Cape Buffalo & We Are Home in the States

After 36 hours in transit, we are now back home in Rochester, New York. We flew first from Nairobi, Kenya, to Johannesburg, South Africa--a 4-hour flight. There was a seven-hour layover in Jo'burg, but it is a delightfully modern airport, with great tourist shops. We then flew 8 hrs to Dakar, Senegal, where we sat on the ground for 1 1/2 hours, while the plane was refueled and we all went through yet another security check (even though we never got off of the plane.) After that it was a 9-hr flight on to Washington D.C. From Washington it was only about an hour and a half flight to Rochester. Our son-in-law, Jeff Bishop, and daughter, Karen Pereira, greeted us at the airport. The other family members in Rochester were either working or were in school.

We told you we would show some photos from our May 14 and 15 safari with family members. This took place at Maasai Mara, three days before we left the country. This is the best known game reserve in Kenya. Even though we had rain during part of the game drive on the 14th, we saw an amazing number of a great variety of animals. The Cape Buffalo is known to be the most aggressive and dangerous animal in Africa. It appears on this photo that he is telling us to go away.

This will be our last blog posting to Phil & Judy's African Adventure. We did have an amazing adventure BUT we are incredibly happy to be home!

Breakfast with the Hippos

On Friday morning, 15 May 2009, the second day of our safari at Maasai Mara, we took an early morning game drive. At 8:30 a.m., we were treated to a wonderful breakfast by the Mara River. Many hippos were cavorting in the water quite close to our table. (Apparently they aren't known to come up on to the banks of the river at that time of day.) Our breakfast included specialty omelets, crepes, many rolls and breads, variety of fresh fruit, and other delicacies--all served with linen, china dishes and crystal stemware. For Judy, this was the highlight of the safari. We had two Maasai young men, dressed traditionally, as our guides for this breakfast.

Topi

This large antelope has very unusual body markings which make it easy to identify. We saw large herds of these interesting creatures.

Sandal-Billed Stork

Kenya has an amazing assortment of colorful birds. We were told that Maasai Mara has over 300 varieties of birds. We were able to capture many of these birds with our camera.

Elephant Talk

Large herds of elephants greeted us while on the safari at Maasai Mara. These two were talking about the strange animal (a tall large green creature with people staring out of its many eyes) that was sitting on the road beside them.

Ostriches at Maasai Mara

These incredibly-large birds provide a delicious meal of drumsticks........or so we're told. We didn't actually get to eat much wild game while we were in Kenya.

Lioness

In Maasai Mara we saw many lions. True to being the predators, all of the lions we saw were eating their prey. A few minutes after we took this photo, this lioness joined two other lionesses to devour a topi.

We thought we were close to a leopard at one point, when another safari group radioed of a sighting. We went to that area and watched and waited, but never saw the elusive cat. However, the day before we left the Daystar Athi River campus, we went for a walk on the edge of campus. Two security guards told us that they had just seen a leopard walking between the buildings of the campus about 30 minutes earlier. The campus was quiet and nearly empty because the students were gone; but, it is still unusual for a leopard to be seen during the day.

Thompson's Gazelle

We saw many of these Thompson's gazelles near the Athi River campus, but could never get close enough for a good photo. In Maasai Mara, they are not so elusive. These are beautiful animals that run very fast. They are one of the smallest of the gazelles.

Kwaheri (Good-bye) Kenya

Phil speaks -- This will probably be our last post before we leave Kenya. About 5 AM next Sunday morning, 17 May, we will pass through this gate for the last time as Jon Masso transports us to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. This gate is the only entrance and exit for the Daystar Athi River campus, so we have greeted the security guards as we passed through here many times.

At noon today, Wednesday the 13th, we will take the Daystar bus to Daystar Nairobi where we will stay tonight, so that we can be ready to fly to Maasai Mara tomorrow morning for our safari. My brother, Frank, his wife, Carol, and my sister, Myrt, are flying from Burundi to Nairobi today and will join us on the safara along with Ken and Irene (Carol's cousin) Edgar. The Edgars are Wycliffe missionaries in Nairobi. We will post photos and give a report on our safari after we return to the US.

We thank God for a good experience here in Kenya. I finished marking the 78 final exams a few days ago and completed the course grades on Monday. I am happy to say that none of my students failed, and that several did very well. It was a pleasure to work with them. Three of my students were in a financial position where it looked like they would not be allowed to take their final exams; we were able to put some money in their accounts from our ministry fund so that they got their exam permits and completed their courses. Thank you for your prayers and support. God is good!

