Our next big adventure was to make our way to the Indian Ocean! We had about an hour to spare so we thought we'd at least attempt to take some pictures there and stand in it if nothing else :) since it was only a few minutes away and all! We caught a bajaji for a ride to a hotel that supposedly allows ppl to use their beach, but when we got there were told we had to pay (quite it bit for what we wanted to do) so we started to walk back the way we came to find the public (dirty) area we had driven by... it was a bit of a walk and we weren't 100% certain where we were going, but eventually we saw the ocean again and an open beach for us to pass through! It was very dirty and the water was at low-tide so there was sea weed everywhere, but it was still a nice experience! We found it quite interesting watching several people just wade out into the low water all the way to a boat!!!
Even though it wasn't ideal circumstances, we made it to the Indian Ocean - certainly a first for both of us!
It was fun to experience the warm water of the ocean & feel the soft, powdery white sand as we walked across the beach :) really wish we had more time there, but we had to get going to Sala Sala...
Unfortunately, the venture to Sala Sala was THE most frustrating experience of our entire trip :( We started walking back to our guesthouse as we tried calling our Bajaji driver who was supposed to pick us up... we were trying to explain for him to pick us up by the ocean & the white sands hotel instead of our guesthouse, but I guess he didn't understand because nobody came... we walked for quite a ways and I was getting very frustrated before we gave up and had a bajaji driver that we saw take us the rest of the way (we were a LONG ways off yet & should've gotten a ride right away, but we really thought our driver was coming!). Once we got back, 2 friends of our driver were there waiting for us (they didn't look very happy that we had kept them waiting) so I was really bummed to have someone frustrated at us - especially locals! Thankfully we didn't end up being too late to Sala Sala, although I do think they were waiting for us :( The volunteers rounded up and joined together in prayer before we went to the gate to welcome in the kids.
HOPAC stands for Haven of Peace Academy and is a school for missionary kids in Dar. An outreach they do (led by Shaun & Karen Graham) is to invite the kids over that live behind the school in a quarry for bible lessons, crafts, and of course - soccer (or football, as it's known here)! Steve went with the boys and played soccer in flip flops (poor guy!) and although I think he had fun, was pretty sore later :)
Steve also experience 'Sala Sala red' = being covered in the red dirt from playing with the kids! haha
While Steve was off with the guys, I figured it'd make sense to stay with the girls and observe what they do on a regular day at kids club. They started out playing a game with those little square scooters you can sit on a do relay races with. After that we had a bible lesson & crafts (made angels & had fun with glitter).
It was great to see the girls all focusing on what Karen had to say (through a translator) as they learned about Mary - they have been learning about main bible characters, I believe somebody new each week (this age group meets every Monday afternoon).
After a very long, frustrating day, it was a welcome relief to have Karen walk me out the back gate and show me the quarry behind the school where the children of Sala Sala live. I especially enjoyed seeing some of the young girls that were children of missionaries speaking fluent swahili and interacting with the girls... gave me some perspective on how helpful it'd be for Sarah to start learning now! Karen continued to share a bit more about the history of their program with us and how the kids used to be almost violent when they first came, always fighting and it was a bit organized... but after lots of love, consistency, and time Steve and I were both very impressed to see how great the kids all did!
Before we left I was excited to get a photo of a Baobab tree (like the one Rafiki from the Lion King lived in! lol) and Karen told me this land where the school sat was covered in hippos not long ago & was very dangerous! Guess it makes sense, but was still interesting to hear! :) We were very grateful when Karen offered to just give us a ride back to our guest house in their family van (with the wheel on the wrong side I might add!) since they really didn't live all that far from us! I was actually very sad to say bye to Karen and her sweet family... she seemed like someone I could really get along with & I loved seeing her little cutie pie Benji (about 2 year old son) running around interacting with the kids of Dar... I continue to wonder what God has for our family in Africa :)
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