Boys Christmas Hike

On Christmas day Tigus and I took eleven boys on a ten mile hike.  Most of the time we were above 6,500 feet.  It was just a ball to have a group of kids to have fun with.  Enjoy the pictures.

Check out all the photos on the link on the right.  Please pray for these boys that God would call them.  They faced a lot of challenges growing up here.

Saturdays Trip to the top

This last Saturday, we took a trip to explore a walk that I plan to do with the boys over Christmas.  It was for our own enjoyment as well.  My wife being a good German house wife, packed an overflowing picnic brunch, and off we went.

We climbed to above 6000 feet and travel on the crest of ridge till we came to 'our' tree.  Most trees, if you are in the Johnson house hold take on a life and name of their own.  This one will always be "Nicki and Zoe's" tree.  You see last week we took to girls that were 15 and 17 up to our favorite spot and then my girls took pictures on this tree.  Now the tree has been christened, and you can't change it.

We ate our brunch, played, took pictures, and explored.  On the way home we drove off the side and skidded to the bottom.  My kids are going to find America a little tame, I am afraid.  We exited a very beautiful valley and returned home.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.

These pictures in the album are link to a map to show where we went.  Check out the link to see a topographical map of the area behind our house.

PS.  You can know see our house on Google Earth as well.

A Mother Daughter Meeting

One of the really fun things that is happening to me as I grow older, is watching my kids grow up.  Yesterday my daughter spent the afternoon with a couple of girls their ages from CA.  I was so much fun to see them interact.  It started with some polite introductions, but soon we could here the 'conversation' take off.  Before they left there was some giggles and laughter.  That is medicine for a fathers heart.

Today, the kids attended a Mother / Daughter brunch at the church.  They took turns dressing up as biblical women.  The ladies of the church could ask only yes and no questions as they tried to figure out who they were.  I, of course didn't get to see the end result, but it looks like they had a lot of fun.


One of the funniest things that we have discovered is how hard the mothers (and daughters) will try to win at musical chairs.  As we don't have enough chairs we use benches and place song books on the seats that have been removed.  It is hilarious as these wonderful ladies push, laugh, bump off the books, and do a host of other things to try to be the last one left.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The First National Thanksgiving

Dear Friends and Family,

Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for what God has done for us in the past year. Yet I have to ask if any of you know about one of the first National Days of Thanksgiving? I am not asking if you know about George Washington's degree as President to set aside Nov. 26 as a public Day of Thanksgiving annually, but the very first National Day of Thanksgiving?

The first National thanksgiving day was set by the Continental Congress for Dec. 17 ,1777 to commemorate the American colonies victories in the Battle of Saratoga. In early December, General Washington tried to break contact with the British (General Howe) and withdraw to winter quarters at Valley Forge. As the American Army retreated they ran into another British Army. The British, possibly scenting victory, refused to break contact and pursued after Washington and his 11,000 men. (3,000 of which we wounded or ill.) The army stopped six miles short of the river, not wanting to be trapped, at a place called Millers Glen. Facing him Washington learned was General Cornwallis, one of the leading English commanders. General Cornwallis had been foraging for supplies when he has been informed of the retreating army. He followed the army, surrounding it, and waited for help from General Howe's army.

Surrounded on three sides, with their backs to the river, they American army took its stand and waited. General Washington had promised his men a daily ration of 4oz of dried meat, an apple and a pint of cider. At Millers Glen the food ran short, after 2 day without food, Washington met with his general staff to discuss sending the Army home and abandoning the cause. During the discussions a dispatch arrived from congress proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving and Praise for the Victory at Saratoga. (45 days earlier)

Washington was upset. How could he ask his men to commemorate a day of Thanksgiving and Praise when they were going on their third day without food and looking at the possible end of their dreams. He found his encouragement in Gods word.

This Psalms that God lead him to was Psalm 136. This Psalm encourages all to “give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” It concludes with these words “²⁵Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²⁶O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Washington was encouraged to trust God and wrote a general order to the army on the 17^th of December 1777.

At the time the general order was issued on the 17th, the troops hadn't been fed in three days. There were supplies available, but the British were blocking the way. General Washington wrote that the eighteenth had been set aside by the honorable congress as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise. He states that it was “duty” “calling us to express our grateful acknowledgements to God.” Washington's men did not wait till the 18^th, but started thanking the Lord for His mercies after hearing the order read on the 17^th. Even after three days without food, they offered praise and thanksgiving to God.

As this was happening the Army's scouting parties continued to probe the British lines looking for a way to get the desperately needed supplies to the army. The British, knowing nothing of what was happening were overcome with confusion and a spirit of fear gripped them. The surrounding lines broke and started a retreat. The retreat became general and the army, fearing that reinforcements were coming to the Americans retreated to winter quarters. That night the men ate, as the supplies were able to arrive.

