30-5-2010

What a week....
Monday: Nairobi
...Finances (tedious process of paying bills and recording payments, which we finally have figured out how to do ala Kenya).
...Houseguests (Elder and Sister Fox from Kisumu)...delightful, funny, and dynamic couple who came to Nairobi to be a part of the couple's trip to the Masai Mara from Tuesday to Thursday.
...FHE...I won my first Kenya election as one of three members on the Couple's Furnishing Fund Board! (Each senior couple contributes $50/month to fund needed replacement of major furnishings in our apartments, e.g. refrigerators, couches, stoves, etc).
Tuesday through Thursday: Masai Mara Game Park
...Left for the local airport at 7:30 for a flight that was to leave at 10:00 or 11:00 (schedules are a little looser here). Our group numbered 29 senior couples and some visiting children. John was not excited about the 13-passenger airplane since he has had family members killed in small planes. He was especially unhappy about the female pilot-in-training on the return flight. The nice thing about small planes is that they fly under the cloud cover much of the time, so we could see the dramatic scenery of the Rift Valley. I think I have rhapsodized over it before, and it is even more dramatic from the air. On the 45-minute flight we spotted herds of animals and isolated Masaai settlements with mud houses built around a circular dirt area where they corral animals at night.
...The Intrepid Camp was a beautiful oasis. Our tent cabin was atmospheric, with a beautiful wooden floor, beds with mosquito netting canopies, and screened walls that allowed the night sounds and breezes. I have attached a picture of the grounds (1)...a virtual paradise, with lots of wildlife despite the electrical fence that surrounded the camp. There were so many butterflies it reminded me of walking through the Houston Museum of Science butterfly exhibit. A bushbaby prowled the rafters each evening at dinnertime, looking for an opportune time to sneak a roll from the table. When we left for our 6:30 a.m. game drive, we saw a black-faced vervet monkey waiting patiently on the buffet counter for breakfast to be served (didn't open till 7:30); others scampered about the area.
...We went on 5 game drives. The scenery and game were spectacular. I have attached several pictures. There are at least two acceptable ways of viewing the terrain (going on foot is not one of them...a tourist was killed 10 years ago while going for a walk. Unfortunately his path intersected that of a hippo. The foot of another man was recently bitten off by a hippo; he later lost the leg. Hippos are the biggest killers of humans. They are not the cute dancing animals portrayed by Walt Disney cartoons. As a sidelight, I met a 9-year old boy at Church named Hippo by his father.) Some people choose to go by hot air balloon. We opted not to go by air when we saw the $450 price tag. You can see the dramatic shot of the hot air balloon with ostriches in the foreground (2). We chose to go by an 8-passenger guided vehicle. I have included a picture of one of the jeeps with lions in the foreground (3). We saw 17 bird species (Kenya is renowned for their birds), 22 mammals, 2 insects (dung beetle and stick insect), and 1 reptile (crocodile)
...Some of the things I learned: - Herd animals are intermixed in the open plains. - Carnivores coexist in the same plains areas but only kill when hungry, not for fun. - Grazing herds like the short grassy plains so that they can see hungry carnivores coming. - Elephants like the long grassy plains because they need to eat about 600# grass/day and are too big to have very serious predators. - Lions and hippos are lazy, sleeping about 20 hours/day. Hippos sleep in the water during the day. They can stay underwater for 5 minutes at a time. - Animals only mate when the females are in oestrus, not for pleasure. - Ostriches run funny. - Little elephants are very playful and look like Walt Disney's Dumbo (with ears that they have to grow into.) One of the highlights of the trip was watching a herd of elephants with several babies in tow. - Many game drives are conducted in the park daily so that the animals are used to seeing the vehicles. As you can see in the picture of the jeep with a pride of lions nearby, the animals do not pay attention to the cars. However, one of the young men in our car jumped on top of the jeep, which caused some of the lions to stand up and watch carefully. However they lost interest quickly. - Lions are great hunters and can run fast, but tire quickly. - Hyennas don't run as fast as lions however, they are more successful hunters. Their success is due to their hunting technique and their endurance: they hunt in packs and will run all day if necessary to chase down dinner. (hmmm...reminds me of a scripture: the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong (Ecc 9:11)...The older I get, the more understanding I gain of the importance of endurance.). - The wildebeest (4) live on the Serengetti plains in Tanzania; about 1.5 million migrate North to the Masai Mara from July through October. They devour the grass and in turn are devoured by the predators in the park while thousands of happy tourists observe. - Giraffes seldom drink water from the ground (they would be too vulnerable). They get their water from trees in the early morning when dew is on the leaves.
... Family habits: Ostriches hang out in pairs (you can see in the picture...light colored are the females; dark are the males). Bat eared foxes and black-backed jackals mate for life. Females and their young in elephant herds, lion prides, and journeys of giraffes hang out together. The males are solitary and join the family groupings only when the females are in oestrus. The young males are kicked out of the family group when they become sexually active, then hang out with groups of bachelors (our guide called them The Losers...those too young and those too old to be the alpha-male), until the young become strong enough to challenge a dominant male for access to the females, or until the old ones loose their teeth and die because they cannot eat food anymore. The massive cape buffalo stay together in large herds that include male and female. However, if the young males do not behave, they are kicked out of the herd until they come back repentant and changed...our guide called them The Naughty Boys).
...Masaai people: We visited a Masaai village. The Masaai are pastoralists who measure wealth by the number of cows, goats and sheep (and wives) they have. We were able to go into one of their small mud homes. The cooking is done indoors with little light or ventillation. I don't think they stay indoors much of the time. The house has a large room with an outside entrance for the small calves, sheep and goats who cannot stay outside in heavy rainstorms. The homes are covered with cow dung and have dirt floors. The homes were built in a circle surrounding a corral where the animals were brought in at night. Their main diet consists of milk, meat and cow blood (taken from the jugular vein, which is then sealed closed with dung. I guess cows can give blood on a regular basis just like humans can. We were welcomed with a dance by the women and the men and were invited to join them in the dances. I will try to include some pictures taken by one of the other missionaries in my next letter. Our camera battery was gone by the time we reached the village on the last day. We should have listened to our kids about buying a second battery...and about buying a more expensive camera that could take better close-ups.
Friday and Saturday- worked with a Saturday afternoon break to eat out with 2 of the senior couples.
Sunday - How I love this day of rest. Since we work from our home, from Monday through Saturday we are usually busy from early morning to late in the evening. I have a new understanding of and appreciation for honoring the Sabbath day and keeping it holy. We have been attending different wards each Sunday, and it has caused a disconnect with the people. Until we get another assignment, we have decided to attend the closest ward, the Upper Hill Ward. We have been there 3 times and are really enjoying the people and the classes. It is getting to feel like home.
Baked chicken is becoming our Sunday traditional meal. Wish we had a crockpot, but alas, they are not to be had in Nairobi. However, ours is one of the few missionary apartments to possess a waffle iron (also not sold here).
In studying the scriptures this morning (Numbers 11-14; 21:1-9), I once again saw Moses interfacing with the Lord on the part of his rebellious people and thought of how the Savior has to play that role for us. As I contemplated the constantly complaining Israelites, I realized once again how I need to focus on the many beautiful things about Africa and forget about the slow internet, malfunctioning equipment, inefficient work methods, etc.... I have been praying for a love of the people and an understanding for our differences. Prayer has made all the difference.