There's no place like home! First order of business - greet my wonderful husband who supported me completely on this adventure and then to The Sonic for a large diet Coke with extra ice! Boy, was it good!!! We made it home safe and sound yesterday. The 15.5 hour plane ride from Doha to Houston was way too long. My bottom has never been so sore! We started home on Monday at 11am Kenya time and arrived home on Wednesday at 5 pm Houston time. I am always a little anxious as to who I will be sitting near when traveling on an overseas flight for MANY hours. I was truly blessed. Mary Arnold and I had the pleasure of sitting with a college sophomore named Michael who was also returning home from serving on a mission team. His group was from a university in Arkansas and went to several locations in the southern part of Africa for 5 1/2 weeks. Some of the group had to camp in tents for 2 weeks (they didn't even have toilets) in order to do one of their projects out in the middle of nowhere. Mary and I both have sons named Michael so we thought it was really a blessing from God to share the flight home with this young man who could share his mission trip experience with us. Today is the day to unpack and clean everything. My washing machine has been going nonstop since I got up this morning. My 18 month old granddaughter, Layla, is visiting with us from Oklahoma.What a difference it is when I compare her to the young children in Kenya. She eats three meals a day with snacks in between while the children in the Samburu tribe we visited had no food and were nourished with goat's blood and what small amount of goat's milk they could get. Layla has plenty of clothes to wear for all occasions. Most of the children in the Samburu tribe wore shirts or dresses and didn't have any diapers or underpants. Most of the children were also without shoes. It's hard to understand why some people have so much and some people have so little. Whether we have a lot or little, we can still experience joy in our lives when we know Jesus Christ. Our mission team studied the book of Philippians on our trip and were reminded of Paul's words: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) Whatever our circumstances are in life, whether imprisoned like Paul, poor and in such need as the people in Kenya, or whatever it is each of us face in our own lives, we can find joy in the Lord. While visiting the Samburu tribe one of our team members, I think it was Vicki Freemen, introduced herself to a member of the tribe and he told her his name. Not understanding what he said she asked him to repeat his name. He said it again and then added: " My Christian name is Peter." Vicki told him we were Christians and that I was a pastor. He asked if I would pray for them before we left. When the time came for us to leave all of the adults, the mission team and those of the tribe, made a circle and joined hands. The children were all gathered in the middle of the circle. And together we bowed our heads and I prayed for our friends. I prayed that the Lord would watch over them and protect them and provide for their many needs. Later that afternoon when we were back at our lodge it began raining and it rained hard for quite a while. (Rain is desperately needed.) Our driver came up to me later and said that I had offered a powerful prayer that afternoon. I don't know for sure if it rained at the village we visited but I do know the Lord hears our prayers. Please keep the many people of Kenya in your prayers. Blessings, Rosemary