Unbeknown to them, God was also at work in other places. On that very day, the French as persuaded by Benjamen Franklin, signed a document declaring the United States to be a nation and committing their armies to help the colonies in their fight with Britain. That was truly a Thanksgiving Day to be remembered.

You see, God has commanded us to remember Him and His great works. We get concerned with the economy or our problems, but God asks for our hearts in faith. May we remember Him and His Great Works today. Truly His mercies are as great today as they ever were and He deserves our praise. As Washington said, “

“To morrow being the day set apart by the Honorable Congress for public Thanksgiving and Praise; and duty calling us devoutely to express our grateful acknowledgements to God for the manifold blessings he has granted us. The General directs that the army remain in its present quarters, and that the Chaplains perform divine service with their several Corps and brigades. And earnestly exhorts, all officers and soldiers, whose absence is not indispensibly necessary, to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day. “

http://quotationsbook.com/quote/44798/

As I sit at my desk and think, I realize we have so much to be thankful for. I will close with a short list.

1. My Lord and my God whose mercies endure forever.
2. My family who are growing in the Lord and well and healthy.
3. The Work in Sekenani which is starting after a long time to bear fruit.
4. Our Churches and friends who are our partners, both outwardly and inwardly.
5. Our Nation, that was founded on God's Word and the desire for freedom to worship him.

May all of you have a blessed day as you remember the Lord whose “Mercies endure forever!”

Sincerely and with many prayers for you all,

Jon and Almi

PS. This material for this letter comes from lectures delivered by Vision Forum on Washington. (The final closing ceremony of their Boston, Celebration 500 series.) It has been checked and reference on the Internet with Washington's Orders, and several different sights. It is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

http://quotationsbook.com/quote/44798/

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WasFi10.html

http://quotationsbook.com/quote/44798/

Dogs

I am a firm believer that every family should have some pets.  I think that they are God's gift to us to keep us sane.  This last week we have had more than our fair share of funnies with the dogs and I thought that I would share them with you.

Our dogs get a bath every week.  Part of this is because they are dirty, but part is due to the bugs out here.  If we start skipping they get bit by flies that carry a disease that it is very hard for a dog to recover from.  (Sleeping sickness.  This was the disease that kept Europeans out of Africa for so many years.  They would organize herds of cow for food and to carry there bundles, but when they would get inland, the cows would all sicken and die.)  Part of the bath is a rinse at the end with an insecticide.  The dogs of course love it,  HA HA.  My family sometimes tease them by using the word 'bath' in conversation to see them look around and sneak away.

This last bath day, Almi changed her shoes to the old 'wash the dog' shoes and washed Mogli.  When she got done, she changed back into her normal flip flops.  Mogli was watching her and came up and licked her new flip flops.  He knew this meant that the bath was over.  He still followed her around, to the kitchen, the living room, stood next to her as she started the computer up, then followed her into the bathroom!!!  Tanya suggested that she take the collar off.  When she took his collar off, he sighed and went and laid down, knowing that his bath was down.

We truly love our dogs, even maybe a little too much, but they are our friends and our security.  We love their greetings and just being with them, but sometimes that leads to some funny things.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  (The two smaller puppies are Russell's dogs that we are dog sitting.  They are Lab Doberman mix.)  If you want to see more photos clink on the link on the right.

Emunyani Learning Center ELC Part 2

     So what does a day at the learning center look like?  While it start at after our daily devotions.  We talk for a couple of minutes and set out the plan for what day, who is doing what, and what is needed to be accompished.  This isn't really a meeting, just the normal discussion of people who help and are all involved in the project.

     Lilian then go up to the learning center.  She normally has from 30 minutes to an hour to prepare for the day.  She cleans and works on lessons mostly.  We are hoping that as time goes on we can break her loose for a couple of hours to work on learning as well.  It is much easier to teach computers if you are proficient in how they work and know what is going on.    

Soon the students start coming.  Every day is different as different people come as their schedules allow.  The normal is to have 4 to 10 student in the morning.  Most of these are adults as the kids are in school.  Lilian teaches an adult reading class, and tutors anyone who comes in between times.  This last week has been different as school has closed for the younger grades.  The oldest grade is taking a placement test for High School and no disturbances are allowed.  That means that we might have 10 or even 15 students studying at the learning center.  The computers are humming and people are standing in line for materials.

Lilian takes off at noon for lunch and comes back at 2 o'clock.  At 2:30 the junior primary show up for activities and games.  At 4:00 the senior primaries grades are welcomed.  Yesterday that was light as some of them were guarding cows and others were at school testing.  On Wednesday we have boys and girls together and schedule a learning activity. 

This Wednesday Tanya taught the lesson and did her biology experiment, dissecting a frog.  Amidst many gasps and groans, she pointed out the points in the lesson.  Where the heart, lungs, liver, muscles, and bone structure look like.

