Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Read more about our trip
Go to the Hume International blog to read more from other members of our team, and to follow us more closely. We've been having at least one of us write every day, even though it only gets posted when we have internet access.
http://humeinternational.org/blog
Pray for one of our team members. He's feeling a bit feverish and may have malaria.
He's going to a clinic tomorrow.
http://humeinternational.org/blog
Pray for one of our team members. He's feeling a bit feverish and may have malaria.
He's going to a clinic tomorrow.
Kenya 2 (day next to the last)
We just got back into internet land.
It's been a long journey.
We've been out in the wild land of northern Kenya since camp ended at RVA.
We've been traveling in a huge blue four wheel drive people mover that PK dubbed The Hume-n-ator that looks like a really tall garbage truck with seats at the top and open sides. We used a hired company called ACTS that does this kind of thing in East Africa for missions trips like ours. They have tents and a portable kitchen, so they get us to wherever we need to go and provide food and lodging all along the way. They also provide a guide that travels up top with us to answer any questions about the land, the culture, the animals, or whatever, and he also serves as a translator.
We traveled north from RVA in Kijabe, near Nairobi, all the way up to Kurungu which is near South Horr, just east of Lake Turkana in Northern Africa. It was a 16 hour journey one way, mostly off-road. On the way up, we spent the first night at the Bomen Hotel where the paved roads end in a town called Isiolo.
Once we got to Kurungu we stayed with Rick and Kari Maples where they have been working with the Samburu tribe for 6 years. Rick is Mike Maples' brother.
This is a Dik Dik. It's probably the animal that we saw the most along the road on our journey. One of the warriors caught one and brought it for us to hold while we were at the Maples' house.
We stayed in our tents in their front yard, but participated every day with cultural events that were happening while we were there. The 15 year-old son of one of the local believers was getting circumcised, the definitive coming-of-age ceremony in their culture. The ceremonies last for three days and include lots of Chai (boiled goat milk with tea leaves and a smokey flavor), bright colors, slaughtered goats, and dancing.
Andre, the boy's father, is a close friend of the Maples, and someone whom PK has gotten to know quite well. Andre had even named his new son after PK. He was born shortly after last year's trip.
Once at Kurungu, we traveled around locally on Rick's Land Rover Defender.
In afternoons we ran organized recreation for the young men (high school age) while some of us played with the little kids.
On the last afternoon PK told the story of the woman at the well and explained to them how Jesus is the true living water who satisfies so that we will never thirst again.
We got to each spend one night sleeping with a family in their little huts.
We also visited The Samburu National Park.
It's not a game park like we went to in Swaziland, but rather more like our national parks in the US. It's just a huge open area, the size of Sequoia National Park that you drive around in on gnarly dirt roads. There are rivers and streams and crazy places with wild animals that come right up to your vehicle. We camped next to the crocodile infested river. Some elephants crossed the river and walked through our camp last night, and this morning we had to fight off nearly 20 baboons who kept stealing our stuff and getting all aggressive.
The drive has been bumpy and dusty and uncomfortable, but for sure an adventure.
The Samburu are beautiful people, full of color, and they are very friendly and open to strangers. I've enjoyed every minute that we spent with them.
So far the highlight of the trip has been the night-church that we got to be a part of in the Samburu tribe. There were about 30 kids and adults who gathered together in the dark under the stars and started singing call and response type of worship songs, and then one of their story-tellers, probably one of the only believers in this particular small group, since it's fairly new, told a section of stories from the old testament. This is how they start new churches. Since it is an oral culture, and story telling is huge to them, they start at the beginning, and work their way through the bible, when they get to Jesus and the cross, the people are usually eager to choose to believe and follow Him!
Interesting fact: even in all the incredibly primitive places that we've been, some of which don't even have running water, there has been cell phone coverage over the entire way!
It's been a long journey.
We've been out in the wild land of northern Kenya since camp ended at RVA.
