Noah's Ark

While we were in Africa, we visited the Nairobi Wood Carvers Market. It is an amazing place. There are little shacks/tents set up in the large lot. Each craftsman has his own area where he works at making beautiful pieces. My mom has a larger version of this Noah's Ark in her flat and she knew that I would want one, too. I bought it from Stephen, a young man my parents know, for about $40 US. Not much considering the craftsmanship. All of the pieces are hand carved and finished. Most of the pieces are made from jackaranda wood. The elephants and hippos are made of ebony. It is easy to see the difference. It was so interesting to watch the men using huge tools to carve the intricate details in so many of the pieces. Another interesting thing is that they use shoe polish as a 'stain' to add depth to the color of the wood.

Much of the painting was going on while we were there. They just line up dozens of the same animal and paint the same thing over and over and over. It looked like every piece was identical to my untrained eyes. I'm sure there are slight differences, however, the finished work is absolutely beautiful.

Some are Home for the Holidays

Felycia finished up her first semester on Friday. She worked on Friday afternoon and now she is home until Conrad's birthday. She got home Friday evening so the Christmas tree and the nativity went up first thing Saturday morning. I guess we are ready for Friday to come now.

It's hard to get excited about Christmas when I know Deric won't be here. He is doing what he should in Honduras, but I miss him more than I thought I would.

We will get to talk to Deric on Christmas Day so that will make up for him not being here. I know that he already has his Christmas package so he will at least get a present. Another package is already on its way to Honduras. He will probably get it before MLK Day. Now, its time to start thinking about his birthday package. We'll have to send it in February to make sure its there before March 10.

Grandma and Grandpa Flinders are still in Africa. We should have a time for Deric's call to let them know what time they have to be up so they can talk, too. My guess is that we will have a houseful of family for those calls. I should probably have plenty of snacks on hand.

Our Dixie Chick

Felycia is finishing up her first semester at Dixie State College. She has 1 final every day this week. She is ready to come home for a few weeks. We are ready to have her home for a little while.

Deric

Deric is working hard in Honduras. He and his companion are working with lots of investigators. They had one baptism on Saturday and there are 3 people who have committed but haven't set a date yet. At least there were no photos of spiders or other bugs.