We laughed as these people who think nothing of butchering a live cow or sheep were grossed out by a dead, dried frog.  Although there were many comments the kids LOVED it.  Their drawings on the frog were first rate and they have been exposed to a little bit more of learning.

Emunyani Learning Center ELC

The Emunyani Learning Center is now officially open. Our goal in starting the learning center is to develop relationships with the local kids. We are using their desire for a better education to do this. We hope to disciple them in the Lord and in their personal lives.

Before ELC, it was diffucult for a Maasai to get a real quality education in Sekenani. Most parents sent their children to boarding school. Some of the parents started looking at boarding school options from the second grade, and almost all from the forth to sixth grade. This gutted the church of our youth, destroyed the local family unit, and failed to train the children in faith and the character qualities which are needed to succeed in life. They come out with a high school education, but having lost much along the way.

ELC is set up with three sections currently. The first section has a library with books for all ages. It starts with picture books for help in teaching English and for beginning readers, weather young or old. It also has story books and an adult section with Christian or job / skill orientated material. The lower level books are widely used, but the English skill of most kids keep them from using the upper level material. Although the maps and atlas are enjoyed tremendously.

We a currently employing one full time staff member, Lillian and several part time assistants, Katemwea and Elisabeth. As you can image, it is hard for a single person to watch over and teach in several room and with several subjects. The ladies are of course learning as well as we teach them about the different programs on the computer or go over a science experiment. Tari Russell works at the learning center with them almost constently. She helps with the teaching and oversees the schedules and classes. This makes up the second and perhaps the most important part of ELC.

On the technical side we have computer room with six computers and the solar and power requirements to run them. The computers are running Edubutu and the kids love it. This is a free Operating System from Linux that comes with many educational programs and games. The kids use Tux Math to learn their math tables, kgeography to learn the locations of the countries around the world, and play different logic games like mastermind and chess. We also have a windows side with some basic introductory study courses to Microsoft office. I helped out today and worked with two 4th grade boys as they learned their multiplication tables. Lilian helped a young lady learn typing and letter writing.

We are running classes for different age groups with average attendance of 20 to 30 students a day. Wednesday is our learning activity day. This week Tanya is planning on doing one of her biology experiments with the kids. She is going to dissect a frog for high school biology with the kids. I am the resident techi and will be taking photos and trying to get a camera hooked to a computer screen to allow more of the kids to see and to get close ups. Tanya has been helping out at ELC once or twice a week and really loves it. She excels with the kids and it is a good way for her to reach out.

We are also bringing in DVD's from Answer's in Genesis along with more solar panels and some audio players for the G. A. Henty stories, Jonathon Parks series, and Focus on the Family Radio Theater productions stories that we have. I think ELC is going to make a big difference in the lives of the students who come and I have loved previewing the material. The only trouble I have is that I get so excited that I go order more. :)

Catch up

We are now in the states and doing well. I want to finally get the rest of the pictures from Germany posted so that you can see some of what we got to enjoy in Germany and have an understanding of the differences between the US, Kenya and Germany. We enjoyed visiting an old church that can trace its roots back to the time of the Romans. It has been a church for over 800 years at least in the building. It is amazing and sad to see at the same time. The beauty and art, of and in, the building is amazing. It showed the reverence that God was held in at the time they built. The sad part is how it has stopped influencing the area around it and has become a beautiful attraction instead of a light house to reach out to a dieing world.

The second series of pictures is from an alpaca farm. Alpacas are related to camels and are valuable for their wool, much like sheep. They are also desired for breeding as many people are looking for them. They are coming to Germany from South America by way of Australia. A typical top notch breeding pair can sell for between 20 and 30 thousand dollars. We laughed at them as they look like a cross between sheep and camels. Their wool in the photos is over 5 inches deep. The neatest thing was how curious these animals are. As we came in and looked around, they ran out and then returned to stare at us. We enjoyed seeing them and learning about them incredibly.

We are doing fairly good as we are over the jet lag and getting into normality again. If you think of it, please keep Josh in your prayers as it seems to be hardest on him. He understands about the travel, but it is still hard on him as it seems that every new friend is pulled away from him after just getting to know them. Tanya and Christy have been returning to friends and have some very warm and special relationships with there friends blossoming. Last Sunday I watched Tanya get hugged by five really neat girls at the youth group here in Eliot Maine. It was neat to see the joy of the six of them at being together. God truly has blessed us all with wonderful friends and family, but it isn't a guarantee that life will be easy. :) We are encouraged to keep on keeping on to holding on to Him who lives and is alive forever more. We will continue to post as we get time and a camera. :) At least I have the software now and it is all in English. LOL

Life in Germany

Well, we are now in Germany. It has taken a while to get an update off as the two computers that I have access to use Linex and Mac operating systems and of course are in German. So not only do I not know the operating systems, but I can't even read the menues. This means that while I can take pictures, I can't shrink them, or move them to where I want them. Needless to say, it took awhile to get to this point.

