Note: this text mentions photos that have not been updated to the new site yet!

The Turkana are a group of people who live in Northwest Kenya and have learned to adapt to the harse environment around them. The best estimates number the Turkana at just under one million, but an exact count would be difficult among a people who are spread out over an area about the size of North Carolina.

The language spoken by the Turkana is "Turkana." It is similar to the Maasai language and is considered to be Nilotic in origin (from the Nile region). It first became a written language in the late 1960's when a Catholic priest began studying the language to aid in the first translation of the Bible. Because Turkana had only been an oral language, and had never been written down, it was decided that a Roman Script would be used. An example of the Turkana language can be seen in this image of John 3:16 in the Turkana New Testament.

We celebrated New Year’s Day today. I think it is probably a bit unlike how we normally celebrate in America, although in some ways, it is the same. Last night, we had one family of our team over. We grilled chicken, played games, and visited until about 11:00—very late for us. (We knew there would be no sleeping in this morning!) Past New Year’s Eves, we have acquired fireworks (during the Hindu Diwali festival in November), and set them off on the open plains near our home. The first year that we set off fireworks, we neglected to inform our neighbors about it. They heard the noise, saw the lights, and assumed that either a hostile local tribe was invading or the police were surrounding them. In fear, they all hid in the bushes or took off running to hide in the next village. The next day, they found out about our fireworks and all got a good laugh at their own fright. The following years however, we let them know in advance about our fireworks and let them join us on the plains to watch the event. They all thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, this year we were unable to get the fireworks for our annual celebration, and our neighbors were disappointed!