Most significant moments

Here's another list, these are things that really were emotionally meaningful to us

Significant moments

Meeting the cow named "Helper" at Ole' Salepu's home. We had helped in a cattle replacement program in 1999, and then we actually "met" one of the cows that was purchased with that money.

Meeting people in Kajiado who didn’t starve- the FVCC Easter offering was for drought relief in 2006. We met women and children who were helped, some of those kids might not have made it without the relief from the American churches. Wow.

Bracelet from Daniel Tuke’s arm- our host took his bracelet off his arm, it took a lot of soap and water to get it off, then put it on Kevin's arm, which also wasn't easy, as a thank you /friendship gesture.

Getting to know the Maasai team personally- Now Jeff and Tami Brown and the Cazier family are not just names on a newsletter, we know them, know their voices, parts of their stories, have been in some of their homes, etc. What a neat group of people committed to serving God in Kenya!

Big World/Small world at Turtle Bay- people from many nations/Wheaton connection- see Thursday for the Wheaton story, but it was so cool to be with people from Ethiopia, Sudan, South Africa, Scotland, etc. and hear their stories, and compare our lives and our experiences in Kenya.

Augustin and Lister’s hospitality- They were such gracious hosts, gave us lunch and friendship, opened up their home and allowed us into their lives for a short time. Agustin was such a blessing, his smiling face was so fun to see each morning at the Crum's house and we loved listening to him talk.

Conversation with Salepu looking at pictures- listening to his comments, his questions about the US, making connections with someone who lives a very different lifestyle from ours, but is a brother in Christ.

Call to Worship- these 4 or 5 women started singing REALLY LOUD, and it really was the call to worship, people started coming from all over and it was the sound of the singing that let them know it was time for church under that tree.

Guy at Gate knowing Dan- we were out in the middle of the plains, not exactly sure where we were , stopped at a gate and when Dan introduced himself as Ole Kijabe, the guy's face lit up. This man had been at a seminar at the CMF training facility and knew Dan or knew of Dan.

Connie’s prayer at Kawai- We stopped for a time of prayer before we left the area where Dan and Connie had raised their kids and where one of the churches is now located. Lots of emotions surround that area, hope, fond memories, loss, etc.

Flat tire- when we were near the Mara river, one of the tires went flat. Dan travels with 2 spares, thankfully, and while he and Kevin changed it, the girls all walked down to the river. It was a beautiful area and it was interesting to see how this one boy just sat and watched them change the tire. It was also an illustration of the many skills a missionary must have!

Pulling everyone into the back of the Land cruiser on the way to church- we picked up a number of women and children, who just piled in with Paige and Rachel, everyone on their way to church and they were just as curious about Paige as she was about them.

Conversations Paige saying “this is legit”- in the morning after we had stayed at Salepu's home, the girls were walking back from finding a "bush" and Paige made the observation that this wasn't a living diorama, a weekend outing of camping or put on for tourists.. this is how these people live their lives everyday of the year.

Chatting with the Chief- we met William Karose, who is now chief over 1000s of Maasai. He speaks very good English and is a Christian. What an opportunity for spreading the gospel!

explaining the links

I'll explain the links I"ve added. Amani Ya Juu is a place that works with women who have been in difficult circumstances. They use fabric arts as both a way to heal and a way to make an income. The website tells it better. We met Rachel who works for them in the US. She and her husband are Wheaton College grads and were at Turtle Bay when we stayed there. (here we were having dinner by the Indian Ocean, we are sitting with the Bells, he's from Canada and she's from the US, they lived in Japan for the past 12 years, and now live in Kenya, they start talking about their days at Wheaton, and Rachel and her husband overhear us and introduce themselves. People are here from all over the world, and the 6 of us have all lived in Chicago's western suburbs) We went there to shop, actually the girls shopped and they have a nice place to have coffee for the husbands. They had some wonderful fabric kids books that I would have gotten if I was buying for a toddler!

The Sudan Project is a medical mission. We met Charity, who is working in Sudan setting up a hospital, also at Turtle Bay. Her stories of the need, the complications of trying to work through the Sudanese bureaucracy, etc. were really fascinating. She's an amazing young woman, who is also a fun water polo player.

The Nest Halfway House is the orphanage we went to visit. They have a few different kinds of ministry there, some with women who are in prison or are recently released and need some time to bond with their children. They also have orphans who are available for adoption. Again, the site explains it better if you're curious.