Judy and Her Boys

Judy speaks -- As we tie up the loose ends and say good-bye to people here in Kenya, it is with a sense of reward, fulfillment, and a thankfulness to God for this opportunity. We have greatly missed our family members and think that if God allows us to do another missions endeavor in the future, we will go for a shorter period of time. Perhaps 5-6 weeks.

We have just heard from Dr. Russ White, at Tenwek Hospital, and he says that baby Jason is doing great. They are just waiting for his weight to increase before they send him home. Russ promises to send us a photo in the near future.

Last Thursday we took our last trip to the Olive Branch and with gifts said good-bye to the Parit family.

On Friday we then took our last trip to HEART where I gave them further guidance on the gift catalog that I had created. That evening we took Teri and Beto Paz (Foursquare missions supervisor) and Vickie Winkler (HEART director) for a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Nairobi. We spent the night with the Pazs who have graciously housed us whenever we went to HEART.

On Sunday, Ruth (a member at St. Johns) and I sang a duet in the morning church service. Then Phil and I told a story, taught a song, and gave out lollipops to all the children present. Some of the children are in this photo. These particular boys are orphans and former street boys who now live at a Youth for Christ home. They have captured my heart.

On Monday I took gift bags to the 7 shop owners where I bought my fruits/vegetables/eggs. They were suprised.

On Tuesday we had our househelper for tea and gave her a parting gift. Ruth came by in the afternoon and we gave her a couple of bags of clothes and miscellaneous things for her to use or give to others. And so we move on with our preparations to go home.

The Rains Have Come

After several months of drought, brown vistas, and lots of dust, the rains finally arrived in our area a few weeks ago. Some areas in Kenya are still suffering drought, but we are enjoying the lush green grass and the abundance of wild flowers. The grass on campus has already grown to as much as 3 1/2 feet tall at places. Campus grounds workers use pungas (long knives) and sickles to cut the grass--no lawn mowers here. Crops are once again being planted and are flourishing in our area. Even the cattle are looking better, as they are finding good grazing conditions. Water is no longer needing to be hauled, as the reservoirs and streams are again full of water. Great is your faithfulness, oh God!

Monkey in Backyard

This monkey loves the tiny red berries on the tree in our backyard. He is standing on the platform for one of our water tanks. The photo was taken through one of the windows in our flat. We had been watching many birds as they also enjoyed the berries.

While we think the monkeys are quite cute, they can also get into lots of mischief. Our friends, Humberto and Teri Paz, live in Nairobi. (He is the Foursquare missions supervisor for the entire continent.) While they were out of the house, a monkey entered the house through a second-story open window. The monkey tore down the shower curtain and rod; tossed the bed linens around the room and generally trashed the room. Fortunately, he wasn't able to open the door to get into the rest of the house.

Bougainvillea Growing in a Tree

Isn't this gorgeous? The bougain- villea is a very hardy creeping vine that seems to blossom year round. When it was very dry, the blossoms weren't as plentiful, but they were still there. In this photo, there are three different colors that have wound their way over this tree. People have the bougainvillea growing up walls, in fence rows, or trimmed into bushes.

Close-up of Bougainvillea

A closer view of the same bougain- villea flowers in the tree shown on the post above. As you can see, there are 3 varieties growing on this one tree. The yellowish blossoms are those which are dying.

Ant Hill & Snakes

This large ant hill is near the Athi River campus, and we see many of them (not always this big) on and around the campus. Some of these may be made by the flying termites, many of which have invaded our flat several times after a rainfall.

Phil has now seen three snakes; but, he never had the camera on those occasions. Judy has only seen one snake--it was dead on the road :-) Our neighbors, downstairs, had a green mamba in their flat a couple of weeks ago. This is a poisonous snake. Judy's very glad snakes don't climb stairs to our second floor flat.

Weaver Bird Nests in Acacia Tree

These weaver bird nests are very common in this area. This photo was taken here on the campus not far from our flat. The opening of the nest is at the bottom in order to prevent snakes and other predators from stealing eggs or baby birds. The acacia tree is the most common tree in Kenya and comes in many varieties. Most of them have very long, sharp thorns such as those in this photo.

