Random Things, and an AK-47

Recently our schedule has been way more relaxed than normal so a bunch of really random stuff has been happening. This has been due to two reasons. One, we've finished our AIDS storying and two, everyone except for me is about to leave for America. The Lewises are going on furlough for six months and Alyssa is finishing her two-year term. We finished homeschooling last week and the boys are enjoying their last few weeks with their Toposa friends. Everyone is packing and saying goodbyes and trying to get ready for all the changes! After a trip to Kenya next week to re-stock, I'll come back (by myself, sad!) and spend the next six months working on an audio recording project with some Toposa believers so that they will have some of God's Word recorded in their language! Finally!

My recent, less spiritually significant project has been learning how to make Toposa bracelets. For women in Toposaland, beauty is measured by how much and what kind of jewelry they have. Women spend a lot of time sewing beads onto goatskin skirts and making necklaces, bracelets, and belts. I've successfully made two bracelets with a lot of little help at the start and finish, and it's actually pretty fun! Everyone seems pretty shocked that I can do them so I'm not sure if I should be offended that they didn't think I could thread string through a bead, or if I should be happy that they are impressed... My next project is a belt. Those are harder because they take more beads and it's easier to lose track of the pattern. My goal is to finish just one belt during dry season while the women are in the village instead of the gardens. This way they are available to help me with the hard parts and to correct my mistakes!

In other news, it's started to get stinkin' hot during the day and the men have started to leave for cattle camp. During dry season they take their cows further away so that they can find grass to eat. One of my friends left a few weeks ago and when he came to say goodbye I couldn't resist the perfect photo op with his AK-47.

And yes, that is red nail polish that he has used to paint his gun...

Napio is a really cool guy and God is using him in special ways. Most Toposa have a good ear for learning stories because of their oral culture, but Napio has like a superpower or something and can remember almost every detail of every story he's ever listened to. When we've listened to chapters of the New Testament on the audio player, he is almost always a few words ahead of the player, no matter what we're listening to. How many 16-year-old boys do you know that have the bulk of the New Testament MEMORIZED?! As you pray for me and for the Toposa, remember Napio and ask God to protect him (physically and spiritually) at cattle camp and to give him many opportunities to tell the stories from God's Word to the other men!