Pictures of our Life in Africa

Life here is very different from life in America. We live in a small town about two hours South of the Capital City. We hope these pictures give you an idea of what our area looks like and an insight into what life is like for the people we live among.
We are standing among inset trees (false banana trees). These trees provide food for the people we live among. They eat the roots & use the leaves to help cook bread over an open fire.	Andy fishing in a crater lake
This little boy was proud of his catch !!	His first catch
Riding in a horse cart. This is the main mode of transportation in our town	A local street corner in our town. You can see the horse carts with the orange tarps on top.
Another street side view of our town. Looking toward the mountains.	We don’t have taxis in our town, but the Capital City does. Here’s proof that you can take anything in a taxi. That’s a lot of tires on top.
Koleta cooking Injera – the National Bread	The people here eat injera for just about every meal
This is a dish served at a local restaurant in our town	We had a party at our house for one of our friends. This is the food we served.
There is a rich religious history here in our town. Orthodox and Muslims live among each other. This is an Orthodox Church in our town.	Andy next to a stone that people in this area used to worship.  This stone is dated pre-Islam.
Mosque	Andy and Koleta in traditional Orthodox dress
Friday Market day. This is the most fun day of the week	Lots of people and animals show up on market day. Here you can see some cows walking through the onion section of the market.
This lady brought a bag full of things to sell in the market	Local blacksmith working in the market
Squatty Potty Graveyard – we just happened among this one day. It took us a while to figure out what they were. Kind of weird, huh?	In the past year, our town has been booming. Here’s one of the local construction sites
Most of the people we work with live in huts. This is a very pretty hut. They are not all this nice, but this one sure is.	Another hut just down the road from our house.
Some people live in square stick and mud houses. This one is in the middle of an inset tree field.	Another type of house
Farming is a way of life here. Here is a man plowing his field.	With help, a field get’s ploughed twice as fast
Cows threshing the grain	There are some HUGE trees around us. Can you see the people standing under the tree?
This is a lake near our house. It is a nice place for us to go and relax and play for a day.	This is a young boy that is from the People Group we are here to live and work among.
This is a volcanic crater lake near our home.	Koleta at the Volcanic Crater Lake just outside of our town
There's never a dull day in Africa ! Stuck in the Mud	Will rocks help???  Nope !!   We had to find someone to pull us out of the mud
Donkey’s work like slaves here. They are always loaded down and really help the people get things from point A to point B	Here’s another donkey that’s really loaded down.
Coffee is very important here. They have an entire ceremony that starts with cooking the coffee beans and then drinking the coffee. This is a Traditional Coffee Ceremony in our home.	These are coffee beans growing on a coffee tree. A lot of coffee is exported from here.
Abby, Diet Coke & Grandpa . . . can life get any better than this?	Out on the lake in a Papyrus Boat
Our visit to a Rock Hewn Orthodox Church	Abby’s first boat ride
Blue Nile Falls	Abby helping the guys set up our new satellite dish. There’s not much to do in the evenings around here, so this keeps us entertained.
Rooftop view of the town we live in	I’m helping Mommy get her work done. This is how all babies are carried around in our town.
Village overlook near our town	Calibus Monkey in a tree
Up on the mountain near our house	Family picture up on the mountain
Hut out in the countryside	The Countryside is BEAUTIFUL !
Double Rainbow	Rainbow in our Yard
Koleta bowling in the Capital City	Abby helping Daddy bowl
Andy and Abby on a mountain overlooking the countryside around our town	Family Picture on Abby’s first Birthday