Judy told a story (with some help from Phil) to the children at St. John's Anglican Church yesterday morning. We made a crown of thorns from acacia branches to help illustrate the story, called "He Took My Whipping," which ended with the crucifixion of Jesus. In the story, Phil played the part of a boy who volunteers to take the punishment for another boy who is caught stealing in school. The punishment for stealing was a whipping of 5 strikes. Judy actually got to have Phil bend over and receive 5 strikes. We used a hollow cardboard tube--so it sounded more dramatic than it felt. The children really laughed at Phil's reaction :-) Of course, it quite effectively drove home the truth of Jesus taking our punishment by his whipping, suffering, and death on the cross.

Selling Charcoal

The primary source of fuel for cooking, at least in the rural areas, is charcoal. We see sellers of charcoal along the roads everywhere. These merchants are in the village of Athi River about 8 miles from our campus. Along the roads, we also can see places where they do the slow burning to make the charcoal. There is a major concern in Kenya about the deforestation involved in making charcoal. Legislation to curb this activity does not appear to be very successful. The Karaus (native Kenyans), who live in the flat next to ours, have a little charcoal burner in the breezeway between our flats, where they often have beans cooking for several hours.

Langata Giraffe Centre

On Thursday, Phil and Judy borrowed a Daystar vehicle and Phil experienced driving in Kenya. We wanted to play tourists for the first time and visit four different sites in the Langata and Karen region. Public transportation wouldn't have worked and hiring a taxi for the day would have been costly. Phil did a good job of negotiating the traffic--including one 45-minute period to go 1 1/2 miles.

Our first stop was at the Langata Giraffe Centre, where Rothschild giraffes roam the grounds. At one time they were on the endangered species list. The giraffes around the Athi River campus are Maasai giraffes. The most noticeable difference is with the coloration and shape of the spots.

And why is this giraffe reaching over Judy's shoulder? She is standing on the feeding platform built on the second story of a building, and of course Judy is offering the giraffe food. We have a great shot of both Phil and the giraffe sticking out their tongues. But, as he didn't want it posted on this blog, you'll have to wait to see our photos after we arrive home.

"I had a farm in Africa....."

After having read the book Out of Africa, written by Karen Blixen, and having seen the movie several times, Phil and Judy wanted to visit the Karen Blixen house museum in Karen (a suburb of Nairobi). This is the actual house where the story took place (1914-1936). The movie was shot here on the grounds, but the house was too small for the indoor shooting, so a bigger replica was constructed about 3 k away.

You will remember that coffee was the crop raised by Karen Blixen, and that at the time others hadn't tried to grow coffee in Kenya. Coffee is now a major export of Kenya.

"...at the foot of the Ngong Hills."

The Blixen property does indeed run to the foot of the Ngong Hills. This is the view from the front porch of the house previously owned by Karen Blixen.

This week Phil had extra study sessions with his students in preparation for final exams this coming Tuesday; but, as things are slowing down there was more time for doing things in the area. One of our trips this past week was to the home of the Daystar Registrar, Mrs. Arao, who lives in a small village in the Ngong Hills (outside of Karen). Mrs. Arao invited Phil and Judy, along with 12 students and 2 staff, for a lovely Kenyan luncheon at her home. To get there, we took what should have been a 2-hour bus trip (but was 3 hours each way). On the way back to Athi River, one of the staff persons said his wife had delivered a baby on Tuesday and could we please go by the hospital and pick up her and the baby. So, the whole bus went to the hospital and waited an hour for the mother and baby to be discharged. On the whole, these Kenyans are quite able to adjust to the needs of the moment--much more than the average American.

Kazuri Bead & Pottery Factory

On Thursday, we had a delightful tour of the Kazuri Bead & Pottery factory in Karen (a suburb of Nairobi). Kazuri means small and beautiful in Kiswahili. In 1975 a woman started a bead workshop, beginning with two single mothers, to help women in the area have an avenue for employment. Today, 340 single mothers are bussed in from the slums of Nairobi to work for Ksh 400-500 ($5 to $6) a day. There are also a few men who are employed. Ninety percent of the beads and pottery are shipped overseas (including the States). The beads and pottery are made from soil gathered at the foot of Mount Kenya. These clay products go through various stages of forming and painting. During the process they are baked four times at 1000 C for 10 hours.

On the above photo, the larger beads are getting ready for their second baking. The smaller beads for their third baking.

