Return to Tanzania (again!)

Back to see Malinga

Jenn Carpenter and Sid and Adam and their friend Jess and I arrived in Nairobi after 16 hours of traveling with the news that our flight was delayed. We managed to keep ourselves busy. Then it was off to Dar es salaam with a 1 am arrival and 2 am to bed! The kids handled it better than the adults I think...

The next morning Brooke brought Malinga to breakfast so that we could spend the day with him. Adam and Malinga immediately hit it off. Sid was the big sister of sorts. It was so wonderful to see them together. Malinga had grown and was happy from what I could tell. We spent time with him at the pool at the Movenpick Hotel in Dar es Salaam and then made our way to the orphanage in the afternoon. Sid and Adam had brought a duffle bag of gifts for the kids and I had brought Crocs that had been donated by some families at my church. We also had some craft kits and beads and skipping ropes (also kindly donated by a wonderful family at my church). The soccer balls brought by Sid and Adam were also a hit and resulted in a busy game of soccer. Issakwissa, Malinga, Sid and Adam played for almost an hour. It was hard to leave for the airport at 4pm but Malinga seemed satisfied when I told him I would be back in two weeks. He seems to fully understand that we are his special family now and that we want him to come to Canada. The other children at the orphanage seem to know as well.