Hi, it’s Will here! I am so glad that I get to talk to everyone back home. I am blogging now so I can tell you how cool yesterday was for me. In fact, it was the coolest thing I have ever done, and probably will ever do. I went down to Chitwan to ride real live elephants through the real live jungle for my (early) birthday! To get on the elephant we had to get on a huge platform with rickety stairs. We got the biggest elephant, and she was huge! The first thing we did on her was cross a little stream. As we went, dad spotted a crane and a peacock. Then, we went into the jungle, all the while looking for wildlife. We then reached a large clearing to look for rhinos. There we saw deer, birds, and tall grass. The grass was so tall that it was probably about two feet above my head, on the elephant’s back. It would be terrifying on foot! We saw a lot of deer, but towards the end we still hadn’t seen any rhinos. Then dad yelled “there they are!” and sure enough, there were two large rhinos, in the wild! All the other elephants circled the rhinos so they did not get out. We studied them for a while, and then went back when they escaped. We have posted pictures below.
Waking up in Nepal 
Aaaaah, I remember it well. One of the most memorable things I have ever done.
Will, what a cool birthday present. I loved you description of the ride, it was like I was there with you. Thanks for sharing it.
Will,
That is so awesome! When you get home it will be fun to drop this story casually into conversation… “Oh, that reminds me of the time I rode an elephant through the jungle in Nepal,” you can say. And unless you are friends with any astronauts you will have the best adventure story of anyone in the group! You will never have to worry about coming up with essay topics in English class either; the things you’ve seen and will be seeing in the next few months should keep you well stocked with memories to write about. Happy early birthday and stay warm!
Mandy and the boys
Happy Birthday early, Will! I loved the pictures and the description of your ride even more.
I know God is blessing all of you during this life-changing experience. You all are in my daily prayers–good health, warmth, blessings, and the joy of the opportunity.
I have checked on the house a couple of times. Trax and I walked down there this morning. We had our second snow last Thursday, but it is about all melted from the sun today.
This is my first visit to the blog, but I promise to be a regular reader.
I will read through the rest of the blog. I know I will enjoy it.
Take care and keep bloging!
Love, Vickie