Pictures

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

We always have interesting happenings here, so I've been trying to document some of the experiences we have, so you can share in our life here.  I've numbered the pictures and will briefly explain what each one is belows:

#1--A photo I took in Epulu.  This little cluster was right on the edge of the jungle and I thought it very interesting.  It stood out like a sore thumb against all the shades of green.  It's no bigger than a nickel--God's attention to detail amazes me.

#2--Also in Epulu, I just happened to be standing on a bridge when I heard a familiar "mzungu" call from down below.  I turned and snapped a photo as the boy rowed by in his "canoe."

#3--belongs with #5.  You may wonder what a cylinder head is doing detached from the cylinder.  Well, it just so happens that when you think you give clear directions like, "I just drained the oil out of the generator, can you fill it with 1 liter of oil from this jug?" you'd think the message was received clearly.  Not so, my friends.  Oil did not make it's way into the oil pan, but instead was added from a small hole in the cylinder head that consequently flooded and hydraulic locked the cylinder, before spilling out the air intake.  The offending party now knows exactly where the oil is supposed to go.  And I have learned my lesson, after pondering how to be a better communicator for the better part of my Saturday.

#4--Yet another intriguing flower from the forests of Epulu.  You may wonder what all the recent photos are from Epulu.  Well, I had the privilege of taking 5 very hard working missionary ladies on a quick retreat to the Okapi Reserve for a day of well deserved R & R.  Most of them have worked in DRC longer than I've been alive, and have never gotten to see the okapis.  I got the lucky straw and only had to fly 2 hours.  The rest of the day was spent making new friends, improving my French, and visiting the Okapis once again.

#5--Is a nice dry cylinder that is again able to compress air.  Try though it did, it seems that the laws of the universe prevailed yet again, and vehemently reminded the poor generator that liquids are not compressible.

#6--Would be the cutest little girl ever, eating a mouthful of goldfish after "helping" daddy repair the generator by grabbing a push rod in each hand and using them as drum sticks on the concrete.

#7--Ah, the Okapi.  What more can I say?  Part horse, part giraffe, part zebra.  It lives to 40 years old, is almost never seen in the wild, and is an extremely picky eater.  It can reach just about every part of its body with a 12 inch tongue.  Its natural habitat, now only found in a very small part of DRC, is being illegally forested, and the animal suffers from poaching.

#8--Last, but certainly not least.  Epulu is a wonderful place to relax.  If you look hard enough, it is full of surprises and truly exotic sights.  I found this guy casually webbing 2 inches from my chest as I leaned in to take a photo of an Okapi.  I'm over the "scream like a girl" stage, but I have to admit, this one caught me off guard.  This is another one of those "fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand" spiders.  And when the pygmies say, "Back up, you don't want to touch that one,"  you listen.