Tuesday last week I flew out with another MAF pilot, Kirstein, to Haydom. Our schedule was full with flights out to even more remote villages, and we would not return back to Arusha until Friday. On one of the afternoons we needed to haul to the maximum capacity of the aircraft, and so I was left on the ground. As I waited to catch a few pictures of Kirstein taking off to the villages, these two girls kept begging me to take a picture of them so they could see themselves. They were quite pleased, and a little shy, when I showed them my camera screen. After he was off, I began my hike to the large hill beside the town of Haydom. Having grown up in the mountains of Idaho, I miss the tranquility and peace of being in the wild. Being away from busy city life gives me time to think and process. I began to contemplate how different Tanzania is from the world I grew up in. For instance, it took me multiple visits to the Haydom airstrip before noticing the ridicu...
Over two days later with a total of fifty-seven hours of travel - we finally made it to Pennsylvania! Below is a condensed version of our trip on video.
It has been a while since I have posted pictures of the girls and people have been asking. In the meantime, I decided to give a little update on their progress in life. At 5 months and 12 pounds each, our two little princesses have been quickly growing and learning about life. They are able to sit up when supported, hold their heads up very well, roll over and grab their feet, and they love standing. Of course, they have two big brothers who love them a lot! Maybe a little too much sometimes... Their Mommy has been amazing with them, and their smiles tell us every day how happy they are. And of course, their Daddy is great at making their day. At the end of the day Esther, and Tivoli are very tired and ready for a good night's sleep. Life for them is so simple right now. Before I know it, they will be crawling, walking, talking, and then having their own life adventures. Lord, please give us strength and wisd...
While growing up with my bothers and my older sister, I can recollect many instances of taking on the cold with no regard. Such as hiking in the mountains through deep snow in sandals or breaking a hole in the ice in order to land in it on the way down the zip line... You know, contacting freezing water hurts a lot more after a 30 foot drop than it normally does. Perhaps some would regard this as abnormal behaviour, or maybe just a great definition of stupidity. But I like to think of it differently. It was just another way to have great fun! Sometimes this behaviour resulted in ghastly consequences, such as when Isaac ran barefoot through deep snow all the way to the barn and subsequently added a pitchfork to the length of his foot's anatomy. But overall, we all survived and came through with some great memories. Memories forged in ice. I just barely got out of the way with my camera. This reminds me of a tradition I had growing up....
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