Day 3 - Wednesday June 20, 2007

 Our team has finally made it to the Children of Zion Village! It was a very long trip, but we’re all here safe and sound and settling in. The plane was absolutely grueling (15 hours in the air) and trying to sleep sitting straight up is quite the challenge ~ except for Rev. Dennis. He seemed to sleep quite comfortably in that position! We made up for it by spending our first night in the Johannesburg airport hotel, which was very nice and comfortable! We had just one little blip with customs leaving Johannesburg. All of the airport staff now knows Steven by name. It has something to do with trying to get Michelle’s horse hoof picks through with our carry on luggage, but we’ll let them tell you the whole story later!

We’ve had our first meal of chicken a la Ed Koch and seasoned pasta a la Rebecca Mink, with us cheering them on. It was a group effort. The "kids" (i.e., Steven, Michelle, Mandie & Joe) are doing the dishes and cleaning up as we "speak".

We’re plan to hit the sack early since we need to be up early for staff devotions by 8:00 a.m. sharp. The Taylors (Deb & Jeff) have their own private "condo" (a bungalow just outside the compound). Please pray no elephants want to visit them during the night. Mandie & Michelle are in the "chalet" (the bungalow for the long-term female volunteers). There are four to the house. The rest of us are bunking with the Minks, so shower time is of the premium.

We briefly met the children. (you should see how big Jonathan is! He’s the one who was adopted last year when he was 9 months old and weighed only 8 pounds.) And we had a quick tour of the "village".

More news tomorrow. Stay tuned and keep the prayers coming!!

Deb & Jeff Taylor and Clydia Koch for Namibia One