I thought that for my first article on Germany I would show you the house that we stay in. Heiko and Ulli are friends of ours that we have known for many years. Their friendship with Almi goes back to

her baptism while in the church youth group. They own a two bedroom apartment in downtown Kirchheim-Teck. Heiko works for a bank managing the computer network and Ulli is a telephone sales person for a local company. They are activily involved in the church as the kids really love them. They also own a talking parrot named Goldi who we are teaching to whistle at girls... Those crazy missionaries.

The weather has not been very nice as we have had snow and rain for the first four days that we were here. Yesterday cleared up a bit and reached into the 50's and we loved it. God has blessed us with wonderful friends and a pretty place to stay while we wait for the good weather to finally come. Be sure to check out the rest of the album by following the link on the right. We hope to also post some pictures of Almi's parents and a local cathedral that was built in 1220 AD.

The Life Lived Under the Authority of Truth

As I was thinking of our life today, Valentines Days and our last Saturday in the Mara, I read over a blog that David Blackney writes for our mission (http://mastersmission.blogspot.com/2007/11/if-missions-was-only-witnessing.html) and thought how accurate it is. What a life we live.

Today started for me at five thirty and I was working on the truck by 7 AM. Yesterday, we found two crossed wires that had caused the computer to shut off the truck. With the engine finally running we had lots of jobs that needed to be done from setting the timing to bleeding brakes, clutch, and power steering systems and doing an alignment on the steering system. Of course that is not the only work for the day. I have four guys working at the hospital building on a sign with stones that I had cut in Nov. We also had a dinner date at 1 o'clock with a local family that want to say thanks for all the things we have done and to visit a little. After the dinner I ended up at a meeting of some local elders for an hour as we talked about President Obama and the government of Kenya. The government here is involved in, according to the Elders, at least six major scandals, from selling the harvested corn to India, which leaves Kenya hungry, to land grabs and corruption. As we talked I was able to share about how important righteousness is in any society. Without God we are left with our own personal welfare being our God and this is what happens. Many of them agreed with me. I then took Tanya and some tools and fixed the village well one more time. We were surrounded by 40 kids and adults and spent an hour and a half working and talking with them. (I learned that Tanya in Maasai is the words "I refuse!" LOL) I invited them to church and hope to see many of them in Sunday School or Church tomorrow. On the way home we had another opportunity to stop and talk with some different Elders about the Sekenani water situation. Again we discussed the needs of the community and the importance of righteousness. Again I was able to invite many of them to church. After I post this I will work on the message for tomorrows service. With many new faces hopefully coming, I want to tell them about the Truth of God. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life...)

With this as a back drop, I want you to read over the Blog from David Blackney. Our life is so much more than giving hand outs or sitting under a tree teaching. It is the living of a life as an example in front of an unbelieving world. It is the continual pointing to the one who has all the answers and has given us his plan for us to live and to know him. As we point to Him and His truth, people will be drawn or repelled. We are privileged to be serving Him and to know the Truth that truly sets us free.

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"If missions was only witnessing or only doing benevolences, we wouldn't need The Master's Mission.

But if missions is establishing and strengthening churches that can accurately and persuasively present Christ, churches that can also reproduce themselves, churches that can train their members to love their neighbors, then preparation like that offered by TMM becomes essential for those embarking on such a mission.

Whether it is doctrinal fidelity or technical ability in building construction, the best preparation is not always accomplished in a strict academic setting. Most of us learn more efficiently through observation and imitation. In changing a tire or sharing the message of salvation, reading a 'how to' manual and actually doing it are two different things. Thus Paul told Timothy, "the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things" (Phil. 4:9). This ongoing practice, especially when supervised by an experienced coach who by his words and modeling can help you improve, is what moves us towards excellence. These kind of teachers, practitioners themselves, represent instructors who are the opposite of those derided by the adage: 'those who can't, teach.' Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to 'excel still more' by continuing to advance in the ideal they had caught from him and the apostolic team in behaving in ways that please God (Thes. 4:1, Berkeley Version of NT).

The church must excel in both the proclamation of the Great Commission and the practice of the Great Commandment. To do so, they must have these kinds of instructors. Truth is more often caught than formally taught. We would never neglect formal teaching times, but recognize that today's leaders have neglected the informal disciplining opportunities of sharing life experiences and what should be mature responses to those events with those who are young in the faith or who are being apprenticed for leadership in the church. The Scripture emphasizes both kinds of learning. We have neglected the second. The challenge in missions is not only to find the "Timothy's" who can entrust to faithful men what they have learned from their "Paul's", but it is first in finding the adequate "Paul's" to begin the process. Hence the comprehensive requirements given for qualified church leaders. The help needed determines the skills the helper must have.

