Home for Christmas
The team has arrived back to the various places they came from. Laura and I flew in late Tuesday night to Portland and were greeted by a team of friends and family - it's great to be back and see everyone.

The past couple of days I've been around Portland, and I'm wading through the 12 video tapes, 3000 digital photos, and 6 music CDs that we aquired over the past couple months. It's been quite a trip, and I must stop and thank God for his care and mercy on us as we traveled. No item was stolen and no one was injured (well seriously injured - there were some motorcyle burns, sunburn, and blisters. We traveled thousands of miles by bus, ferry, plane, taxi, train, and on foot, and we survived the journeys. We met with many new friends, and many old friends, and connected and formed lifelong friendships. The plans and meetings went exactly as we planned them. No one was seriously sick (Mike was down for about 2 days with something). We carried digital cameras, an iPod, video cameras, and they survived the trip. We were able to send emails and keep the blog updated with news and photos throughout the trip. The list goes on and on. We really don't deserve the kindness that God showed to us on the trip, and I can't express how grateful I am to God for leading us.

I'm heading up to be with my family for Christmas. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy though. We are going to produce 1000 tapes of the Amazing Grace kids to distribute in Uganda and Sudan. I'll be meeting with many of you to discuss the trip and future involvement. And there will be progress on the Lahash organization. I'm also working on some website and book summaries of our trip - and I'll be editing some video (including the Amazing Grace video). Eric Chapman has a website of his portion on the trip - and Jo French has a blog that continues her work in Dodoma.

Nick has sent me a bunch of updates from Kenya since we left. One of the young ladies that we talked to about her sex work has decided to leave the work and is convincing another friend to leave. Nick's been helping with some food and rent for this dear young girls as they struggle to earn a living without prostituting themselves. We need a team of friends that can email these girls, work with Nick to provide some micro loans, and pray for them. Nick was roused out of bed by some knocking on his gate the other night. One of the young women had just been drugged, raped, and all her clothing stolen. Nick went down to the hotel, bought some clothes, and went to the police station and hospital with her. For many of these girls they are just inches from death because of the sex work. Please let me know if you'd like to be a part of the team to build up these young women, pray for them, and help us figure out a way they can earn money apart from selling their bodies.

There have been several people who've emailed about supporting the kids in Dodoma. Thank you all! We should have the logistics of this program set up soon. There is a similar need in Rwanda if anyone is interested. For those that missed the details of the program - we are setting up a sponsorship program where orphans who don't qualify for Compassion International will be sponsored through Lahash. We are hoping to find local sponsors in each of the countries in order to involve the local populations with their needy brothers and sisters. And the great thing about this venture is that it is built on the existing Compassion framework in both Tanzania and Rwanda!

I know I'm a bit behind on emails, I'll try to respond to everyone in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience.

In the next couple of days I'll also have a concrete path forward for each of the projects on what kind of assistance is needed where.

- Dan