http://www.harrisfamilymission.com Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:12:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en HarrisFamilyMissionhttp://feedburner.google.com We have a new baby girl, Hannah Lynn Harris. She was born at 3 pm on Thursday and weighed 6.6 lbs. She is a quiet little girl (though we are sure this will soon change). Elias is very excited about his new sister and is already giving ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=279 http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=276 “Rough road” doesn’t convey the reality.  We need a new phrase.  The “road”, if it can still be called that, from Lodwar to Eldoret runs through the Great Rift Valley in Turkana land, crosses a river and continues through Pokot country, eventually climbing out of the valley into the mountains ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=261 No, not a review but an item of interest.  I have been reading What is the What by Dave Eggers.  It is a largely autobiographical novel about the life of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “lost boys” that came out of the civil war in southern Sudan.  It is ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=256 In Turkana culture men and women do things separately.  Part of this is that they have separate roles and responsibilities, but even socially, married couples do not do things together.  If a couple visits your home together it is a special occasion and a goat is supposed to be ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=253 I was given my Turkana name, Ebenyo, during our visit in 2005.  Whenever I asked about the namesake tree they would say, “It is a big tree in the mountains used for making canoes.”  When asked if they had seen one, they would inevitably respond, “no”. This week five guys and ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=249 Their voices were low and guttural, unlike any other Turkana singing I’ve heard before.  The men were packed tightly in a circle divided down the middle by clan.  We danced the slow stomping dance reserved for weddings while women jumped in unison around the outside.  It was a moment like ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=245 Oregon is his name.  He is a ridgeback mutt that is big by Turkana dog standards.  He is great with Elias, loves going on walks with me, and only barks at night if something is out of the ordinary.  He is a good dog. Lately he has been getting a bad ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=230 Today was one of the more difficult days I’ve had here.  We had planned to go to church and have a day at home alone as a family.  Then early in the morning Esokon came with some other men with news that an eight-month pregnant woman who had been sick ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=226 I told people that I needed some things from town and would be going in for the day if they wanted to go.  A few guys I know well were interested since it costs about a goat to pay for a ride to town and back, if they can find ... http://www.harrisfamilymission.com/?p=223