Where do churches (in America or on the mission field) need help?

In the same areas where everyone needs help: Marriage, child rearing, finances, dealing with sin and temptation, business ethics, knowing and doing God's will in their setting.

Where do churches (in America or on the mission field) need help?

Finding leaders who can address these issues from the perspective of God's Word, instructors who refuse to cloud or compromise the truth with their opinions. Churches need proper instruction and models to follow in maintaining the purity of truth and devotion to Christ, in rightly responding to the endless needs of their neighbors, and for zeal in application and performance in all these areas of life that please God."

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Thank you all who support and allow us the privilege of working full time for the Master, modeling his way and life. We are blessed to know Him and to be able to share about him. Pray that more Maasai will find Christ and the answers to their lives.

Rain in the Mara

I don't have much time as the internet goes down every time it rains, and the clouds are here and the rain is coming. Here are a couple of pictures to look at. The first set is a before and after picture. The mornings are foggy which is very unusual. The school is only 400 to 500 yards away.









This is a rainbow over Shayne's new house. The evening are pretty as the storms come. We also have enjoyed the water. The ground is green again. I talked to one of the Maasai yesterday and he told me "This is the month to sleep now. There is plenty of grass." Before the rains they were hiking 2 - 3 hours to find grass. Now they let the cows outside the boma and go back to sleep. :)

Life In the Mara

The last few days have been very hectic. We are getting the truck put back together, trying to get the welding done that needs to be done, and getting ready to go home all at the same time. There just is not enough time in the day. The good news is that everything is moving along. Yesterday we were able to confirm our round trip tickets for America. It is fairly difficult for us to get good fairs as we need to pass through Germany both coming and going. This adds two legs to our normal trip and can get expensive fast. Normally we have used Swiss Air and have gotten away with a three week layover in Zurich Switzerland. When we tried that this time, we were shocked to get prices that were almost 3,000 dollars a person. With no hope of getting that flight, we changed to British air ways and two 20 hour plus flights that would have allowed us to get a round trip ticket for $2,400. As Christmas came and went we continued bargaining with Swiss Air and others. We told them our ticket costs and asked them to match it. Yesterday we got a confirmed ticket with direct flights of no more than 10 hours each for $2,000 each. We are thankful for that.

The truck rebuild is also coming along at a decent pace. We lifted the cab yesterday and are starting the patching on that today. We hope to have it done by the end of today so that when the parts arrive from America this evening, we can start on the engine. As soon as the engine is set in the frame, we can bolt up the transmission and transfer case and then set the cab on. I need the cab to hold the wiring harness and computer so that we can start the engine. My goal is to see the engine running by the end of Sunday. I honestly do not know if I can reach my goal, but it would be great to see it. Josh is also getting some time to help me on different projects. I have him taking off the old engine mounts in the picture below. He was one happy boy.

Along with all this, life continues on. We continue to have morning devotions every morning with the workers as well as Sunday services which have been very well attended. I have been down three times to talk with David and help adjust his medications. Tanya has also been pressed into service to help with taking some of the sick ladies to the health center. We have one girl who was in our Sunday school class 10 years ago who has a badly infected foot. I have never seen a foot so swollen. Tanya is taking her for a series of shots to try to get the infection under control. It is a blessing to have a daughter who you can rely on. The rain is also continuing here in the Mara and that as well is a blessing. Thank you all for your prayers.

It's looking like a Truck again.

After a couple of weeks working on the frame, welding on braces, we have hit the big push to put it together. I am still waiting on a new cam shaft and bearings to arrive, but I hope to have them in hand on Wednesday night. Kevin, a friend of ours, is going to carry a new cam shaft over in his luggage. I hope to have Michael Pesi pick it up from Kijabe on Wednesday morning. If everything goes super fast, we might get started on it Wednesday night. If it proceeds at a Kenyan pace, we will get the cam shaft about 7:00 Wednesday and start on the engine, Thursday at 8:00. Please pray that it goes back together without any hitches. It is really nice to look at the new frame and to see things going on for the last time. It is amazing what a coat of paint, two axles, and some steering brackets can do. The locals were ready to pronounce the truck dead, and now they are thinking that it is almost ready to drive... LOL I guess it has a lot to do with how much experience you have on rebuilding a truck.

