The Boys of Summer

What a blessing it was that a church we love and used to serve with in Mississippi sent us two interns for a six week term this summer. We had the best time with them, and we couldn't love them more. They were incredible amazing guys, and I apologize (especially to them) that I haven't written a post about them sooner!

The first day they got off the plane, Karis had prepared breakfast (remember?) and then we took them shopping for things they might need in Arua.

It didn't take long before Caleb was attached to Will (literally).  Kids are a good judge of character, and I'd say that Caleb has pretty good taste.  Will Morgan is awesome!

My children were loving them so much by day 3, they couldn't wait to pose by the Nile with them.

I'm not leaving out Tyler.  He is just as awesome as Will.  We love Tyler Slay!

Tyler had been an intern the year before to Kenya, and he brought valuable experience to the "Pioneer" Team.  We never once had to hold their hands, but it would have been okay if we had had to.  

They cooked for themselves, took instruction about culture well, and then they went out and did just what we are called to do as followers of Jesus:

Matthew 28:18-20

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.


They started their "going" at the golf course, trying to make connections.

I love this picture of all the nationals trying to find their balls for them.

At the golf course, they met Richard (who ended up being baptized and being my partner at camp), and they met another non-believer that they spent time sharing stories with.

Another place they were faithful to go was the baseball field, with our without Doug. 

When Doug was busy, they biked to the fields anyway.

Doug, letting the team field some balls

Tyler was also kind enough to let me steal pictures from his facebook.  There are so many things in town I wish I could get pictures of for you, but I feel awkward walking around like a tourist with a camera.

Tyler had a small, inconspicuous iphone, and he took some great photos that I stole from him and I'm going to share with you.

You saw most of these if you got my last newsletter, but I wanted to share again.  So many of you want to be able to picture in your head where I live, and though I can never describe it accurately enough for you, these photos do help.

Tyler and Will bought a chicken so they could kill it, pluck it and cook it...just for the experience ;)

Ladies in town cooking the local food...Enya (ground up casava, mixed with millet and water)

The used clothes market, which can be nasty to walk through on wet days

One of the hundreds of local tailors.  They can make anything you like WITHOUT a pattern!

A great place to eat in town.  We don't go here enough!

Pretty typical, especially after a rain

Another great restaurant we love...Ethiopian!!! (No utensils, but great food)

A view of the main road (where the pink building is) from a side street

How dry goods are sold in the market (by the "cup")

A TINY, TINY portion of our HUGE market.  After a rain, it's kind of a mess.

A busy side street.  Everyday greetings occurring and shoes being sold to the right.

My friend says you can find almost anything you need in Arua, if you know where to look...she's probably right ;)

Local auto dealer.  This is what most people drive in Arua.

Another "convenient store" selling boxes of water, jerry cans, and much, much more!

There are so many more stories, but I'll only tell one more (on the next post).  In case you've forgotten (because I've been such a sporadic writer) I've already told you one about baptism.

We love these guys, and we surely hated to see them go!

Last day together, giving them a "going away" gift

You are welcome in our home anytime, Tyler and Will!  You will be part of the Taylor family forever!

In front of Lake Victoria in Entebbe before they flew out

A sampling of what got me questioned...

Wanna play a round of golf?




























I walked to town today instead of taking a piki, and I'm so glad I did. I had my camera, so I decided to take pictures of the golf course. I've wanted to do this for a long time, but there was no way I was taking my hand off the back of the motorcycle each time to snap some photos.

The golf course makes me smile. I did actually see someone playing one time, but these pictures show you what I see nearly every day. The first picture, if you look closely at the top third of the photo, you can see the end of a "cattle drive" across the course. Some boys were taking their cows to a different "pasture."

Also, since this nice little stream runs through it, there are women washing clothes here EVERYDAY and "hanging" them out to dry on the grass. The grass is tall and thick enough for them to lay out a lot of clothes, which they usually do. Which brings the question: How could you find a golf ball in grass like that?

The last golf course picture was taken just to prove that someone does cut some of the grass shorter in places. I guess this has to be a tee box or a green. On second thought, someone could have just tethered a goat in the center and let him eat the surface area. It does look kind of circular...













This was my view as I walked into town, and the last picture I took before I got questioned...

I'm sure the police officer wanted to know what was so special about these pictures.

Why would an American girl take a picture of a golf course or a city road? Don't they have those in America? If he only knew...