The last couple days havn't been too eventful, except for the fact that I have taken up drawing. In the last two days I have drawn four, if you don't mind me saying, pretty wicked awesome pictures. Two are of native origin, involving the pacific salmon and also integrating a brilliant sun and river. The other two are representations of an epic battle between man and steelhead, a contest that stretched both fish and fisher to their max. Of course the fisherman came out on top. I then strategically placed them, and fastened them, to predetermined locations on the wall next to my bed. It's really quite amazing!

Anyway, this week we are learning about relationships. It has been good. Our teacher is originally from Switzerland, but has married a Kenyan and has lived here for 15 years. I am doing good. I am still really enjoying the water!

Thanks for your support,
Chris

This week has been a lot easier because we have had running water for almost the whole week. I was able to have four showers this week. It was incredible. Our classes last week were very informative. The topic for the week was the Holy Spirit, our speaker was from Scotland. The rains have started here, and things are already starting to turn green. The rains are very welcome, things were very dry and dusty here. Last weekend we went into town and bought a great lunch for $2.00. Food is very cheap here, and it tastes really good. Also during that trip to town we looked at some more Kilomanjaro guide companies. We will most likely book our climb this week. I hope you are all doing well, and thank you for putting up with my inconsistancy. I will try and post more.

Chris

We have had a good week, besides the lack of water. It is starting to get to a level of insanity. We don't have water to clean our clothes or to shower, the water we wash are dishes in is always cold and very dirty and we rarely have water to drink. Other than the water issue, though, things are still going quite well. On thursday Raymond and I were guest speakers in the ELS class here on the base. Along with the other Canadian girl here, Robertta, we shared for an hour about Canada. It was a lot of fun, we spoke for a while and then they asked us questions. I went out for breakfast this morning, with one of the american guys, we had french toast and bacon. When all you have eaten, for breakfast, in the last month and a half is dry bread and water, french toast is absolutely out of this world amazing. Actualy that is not entirely true, I did have some peanut butter to go with my bread for 3 or 4 days, that was also pretty incredible. It is still dry and hot here, with only one day of rain since we arrived. Raymond and I are both healthy and doing fine. Thank you to everyone who is following along, I am sorry the posts arn't more consistant, but inconsistant about somes up the internet connection here.

Chris


P.S.: If you read this, Tom, I would like to express my heart felt condolennces and utmost sympathy about little red, I loved that car and she will be missed by all.

Winter’s First Breath

By Chris Campbell

It was a frigid, October, morning the first snow had begun to fall. I was sitting on a rocky ridge, overlooking a shallow valley, the smell of campfire smoke fresh on my clothes. It was my favourite time of year, the trees had all turned different shades of orange and yellow. The air was crisp; I could feel the light burn in my throat. As I scanned the low lands, for any sign of the elusive moose I hunted, I was taken a back by the beauty of my surroundings. The creeks were flowing nicely, after the recent rain, and the wild blue berries were plump and plentiful. They were a welcomed snack as I sat there scouting the area, with my bow leaning against a small sapling.

It had been during this early morning snack that I had first heard the grunt of a lone bull moose. My heart stopped, but I knew the bull was a minimum of four hundred and fifty yards from where I was positioned. It was too far for a stalk through thick forest. I would have probably only scared other moose that were bedding in the trees. Still the call had encouraged me, I knew the moose were around and I would get another opportunity.

Later in the day I had gone down into the valley to look for any other signs of moose activity. Besides two sets of tracks, belonging to a cow and her calf, the search was in vein. I did, however, find a good trail crossing which I planned to hunt the next day. As I trudged through a thick wooded area, on the way back to camp I came face to face with a large grizzly, fortunately all went well and we went our separate ways, but it was a hair a hair raising encounter. That night I reached camp just as the sun had begun to disappear behind the surrounding mountains. As I sat by my glowing fire, that first night, after a dinner of fresh eggs and sizzling bacon sipping my steaming wild berry tea I heard the howl of a wolf. First one then two, it was a beautiful harmony as it reverberated off the rocky bluffs that encircled the camp. The sun had vanished and small diamonds began to appear across the black expanse of sky. It continued like this for a long while, until it looked as though not one more star could have fit. The Milky Way appeared as a white sash stretched across the darkness. The temperature had dropped to around zero by that time, so wearing my scratchy Stanfields I crawled into my sleeping bag. Wrapped the sheet of canvas around me, which had become a staple of these trips up north. The canvas smelt of fresh Fir bows which I had used for a mattress. It was a wonderful aroma to fall asleep to, under the brilliant canopy of stars.

