three.

Jambo!

We have made it back to Arusha safely from our week-long safari in the
Bush! What a week it was! My experience there this time around was
quite different from before. When we visited last year, the valley was
in a horrible drought. Most, if not all, of the men were miles away in
search of land for their cattle to graze. The land was just devastated
because there was so little water. I remember praying while we were
out there that God would heal the land and restore the life and hope
of the people living there. And sure enough, those prayers were
answered! As we drove into the valley, I could literally see the
difference! My heart leaped when I saw green field after green field
full of growing corn. Not only that, but we actually saw cows (healthy
ones at that) and men around the village! Although they lost about 90%
of their cattle, things are looking up this year! (The picture above shows

the improvement.)

Here are a few of the highlights I had this past week:

1. Filling in the gaping holes in the floor of the village schoolhouse
with cement. (I never knew how difficult mixing cement was!) Learning
how to do that was a rather difficult task, but the results were so
worth it!

2. Revisiting the valley and seeing such wonderful change in the land.

3. Roasting a goat. Believe it or not, I stood and watched the entire
process. Our Maasai friend and goat roasting extraordinaire Isaiah
brought a goat to our camp on Friday night, and we all stood by and
watched as he and his sons killed, skinned, cut up, and roasted the
goat. In terms of a cultural experience, it was a good one! It was
pretty funny watching Isaiah and his sons' reactions to our screaming
and squirming. It really highlighted the disparity and differences
between our cultures: we have no idea how to skin and roast a goat,
and many of them have no idea how to open a car door. In terms of
cuisine, however, goat is not my meat of choice. I did try it, but I
happened to get sick later that night (not from the goat, probably
just from dehydration) and unfortunately, I will forever associate
goat meat with feeling ill. (Although, I suppose that's not too
unfortunate a aituation as it's a much better deal for the goats!)

4. Interacting with the Maasai. Due to the fact that we were camping
out there for a longer period of time, we had the ability to interact
with more of the people fom the village. The guy I mentioned before,
Isaiah, was a huge hit among our group! He didn't speak a lick of
English but absolutely loved sitting with us and at least attempting
to communicate. He had a great sense of humor and loved taking "gifts"
from our group. Pretty sure he got a pair of sunglasses and some
family pictures out of us by the time we left. Despite that, I have
him to thank for my spiffy Maasai walking stick and for teaching me
how to count from 1-10 in Maasai! Oh, what a character! There's so
much more to say about him that is simply too difficult to relay in an
email. Ask me about him sometime!

5. Talking with Pastor James Kukan. Pastor James is actually the
contact Wild Hope has with that village, and his vision for that
valley and the Maasai people as a whole are the reason Wild Hope takes
teams out there! He was one of my highlights from my trip last year,
so I was really looking forward to seeing him again. He has such a
huge heart for his people - not just in his village, but in Maasai
land in general! I love listening to him share his heart because it
reminds me that God is already at work in the remotest places of the
world! Sometimes I catch myself thinking that we as Western Christians
have all the answers and all the solutions. But when I meet people
like Pastor James I'm reminded that we aren't the solution, and we
don't have all the answers. God is raising up people, natives of their
own countries, to lead and have incredibly powerful ministries! I just
love that we're able to come alongside Pastor James to encourage and
support his extensive and blossoming ministry!

I'm really excited about what God is doing in the hearts of our team
members - our prayers for unity are being answered! Pray for strength
an endurance in these next few days. The final leg of our trip
(working at the Missionaries of Charity home started by Mother Teresa)
is both exciting and hard, especially emotionally. Plus, we're all
still pretty tired from our safari. Also pray for continued health.
We've stayed pretty healthy on the whole, but have had a few upset
stomachs, which are less than desirable.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers!