Kenya Bound!

It's time to load up and head back to East Africa! This coming Wednesday I'll be heading out to Kenya for a 2 1/2 week excursion leading a group of ambitious university students from Las Cruces, NM on the mission adventure of a lifetime. This trip kind of sprung up on me - my former colleague from Kenya, Jaime Swift, called me up about a month ago and said his church was sending a group of college students to volunteer at the MCRC (Maarifa Chrisitan Resource Centres) that we helped begin years ago on the Coast. They had a better turn-out than expected and needed an additional "experienced" guide to come along. Of course I had to say yes! Thanks to the church there, the college minister Greg Bowles, Jaime and Intercede (the non-profit that continues to support and administer work at the MCRC locations in Kilifi and Kaloleni, I have yet another chance to continue my involvement with what God is doing along Coastal Kenya.

Please be in prayer for our group as we travel and try to be of service to our good friends in the Kilifi Area. God is good and we are looking for a grand time of serving our brothers and sisters!


The group from New Mexico State University.


A "dhow" is a traditional Kenyan boat commonly found along the coast where we will be working.


Our ministry will largely focus on helping MCRC, who in turns focuses on working with Kenyan youth.


The Board of MCRC has planned 2 weeks full of activities and we really appreciate their willingness to host us and get things organized! From left to right are: Fredrick Kaingu, John Kenga, Duncan Ziro, Daniel Kahindi, Mike Thethe and Luganje Nyale.

Avery's First Camping Adventure

Avery has been having lots of first lately. This weekend we decided to renew an old passion - camping out in the wilderness. I had a full set-up of gear when we lived in Kenya, but we chose to give all that stuff away to people who needed it more than we did when we moved home. It's been nearly 5 years now and we are just now able to afford replacing alot of the gear, but mostly Avery is now old enough to enjoy the experience!


We took a quick overnight trip to one of my favorite places in the Texas Panhandle - Caprock Canyons State Park near Quitaque, TX. It's a beautiful place, right on the edge of the Caprock and full of Canyons - as you might have guessed from the name!





One of my favorite parts is the fact that it is the home of one of the Texas State Bison Herds. The American Buffalo is one of my all time favorite animals and you can see them in the "wild" here at Caprock Canyons. They have recently added an interpretive center with a full-body mount of a buffalo and Avery was very impressed.




We decided to camp at the Little Red sites. They were atop the South Prong of the Little Red River. They were nice, secluded spots with a shelter and picnic table. Avery had the time of her life - as can be seen here "helping" to set up the tent. We actually picked a horrible evening to camp. Friday night the wind blew and blew hard as a Norther' crashed in. Every time you'd nod off, the tent would be whacked with a huge gust and feel like it was going to go sailing off into the nearby river. We had fun, anyway.





Whoa. The green wrinkly man popped in from the darkness...




One of the best parts was cooking out. There is a burn ban in effect, so we couldn't have the traditional campfire, but it was fun trying to come up with supper (Frito Pie) and breakfast (biscuits, sausage and eggs) over a gas burner in the WIND.




Saturday morning was actually gorgeous and we took about a 3 mile hike into the canyon. We traveled along the Canyon Loop Trail because it is wide and relatively easy - very important when you are pushing a 4 year old in a buggy. I was glad I went to the trouble to fix the 3 flats on her buggy - it made the hike really fun for her and I didn't have to carry her on my back the whole way!


We would love to explore some other parks in the area and would always love to have camping guests along! If you are interested, let us know and let's plan some quick weekend trips over the summer. There are lots of places within about a 2 hour drive so its easy to go after work on Friday and be back for church on Sunday - or stay all weekend!

Avery's First Boat Excursion

During our weekend jaunt to Ft. Worth, Uncle Matt was cool enough to round up some boating dudes to take us out on Eagle Mountain Lake. This was Avery's first ride in a "motorboat" as she called it and she was pumped!


Micah was really looking out for the fish!


Avery deep in thought with a Tangelo.


Noah and Matt getting the lures ready.


She had a great time driving the boat, fishing for bass and playing around but the most fun was dangling her feet in the water with Chloe. She asked several times if she could jump in, but we didn't wear swimming suits and it was a bit too cold for that today!

Kitchen Remodel - Tuesday Report

Tuesday morning started out looking like this...