The next morning when I awoke I realized it had been a very cold night. A thin layer of ice had formed on my canvas sheet and there was a fresh coat of white on the forested hillsides. This was a good sign. It meant the moose would now be in full rut, no longer would they rest during the day. They were going to be active all day, driven by the annual ritual to find a mate and reproduce. My hopes for a successful harvest had greatly increased with the dropping temperatures.

That morning I had a quick breakfast which consisted of a freshly steeped mug of tea and some moose jerky, provided by the previous year’s hunt. I then put on my camouflage and prepared my bow for the day out in the field. As I was dousing the fire the sun was slowly creeping into sight. It was time for me to depart for my chosen location to still hunt for the day. As I was leaving camp a light snow began to fall, I had a great feeling about the next few hours.

The place I had selected, the previous day, for my hunt was at the crossroads of two well used game trails. I had limited cover there, but my chances of spotting a moose were quite high. Especially now that the rut was in full swing. The crossroads were located near a small flooded area, caused by a beaver dam, and as I approached I started hearing the slapping tails of resident beavers. There was no wind at the crossroads, so I found a few small, new growth, fir trees and knelt down amongst them. Other than the occasional slap from the beavers all was quiet. By this time there was already a good frosting of snow that covered the ground, and my hands were starting to feel the cold. After three hours I began to wonder if it would ever happen, I couldn’t feel my fingers and I had a tingling in my toes from the cold. My boots that were about half a size too small didn’t help. It was during this period negative thinking that I first heard it; the grunt of a mature bull.

He was close, maybe sixty yards out, I became fully alert all numbness in my body was instantly forgotten. Then I heard a second grunt, closer, he was coming my way, my heart began to pound. Trying desperately to stay come I reached for my bow, which was hanging on a near by branch as I pulled it off a light dusting of snow fell from it. I slowly removed an arrow from my quiver, before I could nock it a third call came this time just around the bend of the trail, no more then thirty yards out. I gingerly nocked my arrow and got into a good shooting position. By then I was able to hear his every step and his huge rack raking the low brush along the path, I knew I was going to get a shot. I drew my bow and awaited my prize to round the bend. Then I saw him first his head, with ears positioned forward, he could sense my presence so I stayed absolutely rigid expecting him to bolt at any second. Instead to my excitement he kept coming and soon he was broad side to me. It was then or never, I pulled the trigger on my release, the arrow instantly travelled the twenty five yards and sliced into the vitals behind the right shoulder of the moose. The moose went ballistic and crashed off into the bush.

Thankfully for the fresh snow it was no problem tracking him and I found him, dead, about six hundred yards from where I took the shot. The tri blade, razor sharp, arrow head had done its deadly job. With every step the moose had taken, the arrow head cut and tore more of his vitals. He was a magnificent animal, the nicest I had ever shot, he must have weighed close to fourteen hundred pounds with an antler span of close to five feet. I was able to gut and quarter him there, I than began the agonising job of carrying each individual piece back to camp. After six long hours of work, in the freezing cold, I was once again sitting huddled around my fire gathering all its heat. My fresh kill was hanging off a large spruce tree near my camp. I knew in the morning I was going to have to head for home, and part of me felt quite disappointed, but I was thankful for the great hunt I had experienced and knew I would be back in years to come. Once I was comfortably in my sleeping bag I looked up at the stars one last time before going to sleep and the only words that came to mind were how great is our God.

Pre-school

Butchered and ate 2 goats

shovelling goat poo (work duty)

Mt. Kilimanjaro

We just got back from our first outreach, it was great! Many cool expieriences, including going into the massai homes and being able to talk with them. We were truly in the middle of the African desert, it was very dusty. We were unable to take a real shower so by the end we were very dirty. We saw some amazing things as far as senery and wildlife go, as well. Raymond saw some giraffs, I saw a jackal, and we saw many antelope. We also saw mount. Kilomanjaro for the first time, it was incredible. We had many massai come to faith in God, it was awesome. More to come, but I have to go.

Thanks,
Chris

The village Chris is going to is named Enkagaret. If you go to the website Faces 4 Hope you will get an idea of the people they will be working with. (As per a skype chat this morning with me -mom).

Marcelin, Raymond, Carolyn

Mini Outreach

Next week we will be doing an outreach into a local massai village. The massai are a local tribe, they are mostly cattle herders. The drought has hit them very hard, their cattle are dying and the massai people themselves are also starting to die because of a lack of water. We will be helping in a small clinic and pre school, we will also be visiting them in their homes. We will be gone from this Sunday until next Saturday. Everything else is good here. I hope you are all doing well and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
Chris