Walking Across America

 It has been along time since I posted on this blog.  I wasn’t even sure I would be able to.  This note is to let anyone who might get this blog know that I have published a new book.  When I walked across America 14 years ago I wrote a book about it, but never did anything with it.  My wife Teri dusted it off about six months ago and convinced me to publish it.  So we did.  It became available on Amazon Friday, May 1st.  If you followed me on that journey, you might be interested in the book.  I would love to know if anyone actually received this note.  Please drop me a comment if you did.  

Thanks and blessings to you and your family.

Dave Strege  walking4kids@gmail.com

WALKING4KIDS

AN AMERICAN JOURNEY 

It has been almost five years...

The last time I posted a blog was in August of 2014.  That blog was to let everyone who had followed me on my journey know that I was married.  Well I am still married to Teri, the same wonderful lady.  Since then we have gone down a road with lots of curves and bumps.  We traveled through 31 states and a bit of Canada.  Much of that traveling included taking two horses with us and trail riding in some pretty amazing remote country.  We stopped for two years to help Teri's mom get her health back and get her businesses on track.  Now we are starting a new chapter in our lives and it involves walking4kids, so that is why I am going to start posting now and then.

On April 27th we delivered the last of Teri's horses to a buyer in Lake Tahoe. Giving up her horses and all of her gear that she had accumilated for the last 30 years was very hard for her. She did it because she was very comfortable with the fact that God had a new phase in her life and it was obvious that horses didn't fit. So, what are we going to being doing that merits giving up her passion for horses??

From now until Mid July we are going to be camping in remote locations in the West.  We will be doing a lot of reading, writing , and reflecting. We will also be visiting some family and then in July I start the process of getting a new left knee (had the right one replaced last year).   As soon as the doctor gives us the green light then we will head for Florida to visit Teri's son and then leave for Kenya.  We will be working with the development of a new orphanage and will be there for six to nine months.

I will be posting as we go down this new road and I hope some of you who joined me before will do so again. Would love to hear from you if received this. The picture is of our current camp site. Blessing from Dave and Teri

It seems that I am a little slow in posting what's going on with walking4kids.....   Just a quick up date to let you know that God brought me to this very special lady a while back and we ending up getting married.  Jup... the old wanderer has settled down a bit.  Her name is Teri Sprague and she is a horse trainer in Colorado.   She is an amazing woman and I still can't beleive that God put us togeather.  We live on a horse ranch that she runs in the foothill of the Rockies and I am totally loving it.  She also has a passion for kids and will be helping me with projects in South Sudan.  I will post some more pictures of her and her horses and an update on the kid projects soon.
God bless all of you...
Dave

Back In Oregon

Thought I should post an update on what is going on with walking4kids....
I recently got back to Oregon after spending the summer in Alaska.  It was great being up there but it very nice to be home for awhile. Will be working on the books and the aquaponics project for the next few months.   I hope you all are doing well.
First picture is of Mt. Denali and the lake is in BC.
Blessings to everyone,
Dave

Jane Gummoh Owanga

While I was in South Sudan I got the opportunity to interview several of the people who make that orphanage run so well.  One of those people is my good friend Jane.  I hope this will upload Ok.  I just wanted everyone to see why I admire these people so much.  Please let me know if this viewable.
Thanks, Dave

Beauty and Some Beasts

This past Sunday was good and bad.  It was bad because I was so busy I couldn't go to church.  It was good because I got to meet some more cool travelers.  The first picture is of my friend Sam and his human, Natalie.  Sam and his family have been staying here for a week or so and I have got to know them a little.  Nice folks and Natalie and her husband Tim might be interested in serving in Southern Sudan.  That would be so cool.  I posted the picture of the bikers because they are mean, rough, and ugly and a direct contrast to Sam and Natalie.  Two of these guys are from the lower 48 and the other from Denmark.  They just met a few day ago and now they are traveling together.  The guy on the right rode his 650 BMW all the way to Prudhoe Bay.  Hope you all had a nice Forth. 
Blessings from Alaska,
Dave

Cruising Through Canada

Driving from Oregon to Alaska was a blast.  British Columbia and The Yukon were especially gorgeous.  The route I took ran beside or through the great Rocky Mountains and I was awe struck with the beauty of this amazing country.  Saw a lot of critters.  Most ignored me as just another rubber necker staring at them.  Drove 2,500 miles in 3 1/2 days.  It would have been much better to take my time and enjoy such an wonderful part of our world.
Blessings and safe travels this summer,
Dave

Some of you may have wondered what happened to me.  I apologize for not keeping up on  my posts.  I am in Alaska right now working as a camp host in a state campground.  I thought it would be a job that would give me a lot of time to write and keep up on things like this blog, but that's not the case.  I get up early and go to bed late.  I'm not complaining because I get to meet some amazing people from all over the world. 

I got to spend some time with my family in Oregon before I came up here and I miss them very much already.  I also miss my new friends in South Sudan.  I am working on a aquaponics program for South Sudan and if everything goes well, I hope to go back over there this fall or early next year.  For those of you who read this, thank you for sticking with me.