Kazuri Jewelry Making & Visiting Maasai Markets

This is one of the areas where women assemble jewelry at Kazuri Bead factory.


(See previous post.)

In anticipation of going back to the States in just two weeks, Judy and Phil have been purchasing gifts and souvenirs. Four times they visited Maasai markets. These craft markets are situated in different areas of Nairobi on different days. Crafts people spread out their goods on tarps and blankets. The trick, as a visitor, is to look at items in the craft areas but never actually stop walking, being careful not to make eye contact with anyone, or let your gaze fall directly on any one item until you are really interested in purchasing something. When the craft people see what you are interested in, they will descend on you with vigor. At one point, Judy had four people from different craft areas competing to sell her the same item. It was quite exhausting! Then, the bargaining begins. They start really high on the price scale and you start quite low--you settle somewhere in the middle. There is another aspect to these markets and he is called the "broker." This is a person who has no craft area but circulates until he finds someone he thinks he can take around the market and "help" them buy items. The idea is that you buy from him (at a higher price than the craft person would charge) and then the craft person and the broker split the money. This, of course, isn't supposed to be known by the visitor. A good friend told Judy and Phil about the broker system, so they tried to avoid these folks. Yesterday, one of these brokers became quite angry with Judy when she told him to go away as she didn't need his help. Another broker approached them and said he was security and would keep them safe and help them make their purchases. Judy and Phil were also successful in sending him on his way and had a somewhat-enjoyable time of making their purchases.

Mosquito nets

We are so thankful that our double bed has a generously-sized mosquito net hanging over it. During the day we simply gather the netting and tie a knot in it. In the evenings, when we are sitting in the living room of our flat, we have to wear mosquito repellent and battle with the mosquitos. There have been several occasions when we have slept in places w/o netting and had to put up with the buzzing and biting during the night. Also, we slept at one place where the net was too small and we wrestled all night with becoming tangled in the net.

We will not miss the mosquitos, nor the spiders (ours are black and about 1" in diameter), nor the flying termites (2 1/2" wide with gossamer wings) which are attracted to light and come in around the windows and doors. They come out of the earth after a rain. Duct tape has been our best defense for insects as we have put it around windows and stuffed rugs under doors.

Tea & Cookies for 82

Judy wanted to make the end-of-the-semester celebration special for Phil's 82 Daystar students, so she baked 40 dozen cookies. She did this over a 3-day period as her small oven could only bake 1 dozen at a time. Fortunately, her little freezer was almost empty so the first batches were quickly frozen. We had the tea in the lab room just off of the classroom. The students were most thankful and helped Judy clean up afterwards. It was delightful to hear their speeches of appreciation for Phil's teaching and Judy's cookies. Several of the students asked for the cookie recipes.

Happy Daystar Students

These 8 students are celebrating the last regular class session of Phil's Electricity & Magnetism course. We had just finished reviewing for their final examination which will be on the 5th of May. Most of the students in this class are sophomore Computer Science majors.

Zebra Sentinel & Your Dollars at Work

The most abundant animals in the area near the Daystar Athi River campus are zebras and wildebeest. They are a bit elusive, especially when they see us on foot, but we were able to get rather close to this fine specimen.

We thought you'd like to know how some of the people and projects here in Kenya have benefitted by the donated funds which you gave to the Pearce Church Kenyan Missions Team.

1) Three students (David, Michael, and Simon) in Phil's Electricity and Magnetism class have been given one-time scholarships.

2) A one-time gift was given to Ruth--a woman who is trying to establish her own small food business in the Daystar area.

3) A financial gift was given to help purchase a keyboard for St. John's Anglican Church.

4) A financial gift was given to help another local church purchase a PA system.

5) A financial gift was given to help send Lucy to a youth camp.

6) A one-time gift was given to Amos (a South African whom Judy worked with in the past). He is currently in the U.S. finishing a doctorate degree. He needed some financial help as his wife had to be treated in the hospital.

7) A financial gift was given to Jennifer. She is a single mother who also supports her sister and mother. She is a Daystar employee who has been very helpful to Phil and Judy.

All these folks say THANK YOU!

Giraffes & Rain

This past Thursday Phil and Judy came across 6 giraffes on their "walk-ing safari". Just look at this amazing African sky as the backdrop to photographing one of God's curious creations.

