Buck Fever

Buck Fever

Hunting is the avocation of most little boys that grow up in East Africa and I was no exception. At the age of ten I was given a .22 rifle by my father and taught how to use it. I started by shooting at paper targets mounted on termite hills and then moved on to...
Tammu or Jook

Tammu or Jook

Translation of the Scriptures into another language is an intriguing exercise. The translator is challenged to find terms in the receptor language for such key Biblical concepts as Holy Spirit, cross, Satan, evil spirits, savior, prayer and God. If these key terms do...
Murle Conflict

Murle Conflict

For much of my working career I have been involved with the Murle people of South Sudan. I first met the Murle when Barb and I did a linguistic survey of the South Sudan in 1975. We were intrigued by these traditional people living on the floodplains and a year later...
Culture Stress

Culture Stress

I grew up in East Africa speaking a local language and associating with a large variety of African people. Since attending college I have spent 40 years working in Africa in many different roles including teaching, translating and administration. For many years I...
Africa Revisited

Africa Revisited

The wind blew off Lake Tanganyika causing the coconut palms to whisper in the gentle breeze. I was sitting on a hard wooden chair in the courtyard of an elderly man named Musa. As the sun slowly set over the lake in a fantasy of red, I watched Musa’s family as...
Horace The Horned Viper

Horace The Horned Viper

In the early 70s my wife and I were teachers at the Rift Valley Academy – a school located in the highlands of Kenya. Our students came from all over East Africa so during one of the vacations periods we decided to visit some of the parents who were located in eastern...