⎨Hakuna Matata⎬Days 9-11

Since we last wrote, we've been on quite the adventure. We set out on Friday morning and drove 3.5 hours to a wildlife park. We checked into our hotel which was set on the side of a "mountain" in these small huts called boukarous... which had air conditioning! Well... at least we had air conditioning while we had power. Here's me in front of our boukarou:

As we were driving through the country, past the desert-ish landscape and past the little villages, it really started sinking in that we're in Africa. It's crazy.

We got up early on Saturday morning to go into the game park and look for some animals. It had been raining for a few hours (which kept us nice and cool - thanks for praying!) so we weren't sure if the roads would be ok to drive on. We were assured that because it's been dry for so long, that the rain would just soak right into the ground and we wouldn't have a problem. So... off we went. 

You stop here, at the entrance and pay your fees (including a "camera fee") and then a guide comes into your car and shows you which ways to go. He will stay with you all day if you want for a daily rate of about $7. We drove for a while and didn't see much other than some birds (I saw the most beautiful bright blue bird but I don't know what it was) and a lot of African landscape. Then we caught a glimpse of...

... a giraffe! There was a little baby giraffe and her mama not far away! 

Here's one of us. The giraffes had been just behind where that tree is. They ran away when we got closer. That's quite a sight - to see giraffe's running in the wild. So surreal.

And here's the fun part. We drove down this muddy road for a while... and... got stuck. The ground was like thick clay that got all stuck in the wheel wells.

Treven even had to get out his Swiss Army knife to take off the fender so that they could get all the mud out. 

Micah helping out by throwing mud away from the car

After about 3 or 4 times getting stuck and Treven and our guide pulling clay out of the wheel well... we were on our way. We saw some warthogs, which are seriously the funniest thing to watch run around.

And we saw a dead antelope that had been killed by a lion. No lion sightings though.

And then... we came across a whole bunch of giraffes! There were probably over a dozen all grazing in the same area.

We had planned to finish our drive after we were in the park, but we decided to spend another night in the boukarous in order to give us plenty of time should we get a flat tire on the way. There are apparently night bandits that will attack your car on the highway at night, so we thought best to drive out the next day. Here's the view over the park from the hotel:

These are cows. Not elephants. I was disappointed too.

The desert ground

Then on Sunday morning we left to drive another 3.5 hours further north. It is a very long, bumpy, swerve-y roller coaster of a car ride. Along some parts of the road, there are boys who fill up the pot holes with dirt and rocks and then expect a tip. Along other parts of the road trucks have broken down and the men who drive them are sleeping underneath.

Stuck in a pothole

Cow crossing

And now we are safely in the new town. We are staying with a German family who serve in this town with a different people group that speak a version of Arabic. The town is right on the border of the neighbouring country. 

The family has been so hospitable and we've enjoyed playing with their kids and learning a few German words. It's been a blessing to spend some time singing and fellowshipping together.

They took us to the river that runs into the big lake to the North of this country. It is pretty shallow as we saw some people walking across it, but it is quite the contrast from the dry riverbeds that we have seen further south. In the background of this photo you can see the city in the neighbouring country. 

And... our little friends sleeping in our bathroom... 

It's hard to believe that we only have about a week left. There are so many emotions and it's hard to even know what to write about our experience as it takes awhile to process and we're constantly in mental overload. In the last couple of days I've been feeling a bit unsettled, although that's not a good enough word to describe what I'm feeling. I long for God and to see His heart for these people. Please join me in prayer for the mu$l!m people, that they would have a hunger for the Truth. Pray that we would be a blessing to the people that we are meeting. Pray that the workers on the field would be encouraged to keep ministering even when they don't see immediate progress. 

In Him,

Carlin (& Stephen)
thxmom

Tidbits:

- 33ºC. Seriously. Thank you for praying! It's been a nice break from the heat to get a good nights sleep.