More To Come...

Hello Peeps.

Wednesday:

Today we went to the Hlane Game Park. It’s the same one I went to with the group in August but this time it was cooler because there were only three of us. This time we got to get out of the jeep at one point and walk down a path to a little pond. Inside and around the pond was about 7 Rhino’s. When we first cleared the bushes and they saw us a couple of them jumped up like they were about to charge. The tour guide didn’t budge so I felt pretty safe. I thought a tour guide running was just about as bad as a doctor saying “ohhhhh I’ve never seen this before.” But he didn’t run. We saw tons of other stuff like Giraffes and Impala and Warthogs (with about 5 little babies) and even a Dung Beetle. The best was the Lion though. We had to drive for about 30 minutes to find one but when we did it was well worth it. He was sitting in the shade under a tree. And the driver drove off the road to get us close enough to take good pictures. When we were close I said “I’m gonna go pet him k?” and the driver said “It’s ok, watch” he then opened his door like he was going to get out. And as soon as he stuck a leg out the lion perked up and his eyes got big. It was so funny. Then we went to the market. I HATE going there w/o buying anything. All of the ladies say “Please support me!... I haven’t eaten any food all day and I am hungry” Its all part of the game but its soooo hard not to just give them money. One lady said “Who is going to help me if you wont?” and I said “God helps all of us doesn’t He?” and she agreed. Most of the ladies that own the shops are Christian. But still I felt like the guys in the Bible that say “Oh you are naked and poor? I’m sorry! I will pray for you!” and don’t feed them or give them clothes. Its hard. :-(

Thursday:

So today we went to El Shaddai and painted some more. Its kind of difficult because some of the walls got bad water damage from the rain. So the concrete is just rolling right off as we are trying to roll paint on. But we got a lot done. I think this was our first FULL day’s work and it went by very quick. Also the guy Mark who is staying at El Shaddai asked us to stay for a Thanksgiving Dinner. As soon as he told me there would be Turkey I was on bored. Jeff and Connor were excited too. So we stayed and played soccer with the kids after work to kill some time. Well I mostly hung out with Gift. She is a child who is very chicky. Is that a word we use in America? I learned it in Kenya. But Gift is full of life and is soooo fun to hang out with. So she took me on a tour of El Shaddai (even though I had seen it many times) and she insisted she be on my shoulders for the duration of the tour. It was fun. For dinner Mark had Frank and Jane (couple who is working at the bottom half of El Shaddai), Sean and Alison (worship leaders for Marks church), Jeff and Connor, and Me. The food was amazing! A serious Thanksgiving Feast. Two Turkeys, Mash Potatoes & Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole (yeah mom I ate it and it was GREAT), Stuffing, Corn, Jell-O mixed with fruit, and Coleslaw(I’m sure I’m missing something. Oh and to finish it all off… Pumpkin Pie, Apple Crunch, and Ice Cream! I Love you Mark! So later in the night I found out that I know Frank and Jane’s Daughter. She went on my first trip to Kenya with her boyfriend who now she is married too. It was cool to make the connection.

Well after the great dinner we got home By Gods Grace. The roads had more fog on them than I had ever seen! It was so scary to drive. You never know when a GIANT Cow will pop up in front of you in the middle of the road. And on top of that I forgot to get gas on the was to El Shaddai. And when we got there I saw we were on Empty. I seriously doubted that we would get to the closest Gas station that was FAR away. But we made it. Now I’m home and I see Shirley has turned the Internet off. I think she found out I’ve been sneaking on to check e-mails and update my blog. Hah. I have fallen in love with Shirley. She is the greatest lady ever. I’m gonna miss her. She will miss me to although she probably wont admit it.

Today(Friday):

Well we went back to El Shaddai today to paint. I thought we were gonna get a lot done but the second coat is white as well and its not covering. So we might have to do a third coat. IF we can make it there. Today the Fog was still bad on our way up. And then at lunch time when we went to eat (leftover Turkey!) the fog got WAY worse. And we started to paint more and the storm came hard. Thunder and Lightning everywhere. We realized we needed to get down the mountain soon. Once in gets bad the roads are like slip and slides. When I was cleaning the brushes and rollers in the pouring rain I started to see lightning all around me. I started to think It wasn’t a good Idea to be on top of a HUGE mountain in the middle of a HUGE rain cloud with HUGE lightning bolts all around. But God kept us from danger once again. It was sad seeing all the kids walking in the rain with no umbrellas. So if the rain continued than we wont be able to make it up the mountain tomorrow. Sooooo we will have to see.

Also I had a cool idea today. I think when I get home I will put on a Christmas Concert at Café Primo to raise money for another CD. I REALLY need to get these songs down on a CD. I’m working on one right now that’s got some potential.

I Love You All,

Peace&Love…SPREAD IT!!!