We were so thankful that the Athi River region received three good rain falls this week. The reservoirs are beginning to fill and grass is starting to turn green again. Of course we need much more rain--but this is a great start.

Superb Starlings & HEART Report

We saw these beautiful birds on the dirt road in front of our flat. They are called Superb Starlings.

HEART Report -- Remember back in January when Judy began work on the Freedom for Girls pamphlet? This teaching pamphlet will be sent out with the sanitary pads and panties packages being donated by Proctor & Gamble. It is exciting that the final version of this pamphlet is now at the printers.

Also, after working for many hours, Judy has handed over the computer draft version of a HEART gift catalogue. One of the HEART employees has now been designated to take over this project. It will be rewarding to see this project completed in the next several months.

Over the past month, HEART has raised $26,000 in the U.S., for the purpose of taking food and water to those areas of Kenya hardest hit by the drought and famine. We plan to make a donation to this need from the Pearce Church fund, when we go to the HEART office to say good-bye on May 8.

Gazelle

We are fairly sure that this is a Grant's Gazelle. Now that there are just 3 weeks left to our time here in Africa, we went out into nature twice this week. The first was for another 6-mile walk in the savannah at Athi River--many people would call this a "walking safari". We are still thrilled to see all kinds of wildlife. We have heard that some folks have seen lions or leopards while driving in their cars, but we are just as glad that we haven't spotted any of those animals on our walking excursions. Our second hike was to the top of the ridge of the Lukenya Hills.

Updates

1) Baby Jason at Tenwek -- On April 9, Dr Russ removed the stomach feeding tube from Jason. He is taking milk by mouth and doing very well. Interestingly enough they encourage mothers to feed their babies by cup instead of bottle here in Kenya. They say it's easier to wash a cup than a bottle.

2) Josephine and the twins -- Remember the HEART Women's director that had twins about 2 months ago? One of the twins was born with spina bifida. Well, that twin--the little girl--has had two surgeries and is doing very well. In fact, we hear that she is very active and is able to move her legs.

3) Our small Anglican Church was packed this morning when Judy was privileged to preach. The topic they had requested was "The Power of the Holy Spirit." Judy enjoyed several weeks of study preparation for this sermon. The people were very attentive and receptive to the message. Eight of those in attendance raised their hands to indicate that they were choosing to have a closer walk with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

WHY is Judy on a motor bike? Well, Phil and Judy couldn't resist the adventure of using one of the motor taxis for the 3-mile transport back to campus from Mombasa Road. Judy's ride was actually quite comfortable, but Phil had to sit on the hard rack in back of the cushioned seat. The driver drove slowly--for the comfort of his older passengers. At the end of the ride Phil asked the amount of the charge and the driver said Ksh 100 ($1.25). Judy told him she knew the rate is Ksh 40 per person, and that they had intended to give him a tip anyway; so, he didn't have to make the charge larger. He had a large grin on his face as he knew he'd been caught.

Have you been praying for us this week? Well, we really needed it physically. Last week Judy had caught a cold which turned into a sinus and bronchial infection--which triggered the asthma. Fortunately, we'd brought prednisone and antibiotics along on the trip. Judy is feeling better now--but Phil has the sniffles. Thank you for being our partners in prayer!

Phil & Judy at Primarosa

We thought to give you a diversion from our usual type of postings. Hope you enjoy! A couple of weeks ago Phil and Judy took a tour of Primarosa, a business located about 3 1/2 miles from Daystar Athi River. This business employs 700 people from the area in growing rose bushes and long-stemmed rose blossoms. All the roses are grown in greenhouses so that the growing conditioning and pests can be controlled. The roses are planted in shredded coconut husk materials purchased from Sri Lanka. A slow-drip tube hose irrigation system is used for watering. There are several pump buildings operated by computers. With this they are able to control the amount of fertilizer and pH level in the water. We were told that 23% of the gross national product of Kenya is horticulture. This includes maize and other crops, besides these roses.

What do you think is the most popular color of roses sold? It is pink and the least popular is red (except for Valentines Day). In fact, we saw a large wagon load of red roses being thrown out because they couldn't be sold. Judy wanted to take the roses home with her :-)

Grafting for New Rose Bushes

In addition to selling long-stemmed rose blossoms, Primarosa also sells rose plants. They use a method of grafting to create the spectacular roses for which they are known. We saw a whole room full of women performing this grafting. The process is to take a type of rose which is very hardy, but not so beautiful, and graft a beautiful rose stem onto the hardy rose stem (which has the root shoots). You can see the small plastic wrapper that is placed around the grafted area of the new plant. These plants are then placed in a small cup of soil and put into a room that is VERY humid. After about a week, the plants are moved into a cooler room and eventually planted into larger containers ready for shipment.

