I pray your cattle are well.

My name is Nikobi Israel Ole Sondo.  I am of the Maasai tribe; we are primarily herders, raisers of cattle and goats.  I am eleven years old and live with my father, my grandfather, my two mothers, my two grandmothers, and five younger sisters.  We live in a temporary dwelling that my mother built.

We don't stay in one place long.  We travel with our cattle.  Wherever there is food or water, that is where we take our livestock; we go where the cattle go.  If there is no food or water, we go hungry.  It is as simple as that.

When I do go to school, I learn English, Swahili, Numbers (Math), History, Science, and have Physical Education (Gym).  I don't go to school much because we are always on the go with our family and with our cattle, but when I do, I happen to enjoy it very much.  

I go to church most Sundays.  We go to a Christian church.  Our church is Baptist, but I'll go anywhere as long as the Bible is taught and Jesus is the main focus.  I got saved when I was five; I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart.

When I grow up, I would like to become a pastor.  If not, I want to be a Maasai elder, like my father is.  Whenever people in our area have a grievence of any kind, they come to Father (and to any of the other elders in our community) to seek their counsel.  Father is a very intelligent man who knows of many things.  

My sisters are ages 9, 8, 7, 5, and 2.  Their names are Laisha, Naliwo, Loiyan, Innocence, and Comfort.  They are good children, but they can test my patience, especially the three youngest.  So full of curiosity and qustions ....

Our life is a hard life, fraught with many dangers and hardships, but it is the only life we know.  I happen to enjoy the camraderie with our cattle and with family and friends.  Mother and Father did have another son, a boy named Lemosai, but he died of malaria three years ago; he was an infant.  He would have been three had he survived.  I miss Lemosai very, very much; I was with him when he passed away.

In addition to sickness and disease, we have to worry about predators: hyenas, lions, leopards, cheetahs (cheetahs are not as dangerous as lions or leopards, but they are still not to be trusted; they are still wild animals and they can be unpredictable).  More things we have to worry about include poaching (and poachers), rogue elephants, drought and flood, and violence if people get into disagreements of some sort.

Well, I must tarry: it is time to milk the cattle; I must help Father and Grandfather with that.  I will write in my journal next time; until then, this is Nikobi Ole Sondo saying so long!  May God richly bless and caress you with His unfailing love!

~Nikobi.  :)