Tanzania

Wow, I just got a fantastic call from the group. Mrs. Williams said the kids were pretty excited about their first day in the village. She put the phone up and all the kids screamed. Then one by one they got on the phone and explained how today was the most incredible experience of their lives. The said the Masaai were so welcoming, so kind. They said there were 'thousands' of them who greeted our students with open arms and warm hearts. They went on and on as they passed the phone around. In my ten years as Director of the Nexus program I don't recall hearing a group as excited about their experience. Already, after just their first day, our students have transformed. They are not the same kids that left here a few days ago. They are now people who have seen poverty, been immersed in a tribal culture and they are young people making a difference in the world by helping others. In essence, that is what Nexus is really about. These experiences change our students in ways that the classroom or campus, or Virginia Beach, can't. When you hear Eli Shocket and Garrett Gomex saying their pictures are better than National Geographic, you also hear their excitement about experiencing a world they never knew existed.

Great stuff. I talked to almost all of them and everyone one of them was excited beyond words. Can't wait to hear how tomorrow goes.