11-26-17

November 4: Tanzania continued... 

A little about JOHNSON!

After our safari we arrived back to Summit Lodge in Arusha. Bob & I had only 5 hours before needing to drive to the airport at 11:00pm. It was time to leave Tanzania & fly back towards the states. Lucky for us, Johnson met us at our hotel so that we could have dinner together and talk.

You may remember Johnson from our week on Mount Kilimanjaro. He was a porter and early on he became a very special kid to us! On day 5 of our hike while Johnson & I were talking over coffee he said to me... "I wish you were my mom." :-)  I smiled, was curious and asked... "Do you have a mom & dad, Johnson?"    He replied "No."    and proceeded to tell me his story.

In short; Johnson's parents divorced when he was 2 years old and since that age Johnson has been raised by his grandparents. Johnson's mother & father had moved away, each remarried & neither were involved in his life. Johnson is now 21 years old and his grandparents have done a very fine job  raising a kind, friendly, faith-filled and hard working young man. I told Johnson that I would be lucky to have a son like him! That morning my heart was touched & when I told Bob his was too. 

Before I left the mountain on Day 6 with altitude sickness I had asked Johnson, Rogers & a few others from our hike for their contact information. Bob and I intended to keep in touch with each of them through Facebook. We were looking forward to it - excited about our new friendships! And just maybe some of these guys could visit us in the USA one day...we would love to be THEIR tour guides!

USA, Australia, & Africa - Connecting on Kili.

By the way...hasn't social media changed travel remarkably?! It wasn't long ago when keeping in touch with someone you met in another country would be nearly impossible. Almost everyone (even in Tanzania) now have phones & at least some internet access. With technology, iPhone apps & social media we are able to communicate for FREE and in LIVE time if we want! It really is amazing and sure makes our world smaller!

Back to Johnson! :-) When Bob and I were on our safari in the Serengeti we started corresponding with Johnson through Facebook messenger. Johnson was interested in our safari and we were interested about his college. This was the week he would be starting his freshman year at MWEKA - College of Wildlife Management and Conservation. Moshi, Tanzania.

Trying to make a long story short here: Johnson ended up being denied registration at the university because his approved partial government loan did not come to the school in time for him to start. We knew how disappointed Johnson was and we knew he & his grandfather had worked so hard to save enough money for the other part of Johnson's tuition, boarding etc. (which they met). Through a lengthy conversation with Johnson over dinner that night (11/4) Bob and I decided that we would help to make his schooling happen. We wrote a letter to the college stating that we would sponsor Johnson and Bob called the administration office the next business day to work out the details, pushing things through so that Johnson could start classes the next week.

After supper together and big smiles!

Johnson sent us this photo of him & his grandparents on November 5th. He said this was celebration day with his grandparents. All very happy because he would be going to MWEKA college! Bob & I look forward to meeting Elionara & Ignas someday!

It's nothing short of a miracle how everything coordinated so perfectly. Money was wired to Johnson's college on that Monday and he began classes on Tuesday! Johnson is now staying on campus and as I type this he is into his 4th week as a freshman. He is very happy as he is loving college! Bob and I are so happy too and we daily correspond with Johnson through messenger. Its exciting to get photos and read about his daily modules and field trips. His class of 90 students are in Tarangire National Park this week (other areas too) for 7 days of wilderness, animal & tourism training. Johnson sent us these 2 pics (below) yesterday, Dec 3rd from his safari camp! :-)

Johnson...excited about studying a field he loves. Yay!!

That supper was a special night...not just about college for Johnson but about his life, our life and our connection. Since that night Johnson calls us mom & dad. We really care about this kid, he is so sweet & genuine. Bob and I count ourselves blessed to know him and we consider him our son! We will never be able to legally adopt Johnson but that's ok. We are committed to helping Johnson. We pray for him & his education. We wish him happiness in friends, love and his future. And we pray to be part of his life forever. 

PS: When Bob & I were in the Serengeti yet corresponding some with Johnson via text message Johnson wrote to me... "I like how kind you and Bob are to each other. Thank you for what you did for me and other locals on the mountain (Kilimanjaro). I wish we were a family." 

Sometimes...wishes do come true.