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.