Breeding New Roses

Primarosa invites people who enjoy breeding roses to bring some of their new varieties into a greenhouse designated for this purpose. As you can see on this sign, the name of the breeder, the variety, the date of planting and the number of plants are listed. If the new roses are healthy, do well, and are liked by the customers, these roses are then planted into the vast stock of roses at Primarosa. When the roses are sold, the breeder receives royalty payment. When a new rose bush is first planted, it begins to blossom after 3 months. The rose bush then continues to produce for 5 years.

Women Hand Grading Roses

When the roses are first cut in the greenhouse and brought to the processing area by wagonloads, they are placed in bundles in a large room cooler, in buckets of water with plant food, for about 24 hours. This is to help them endure all the handling that will come. When brought out of the cooler, a person places the bottom part of a bundle in a deshreding machine to remove the bottom leaves. Next they are either sent to a group of women who hand grade the roses (by stem length), or they are sent to the grading machine (next post).

Grading Machine

This wonder of a machine grades roses according to the length of stem. The longer the stem, the more valuable the rose. On the opposite side of the machine, a worker clips the roses, one at a time, onto a revolving belt that then goes inside the machine where the rose is looked at by an automatic eye. The rose is then sent to the proper section of the machine and spit out into the bin (still according to stem length). These roses are then bundled and put into a plastic sleeve with a packet of plant food. Cardboard is wrapped around the plastic sleeve of dozen roses. Finally, they are placed into shipment boxes--ready for their airflight to the market. The #1 customer destination for these roses is Holland. Other destinations include the UK and Australia. Some are also taken to Dubai to a gigantic flower auction.

Vase Life Room

If you enlarge the photo (by a right click) you will see a sign that reads "Vase Life Room." Before a shipment of roses leaves Primarosa, one rose is removed from the lot, tagged, and placed in a vase for tracking. The purpose is to show how long that particular shipment of roses should have lasted. Most of the roses can last 20 days. It takes about 3 days for processing; 2 days for shipping; they reach the market in 5 days. Most roses have been cut about a week by the time they reach the customer. It is projected that the roses will still live another week. If you've ever wondered why many roses you buy at the florist don't have a wonderful smell, it is because the roses that smell the best have the shortest shelf life.

Easter Lilies?

Although we missed being with our children and grand- children, seeing Easter lilies, Easter baskets with candy, painting colored eggs, and going to Easter sunrise breakfast with our family and friends, we enjoyed the core of the Easter celebration--which is the church rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord.

We began with a Good Friday service at our local Anglican Church. The service featured the 7 last phrases of Christ on the cross. Each segment included a hymn (African style) with a scripture reading and homily.

Apparently, one of the Easter traditions introduced by the British is hot cross buns. Phil and Judy purchased theirs in Nairobi to have for Easter breakfast.

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, we went in to Nairobi with friends and participated in a fine Easter worship service at the Kilileshwa Covenant Community Church. This is a contemporary, urban Kenyan church. Praise music by Keith Green, Dallas Holm, and Hillsong was prominent.

Following the service, we had lunch at an Ethopian restaurant. This was our first time to experience Ethopian food--but it won't be our last. We ordered 2 large platters of food. There were 8 to 10 items per platter. Individually we had no plates or flatware. Each person first took one of the rolls (which was a flat, spongy, crepe-type bread rolled rectangularly). The idea was to tear off a portion of your roll and use it to pick up whatever you wanted off of the platter. The food included goat meat, cabbage, red beets, various beans, etc. All was finely seasoned. The whole finger-eating process was rather messy, but the food was great.

And the rose? Well, we'll tell you about that in a later post :-)

Traffic on Mombasa Road

This photo was taken a few days ago through the windshield of the Daystar bus. This is a typical scene on the Mombasa Road between Nairobi and Athi River. Notice the crumbling pavement on the right-hand side of the photo. The driver has three major concerns: One is to find a route that is less rough than others in order to avoid slowing more than necessary; a second is to find a way to get past the large number of slow-moving trucks; a third concern, of course, is to avoid oncoming vehicles.

