On Monday morning we left Arusha (the big city) at 5:30am and headed north towards the village of Gelai, a small Masai settlement. About 3 hours into the approx. 4 hour trip we stopped along the side of the road to take a picture of the giraffe you see pictured below.
After the obligatory photos we set off again, only this time with significantly less movement. For instead of the normal forward motion we were used to achieving in our car, we were getting a lot more of the less desirable complete lack of movement. The engine died. We checked the car for the source of our new found stagnancy, and discovered a blown fuse, and a whole lot of burned wire leading into the fuse box. Short of a new car or team of trained huskies, we weren't going anywhere.
We managed to tow the car to the closest village, a small plot of land with 40 or so small huts made of dirt and sticks. From there, we were able to call back to Arusha and request some help. A technician would be able to travel to us, but would need to first find the necessary tools, second board a bus to the closest town, and third hire a motorcycle to drive him to where we were at. All told, a 5 hour journey.
So we settled in, the kids camping in the backseat with Deanna, and the associate Director of Children of Promise, Herman, and myself occupying the front seat and any other shade spot we could find while we waited.
At this point, we also began to draw quite a crowd. We had little African children hanging on the sides of our parked car peering inside at these strange white children they had never seen before. Reaching the hands through the windows to try and touch Ian and Elliana's faces and hands. This would prove a bigger problem later when we would attempt to take our kids to the bathroom out in the bush and all of the village children would gather round to see if their "parts" were different.
Finally, a little after 5 pm, our new friend the technician arrived on the back of the motorcycle and we began the process of fixing the car at least to the point it would start again. After removing the dashboard, we could see the full extent of the problem, numerous completely burned out wires. As you can see, this is not the look you want going for you in the middle of nowhere.
While he started splicing and repairing what he could, we were able to find a small guesthouse for the kids and Deanna to stay in while we worked into the night. After many hours, the car was still not close to completion, and we all retreated to our new overnight accommodations. Along the way I had a great conversation with a local guy about how many snakes he sees on this path every night. Which it turns out, was a lot.
After a night of a lot of sweating (it was very hot) and little sleep, we were back at it. By 11 am, we were able to start the car, and by noon even the steering wheel was back in place. From there we crossed our fingers, said a prayer, and drove the return trip to Arusha.
Now, we are back at a hotel and the car is at the garage. Deanna and the kids will not be able to continue on with the visits until the work on the car is completed, but I'll ride along with the other staff members in their car. We still have another 2 weeks of visits to go. This minor setback is nothing compared to the joys and memories we have made visiting all of the sponsored children. But in it's own way, it certainly makes it's own impression. Thankful as always to the God who sees us through.
Just a couple of interesting side notes:
If we had continued another 15 minutes towards our destination we would have made it outside of cell phone coverage, and outside even a tiny village.
Also, during the night, just as we were finishing up work on the car, I heard a radio turn on in one of the small houses. The song that came on was an English song called, "Where is the Love." That song was the unofficial theme song of the youth group I pastored before coming to Tanzania, played on every youth trip I ever took them on and screamed through the church van. So crazy it followed me to Tanzania.
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