We've been traveling in a huge blue four wheel drive people mover that PK dubbed The Hume-n-ator that looks like a really tall garbage truck with seats at the top and open sides. We used a hired company called ACTS that does this kind of thing in East Africa for missions trips like ours. They have tents and a portable kitchen, so they get us to wherever we need to go and provide food and lodging all along the way. They also provide a guide that travels up top with us to answer any questions about the land, the culture, the animals, or whatever, and he also serves as a translator.
We traveled north from RVA in Kijabe, near Nairobi, all the way up to Kurungu which is near South Horr, just east of Lake Turkana in Northern Africa. It was a 16 hour journey one way, mostly off-road. On the way up, we spent the first night at the Bomen Hotel where the paved roads end in a town called Isiolo.
Once we got to Kurungu we stayed with Rick and Kari Maples where they have been working with the Samburu tribe for 6 years. Rick is Mike Maples' brother.
This is a Dik Dik. It's probably the animal that we saw the most along the road on our journey. One of the warriors caught one and brought it for us to hold while we were at the Maples' house.
We stayed in our tents in their front yard, but participated every day with cultural events that were happening while we were there. The 15 year-old son of one of the local believers was getting circumcised, the definitive coming-of-age ceremony in their culture. The ceremonies last for three days and include lots of Chai (boiled goat milk with tea leaves and a smokey flavor), bright colors, slaughtered goats, and dancing.
Andre, the boy's father, is a close friend of the Maples, and someone whom PK has gotten to know quite well. Andre had even named his new son after PK. He was born shortly after last year's trip.Once at Kurungu, we traveled around locally on Rick's Land Rover Defender.
In afternoons we ran organized recreation for the young men (high school age) while some of us played with the little kids.
On the last afternoon PK told the story of the woman at the well and explained to them how Jesus is the true living water who satisfies so that we will never thirst again.
We got to each spend one night sleeping with a family in their little huts.We also visited The Samburu National Park.
It's not a game park like we went to in Swaziland, but rather more like our national parks in the US. It's just a huge open area, the size of Sequoia National Park that you drive around in on gnarly dirt roads. There are rivers and streams and crazy places with wild animals that come right up to your vehicle. We camped next to the crocodile infested river. Some elephants crossed the river and walked through our camp last night, and this morning we had to fight off nearly 20 baboons who kept stealing our stuff and getting all aggressive.The drive has been bumpy and dusty and uncomfortable, but for sure an adventure.
The Samburu are beautiful people, full of color, and they are very friendly and open to strangers. I've enjoyed every minute that we spent with them.
So far the highlight of the trip has been the night-church that we got to be a part of in the Samburu tribe. There were about 30 kids and adults who gathered together in the dark under the stars and started singing call and response type of worship songs, and then one of their story-tellers, probably one of the only believers in this particular small group, since it's fairly new, told a section of stories from the old testament. This is how they start new churches. Since it is an oral culture, and story telling is huge to them, they start at the beginning, and work their way through the bible, when they get to Jesus and the cross, the people are usually eager to choose to believe and follow Him!
Interesting fact: even in all the incredibly primitive places that we've been, some of which don't even have running water, there has been cell phone coverage over the entire way!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Kenya 1
We made it to Amsterdam, had fun exploring the city, and now 30 hours later, we've made it to Nairobi, Kenya. We're staying tonight at an AIM Missionary Guest house place, kind of like The Juniper Tree in Thailand, except it's all one huge house. We had thanksgiving dinner with about 40 other missionaries. I got to pet a cheetah this afternoon, and got licked by a giraffe. Tomorrow we drive out to Rift Valley Academy and start camp. We're all really tired. Pray for us that we would get good sleep tonight and be energized for tomorrow.Here are some more pictures...
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Fresh Basil
I bought a Basil plant from Trader Joe's so that I'd have fresh Basil for cooking tasty meals. It's been hanging in there despite the freezing cold window and lack of direct sunlight. I do take it outside on occasional warm afternoons to find a spot of sun for it to soak in.This is seriously one of the best deals at TJ's. It's like $2.99, and will keep you with a fresh supply of basil for months on end. Way better than that dried stuff that costs you $4.50 a jar.