Construction has been moving ahead on this road and we are able to see improvements in sections, but it will be years before it is complete.

Traveling is an Adventure

Sometimes, the traffic on the Mombasa Road becomes so congested, many of the drivers choose to leave the main roads and seek an alternate route through the maze of dirt side roads. Here you see a safari-type vehicle ahead of us on one of these secondary roads. This is a vehicle used by the Kenyans for long-distance traveling.

A few days ago, we left the Nairobi campus at 5:10 p.m. on the Daystar bus, to return home to Athi River. Because there was an accident and extensive traffic delays we were an hour behind schedule. Our driver, who seems to enjoy adventure, chose to leave the main road. There were 2 times when it looked like the bus might get hung up, or scrape bottom, or topple over. The first time the bus was nose down at a 45-degree angle. People on the bus got out to help. The second time the car ahead of us got hung up on a bump. Our driver and several of our passengers got out and pushed and lifted the car to get it over the barrier. We then had many people giving our driver guidance as we proceeded very slowly over the same hazard. After getting off the bus at the Athi River campus, in the dark, we had about 50 lbs. of groceries to carry half-a-mile up to our flat--arriving at 7:25 p.m. Our trip to Nairobi for some errands and groceries was an 8-hour adventure.

At this point we think about our decision to live at Athi River instead of Nairobi and need to remind ourselves of why we made that decision--better interaction with the students. For example, on Wednesday Phil got a phone call asking if he could help a student with a homework problem. He agreed to meet with her in 2 hours. To his surprise, 11 students gathered at the appointed place and he had an enjoyable and profitable study session. If we weren't living at the campus where he is teaching, this probably wouldn't happen, or at least not as easily.

Lukenya Hills

Several days ago we took a refreshing hike up into the Lukenya Hills above the campus. This is a view of the lower portion of the hike leading up to a small granite quarry.

Judy on the Rocks

Judy was very careful to look for snakes among the granite boulders near the quarry. Though there were numerous geckos, we didn't see any snakes.

Phil on the Rocks

Safari Phil (the hat was a birthday gift from Judy) climbs up over some of the rocks at the edge of the quarry. Notice the dry, dusty area in the background. The shiny areas may look like water, but they are roofs of buildings. We are still praying for rain and for famine relief for many areas in Kenya. Please continue to pray with us. Thus far, we have had a total of about 30 minutes of rain here at Athi River.

Phil's Ankle is Great

We wanted to let you know that Phil's ankle was healed within 24 hours of posting the prayer request. Monday night when we posted the request, his ankle was swollen and throbbing with pain. He slept with it elevated and ice bags on it, and of course we (and you) prayed. When he woke up Tuesday morning, the pain and swelling were gone. He has done much walking with no problems since then. Thank you for your prayers.

Several of you have mentioned that you have had problems trying to post comments. We need to let you know that we monitor the comments--meaning that they aren't posted until Phil or I look at them. We haven't rejected any yet--but this does account for the time delay.

According to our emails, we understand that many of you are faithfully following the blog, even though you aren't official "followers." That is an encouragement to us!! --Judy

Tenwek Hospital Sign

Tenwek Hospital was founded in 1959 by the World Gospel Mission. It is near Bomet, located on the map of Kenya shown on this sign. It was a 4-hour drive from Nairobi, for us, and 6 hours from Athi River. Tenwek is a 300-bed hospital--the largest mission hospital in Kenya. Dr. Russ White is medical superintendent (since July, 2008) and head surgeon. He is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College, where he studied physics, as an undergraduate, with Phil. Beth, the wife of Russ, was also a student there. In addition to his work at Tenwek, Dr. White is on the medical research faculty at Brown University.

We were amazed at the facilties and donated equipment, which allow quite complicated treatments and surgeries to take place. Tenwek is also a teaching hospital. They have trained many Kenyans; some of which are employed at Tenwek. There are currently 15 medical missionaries at Tenwek and a constant flow of short-term medical missionaries (2 weeks to 6 months) from other countries.

Russ & Beth at Waterfall

A small river flows through the valley below the hospital. Several years ago, the mission built a dam upstream from this beautiful waterfall. They installed a hydroelectric power plant that is just out of the picture on the left. The pool below the falls is a popular swimming area for the Whites and other mission families. This pool is also used as a bathing area for the local Kenyans. The short hike with Russ and Beth down to the river on Sunday afternoon was a very pleasant outing for us.

