August is the coldest month in the Rift Valley, so it tends to lend itself to big fires and musing on the computer. There are so many things we have seen and experienced recently, but five jump out:

1. We hired a national to help us with our firewood. His name is Fred and he is a wonderful young man, with a real heart for kids. I asked him to teach the boys to cut firewood with him. You should see our seven year old Matthew operate a panga (a large machete) or our ten year old JT swing an ax. You don’t get to or need to do much of that in Texas. Fred and JT built an enclosure for:
2. Our newest pet, a three-horned chameleon that the boys have named Stevie and somehow has wormed his way into the adults hearts. Much of the day seems to consist of rushing Stevie to one of us to note his interesting new color.
3. We asked Fred to come for dinner. In the middle of dinner, I am astonished to discover that all the usual things I like to ask someone I’m just getting to know don’t work: `What is your favorite restaurant?’ to someone who has eaten at a restaurant 3 times in his life; `What is your favorite movie ‘ to someone who doesn’t have electricity and `What are you currently reading’ to someone who views books as life’s sweetest luxury… I need to relearn how to make a friend.
4. On Saturday, I went with another guy down to the Valley to visit a family from the Masai tribe. It took two hours, one hour on unpaved roads. When we got there, there were three huts surrounded by thorn bushes. Simon greeted us and removed some of the bushes so we could enter.

   The adults all shook hands; Simon lives with his wife and four children and his two brothers and their families. After the adults shook hands, the children all came and slightly bowed; I was to pat their heads. The children started rubbing my hands; Simon said that some of them had never seen a white man before. I started making funny faces, and they all giggled- kids are kids.

   But I’ve never seen dirtier children, and children in such ragged clothing. At one point, the baby was drinking milk, and there were over thirty flies on her face. It is a sight I will never forget.

   And then I was asked if I wanted to go inside the hut. It was about 5.5 tall and oval. It is made of mud and cow dung. As I stooped to enter and blinked my eyes to see, Simon motioned to the left: `That is where the calves stay at night.’ Five feet to the right was where Simon and his boys slept; his wife and two daughters slept two feet away.

   We brought some corn and beans, because the drought has caused some real hunger there. The problem is: how do you help people without crushing their spirits? There is a real beggar mentality in Nairobi; part of it is understandable, but part of it is how people have been helped. Remember `We are the World?’ What wasn’t reported was that most of the farmers lost their farms after all the food was poured into that country; nobody wanted to buy food anymore. How do you help without hurting?

5. Before we left for training, Nancy couldn’t hold a baby without crying. In New York, she was able to start holding babies again. the healing is continuing, and we are so grateful.

We really appreciate all the email we have received; it is a real encouragement.