Along about lunch time...


And finished up looking like this!


We got all the cabinets installed, the microwave in, the dishwasher mostly in and the countertops ready to mount. Once the stove is put back and the sink installed, it will be a fully functional kitchen again!


The story of the day - Matt working hard and me standing around holding things up. (and it appears that I've been eating WAY too many of Mam's chocolate chip cookies this weekend!)


This is the corner cabinet and dishwasher. (dishwasher isn't fully installed yet.) The sink will go to the left of the dishwasher - we didn't get that cut out today. The cabinet base will be painted and a facia will be added as a kickplate to blend in the cabinet bottom and base platform.

Kitchen Progress - Monday Report

We made lots of progress on Sunday and Monday. Dad came over and helped on Sunday afternoon and Mother brought supper again. What a big help!


Dad learned a little electrical and wired in some plugs for us.


Matt worked hard and we got all the electrical finished. There are a few "extras" that took some additional time, but will be well worth it when we get done. Keep your eyes open for some special effects...


Noah is our resident garbage collector and chef extraordinaire - but not at the same time or using the same materials! He's making a big pile on the haul off trailer.


He's also been busy trying myth-busters stuff. I showed him an article about using Cheetos as fire starters in an off-road magazine - so he bought some Flamin' Hot Cheetos and tried them flaming hot - literally! It made a little mess, but did burn. And smelled. Bad.


And, last but not least, here is the results at the end of Monday. Two cabinets are up, the lower cabinet base is in, the electrical is done, the plumbing didn't need changing afterall, and the gas line for the stove is modified. Tomorrow - we'll hang the rest of the cabinets, upper and lower, and get the counter tops on and plumb in the sink. A lot of work, but it should go smoothly!

Time for the Kitchen to Go!

Jill left for Spring Break and will be coming home to a new kitchen. Noah and Matt are here and we are having a blast. Well, at least we are enjoying being together!


Watch out for the maniac on the drill!


Out comes the sink...


Down come the old cabinets...


Gutted kitchen. Now we have to start putting stuff back!

2.5 Month Update

As you can imagine from my lack of blogging, it's been crazy busy over the past 2.5 months. Here are a few of the highlights:

Back in January, we took a trip to Abilene with our friends Bill and Jara Dubose to attend a Casting Crowns concert. It was a GREAT trip! It's been years since we travelled with friends like that and it was such a nice get-a-way. Many thanks to Mam and Granpappy who welcomed Avery for an overnight visit! The concert was absolutely incredible. I've not been to a more worshipful event that I can remember. Their music is focused on Jesus and their ministry is truly about the listener and not their fame. Towards the end of the concert every one of the groups members sat on a stool at the front of the stage and prayed over the crowd. It was really moving. So, if you get a chance, you'll be blessed to attend one of their concerts!

Over the Christmas holiday, we travelled to Albuquerque, NM with Jill's family. We had an absolute blast just relaxing and eating great New Mexican food (way different from Tex-Mex). This is Avery with her Uncle Mike and Aunt Julie atop Sandia Peak.

The vistas from the top of the mountain were incredible. It was gorgeous heading back down the tram and sunset.

While on the top, Iz and I journeyed out to a lookout point. It was all we could do to stand up the wind was blowing so strong! Since the temp was 3 at the top, the wind chill out here must have been way down there! That's the coldest I've been since climbing Mt. Kenya...

As you may know, I'm a Land Rover nut. It turned out that Land Rover Albuquerque was just a few blocks from our hotel! I went by to check it out and had a great time perusing the dealership. It was WAY different from any other car dealer I'd been to. If I were in the market to spend the value of my house on a vehicle, this would be the place to go. As it was, I bought something more in my budget - an orange Land Rover cap.

While at the Land Rover dealer, I picked up a magazine called Overland Journal. It's designed especially for those of us who appreciate travelling the backroads and dirt roads in 4x4 vehicles. This is one of the best magazines I've come across and fits me very well! Jill is so sweet - she notcied how much I liked it and I now have a subscription to it for my birthday present!

There's probably more, but that's enough for now. In case you were wondering, the bathroom was finished in time for Christmas company. I'll have to get some "finished" pictures and share them in another blog entry. I hope you are enjoying this journey we call life as much as I am!