More Pictures!
So I'm afraid I must ask your forgiveness- I've been a slacker and haven't written much about what's been going on lately. So in lieu of a long and boring post, here's some pictures instead!
This is Moi, my best friend and language helper in the village. He doesn't speak any English, but has helped me out a lot with my Kizaramo. We learn language, play cards, play soccer, go biking, and he wants to help me make my bricks for the oven. He's also an amazing checkers player, and I've been trying to teach him chess, but he doesn't seem too keen...
The first week of October saw us come up to TIMO En Gedi (the logistical and administrative HQ for all of TIMO, all the teams out there) for an end of unit retreat. This place is a paradise! It's lush and green, all kinds of plants and trees grow here. They have grass!!! And Howler monkeys!
Anyways, here's some pics:
This is Caleb wearing my sunglasses on the way up to En Gedi. Just cos he's so cute.
Here's Jeremy and the kids enjoying some playtime in one of the bandas at En Gedi. This was early, and while the kids were all up and chipper, I don't think Jeremy'd finished waking up yet.
We celebrated our end of unit retreat with a great big Bbq- here's Tim and I roasting some amazing chops.
...and here's everyone else enjoying some amazing chops.
These are the guys on the team relaxing with their stomachs really full.
After our weekend retreat we headed up to Nairobi, Kenya; and then on to the town of Machakos, where we had our 'Africa Based Orientation', which is a requirement with all of AIM's new missionaries. So here's some pics from ABO:
The place where we stayed was enshrouded with the most amazing trees I've ever heard of. While in bloom (now), instead of green leaves they had tens of thousands of tiny little purple blossoms. They're called Jagorandas. They're seriously out of a Tolkien, or Dr Seuss book, they're so extraordinary.
Adding to their beauty was the fact that they shed a lot of blossoms, so the ground beneath the trees was generally carpeted in purple, it was gorgeous.
Individual Jagoranda blossoms.
On our day off from ABO, some of us headed down to Nairobi and visited this genuine Brazillian churrascaria called Pampas. Here's some of us wearing our napkins
Our lunch being served- this was the most delicious and tender meat I've ever had in all of Africa. But for the lack of farofa, this would've been a perfect Brazillian barbecue.
This was the Pampas group - forever bonded by our having mutually experienced the 'meat sweats', followed by the 'meat coma'.
The ABO group picture. The guy standing next to me and dwarfing me is Lorne (who's 6'6''), who along with his wife Donna are the ABO coordinators. Lorne decided one session that I looked too sleepy, so he came casually by, opened my waterbottle, and baptized me by a mixture of sprinkling and immersion.
Here's me getting back at him after I'd bought some waterballoons.
There's me giving Lorne a piggyback ride. He ain't heavy, he's my brother. No, not really, I believe he weighs in at around 230-240 lbs.
This is Moi, my best friend and language helper in the village. He doesn't speak any English, but has helped me out a lot with my Kizaramo. We learn language, play cards, play soccer, go biking, and he wants to help me make my bricks for the oven. He's also an amazing checkers player, and I've been trying to teach him chess, but he doesn't seem too keen...
The first week of October saw us come up to TIMO En Gedi (the logistical and administrative HQ for all of TIMO, all the teams out there) for an end of unit retreat. This place is a paradise! It's lush and green, all kinds of plants and trees grow here. They have grass!!! And Howler monkeys!
Anyways, here's some pics:
This is Caleb wearing my sunglasses on the way up to En Gedi. Just cos he's so cute.
Here's Jeremy and the kids enjoying some playtime in one of the bandas at En Gedi. This was early, and while the kids were all up and chipper, I don't think Jeremy'd finished waking up yet.
We celebrated our end of unit retreat with a great big Bbq- here's Tim and I roasting some amazing chops.
...and here's everyone else enjoying some amazing chops.
These are the guys on the team relaxing with their stomachs really full.
After our weekend retreat we headed up to Nairobi, Kenya; and then on to the town of Machakos, where we had our 'Africa Based Orientation', which is a requirement with all of AIM's new missionaries. So here's some pics from ABO:
The place where we stayed was enshrouded with the most amazing trees I've ever heard of. While in bloom (now), instead of green leaves they had tens of thousands of tiny little purple blossoms. They're called Jagorandas. They're seriously out of a Tolkien, or Dr Seuss book, they're so extraordinary.
Adding to their beauty was the fact that they shed a lot of blossoms, so the ground beneath the trees was generally carpeted in purple, it was gorgeous.
Individual Jagoranda blossoms.
On our day off from ABO, some of us headed down to Nairobi and visited this genuine Brazillian churrascaria called Pampas. Here's some of us wearing our napkins
Our lunch being served- this was the most delicious and tender meat I've ever had in all of Africa. But for the lack of farofa, this would've been a perfect Brazillian barbecue.
This was the Pampas group - forever bonded by our having mutually experienced the 'meat sweats', followed by the 'meat coma'.
The ABO group picture. The guy standing next to me and dwarfing me is Lorne (who's 6'6''), who along with his wife Donna are the ABO coordinators. Lorne decided one session that I looked too sleepy, so he came casually by, opened my waterbottle, and baptized me by a mixture of sprinkling and immersion.
Here's me getting back at him after I'd bought some waterballoons.
There's me giving Lorne a piggyback ride. He ain't heavy, he's my brother. No, not really, I believe he weighs in at around 230-240 lbs.
posted by dan at 11/01/2007 12:13:00 p.m.
3 Comments:
One, you stole the napkins-on-the-head from TIMO Sudan.
Two, Loren is GINORMOUS.
Three, did you ever ride the boda-bodas? Very upsetting if you didn't.
Hello Dan, my name is Amy and I was just looking at the African Inland Mission website and saw your story on there.
I am with Wycliffe Bible translators and Lord-willing will be going to Tanzania in January with other members of Wycliffe.
I will be working with the Sandawe people and know that there are other AIM missionaries there too.
God bless you,
Amy
Alas, 'tis true, I did steal the napkins-on-the-head from TIMO Sudan, haha.
And Loren is indeed ginormous, he call me a beast of burden when I walked around with him on my back! Honestly...
We also did ride a boda-boda, but the one I rode had a problem with the exhaust (it was exhausting into the back seat, and I was in the back seat), so I don't quite remember much about that ride...
I did ride the bicycle-taxis several times though, and found out they only charged me half if I rode the bike and they sat on the padded seat at the back.
And Amy, thanks for your note! I believe the Sandawe are in central Tanza, near Dodoma? You never know, if you get out to Dar we may run into each other yet! We're there about once a month.
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