bye-bye daddy

This morning Phil left us for an "expedition". He's not sure how long he'll be gone, but we think it will be at least a week (likely closer to 2 weeks). He went interior (meaning, into the jungle) to help a friend of ours wire their "new" house (the house that they're renting from some tribal neighbors).

He and two of our friends are driving dirt bikes on this road today. It's a bit of a haul: the trip takes about 6 hours on a clear day without rain or stuck trucks like the one pictured above. The guys are each carrying their maximum load of supplies and hoping that it doesn't rain on this already miserable road.

This photo is from a friend's previous trip into the same village. We're so happy that there is a road at all - But it makes for one very exhausting trip.

In the meantime, Nadia and I are holding down the fort. Here, she's playing with her new paints from Memere!

This little girl is one of our neighbors here. She is four years old. Look at the size difference in these two. They are 2 full years apart, and Nadia is significantly bigger and taller than her kakak (older sibling). Genes and a regular diet including milk are just two of the reasons for the difference in these two little buddies.