Exerpts from letters to Cacki - Lewis' Mom

HEY CACKI!!!!!!
I miss you so much!!! Well, Africa's GREAT! It's so pretty here and the weather's perfect! We know you'd love the plants here. WE HAVE A BANANA TREE IN OUR BACK YARD!!!! :) Lowell just got finnished painting Anna's new room this afternoon. It went from light cream to sky blue. Oh and tomorrow Lowell's going to paint Anna and my bathroom a soft lime green! I can't wait for you to see our house and everything else here. I know you'll love it here. I can't wait to see you so COME SOON!!!!!!!!! Oh and HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY!!! i hope you had a great one!
i love you!
~claire

Hey Cacki!
How are you doing? I hope that you love your new house in North Carolina! I'm sure that you are enjoying it as a place of retreat. That's how i feel about Africa too. It is so gorgeous and relaxing here! I think about you all the time as mom and i go walking down a trail in the village that is surrounded by colorful flowers and other plants. The people here are so nice and warm. They are always looking to help you and are even incredibly enthusiastic about giving directions! The village is like an oasis, but once you leave the gates it's a zoo! The only way to sit in the car is on the edge of your seat because it's scary the way people drive. Dad handles it great though. He says that he inherited a love for crazy driving from his mother who aspired to be a race car driver:) There are people and small animals along side the roads too. We have not seen many big animals, except for giraffes who gave us kisses at a tourist place.I miss you soooo much and can't wait for you to come!! The weather is great right now, it feels like our fall in Arkansas. We tried to call you to sing you a birthday song, but hopefully we will get through to you soon. Until then...Happy Birthday!!!!!!! I hope it was great!
I LOVE YOU!
Anna

Cacki, happy late birthday, I'm sure you're havin a good time in NC. The village where we are is pretty cool, and the kids are great. There's not too much to do here, but playing with the kids is good. They love it when I push them on the swings. They tell me to push them "high in de heavens." I painted some today, and that will keep me busy the rest of this week, I think, so that's good. I'm planning on coming to see you in Memphis this fall; maybe Jett Sam will come with me, you know we're rooming together. It's been hard to keep my mind here because I'm so looking forward to the fall and college. It's gonna be really fun.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon,
Lowell

Hi Cacki,
How are you? Hope you are doing good. How is North Carolina? I wish you could be here but I bet you are having a great time in North Carolina. By the way, happy late birthday. I hope you can visit soon. I bet you would love it except for some things like the bumpy road and all the thorns. I bet you would love all the flowers and all the nice people. When you come I hope we can take you to the giraffe center. We went to the giraffe center a few days ago. It was really fun. All the giraffes come up and you get to feed them. We got to feed them pellets and we also got to kiss them. You make them kiss you by putting a pellet in your mouth and getting their attention. They come close and lick the pellet out of your mouth. It looks like they are kissing you. At the giraffe center we also got to see tortoises and a warthog. There are some other animals that live in the village. Monkeys, rabbits, owls, hawks, maribou storks, screeching birds, bush babies, lots of birds and a 10 inch caterpillar! The kids are really nice too. The oldest boys are ten. They are really nice and help each other. They love to drive(roll) tires. They also love to swing and play soccer. They like to play hide and seek. I hope to see you soon.
Love, John