The other big blessing is that the rains have returned to the Mara. We have not had as much rain in Sekenani as the rest of the Mara has had, but it is coming. Friday night the rain continued throughout the night until morning. On Saturday I noticed that our pump went for almost two hours without running out of water. God is good. One of the beautiful sights I saw this week was on Friday night. I was outside talking with Michael at 8:00 PM. The sky was cloud covered and the sun had set almost an hour earlier. On the far western horizon I watched a lightning storm. As the lightning would flash it was filtered by the clouds and the light of the sun that was still hitting the upper atmosphere on the western horizon. Each time the lightning flashed, we were treated to vivid red and purple flashes, with clouds outlined in bold relief. We stood and watched for five minutes and as the colors faded out and the lightning return to it's normal white color. We truly live in a beautiful place. God is so good to us. The picture on the left shows the fog that we are seeing some mornings.

Truck Rebuild Reaches the Bottom

I thought that I would pass along a quick brief on how things are going on the truck rebuild. It is hard to even know where to start in describing the work that has been done. We have the engine apart and are now waiting on some parts. The cam shaft is beyond the point of reusing so one is on order. Thankfully we have a friend who is walking it over with his luggage on the 28th when he returns to Kenya. We have fixed the rear axle and painted the frame and braces. The A-arms and springs all have new bushings and the final coat of black paint was applied today. Tomorrow we are going to start putting the axles on the new frame and seeing how far we can get. I should have more pictures and news by the week end so I will keep this short. If you are at all interested in engines and what has happened to our engine, check the links to the truck pictures. It has a lot of detailed shots of the work with explanations of what you are looking at. I also updated the old link that shows the broken frame and sheet metal. Keep us in your prayers as we put this together as it is critical to have a reliable vehicle if you want to live here in Kenya. I can't even imagine how much better this truck will be. It should be back to 80% of new. I reserve 20% as there are problems in the engine that I can't fix in Kenya. Even with these problems, we will have a much better running engine. The picture on the left shows the problem that caused us to pull the engine and also destroyed the cam shaft. The metal pieces are called lifter and are supposed to have perfectly round rollers on the end. You can see how worn they are. One is even cracked and missing a section. This was what was causing the clicking noise that I was looking for.

Some Things of My Life

The sun was beating down on us unmercifully and the air had a dry dusty smell to it. All around us was short scrub brush, parched with the need of rain. The ground was rock, dust, and brown grass. Warm wind was blowing my hair but brought no relief. I could hear birds and crickets but even they sounded hot….. It may seem like a grim picture but I was loving it!

I was walking with Eunice, my friend, going to see where she lived. We were joking and having a good time. I have wanted to see where she lived for some time so I jumped at the chance when it came. Here in Masai Mara, going to a friend’s house doesn’t happen all that much.

To be honest, I don’t have that many good friends among the locals. The biggest reason is that none of them stay here very long. Most of the girls are ‘traditional’ and get married at thirteen. After which they go and live wherever their husband is from; very rarely is he from around here. The rest are ‘nontraditional’ and go to boarding school. This obviously means they are here only for a few weeks a year. Don’t get me wrong! I do have a couple good friends here and many elsewhere.

Some of my friends are in the US, who I write to. Others are MKs from our mission that also live in Kenya. I see them when we travel either to get supplies in Nairobi and meet or when we visit other mission stations. One thing I have found is that true friends are hard to find and because of that friendship is precious. I am sure that is true everywhere though, not just on the mission field. What is different here is the language and cultural barriers like early marriage. This makes it really hard to find a good Maasai friend.

Another hard thing about the mission field is what we call the ‘fish bowl’ effect. We are the fish! The people are always watching what we are doing. As you can imagine, we don’t really blend in very well with our pale tans and blond hair! Often people will pretend to be our best friend as long as they think they can get something from us. They will tell me what they imagine that I want to hear. Their idea of white people is the tourists who come here and have a seemingly unending amount of money. They are hoping that as my friend they will get help. That’s our life in the fish bowl though.

One of the best things about living here is the fact that our family is really close. We do everything together, from school to meals, to the ministry. Also, we have done a lot of fun things together! On our travels we have been to see castles in Germany, the Grand Canyon in America, and have gone on a balloon ride over the Masai Mara. In Kenya we have seen rain forests, deserts, grasslands, rolling hills and rocky mountains. We have watched lions eat their kill and vast herds of wildebeests running by. This is some pretty amazing stuff for a kid to do!

Pets are also something unique here. Among MK’s pets are chameleons, squirrels, praying mantises, dikdiks (a small deer), hedgehogs, house cats (not the big kind with large appetites although we do know of one cheetah that is a pet), tortoises, and dogs. That’s quite the variety!

MK life may have a lot of hardships with always sticking out and never belonging to one place, but I wouldn’t trade it with anyone. Seeing God work in the lives of people my own included, seeing amazing parts of His creation, and having such wonderful memories with my family is really awesome. How blessed I am!