First Snow
This is from the first snow that we had October 29. It didn't snow here at Hume, or if it did, then it didn't hit the ground. We saw this driving on the way out towards Cherry Gap. (We went down to Fresno to see the No Town Allstars take on the V-Town Derby Dames at the Roller Derby!)
I'm so excited for winter to be here. It's been cold enough, in the lower 20s each night, and not higher than 50 during the day.
Eat More Bread
I decided that I would try to bake a different loaf of bread each week this fall. I love having a big kitchen for baking and cooking, and plenty of friends to share the food with!
So far I've made Zucchini Pecan bread, two loaves of pumpkin bread, Country French Bread, and Pizza. I guess Pizza's not really a loaf, but it still falls in the bread category. This week I'll try an Artisan French Bread.
I've been getting the recipes from Allrecipes.com, and then been making variations as necessary. I don't think I've followed any of them exactly. I didn't have wheat germ for the pizza dough, the temps and times couldn't be followed exactly for the rising of the french bread, Icrushed the cloves myslef and added allspice to the Pumpkin Loaf, and I used half brown sugar and made nut substitutions on the Zucchini Loaf.
Here's the Zucchini Pecan Loaf sitting on a make-shift cooling rack of knife handles.Since Jocey's allergic to walnuts, I substituted pecans. In the background you can see what's left of the French Bread. It didn't rise like I expected, probably because it was only 60 degrees in my kitchen, and the (faux?) granite counter tops tend to hold the freezing cold night-time temperatures. It still tasted great, but ended up more like a Focaccia bread.
Here are links to the recipes, if you feel inspired. They've all been quite good so far.
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Country French Bread
Whole Wheat and Honey Pizza Dough
So far I've made Zucchini Pecan bread, two loaves of pumpkin bread, Country French Bread, and Pizza. I guess Pizza's not really a loaf, but it still falls in the bread category. This week I'll try an Artisan French Bread.
I've been getting the recipes from Allrecipes.com, and then been making variations as necessary. I don't think I've followed any of them exactly. I didn't have wheat germ for the pizza dough, the temps and times couldn't be followed exactly for the rising of the french bread, Icrushed the cloves myslef and added allspice to the Pumpkin Loaf, and I used half brown sugar and made nut substitutions on the Zucchini Loaf.
Here's the Zucchini Pecan Loaf sitting on a make-shift cooling rack of knife handles.Since Jocey's allergic to walnuts, I substituted pecans. In the background you can see what's left of the French Bread. It didn't rise like I expected, probably because it was only 60 degrees in my kitchen, and the (faux?) granite counter tops tend to hold the freezing cold night-time temperatures. It still tasted great, but ended up more like a Focaccia bread.
Here are links to the recipes, if you feel inspired. They've all been quite good so far.
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Country French Bread
Whole Wheat and Honey Pizza Dough
Sometimes I think He's showing off...
Watching the sun set from the corner of King's Canyon and Hills Valley Road.I caught a glimpse of this in my rear view mirror a few months back, and had to stop and capture it.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Airport find of the day: DFW Samsung.
I'm currently at the Dallas Fort-worth Airport, Terminal D, my preferred terminal. I'm sitting in the Samsung entertainment lounge on the nearly abandoned second flour mezzanine above the shopping area and restaurants. There is a tower of flat screen TVs showing off Samsung's products, but I'm ignoring those while I enjoy the comfortable overstuffed leather chairs. There are also a few Coleman cots and clean blankets that someone has stowed behind the chairs in case I want take a nap.
It's no Singapore Airport, but I'm making the best out of the situation.
I had to pay for the internet.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Day at the Beach
The view from the motel that we stayed at.
I like hammocks.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.
The Crazy thing about black sand beaches is that they get blazing hot in the sun.
This dog found some shade and dug himself a bed.
I'm missing Jocey.
Black Sand Beaches
We rented boards and drove to the beach.
Stormy waves, I was hoping it would rain while we surfed.
Jaco
Beautiful Textures
My watch band turned bright green after going in the water and being in the sun.
I'm not sure what that means. Maybe it's a Hypercolor watch. It's mostly turned back to white on its own now. Weird.
La Conchita
Where The River Meets The Sea
A Hidden Garden
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