We had a great trip. Several times during the trip I just got this sense of "I am so thankful that we are able to do this and I am so thankful that my kids get to experience this." Rather than give a play by play, I'm just going to list out some memories/highlights and then dump a bunch of photos at the end. If you have questions, feel free to email or comment. :)
- Riding on the helicopter with the little boys. We wore these headset things to protect our ears from the noise and so that we would be able to talk with each other.... the entire first five minutes of our trip in the boys were screaming and yelling - they were SO excited. I'm not sure the headset did much to protect my ears in that case. :) But the ride was so smooth - no long taxi take off or landing - we just floated. Plus we could see so much and flew really low to the ground - the mountain peaks were above us in most cases.
- Watching Elijah play with the tribal kids. He played soccer with them, handed out candy and peanuts to them and tried to communicate using a hilarious series of grunts, national language words and facial expressions. I was so proud of him. Yesterday he and I got to visit a tribal house, just a round thatched low roofed hut with a bamboo floor and fire in the center. He did great.... though I think it was because he got to play with the fire. :)
- Getting to see the missionaries' homes and how the ladies had decorated and turned a rough plywood and plastic and pole house into a "home." We had a ladies movie night one evening and just had so much fun eating cheesecake and talking about their struggles and victories in tribal ministry.
- Staying in our "own" home. We stayed on our own in the home of a missionary on furlough (pic below). On previous tribal visits we've stayed with someone... this time I was responsible for cooking some of our meals and Brant had to keep track of the solar electric system and we sat on our own front porch and interacted with the tribal people without the experienced missionaries around us. It was definitely a stretch but I so enjoyed the experience!
- Eating soups and stews and drinking hot tea and hot coffee in a cool climate. We were in the mountains so it was COLD - I mean, it probably got down to the low 60s, which definitely warrants sweatshirts and long pants and down comforters at night. I loved it! We are going to freeze to death when we go back to America. :)
- Looking up at the stars at night.
- Hiking with the all the kids - the MKs and the tribal kids - we could only hike single file down a narrow path. At several points some of the little girls picked up Caleb and/or Ezra and hoisted them up on their shoulders to help them over rough terrain.
- Going to bed before 9 at night... can't believe this night owl would admit that. :) But electricity is a precious commodity and we couldn't waste it by staying up late, so we went to bed early and were up when the sun came up!
- No malaria mosquitos, no ants, no geckos. Too cold. (Could have definitely done without the huge fly infestation that plagued the missionaries - who knew flies could handle the cold weather!)
- FAST internet - the missionaries have a satalite internet system, so it was so much faster than what we have here in town. :) I even got to call my dad via Skype on his (60th!) birthday, which was really special.
Still have more photos from my camera to get onto my computer, so might add some more.
Thanks so much for praying for our trip! It was such a fun time, a great learning experience and a trip we will not forget.
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