Arusha, Tanzania. The place for adventurers of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro. A place for excited safari tourists. A place that is claimed as the center of Africa – directly between Cairo, Egypt and Cape Town, South Africa. I was intrigued with Arusha for all of the above reasons too, but there was also another reason that trumped all the others. My Compassion International sponsor child of two years lives in Arusha. I would actually be living in the same location as the vibrant seven year-old, Yastina Peter Daniel, that I knew only through letters and pictures.
I arranged to visit Yasinta and her family on Thursday, February 12. My gracious host family helped me pick out some special things for Yasinta – coloring books, crayons, paints and of course, cake, a tradition of Africa. Everything was ready – I was ready!
We arrived at Elim Pentacostal Church, the location of her project, and there she was in the office hiding behind a wooden chair. She was so shy and overwhelmed with all the attention. In an attempt to give her some space the project workers showed me her file – at that moment I felt like a parent – weird! We then piled back in the vehicles again to go to Yasinta’s home. She sat on my lap the entire ride! It was a good bumpy drive and a little walk through a banana tree grove to get to her home. She lives in a rectangular mud house – with three rooms and dirt floors. Her mother, Anna, and two year-old brother, Justin, were awaiting our arrival.
One of my favorite moments while at her home was when her mother pulled out a picture of my family that I had sent her a year back. She pulled it out of a box where they kept all their valuables. WOW! To think that from half a world away a picture could make such an impression on Yasinta and her family. Despite the language barrier and other cultural norms, they knew exactly what was going on.
It was a beautiful day – one of my favorites on the Race thus far. My team was amazing – they made me feel like a princess. Alex and Shiloh were the photographers. Ben was the videographer. Helen and Patrick were in charge of the cake and gifts. It was such a blessing to share this special day with them.
The following Saturday, February 14, our team was able to go to the project again and help out with the program of all the children. They were all dressed in uniforms – SO cute! Yasinta was much more open and actually began to speak and laugh a little bit. It was such a blessing to see her on two different occasions.
Never did I think the bond between Yasinta and me would be as deep as it was. It is amazing how two different cultures, languages, lifestyles can love each other in a way that is indescribable. I was so blessed and grateful that I was able to see her on this trip … with that said, I cannot wait to see her again!