First pictures is of me with some of my buds on the day I left Africa.  Second is at a stream coming off Mt. Hood in Oregon near to where my family lives. 

I hope to be posting a lot more.
Blessing to all of you,
Dave

A Few Folks From The Neighborhood

I am in Uganda right now and I have enough Internet speed to up load more than one photo, so I though I would post a few/  #1 is of a guy out in the boonies who wanted his picture taken, but I couldn't get the frown off of his face, and when his frown got more serious, I quit trying. #2 all of the cooking is done with wood and this young man is having fun on a pile before it gets cut up.  #3 is a sweetie that always had a great smile for me and I didn't write her name down.  Will just call her Sweetie, I guess.  #4 is of a young girl from a very poor neighborhood, I mean really poor.  But you wouldn't know it from her smile.

Charles and Jimmy Michael

Very seldom did I walk around the compound that Charles and Jimmy Micheal didn't run up to me and want to play.  These little guys always brought a smile to my face.  They will soon be three years old.  I am writing this blog at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda.  I have finish the first leg of a four leg journey back to Oregon.  I have a 11 hour layover here... Ugh....  and I miss my two little buds already..   next stop Brussells, Belguim sometime tomorrow morning...

Amazing Mother and Her Family

Do missionaries have fan clubs.  If they don't, some should.  If Elizabeth Perry had a fan club, I would join.  This women from Michigan/Colorado in the USA flat dab amazes me.  I have watched her and her eight children (yes, I said eight and there's more) and her equally amazing husband for the last two months.  The way she raises her kids, and the way she treats everyone around her impresses me very much.  I have asked her kids what kind of mom and teacher she is and they all said without hesitation that she is the best.  I will be profiling her doctor husband Jeff later.  

Other kids:  They have a 23 old adopted son who is finishing up his college education in the states and then they have a special story about their adopted twins.  A little over a year ago a man brought in his new born twin boys.  The mother had died and the boys were doing very poorly and without help they would die also.  Both Elizabeth and Dr. Jeff already knew from God that there was going to be twins boys in their lives and here they were.  Elizabeth who was at the time nursing her youngest added the twins to join their new sister.  For the next 2 1/2 months the boys became very healthy and the Perry's had started and got approval for adoption from the country. Then out of no where the father shows up and wants his boys back.  Can you imagine?  After a process, Elizabeth said they made the hardest and best decision in their lives and let the boys go with their father back to the bush. 

Two more things:  Elizabeth told me that the best thing about living here is knowing that she is living God's will in her life.  Lot of us would like to know that for sure.  She also told me that of all the many things she has to be thankful for,  her salvation is the most important.  She is one smart lady and I am real glad to know her.

Controlled Mayhem and Going Away Presents

Most cities in Africa are nothing short of an amazing thrill ride.  For all of you roller coaster junkies, African city driving is right up your alley.  There are virtually no lights or signs.  You just jump in and finesse or muscle your way through a maze of potholes, goats, and a gazillion other drivers as crazy as you are for being out there in the first place.  This picture is of a street that is lined with businesses.  The problem is they do not have any parking, so everyone double parks while they try to get there shopping done all the time watching out for the police to show up and write expensive parking tickets.  We were here to buy supplies (beans and rice) for Terekeka and it was amazing.  It is like a living, breathing organism with a flow and a mind of it own.

I mentioned the other day that I had come down with malaria, well a few hours after they told me I had malaria they told me I had typhoid also.  They caught them both early so there shouldn't be any problems down the road.  I am leaving for America Saturday and Africa decided to give me a date with malaria and her sinister sister, typhoid before I left. That's OK, it still has been more then worth it to come to wonderfully amazing place.

Joseph Kony is not going to kill me and my little boy!!

I have a hard time imagining at the age of four fleeing my country on foot with my mother to keep from being killed by Muslim extremist.  Then finding myself in another country where a man and his small army want to kill my mother and probably me because I am not old enough to be a soldier in his army. I can't imagine that going for two and three days without food is normal.  I get nervous if I miss lunch.

Then going back to my country at seven only for my mother to become so sick she can't take care of me at all.  Then a having a grandpa taking me to place run by this white women and her husband and leaving me there.  Why would my grandpa do that?

Emmanuel Guya Alison is 19 years old and was born in Payawa-Yei, South Sudan.  He is from the Kakwa tribe and he wants to be an electrical engineer someday.  When Guya came to Harvesters there where only 11 other orphans here.  He is very intelligent, kind, and soft spoken.  But what really impressed me about Guya was how appreciative he is to Harvesters and to God for bring him here.  The way he said something really sticks with me.  He said it in a very emotional way, "I have never gone to bed since I have been at Harvesters on an empty stomach."   Amazing young man and I know he will go far.

