Hilary's 15th Birthday at waterfall!

So Hilary is home for Christmas vacation. Lisa & Ben are in America, they return later this month. So what sort of things are Caleb, Hilary and I up to in the meantime?
We've been doing driving lessons with Hilary. She is adapting fairly well to the stick shift Pajero. There are cows and donkey carts in the road, so that makes lessons more challenging than usual. But she has been doing well.

For her birthday, we went to the waterfall. We took along 3 other girls who are working as short termers in the area. Two of them had never been out to the falls yet. Everyone wanted to ride on the roof. If you've never ridden on the roof of a vehicle over very bouncy roads, you are missing out on a great roller coaster ride!
However, it is a very dusty ride in dry season. So Hilary & Ashley opted to ride inside the cab with me on the way back. Here is Caleb with Sue & Amy.



Here is Hilary, Caleb and I at the falls. The falls are so nice to visit, especially when our town is so dry and dusty. Normally we enjoy a dip, but right now the water is very cold. (I say very cold tongue in cheek. Because there is no snow & ice, but the water is too cold to swim for an extended period of time...




Here is a pic after Sunday School this week. Hilary enjoyed Sunday School with me because it is in french. The kids really enjoyed seeing her again.
Karin & Miriam asked to take a pic with her.



Day before yesterday we visited a courtyard where a lot of our church friends live.
We brought along our trusty crokinole board. (You have to be a Canadian to appreciate Crokinole :-)
We all had a great time. Our friends loved the game, and struggled hard to shoot the other pieces off the board.



One day we went into town. We were doing official New Years visits.
You go to the peoples houses and wish them a happy New Year.
When we got to the Mayors' house, he had a full blown dance party going on!
I asked what the fete (party) was about. He said it was the end of last year.
They were dancing in the New Year. I did get a little video footage of these guys, as
the still shot doesn't do it justice. But the pic does remind you how we are in a very foreign environment. (This dance was not a witch doctor mask dance, it was
traditional fun for them... I asked... not wanting to encourage witch doctor stuff.)



Here is another pic of Caleb with Sue & Amy at the falls. We had a picnic for Hilary's Birthday. We all had a good time...
Sue & Amy work with One Story, and are sponsored by the Southern Baptists. They are working near us, and will be nearby for another 1.5 years as they work to do translation work.



Well, that is the stories and pics for this week.
Thanks again so much for stopping by.
We appreciate each one of you,
Thanks so much for each of your prayers and notes that have been sent
during this time where Lisa has returned to America to support her mother
at the time of the death of Lisa's step dad. It is still hard to believe he is gone.
He was such a good guy. He is missed.

God Bless,
Tom & Lisa
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