-Tanya-

Water is Life

One of the things that you get used to very quickly in Africa is how fast everything changes. The latest example of that was with our water. In the last two weeks we have struggled to get enough water. The first problem was the baboons. They chewed through a line that fed our station tanks and drained almost 9000 gallons of water in a night. We started pumping the next day and put several 1000 gallons more into the tank. When we went up to look after two days, we were empty again. Why? The lines had sucked some trash into them and the float valves were not closing in our tanks. We had just pumped the well out into the bushes. We then decided that while the water was so low that we would go into the main tank and clean it and seal a couple of areas that looked like they were still leaking a little bit. After two days of cleaning and working on the tank we tried to fill it again (14,000. gallons). After a couple of days of pumping we went to look into the tank and found it still empty. OK! Now What? For three days Travis and his Father Larry looked and measured everything. The finial verdict is that the pump is working fine, but the water table has dropped almost 8 feet. That means our well has only 14 inches of water above the pump. Once we have pumped down to that level, the pump shuts off. We then wait for 5 hours and pump again. This has caused us to start pumping in shifts. We pump one hour every eight hours. Slowly the big tank is starting to fill. This is normal life in Kenya. In the midst of daily devotions, Sunday services, literacy classes, a truck rebuild, visiting the new dentists, helping David, we run into water problems and have to switch directions. It is what makes life exciting, and awful at the same time. It was a blessing that Larry and Travis chose to pursue it, while I worked on the truck. I sealed and cleaned the tanks and helped check out the well, but they did the sitting and looking to see when the pump shut off and how long it takes to fill. Thank the Lord for friends. PS Can you guess the next Prayer request???? We could use some rain!!!! Please Pray. :) As always, there are more pictures to be seen by following the link on the right. Check out Travis's Photo...

A Tooth Ache in the Mara

We live in a beautiful corner of God's World. The green grass, the hot sun, the cool breezes, lofty peaks with grand vistas, animals of every shape and description. We hear the roars of lions, the laughter of a hyena getting a meal, the songs of the Maasai, the trumpet of the elephants. The soft clanging of the cowbells, announcing the sunset, as long lines of the trusty creatures wander by on their way home. You can drive through the Mara and even enjoy the different smells. I can smell the sharp acid odor of a campfire in the cool morning air, and the dust has a beautiful smell as the raindrops hit the parched and thirsty ground with large thumps.

Of course all this is missed if you have a tooth ache. What does a person in Sekenani do who has a tooth ache? Do you really want to know??? Okay. The first thing you have to realize is that an African bush dentist is slightly different than an American dentist. The dentist office is usually on a porch or under a tree. You either get a plastic chair or a wood stool depending on if your dentist is doing well with his business of not. Either way there is only one procedure, you can have the tooth pulled or.... you can have the tooth pulled. His tools for this job are very basic, he has a pair of pliers and a bottle of whiskey for you and him both, and for sterilization. About half the time, you will need to go to the doctor afterward as there is a piece of root left in there, that starts to get infected and has to work its way out.

With this as the background, you can imagine our surprise and joy to hear that we had a real dentist coming to our neck of the bush and opening his practice. I have to admit that I didn't have high hopes. Now looking back, I feel totally embarrassed. Ray is a Dentist from Seattle WA and has been doing Medical / Dental safaris for almost thirty years. On Jan 9th 2009 he opened the Safari Dentist Office here in the Mara and hopes to work here full time. This is quite a change, and it has us very busy as we are taking friends and family over to have their teeth checked. The pictures are of Unis and her Mom. Unis is a young lady from our church that was looking for work. She had finished High School and a short school on public health. She is now studying and working as a dental assistant. Her mother Agnes needed a root canal. It has been a blessing to both of them. Unis loves her new work and is excited over all the new things that she is learning. God is so good. If you would like to visit Ray's website, click on "the safari Dentist" link on the right hand side.

David and Evelyn

I just want to give you an update on David and Evelyn and their daughter Lydia. (The middle one. :) ) David started his oral medication for depression today. Please keep him in your prayers as we hope that it will not have as much influence on him as the injections. The shots were causing him so much drowsiness that he was having trouble functioning and a dry mouth. With the pills we hope to be able to regulate the dosage better. We are hoping that the mouth dryness and tiredness will pass as well as he gets rid of the medicine from his body and returns to a more normal level. God has been good in giving us a doctor that really cares and is working with us on his meds. Yesterday Evelyn was up with us and was still very happy to have her husband. Thanks to the ability to work with David and this Doctor, she has her family.

Speaking of family, I want to give you an update as well on Lydia, her youngest sister, who Evelyn adopted when their mother died. Lydia has been at a bush high school in Maji Moto. This school has performed very poorly on the government tests and we were depressed over Lydia's education. As a new Junior in High School, she should have been able to speak and write English very well as well as been able to have knowledge of many other subjects which she is missing. When she was home we found out that they teach the kids in the Maasai language and her scores reflected it. She graduated number 2 in her class of 54, but had a C- mean grade point. (You need a B- mean score to qualify for any further education after high school.)

