Finally -a photo from Kenya! This is the view from the front yard of our friend from home Ryan Dahlman who is an RVA teacher. Ryan had us over for dinner with 8 senior guys -enchiladas, homemade guacamole and an incredible view of the Great Rift Valley and Mt Longonaut (not sure I spelled that right). It was a great last meal at the school/speaking part of this journey.
After dinner we went to the final session at which I was speaking to the 7th-12th grade students (around 500 with adults). I had been using the phrase, "there is more to you than meets the eye" all week and I invited anyone who could translate it into another language to come and say it for all to here. The last count I had was 25 languages! Languages like: Umharic, Swahili, French, Icelandic, Swedish, Luou (don't know how to spell that), Portuguese, Arabic, German, Ducth, Spanish, Kikuyu, and a number of tribal languages I had never heard of. It was like a little taste of heaven. The students at RVA represent over 20 nationalities and have all lived in countries in East Africa for most of their lives. I doubt that we will ever experience that again.
Today we rode along with a group of missionaries to see the work they are doing at an IDP camp in the valley. The camp is made up of people (the majority are women and children) who lost their homes during the fighting after the presidential election in 2007. They have been living in tents given by the United Nations since then. The tents, which may have provided great shelter at the beginning, are wearing thin from the sun and the wind. The team we hung out with (included Courtney Folwick!) is working to help people establish businesses so that they can have enough to buy food, is trying to get a water supply to the camp, and is praying that a better housing solution can happen. It was dry and dusty and desolate, only it is home to a lot of people.
Our missionary hosts for the day took us to Mama Esthers for lunch. Mama Esther cooked each meal individually on her one burner charcoal grill. We ate in shifts. Jeff was thrilled, I was (of course) terrified of what might happen to our bellies later. Courtney promised us that they eat there every day and don't get sick. We brought our own beverages.
We went from there to get our things for the trip down to Nairobi. Our Kenyan driver, John, was great at telling us things about his country and his culture. We drove past donkey carts, roadside stands, forests, tea farms, coffee farms, a slum in the city, and more before we got into the busy traffic of downtown Nairobi.
Now I find myself trying to adjust to the etremes of this day. From IDP camp to the Nairobi Hilton in 3 hours -it is a lot to process. After we checked in we took a walk around the block (it's not really safe to go much further) and ate at the hotel pub (french fries and pizza). We came back to the room to find fast internet! Apparently, I have adjusted!
Tomorrow we rise early to fly to our safari. We will start at a smaller Nairobi airport and land on a dirt airstrip. Everyone says it beats the drive. We shall see...
Who knows if we will have what we need to post from the Masai Mara Conservancy. If not, just google it at look at pictures of animals.
Sure miss our girls, but wouldn't have them here this time!
Kris
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