Preparation Day in Peru

Here is Matt eating what looks like a huge pile of fries on preparation day.
 He said he got super roasted in the sun during a service project.
 He is really comfortable speaking Spanish but still has a lot to learn. He said,
"I love you guys and make sure and use your sunscreen so you don't get sunburned!
 Also, thanks so much for everything and have a great week. I love you all."
Elder Johnson

Timkat or Epiphany in Addis Ababa

January 20 was Timkat(Baptism). It is a National holiday where the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus. The festival includes taking a model of the arc of the covenant and walking to a lake or river, reenacting the baptism, camping out, and walking back to a church. Thousands of people walk up the roads to different churches as some sing and dance and preach. Then everyone goes home and feasts with their family. They went right by our house. 

We met some nice families who finished
walking and watched with us. Notice the
sleeping baby tied on the woman's back.

Christmas Again in Ethiopia

Christmas Nativity performed by youth.

Ethiopia has their own calendar and time, they are actually in 2007
and 7:00am in the U.S. is 1:00 am in Ethiopia.
 So we celebrated Christmas again on January 7th. We had a great
time attending several different branch Christmas Parties. 

Fun games outside, even water balloons. 

These young men from Sudan usually
play basketball in the afternoons.

We had Christmas Devotionals
 with some of the Elders. 

Amimals Again in Africa

We went to the Lion Zoo here in Addis.
The males have black manes and we were
close enough to hear them growl and roar.
The best part was feeding time.

The Egyptian Goose is actually a cross
 between a goose and a duck but check
out the eyes. 

Nice stripes at the Lion Zoo.

Luckily this one is a statue.

This monkey jumped on the
table and ate my fries.

We saw flocks of these scavenger birds
on the way to Hawassa, they are very
large.

We are still in Ethiopia, Not Egypt

Women working in the field

Pyramids of Straw

This boy kept these 9 cattle turning in
 a circle with a stick and by holding
 onto one of their tails. Men were
 throwing grain under the hooves.They
were threshing tef out of the stalks.

Tef is a tiny grain that is used to make
 enjera, the bread Ethiopians use to eat
their food with.