Elephant Ride and Sunset Cruise

Today was a long day but so wonderful. We got up early this morning and went out to one of Zambia's 80 National Parks to ride elephants. When we got there we had to sit through an info session on precautions and safety concerns. We then got to meet all the elephants. Courtney and I rode Danny, the largest elephant they had. He was 45 years old and weighed 5 1/2 tons. We rode through the African bush for an hour. When we finished our ride we got to feed our elephants for positive reinforcement. When the elephants got ready to go back to their protected fencing area they all stood in a row and saluted us! It was awesome! We then went up to their gift shop and watched a video of us riding them. It was an awesome video with good music and facts about Zambia....so of course we all bought it and I can't wait to show it to y'all. 

We got back to the hotel pretty early so we decided to get ready and walk to the shopping area here in Livingstone. We ate at Olga's again and then came back and headed to the markets for the last time. I finished buying all the gifts I had left for good prices. Woop woop!! We then headed to board the Lady Livingstone for the sunset cruise. It was the most relaxing experience we had the whole time here. We sat up on the third deck, sat back and enjoyed the ride and the sunset. We enjoyed unlimited snacks

and drinks and enjoyed our last hoorah together. We are now packing and getting ready to head out in the morning. I'm sure going to miss being Africa but I'm ready to see everyone and be back in my norm. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel the next two days. I will post when we get home but that will be the last one. I can't believe this trip is over. Love y'all!! 

Safari in Africa!

Okay so today was so amazing. We got up early and headed to the border of Zambia to cross over into Botswana, which was super sketch but we made it. We got our passports stamped and went on to Chobe National Park where we got to experience the safari. We started off the day in the safari jeep and cruised through the paths of the park looking at animals. The park doesn't have any fences up so it's all nature running its course. The animals just roam through and eat/drink in the park. I was shocked to see how close we could get to them and it didn't phase them. We saw elephants, impala, kudu, hippos, giraffes, baboons, wart hogs, and water buffalo. We also two buffalo carcasses and I thought that was pretty cool. It was awesome and don't worry I'll definitely post pics below. We stopped off at The Safari Lounge to eat lunch and it was such a beautiful view and great food. Probably the best food I've tasted here. After lunch we boarded one of the safari boats and finished up on the Zambezi River. The river brought four different rivers together. On the water, we saw elephants, hippos, baboons, crocodiles, and kudu. The elephants got so close to our boat and I have a few good videos of them. It was a busy but fun day. Tomorrow we get to ride elephants and go on the Sunset Cruise. Only one day left here in Zambia and it will be bittersweet. Until then....Dream Bug, Pray Hard, Live Strong! 

Victoria Falls and High Tea

Today was awesome!! We spent the morning at Victoria Falls where we hiked the trails and spent hours viewing God's most beautiful handiwork. We got soaked from head to toe but it was totally worth it. We saw a ton of baboons which chased us through the rain forest. Courtney, Brittany, and I took a crazy hike down to the Boiling Pot...it was the coolest/most beutiful hike I have ever taken. It was a very steep hike down, but even worse going back up it. When we got to the bottom of it we watched people bungi jump and zip line down the bridge over the Falls...I totally wanted to do it but I didn't. On our way back up, we had to take many breaks because it was definitely a workout. Our legs were shaking and we are definitely going to be sore in the morning.

This afternoon we went to The Royal Livingstone and had High Tea. We got to choose which type of tea we wanted, I chose Pure Green Tea and it was very good. We had multiple desserts and appetizers that were tasty. After we ate, we walked around and saw the beautiful grounds. We then sat out on the sunset deck and watched the sun go down. It was the perfect way to end the evening. We have to get up early to start our Safari tomorrow so until then....Dream Big, Pray Hard, Live Strong!!

Livingstone Fun!

We have been without Internet for the past two days. We said goodbye to the babies and the wonderful people who took care of us for the past four weeks. It has been bittersweet, but I'm for sure going to miss everyone that has impacted my life here. We finished our last night off right by watching August Rush on the veranda. Before Kara left, she taught Courtney and I how to make homemade popcorn with a whirlypop. We made our first batch and it was awesome if I say so myself. It was so good Courtney is buying me a whirlypop as a wedding gift. Haha! We are now in Livingstone, about to start our week of fun. This morning we drove through the Zambezi Sun and The Royal Livingstone area and we saw a few monkeys, a giraffe, and a gazelle. I've been kinda disappointed with the amount of animals we have seen thus far on our trip. We walked around a lot of gift shops and markets today before checking into our hotel. We ate at Olga's again tonight and it was scrumptious. After dinner we came back and had a short devotional. It was so good to sit down with my fellow classmates, professors, and new found friends to talk about Christ and all places he was visible throughout our time together in Africa. I am so glad that I decided to make this commitment. I have grown spiritually in these past five weeks and I'm so grateful for that. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to send them up. Love y'all!!

Seven Fountains

Today we got to experience a different orphanage here in Zambia. We went to the Havens this morning and did language therapy with Haven 2. We played with a parachute and they absolutely loved it! It was the cutest thing ever. We modeled for them by saying "up", "down", "shake" then when they got the hang of it they started saying it themselves. Love it! We would put one kid on the parachute at a time and throw them up in the air...they almost peed their pants laughing so hard and let's be honest, their toddlers so some of them probably did pee their pants. After lunch, we spent the afternoon at Seven Fountains Orphanage assessing their seven babies they have right now. It was good news because no one was showing major delays. Yay!! Afterwards, we enjoyed some fresh squeezed lemonade and cookies before heading back to the Mission. 

I have to admit that I have been having wedding nightmares because I'm starting to stress out over not having everything done yet, but it will be okay. I can't believe we have already been here for 4 weeks and tomorrow is our last day of therapy with babies. Please pray for us as we say goodbye to them and please for them. Hope all is well at home, until tomorrow....Dream Big, Pray Hard, Live Strong!! 

Lovin this experience!

Wednesday was a rather uneventful day. We went to the Havens and did language therapy with Haven 2 all together which was fun. Seth has become rather attached to me and he gets angry if anyone else is sitting in my lap. They have learned my name and it is so cute hearing them yell it when they see me walking up the path. Their accents will melt your heart. It was bittersweet to hear about Wade going home, we are so happy for him but we're sad because we didn't get to say goodbye. He was just starting to come around and really liven up with us. We spent the afternoon playing with Haven 2. It's my fav and I always look forward to it. I loved watching Djoelo walk with his new AFOs and playing peek-a-boo with Vigi in their new playhouse. I really love these babies and I'm going to miss them so much! I really didn't think I would get that attached but I definitely have. Lincoln has been occupied spending time with Reagan so I haven't got to play with him as much this week :( We have been going to bed early the past few nights because we are so exhausted. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! We're almost there. Love and miss you all!