Anna with Chameleon

Anna, the youngest White child, was born in Kenya. In fact, Dr. White, performed the C-section for her birth. She is now 4 years old. Having four older brothers--Adam (17), Andrew (14), Peter (13) and James (9)--has introduced Anna to the thrill of keeping geckos and chameleons as pets. The Kenyan people do not like geckos, chameleons or snakes and marvel at the White children's fascination with these critters.

Shryock Building & Courtyard

Patients and family members wait in this courtyard. In the background is the Shryock Building which houses X-ray facilities and examining rooms. This building is named for Trudy Shryock, a distant relative of Phil's, who was a nurse at Tenwek for many years. After Aunt Trudy retired in Idaho she married a widower, Joe Root, who was Phil's great-uncle.

The Baby Jason

When this baby was 2 days old, Dr. White gave him a two-part operation. First, he reconnected the esophagus to his stomach; when he was born, the esophagus was connected to his lungs. Second, he gave him a colonostomy. On this photo the baby is 6 days old. He is doing well, though still fighting pneumonia--which was produced from the esophagus transferring fluid to the lungs before the operation. He will eventually need several other operations, including an opening in the rectum for the large colon to empty there.

This baby was born with the same syndrome that Judy's child, Jason, had been born with in January, 1978. Judy's child's first surgery had also been on the esophagus; but, Jason died when he was 2 days old.

When Dr. White realized this child at Tenwek Hospital was born with the same syndrome, he asked if he could name him Jason, after Judy's deceased child. The parents of the child had asked Dr. White to give the child a name.

Please pray for baby Jason.

Kipsigis House

This is a typical Kipsigis house and farm on a steep hillside across the valley from Tenwek Hospital. The lush green countryside in the western highlands of Kenya was a welcome change for us from the dry, dusty area where we are living.

Trouble Posting Photos & Prayer Requests

We are having difficulty posting photos because of a slow internet connection, so will settle for a text posting this time. We are looking forward to traveling this Thursday to Tenwek Hospital in western Kenya for a visit with Dr. Russ White and his family. Russ is the head surgeon at Tenwek. He and his wife, Beth, are both graduates of Roberts Wesleyan College, and Russ was one of Phil's students there. We plan to return on Monday, the 6th of April. Please pray for our safety as we travel.

Also, would you please pray for Phil as he has a sprained ankle. He didn't see a hole in the ground and tripped. As our main mode of transportation around campus is walking, a quick healing would really be good!

Praise the Lord in that we received a 20-minute rain yesterday (Sunday). This was the first rain in quite awhile. We're praying that the rains continue--so thanks for joining us in that prayer.

Giraffe Communication

On a recent long hike, about 6 miles, we saw lots of animals, including a herd of 8 giraffes. We have seen giraffes on several occasions, but Phil was able to get close enough for this classic shot. This kind of interaction between giraffes is not uncommon. The red bougainvillea in the background adds to the scene.

Daystar Ministry & 1st Matatu Ride

The young lady on the left is Ann Nzuma. She and two other Daystar students are involved in a ministry to teenage single mothers. The young lady, Serena, in this photo is 17 years of age, and her little girl, Tracy, is 18 months old. Serena is being trained as a tailor in a Catholic school. She is still living at home with her parents and several younger siblings. Their house in the slum was very typical with corrugated tin walls, a dirt floor, and blankets hung to divide the house into rooms.

Ann asked Judy to accompany her to the slums of Athi River this past Friday, to see the ministry. We spent several hours with this young lady, another single mother named Kathy--who had recently given birth, plus we met the head man for this particular area of the slum.

In order to travel with Ann, Judy experienced her first matatu ride. Each matatu has a driver and a tout. The tout is responsible for getting the passengers on/off the matatu and collecting money from the passengers. The matatu (a van) has about a dozen single seats; however, the tout wouldn't start the journey until we had about 20 people crammed into the vehicle. There seemed to be two people to every single seat. Judy had to ask her neighbor for permission to move her arm :-) Fortunately, most Kenyans are slender--but none of us had any personal space to speak of. Fully loaded the vehicle moved very slowly up the steep grades. These drivers are known to take risks in order to get from one point to another quickly. This ride was no exception.