We just returned from spending 5 days in Mombasa, a coastal city on the Indian Ocean. One of the AIM staff members from headquarters in GA flew in to join us for a time of debriefing this past year in Kenya as well as preparing us for re-entry into our home culture. This was a huge blessing to us as leaders, having someone else lead the time. I must say that after 9 months, we are pretty spent! We had the best time as a team at the coast! We of course had a lot of fun, but we also had some sweet team times spent sharing together, praying together, and allowing God to bring closure to this sense of "family" that has developed between us.

Here are a few of the highlights:

· A 17 hour train ride through the countryside of Kenya

· Waking up to the spectacular sunrise each morning looking out over the Indian Ocean

· An all day boat excursion out to the beautiful reefs for snorkeling

· An early morning fishing trip where we caught a barracuda!

· Eating the barracuda for lunch that day.

· The on-going monkey wars trying to keep them out of our houses

· Riding camels on the beach

· Going on an adventure searching for shells and fun sea creatures in the tidal pools - we referred to this time as our "Sea Safari"

· Great times worshiping the Lord & praising Him for all He has done this year here in Kenya

· Reflecting as a team and personally about how we've changed, what God has done, and the status of our hearts now.

· Allowing God to bring healing to relationships within the team

· Sharing about the life lessons we have all learned and how we've been stretched beyond our imagination here.

· Coming to a point where we can release all of our friends here in Kenya into God's hands, trusting that He is able and will take care of them.

· Preparing our hearts for the difficulty of reverse culture shock upon returning to the States.