our first two weeks in the tribe: part two

Our First Day in Maliyali!

Like I mentioned in my last post...we were all feeling some major emotions that morning!  The helicopter arrived in Yifki, and we decided that Nathan and David would take the first flight over to Maliyali (along with cargo), and then the heli would come back to get Emily and I and our kids.  So we said goodbye to Nathan and David, and then waited.  Emily and I were a bundle of nerves.  My stomach was queasy, but yet we were also so excited!  Just so many feelings.

The helicopter flight from Yifki to Maliyali is only about 15 minutes!  (to hike that distance would take DAYS...isn't that crazy?)  So pretty soon, the heli came back for the rest of us!  We loaded up...

photo creds: Our helicopter pilot (thanks for taking some AMAZING pictures for us, Mike!)

Flying in a helicopter is a pretty amazing experience, let me tell you!  It's so loud, and you can see everything SO much better than in an airplane. It's just awesome.  Emily and I have marvelled to each other multiple times...is this really our life?  Calling airplanes and helicopters to take us to our home?  Sometimes it's just crazy to think about!

Pretty soon, we got our first glimpse of our new home!

It was a pretty overwhelming feeling, stepping into "our" tribe for the very first time.  And realizing that this remote corner of the earth will be our home for the next couple of decades!

photo creds:  our pilot Mike 

 photo creds:  Mike again!

Our Maliyali Family

photo creds:  Mike

After Mike took that last picture of us, he took off in the helicopter.  And after all that chopper noise, it was eerily quiet!  Lol.  What a strange feeling to be dropped off in the middle of the jungle!

Nathan and David took turns introducing their families to the Maliyali people...

After that, we started to get acquainted with our new home.  The Maliyali people made us and the Rimestads each a bush house to stay in!  Is that not so amazing?  We are finding out over and over just how hardworking and how motivated these people are.  

We had a little curious visitor go into our house :) Isn't he adorable?

Our guys worked with the Maliyali guys to set up our houses a bit.  They tied a tarp on to our house, so we could catch rainwater...

 And they set up another tarp for a makeshift "shower room"...Halle stood on Nathan's shoulders to help out with that!

The people even built each of our families an outhouse!  Seriously, it is so humbling to see all the work they put into welcoming us.  Here, Nathan is showing our kids the outhouse and how they will be peeing and pooping in a hole...lol!  I just love Layla's face!

 

 Here's the inside of our bush house, before we set it up.  We did bring a tent to sleep in, which ended up being SUCH a huge blessing!  At night there were so many bugs, and also every night we heard rats scurrying around, getting into our trash...(shudder).  I was so thankful to be safe in that tent!  I'm still a pretty wimpy person when it comes to bugs and rats!

Nathan and David had some long conversations with Sam (the "council"--kind of the man in charge)--and also with the other leaders of the village.  We are so thankful for those men!

We had an audience watching us pretty much the WHOLE day!

That pretty much sums up our first day in Maliyali!  Lots of people around us and watching us all day, us trying to settle into our bush houses, figuring out how to cook our food over the fire, etc etc.  I have lots more to tell you all, but I'll wait for the next post.  Thanks for reading!