Women and Children and Even a Transient

His House of Hope is a hospital in Yei, South Sudan.  What makes it so special is that it is located at an orphanage called Harvesters.  Another thing so special about it that is first rate for African standards.  They have two doctors and two nurses that serve here as missionaries and a support staff of regional people who have some training and are getting more.  I will be writing a lot about this place of hope and the people who make it work in my third book.  The first time I held a little baby in my arms that would have died if this hospital wasn't here, I was a fan.  It was a very emotional experience holding those babies and I will never forget it.  But I have something else to be thankful to this hospital for.  A couple days ago I started feeling real crummy and last night I was up all night with a fever and chills.  It seems that Africa has given me a nice case of Malaria as a going away present. But because of Lillie, Linda, Innocence, Jay, Kathrine and Dr. Poole I will be good go when I get on that plane next Saturday.  If this would have happen to me in the bush of Terekeka, I would have a pretty serious problem.  The picture is of the first thing people see when they walk up to the hospital.

Dancing Under The Mango Tree

In Trekeka they have 47 orphans that live on site  and 104 kids that go to school.  They are working on class rooms, but right now all classes are outdoors under mango trees.  It works real good in the morning, but by early afternoon it is very hot if you are out of the shade at all.  This picture is of one of my favorite teachers.  Her name is Harriet and she teaches music to all grade levels.  She starts out each morning  with the youngest class and this is them performing a beautiful little song and dance.  It was amazingly cute and I have most of it on video and will put it on youtube when I get back to the US.

Cheka Harriet is 20 years old and was born in Koboko, Uganda.  She is from the Kakwa tribe and is shy and humble.  But when she gets to singing, that changes.  She has an amazing voice and she led a group of older kids that did a Sunday morning church special that was very good.  Her dream is to go to America someday.

My Friendly Mundari Butcher

Do you see that crazed look in this man's face.  It is real...  He just finished maliciously beating a big chunk of meat with a tomahawk type ax.  He just broke the bone in this meat to little pieces and then he leaves them there for his hardy customers to deal with.  I asked him about his roof maintenance schedule and he glared at me and raised the tomahawk over his head and laughed very loudly as I ran off down the dusty road.

238 years ago today the Revolutionary War in America started.  One year ago I was speaking at a Lion's Club meeting in Jetmore, Kansas.  Come to think of it, I think there were a few fellas at that meeting that look just like my butcher friend.  Not really, they didn't have the forehead scaring like the Mundari do.

You Would Be Ticked Too

The big fellas name is Joshua and his riding companions name is Joseph.  They are in the back of a Landrover headed for a clinic in Terekeka and they let me ride along.  You see Joshua and Joseph are not real good friends because Joseph considers himself a ladies man and is always giving Joshua a bad time about his eating habits.  Just before I took this picture I heard Joseph say to Joshua that he better slow up on the chowing down or he would never get a date to the prom and Joshua said something like, you better slow up with all your lip action or I am going to thump your skinny little head.  Anyway it went on like that until we got to the clinic and they both got shots and then they didn't have anything to say to anybody for the rest of the day.  Just another day in the bush with two wild and crazy African guys.....

In Memory Of A Dear Friend

When I left on my journey 18 months ago I had no idea how lonely it would be at times.  I am so fortunate to have some good friends that would send me words of encouragement along the way and Susanne Maine was the best at doing that.  It was as if she knew I was down and needed a word here and there.  She was also the biggest encourager of my sense of humor, in fact I think she was the only one who actually enjoyed my wit.  I was fortunate to be able to go see Susanne and the rest of my chruch family in September of last year.  I was staying at the McGregor's which is about 40 miles from Susanne's home in Bandon.  One Tuesday she drove all the way out to get me and took me to hang out with her Tuesday Girls.  A bunch of very nice young ladies that Susanne spent time with every Tuesday.  Part of their Tuesday included serving coumunity meals to the needy.  That is where this picture was taken. That was just Susanne, always reaching out to help someone else. I am really going to miss my good friend.  I am so glad that she knows Jesus.
Blessings to her friends and family,
Dave Strege in South Sudan

Is There Really A Loch Ness Monster?

 

I asked several people what river the orphanage was next to.  Some said it was the Blue Nile, some the White Nile.  I found an old map that said it was The Bahr al-jabbal River.  They all said there crocodiles in this river.  Some said the crocs. were parcel to white meat and some said that most thought that white meat was to fatty and thus unhealthy.   The poles you see in the picture are actually there to keep the crocs. from hanging out in this area.  It was well over 100 degrees this particular day and this water was exceptionally inviting, so I decided to trust the fence and a maybe a little bit on the fatty meat thing.  Maybe they both are true as I am still sloshing around the neighborhood.

 

That Ain't No Bull

This a small herd of Mundari tribe cattle that we drove through in the bush about 25 miles from Terekeka.  These massive horns belong to a mama.  The bulls horns are even bigger.  The cattle are amazing, but what is really interesting is the Mundari Tribe.  I hope to share more with you about them.  One of the problems though, is that I didn't get near as many pictures as I had hope because it is a problem with a lot of these remote tribes when it comes to taking their pictures.  So unless I have the opportunity to ask for permission, I have to pass on some really cool photo opportunities.
Well the reason there is a picture with this blog is because I am back at the Yei orphanage.  It took 10 hours to get here from 150 miles away, but we made it.  I never though traveling such as short distance could be so interesting and so physically demanding at the same time.  Wow... what a trip.  As interesting as it was I hope I don't have to go through that again for awhile.
I hope and pray that you are all doing well.
Blessing from Yei, South Sudan