I previously posted about meeting Pastor John Komanya and some of the ministries his church community supports. (Unbroken, Unmoved.) Yesterday, we drove outside Dar es Salaam to worship with that church community — at the Cathedral of Joy. Much of the experience was unfamiliar …...

48266 is the number once used by local operators to dial my father’s home in Shelby, Ohio. Dad shared that detail with me recently while on safari. We were standing next to each other one afternoon as our safari jeep rumbled along, with our heads poking through its roof windows. We...

It was thrilling to find this twilight scene in Zanzibar. Scores of young men were lined up along Stonetown’s water front … waiting for their turn to launch themselves in to the Indian Ocean. Some did flips. Others soared. A few belly flopped. One young man barely cleared the...

Some friends passed along this poem from Sir Francis Drake for our journey: Disturb us Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true Because we dreamed too little, Because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when With the abundance of things...

(NOTE: That’s not an inappropriate finger thing going on. It’s the FOURTH finger, the ring finger, celebrating Eugene and Elaine’s engagement. They’re the fourth and fifth folks from the right.) Earlier this week, I was listening to a long-term missionary who’s...

As I write, some close friends are working with a team somewhere in America — in the dark — to bring light and help to people who need it. Also as I write, our small Zanzibar guest house is without power – in the dark. Minutes ago, I was expressing my disappointment to the front...

We visited a cave today in Zanzibar once used by Arab slave traders. Years ago, as British troops and ships started to enforce the end of legal slavery in east Africa, traders tried to conceal their slaves in secret places until high tides and darkness made their export business easier. So,...

Two reasons why safaris aren’t just about seeing the Big Five — lions, leopards, rhinos, Cape buffalo, and the African elephant. We met a couple from Wisconsin during our safari. They’d come to celebrate fifty years of marriage, having been on safari in Botswana years before...

A wonderful, global moment this afternoon in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A water slide. A handful of boys — from England, the US, Bolivia, and Malawi. Mud. Bathing suits. A hose. A new friend — a parent — who happens to know a former NPR colleague from college and time spent in...

We read the Creation story before embarking on the first game drive of our recent safari. I’d forgotten some of the details: we don’t read about LAND until verse 9, CREATURES and MAN come much later. Creation begins with LIGHT and the SEPARATION between Heaven and earth …...

  We were so grateful to spend time with — and go on safari with — Papa and Janet. Joyous hearts for the hello — and tears for the goodbye. What an incredible experience to...

This is what I had been waiting for, all Safari…a chase scene!!!

We have just returned from safari … with TONS of stories to pass along. This is our first: four lionesses struck down, then slaughtered, a young wildebeest outside our two, canvas Serengeti tents … as we “slept” inside. There will be lots more to say about the...

“I wish you could record smells…” Our middlest son expressed this as we stood in front of this flowering bush last night in northern Tanzania. We had followed its fragrance down a path and across lawn. Its scent was strong, sweet and wonderful. J and I resisted diving...

(Soldiers parade through Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara.) Some recent facets of our journey have been a bit heavy, dark. During our recent swing through Istanbul, three Kurdish activists were found dead in France. We were a bit oblivious to the developments … until we...

We went swimming in the Indian Ocean during our first afternoon in Tanzania. There were lots of jolts to our comfort zones: warm water clogged with trash and weeds, dozens and dozens and dozens of black bodies swimming in the surf around us, no other whites, lots of underwear instead of Eddie...

Today was like Christmas!  We spent the late afternoon gathered in a living room in Dar Es Salaam, soaking up love sent from friends at home.  The five of us took turns reading notes from friends out loud, sharing photos and hand-drawn pictures, laughing, sighing, and yes, even a little...

New friends for a new year!  We are so thankful to get to know several sets of amazing people who have shared their meals, their homes, their time, and their STORIES with us over the past month or so during our travels. Click on the “Faces” link to meet some terrific people who...

Oh my, how far we’ve come since November 18. We were robbed on that day … in Spain … (in the rain). The wrenching experience relieved us of a fair amount of our THINGS. Some of the loss, if we’re honest, was for the best. It made us leaner, more mobile … less...

E — pictured above with his brothers at Istanbul’s astonishing Hagia Sophia — delivered the Quote of the Day early this morning: He attacked S and I in bed as we woke up, landing between us with a morning roar. “Mom and Dad smell differently,” he then...

  From a GORGEOUS, frigid, and delightfully snowball-friendly storm in Istanbul, a few excerpts of how pop culture has made its way to our mobile hearth and home: A recent gift of CDs for our journey has introduced us to Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe.” I think it’s...

This may horrify some of you … but we rented some sweet off-roaders today and, well, went off-roading in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Yes, E drove by himself a handful of times. And, yes … he nearly drove himself off a cliff. Seriously. True to form, as the ATV...

S made an announcement at dinner this evening, over chicken shish kebap, cheese pita pizza, and some seriously wiped out children: “When we get to Istanbul, I’m going to get some prescription glasses.” She apparently was having difficulty reading the fine print on her water...

I want to share something that has been shared with us. Our recent hosts in Antalya, Turkey made two music CDs for our travels. Those CDs have been on constant play for the last two days … and one song in particular is a close second to Owl City’s “Sunburn.” It’s...