye flight to New York on Friday, September 28th. We met up with the remainder of our team (from North Carolina) at JFK with moments to spare (they had a very tight connection) and we boarded for flight on Emirates Air to Dubai.

Don't even ask me how much my latte cost... It was in dirhams!

After a 3 hour layover in Dubai (last chance for Starbucks!) we departed on the last leg of our journey, arriving in Dar Es Salaam on Sunday afternoon. After some general chaos, we were escorted through customs by the local chief of police who had arranged to meet us (we have been hassled in the past by local customs officials who demanded bribes in order to release our bags).

The landscaping at the airport in Dar Es Salaam says,

"Karibu" (Welcome!)

Outside the airport, we met up with R McD from CHaRA. After towering all our bags onto one small truck, we got on our rented bus and went to our hotel. After a little time to rest, we had a team meeting where we got a chance to meet everyone and were briefed on local customs, what to expect etc. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant owned by a friend of R's (After doing two trips with R- I am convinced that he has friends who own restaurants in every village or town across Tanzania!).

We returned to our hotel to repack our bags (J and I only needed to take one bag to Zanzibar between us, we left the other bag at the hotel in Dar). In spite of the jet lag and general exhaustion, I only managed to get 4 hours of sleep before we were up again at 5am. We left the hotel at 6am to catch a flight to Zanzibar and arrived in time for breakfast.

Boarding our flight on national airline, Precision Air, notice the propellers!

Next post... Malaria clinics in Zanzibar!

-LeeAnn

Let the stories begin!

2007-10-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

The ALAG team photo- taken before we left for the airport...

I have a reputation.

A reputation for travel stories, that is... Weird things happen to me when I travel. Things like moped accidents in Rome (two in one day!) or missing a flight connection due to special customs screening (on the way home from our first trip to Tanzania) or switching carry on bags with a fellow passenger in Amsterdam (our second trip to Tanzania). There is even a name for this phenomenon...

"LeeAnn stories"

I was pretty determined to avoid an LeeAnn story this time. Especially since our team from ALAG was going to be traveling with others (whom we were meeting for the first time!) from Sacramento and North Carolina. Fortunately, nothing happened to me personally- but we did have a couple of odd things happen to our team as we traveled...

Our first flight was a red-eye to New York. A couple hours into the flight there was a jolt- it was like turbulence, but with only one bump. About 10 minutes later the pilot comes on the intercom and says something along the lines of "In case you were wondering about that bump back there, folks, that was not turbulence it was wake turbulence." In other words- we passed through another plane's jet wash.

Jet wash? Like in Top Gun?!! Great... I felt a lot better when I thought it was just regular turbulence- thanks for clearing that up!

Photo taken of Dubai City as we landed. The tall building is the Burj Dubai, currently under construction- when complete, it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world.

The second, unusual event occurred on the 5 hour long, return flight from Dar es Salaam to Dubai. On this flight our team of 15 people were scattered around the aircraft, seated in groups of 2 or 3. About an hour before landing, a member of our team, D, came by my seat and asked me to pray for another team member, P. It seems that P was having some anxiety because someone on our flight had tried to open the plane's hatch at 32,000 feet! It turns out that D had witnessed the event and had ID'd the attempted-hatch-opener (AHO) to the crew after they investigated the door due to a warning light that was prompted by removing the door handle's cover. The crew quietly moved the AHO to the rear of the plane and isolated her until we landed.

We landed in Dubai under emergency protocol- they landed the plane far out on the runway, away from the terminal, and took us off the plane there. D and P had to remain behind to give a statement to the local police and the AHO was taken into custody (her story was that she was looking for the bathroom). D and P caught up with us later inside the terminal in plenty of time for us to catch the next leg of our flight to New York.

So like I said- no personal LeeAnn story this trip. I was kind enough to share my moments with the whole team...

Anyone want to take a trip with me?

-LeeAnn

Post-script... When we came home, I asked a friend (who happens to also be a flight attendant) about both incidents. She said that the AHO would not have been able to open the door, due to external pressure outside the plane. Good to know, but it was a little unnerving, nonetheless! As far as the wake turbulence was concerned- evidently that is not that unusual and is not dangerous... It's just unusual that the pilot mentioned it over the intercom...

Welcome!

2007-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

A mother and baby register for the malaria clinic in Ikwiriri Village, Tanzania.

I came home from a mission trip to Africa two weeks ago. As usual, when we return from a trip, everyone wants to hear the stories... In that line of thought- welcome to ALAG's missions department blog!

I'll be posting my journal from this past trip to Tanzania as well as future trips. I'll also put up some photos and links to keep you informed. So come on in and enjoy!

-LeeAnn