Politicians and Monkeys

We have had an incredible last couple of days. Yesterday, we booked Kilimanjaro. We are really doing it.While we were in town, there was a major international conference going on in the same building as the office for the Safari company we chose. So the presidents of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi were all there. Half of the city's streets were closed down for security reasons. It made it a very long trip to town, because the Dela dela couldn't take us all the way into town due to the road closures. So that was a very cool experience to see all that happening. Then today was unbelievable. Karl, Raymond, Jenny, Roberta, and I decided to walk to Mount Meru, the second largest mountain in Africa. After about an hours hike we were in apretty remote area, but after two hours we were literally bush wacking through African jungle. It was a little concerning knowing there were some very poisonous snakes around us, not to mention the jaguars. But it was an incredible experience and we saw three different kinds of monkeys. It was so cool to hear them crashing through the forest and howling in the overhead canopy. I have never experienced anything like that, viewing monkeys in the wild with no guide or map. We then got to the top of one of the foothills of Mount Meru and the view was amazing. We had our lunch there, which consisted of bread, peanut butter, and fresh mangoes. We sat amongst the vines and greenery of the surrounding forest looking out over Arusha with monkeys swinging all around us. We got some pretty incredible pics. which I will try to post.

Dryer

washing machine

kitchen

Massai lining up for water

Medical attention after translating from Massai to Swahilli to English and back

Lunch at a friend's house

Hello everyone,

I had a very interesting day today, I saw lots of cool things. This morning one of the staff brought in an ostrich egg, and I got to taste ostrich omlette for the first time. It was better then a chicken omlette! Also, we got introduced to the leaders pet tortoises. They were huge, they probably weighed ten to fifteen pounds. They were the leaders lawn mowers, he has four and they really do a good job at keeping the grass short. We got some great photos with them. Tuesday night we had chapati, a flat bread with beans, which everyone loves. I was able to get seven of them, when normally we only get two. It was wonderful, but I didn't eat the next day. Things are going well here, this week we are learning about the cost of discipleship and relinquishing our rights. It has been very good, I have learned lots. The rain has slowed down here, but it is still quite overcast. Have a good day.

Chris