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.