I also included a link to Olare Safari camp, which is where we stayed. It's kind of a middle of the road camp as luxury goes. It was way nicer than I was anticipating, the food was great and I really enjoyed having my own bathroom in the tent, but one near Ole Salepu's called Kichwa Tembo has an option of having a private butler who comes with the tent. Now, that's a luxury camp!

church report

Lots of people have asked when they can see more photos, here's an answer! Kevin, Paige and I will be speaking in church this Sunday, July 20. We will talk at both services, the 8:45 am and the 10 am. I think we have 12 minutes, the whole service will be missions focused. We will report on some specific projects that Fox Valley Christian Church gave money for in Kenya, report on the mission in general and show some more photos. I'm not sure if we're going to show video yet.

On Sunday, August 3, we will be talking to the older children in their Sunday School class, during the 10 am hour. I think that's first through fifth grades.

Sunday, August 3, we will have an open house at our home, with LOTS of pictures, things we brought back, etc. By that point I'll have finished the final edit on the video. I have it down to about 35 minutes now. I'm not sure yet on the times for the open house, check here later or contact us and ask or just show up sometime in the afternoon/early evening. If you show up early, we will put you to work and if you're late, we may have you help clean up.

I have a Kodak Gallery slide show online now, but it's got 250 photos on it, including captions. I'm putting together a shorter version, but it's not quite ready. If you really want to see all 25o, let me know and I'll send you the link.

So, EVERYONE who is interested is welcome to come to the church service or our open house!!! Kids, adults, friends, co-workers, whoever. We are not going to ask anyone for donations, so don't worry about that, we just would love to tell anyone who is interested more about what we learned and experienced in Kenya.

Things that surprised us

We were surprised by some things on our trip. This list is things we didn't expect, or at least one of us was surprised by.

Surprises

Kikoy tailoring- it was less expensive to have custom pants made for Paige at the beach than to buy them in a store in Nairobi. We took a Kikoy, basically a large piece of fabric with a fringed edge, and the lady at the beach had that made into really cute capris for Paige, for about $4.50 labor cost. Since it was so affordable, she got shorts too!

Jungle in Nairobi- there is a downtown part with tall buildings and parking lots, but there is a LOT of Nairobi that is very green, wooded, etc. You wouldn't know you were in a major city.

Cell phones everywhere- even the people out in the bush, with no electricity or running water had cell phones. They go into town to charge them.

Cool mall (village market)- it would be a big hit in St. Charles!

Airport and mall security- by the end of the trip, we were used to all the guys with AK47s, but it surprised us at first!

How bad the roads really were- even major roads were VERY bumpy

Security in Malindi- that tiny airport had a big X-ray machine for our bags, etc. but if you just walked about the building, you were out on the runway, along with the dogs, chickens, etc. and could walk right into the departure lounge.

Primitive kitchens- in the training centers, the kitchen was a counter, a sink (not necessarily with running water) and drain and a few open shelves.

Dressed up and dignity- People in Nairobi wear suits and dresses, very dressed up in their best clothing, even if they live in a slum, they dress up for work or going to town

Friendliness - the passport people, the security checkers, the cab drivers, all wanted to know how we liked their country and hoped we would come back. The Crum's friends welcomed us into their homes, just a gracious as could be.

Turning on water heaters and electric outlets- there are switches on the outlets to turn them on, and the water heaters have switches, like light switches on the wall, to turn them on and off.

Paige found monkeys creepy- they were on the roof at the Crums, at the tent camp, at the resort, kind of all over.

The # of Kenyan men who live far away from families- many men work in Nairobi, but their families live "up country" and they only go visit occasionally

Milk comes in plastic bags at the grocery, you clip off the corner and pour it and soda was very inexpensive

Birds sounds - there was a bird that sounds just like an alarm clock

RED dirt- it was everywhere!

Amount of corn, and number of goats and cows

Quantity and mixture of animals- zebras, baboons, warthogs, wildebeest, all hang around together.

Animals inside vs outside the park- we saw more animals out in the wild before we were on the Maasai Mara property. The animals don't know or care where the boundaries are, they just roam

Paying the park fee’s, there was great confusion over paying to go into the parks- one guy came to the tent camp and got us out of bed to pay some park fees, but then another guy came in the morning and said we should pay him, not the guy from the night before. They need a better system there.

70 churches 20 buildings in the CCC, Maasai church.

No paid pastors, they serve as volunteers

CMF helps with 50% of church building costs, that way the local church has ownership of the building, they have invested in it.

Some of our lists

Jet lag really caught up with me, and then I spent 3 days sorting photos and video. I managed to narrow it down to our favorite 250 pictures - thank you Kodak for timing your print sale for us.. and then edited the video down to much less than an hour. Nobody needs to see it all, even us! That's the first cut, we will continue to make it shorter so we can share our experiences without boring people!

