Ty's Supplies Drive

You all probably know by now that we're doing a school supplies drive for the Afghan children in the region Ty is stationed, Nuristan & northern Konar province. Ty describes it "as one of the most rural and undeveloped areas even by Afghan standards. The roads," he says, "are donkey trails along the ridgelines and valleys. Most of the local people don't have electricity nor running water." Ty reports that much of their job is humanitarian and that the improvements they are making to the quality of life for the local people are greatly appreciated. He has explained that the people are in serious need of school supplies. He is asking for:

Pencils
Notebooks
School packs
Chalkboards and chalk
Dry erase boards/supplies

If I somehow missed you in my mass email and you'd like to donate items please contact me and I will send you Ty's mailing address. I have already heard from many of you. I know messages are being forwarded on to others. There are even bigger groups likes schools and churches getting involved. Thank you so much for your support!

A Mini Adventure

With spring break upon us, we were in need of a mini adventure--and Yoron Island was just the ticket. We arrived by ferry and spent 3 days swimming, playing, swimming, playing AND swimming and playing! It was such a nice little get-away and lots of fun to travel with friends. Yoron looked like a smaller version of Okinawa but was heavily populated (as we soon discovered) with giant grasshoppers and spindly starfish!

Sumo

No, that isn't Mason in the ring with the Sumo wrestler--but he sure wanted it to be! The elementary school recently held the Ryukyu Festival and had karate presenters, taiko drummers, and sumo wrestlers perform. These photos are from a little local magazine that just happened to interview Mason and a friend about the performance. Here's what they had to say...

Kindergarten students Mason Edwards and Raegan Ingbretsen both thought the sumo was the highlight of the day. Raegan said, "My dad is far away and he's stronger than me, but I like to wrestle like this with him." Mason agreed but said he can beat up his dad!