After praying and thinking about this, we encouraged Evelyn to look for a better school as this might be all the schooling that Lydia will ever get. We paid to have her retested and the clothes and books that she would need as well as putting money aside for a new school. (about $300.00) On Tuesday we got Lydia's test results back and found that if she was willing to repeat her Sophomore year, she could transfer to the number two school in our district. She was almost in tears, she was definitely very 'starry' eyed, as she cried YES! She really wants to learn more and to do better, but she hasn't had the chance. We are thankful for that. We have high hopes for this girl as she is one of the first Christian girls from a Christian home in our community. If she marries a Christian man, it will be only the second completely Christian marriage in our area. You really see the difference it makes when you look around and see all the problems that the mixed marriages have had. Please keep Lydia in your prayers as she starts at Ole Tipis Girls School in Narok. Today is her second day and she has a lot of catching up to do. I am adding this picture which is the only one we have of her without a hat. We have laughingly called her the elf with her hoods. :) (See the Dec. 11th post.) She is truly loved by my girls. All of them from Almi on down. LOL

A Homeschool Field Trip

This photo was taken at 6:25 from a Hot Air Balloon. You might wonder what a missionary in Kenya is doing riding around in a hot air balloon. The story start a couple of months ago. As you might remember I have been working at the hospital on building new gates and a sign. One of the people who is interested in helping there also is a Hot air balloon pilot in the Mara. A couple of weeks ago he asked if I would like a complimentary ride. It was not too hard to answer that question!

I told him that I am sure there would also be some other people interested in going if there was room. Travis's Dad was coming out to visit from the states and I have two daughters that might also enjoy it. (In for a penny, in for a pound. :) ) He asked for the dates that would work and said that he would get back to me as soon as he had an opening. At $450 dollars a seat he did not feel comfortable taking us on a private ride, but if there was a balloon without a full complement of passengers, he promised to let me know.

On Jan 6th he called to say that there was an opening for all of us on the flight on Wednesday the 7th. We hustled over to Serova at 5:45 in the morning and took off around 6:15-6:30 The flight last for a little over an hour and a half. We traveled at around 10-14 mph and covered 25 miles. We passed over lots of giraffes, elephants, cape buffalo, as well as numerous zebras and gazelles. We also got this picture looking down on a pair of Crowned Cranes. It was amazing to watch the sun come up and the color change on the land. This was something that I have often watched from our front deck as I have a cup of coffee, but it was especially beautiful from the balloon.

The question I had when we were done was how to count this up as a home school trip. Is it geography as the kids learned about knots / mph / kph and saw Kenya and Tanzania. Or is this science as we learned about the physics of hot air. We shared the balloon with people from Poland, Australia, Britain, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya so maybe it was sociology . We talked about Kenya and Tanzania under colonial rule and Ida Amin the uganda dictator, so maybe this was history or civics. The only thing I am sure of is that anyway you count it, this was a great field trip and a highlight for me as well as my daughters.

On the way home we passed a lion kill. Five males lions had killed a giraffe. One of the males had been kicked and was very sore. We pulled up and watched as one of the males came over and ripped out some more meat to eat. As we looked around we saw the hyenas watching from 30 meters away and the Jackals for another 5 or 10 meters. All the animals were waiting their turn to eat the scraps from the Lion. Now I wonder if I should add biology as the Driver explained how the lions killed the giraffe and how to tell the age of the lions. (roughly) (These pictures were all taken by Tanya, so maybe it was photogaphy???)

As always, there are links on the right to more pictures. (Hot Air Balloon Ride & Sunrise over the Mara.) Hope you enjoy them. I know that my daughters and I enjoyed taking them. :)

A Family Day Out.

The Johnson's are using their last Saturday of Christmas break to go out. We decided to take the kids on a beautiful, but long trip. We went into the bush with a vague plan of circling a mountain. We knew the way for the first half and figured that we could always get home just fine. Forty Five miles later it was time to get out the GPS and start going cross country. There is an affectionate name for that here, bush barging. After 7 miles of heading W / NW with four rivers and two high ridges, (surely not more mountains) we finally broke through the final hills and bush and came back to a place we knew. The total travel time was five hours. We figure we covered 60 miles plus or minus a couple. We saw a Thomson gazelle giving birth, several giraffe including a new born, lots of Zebra and impala and the ever present Dik Dik. We ate lunch under a large Acacia tree and listened to the music of the birds. The river bed was teaming with life and had at least two different kinds of birds with large beaks and head fans. We also took some time to play in the river beds. One river bed had miles of sand. I took each member of the family for a fun trip up and down the river bed. We would speed into corner and slide around like the Dukes of Hazard, lots of fun. I even managed to get a whee out of my wife, just before she asked if she could drive!!!!