Visitors are a Blessing!

Mom and Dad brought so many fun things with them that Barbara and I didn't know what to do with outselves!!!
Dad showing Isako how to fly the stunt kite.
More kite flying! This time we had to stop 'cause we were 'scaring the camels'.
Dub and Barille took Dad and I to the 'shambas' (gardens) to cut some trees. It was neat to see what they are trying to grow there - carrots, spinich, watermellons, sweet potatoes. etc.


Dad enjoying his cold (or almost cold) coke out in the Chalbi desert.
We flew kites untill we ran out light, and then we tied military glow sticks to the stunt kite and flew it in the dark!!! What fun! I'll bet the nearby camel herders were having a hard time figuring out what those strange green lights were!
Jarso, Warrio, Me, Dad, Paul, Barille, Robe, Ware and Barbara on our way out to a nearby village to tell Bible stories, sing, visit and drink chai.
We took a sunday afternoon drive to the Ethiopian border and saw some neat things on our bouncey and dusty trip.
This place is fondly called 'Dead dog plain' becuase it is so hot and so bare that the dogs can't make it across and just die. We drove by flat, barren land for a very long time!
And in the middle of the flatness and barreness you would come across herds, or people or camel trains who seemed to be going from nowhere to nowhere!
Eddie was looking for a place called Sabarei... and as we got closer the road started looking less like a road!
After all day of driving we finally reached out destination... Sabarei. Marked on the map yet in real life it is nothing more than 5 very unfortunate policemen posted next to the Ethiopian border.
I think they have radio contact, but otherwise their only contact to the outside world is one supply truck that comes once a month. To think that I use to think that Kalacha was remote!!! Sabarei teaches me... it could be worse! With too much time on their hands ALL of the buildings (only 3 in total) had many 'de-motavational' writings on them.
Dad coveting the policemen's dinner.

The road less traveled.
Dusty.
Dusty. (Mom and I making out own shade as the guys tried to fix the car)
Dusty. All in all it was a good trip!
Uriah (Rachel's oldest) taking Guchi for a walk by our house.
Dad got invited to teach a few classes at the Kalacha Primary School. The kids sure enjoyed having him and he had fun teaching them.
Even though its drought time and there is little or no milk around, there is still a lot of chai drinking.
Dad watering the donkeys.
We got to visit a singing well, where the men spend much of the day hauling the water up out of the well for numerous herds of animals... they sing in rythm to make the work more enjoyable.
Dad learning how to 'herd' sheep... they do not like to leave the herd and will lie down in protest unless you physically make them go.
The car was not wanting to work, so we made sure to park on hills or flat spots!

I don't think I will let them go home!!!

As we arrived Dad asked... "Where are we going?" as he watched the desert stretch out to the horizen in both directions!!!
Dad's outside bed... he gets more wind there.
They finally made it to Kalacha.
Barbara and I grabbed Rachel's dog to paint... Happy Canada day!
We had some left over food coloring, so we painted the sheep as well!

The stunt kite is a big hit!

Happy 4th of July!
We decided to take off the whitewash inside of our house, because it was so dusty and messy.
Then we redid it with nice,new,clean mud walls!
Our watermelons actually grew!!! Not very big, but they sure were tasty!
I don't know if I could have really done anything if he had decided to go somewhere... ah well, it was fun to pretend to help!
Mom and Dad practicing being nomadic.
The cheap version of a 'rub-on-tan'. It takes more than one shower to get all of the dust off after a road trip here!

The Masai Mara

It was so neat to be so close to all of these animals... you can't even describe the difference between seeing it on National Geographic and then seeing it with your own eyes!!!




We wanted dad to go out and wake them up so that we could get a bttter picture... he refused.
This is the closest I have ever been to a lion.

On our last day we were fortunate enough to be able to see the start of the migration. There were thousands and thousands of wildebeest... and this was just part of the first 'small' herd!