Top 10 +1 (no particular order)

1. Lion (see Monday's post)

2. Our stay with Ole Salepu

3. Listening to Dan Speak Maa

4. Landscape - Kenya is so beautiful!

5. Getting to know the CMF Maasai Team ( including getting to know the Crums better!)

6. Listening to hippos and lions while we slept

7. Going to lunch at Augustin's Home

8. The Nest, orphanage in Nairobi

9. Turtle Bay

10. Giraffe Farm

11. Church Under the tree


And then here's our list of interesting facts....

Facts

70% of Nairobi's population live in slums; there are over 1million in one particular slum.

Cultural difficulties exist for adoption in Kenya- there is no socially acceptable way for a mother to safely give her baby up for adoption, so many are just abandoned.

We saw first hand the importance of infrastructure-roads, water, electricity, communication.

Cheap labor leads to short term thinking- why buy a jackhammer when for less money you can hire 30 guys to break up the old road with sledgehammers.

Everybody was selling something-our favorite was the guy on the road to the airport that was always there selling wall sized world maps.... like you're just going to be sitting in traffic and decide... HEY, I need a HUGE map.

The traffic in Nairobi is chaos. After a certain hour, everyone just ignores red lights, round abouts might not be the answer, speed bumps really do slow down traffic, but they are painful if you don't see them in time, there are no lane markings so you just make a lane wherever, and they don't seem to have rules of the road, more like suggestions...Cars have the right of way over people- so watch out!

Intelligent and happy people can live in very primitive conditions and be content.

Africa can be quite chilly during the US summer.

The CDC in Atlanta provided blood chemistry machines at a little rural clinic - our tax dollars at work actually saving lives in Africa!

first two of top 10 (plus one)

1.

We have our top 10 (plus 1) list and I think I'll just write about a couple each day. Here are the first two, in no particular order.

1. Lion- the first morning at the tent camp, we opted to skip breakfast, take boxed lunches and get out to look for wildlife at sunrise. We didn’t go immediately into the Maasai Mara park itself, but just across a small river behind our camp. Right away, there was a family of elephants! The baby was shy, but the others just kind of ignored us. We followed some tracks, not exactly roads, but obviously places where other vehicles had been. I hadn’t spotted much of the wildlife, the Crums had eyes trained to look for them and Kevin is always a great wildlife spotter, but I found the first lion. She was sitting on a little raised mound of dirt and staring intently into the distance. We watched her for a while, and then drove to a spot where we could be closer. I anticipated that animals would leave when they realized you were watching them, but some, like this lion, just pretty much ignore people and vehicles! At that moment I was SO glad we’d gotten the new video camera with the long zoom! After a while, she got up and started walking away. We followed her at a distance and when she settled down, we stopped to watch. She started to roar and eventually another lioness showed up.

They were so beautiful, and since they were active we decided to just stay, eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwich breakfast and see what happened. At one point, Rachel asked her parents if she could get out of the land cruiser and stand in the window on the opposite side of the vehicle from where the lions were. She slipped out the window and then could see over the top. The lioness turned to look at Rachel, licked her lips as if to say, “I could change my breakfast plans you know”, and Rachel slipped right back in.

A while later, the lioness got up and started walking straight at us. She just moved alongside the land cruiser, close enough that if we would have opened the door, we would probably have bumped her with it! They were tracking a wildebeest on the opposite ridge, Paige named him “Wilber” and we were kind of rooting for him to wise up and not come close, but we were also kind of thinking that it would be interesting to watch a kill. One of the lionesses went off into the distance and they roared back and forth for a while. Eventually the other one went off into an area that it would have been hard to follow and we moved on. We found another safari vehicle and we joined them to watch a male and female lion, and later some other lionesses, and while that was neat, the whole encounter with “our lioness” was about the most magical wildlife hour of our trip.

2. Listening to hippos and lions while we slept

When we traveled to the Maasai Mara area, we stayed in a tent camp called Olare. Finding the camp was an adventure as the “roads” are more like tracks through the grass and the signage consists of a rock now and then painted with a camp name and an arrow if you are lucky.

The tents were on a concrete platform and had complete bathrooms in each tent. The showers were great, but we had to wait until they turned the hot water on at 6:30 pm and the electricity was only on from 7-9:30 pm. The beds were like a 4 poster style with beautiful mosquito nets. The entire camp was surrounded by an electric fence, so the animals are free to roam wherever, but we were caged up. We stayed two nights and the second night, our party of 6 filled up the only 3 tents occupied in the entire camp. There were probably 30 tents total. The food was amazing, quite elaborate meals fixed out in the “middle of nowhere”. The dining tent faced the river and monkeys played in the area right outside, Paige was very creeped out by the monkeys! When we slept, we could hear the animals right outside, some of them were less than 100 yards from our beds. We came to recognize the voices of the hippo, and the lion and even though the elephants were less than ¼ mile away, we weren’t sure we heard them. The night was VERY
dark, and that night we were VERY aware that we were far from home!