Good Bye Kenya...Hello America

Today we tried to sleep in but due to some other guests at the Guest House, we were up bright and early. We went to breakfast and then went to Church with Patrick. I have not been to a church so big. It has 3 services that each brings in 5,000 members each. We were lucky that the Bishop was there to preach. There was a lot of singing and then preaching. It was a wonderful experience. We were not the only first timers at the church that morning. When we went to leave, it found that cars had parked all around us. It was quite a sight. All we could do was wait until the cars around us moved. We headed back to the Guest House where Ben picked us up around 12:30. We had planned for him to take us by the downtown market, but it was closed.
Megan was giddy with excitement for going home to see her brother. She decided she would hug him first. So we headed to the Airport…almost 6 hours before our plane was to leave. Patrick and Pamela meet us for tea and a snack. Around 3:00 we went into the airport and began waiting. Now that it is over it doesn’t seem so long. We looked around at the shops and ate another snack. Then it was time to board. Everything went smoothly. The flight was quick with no real delays. Megan is an amazing travel partner. We both slept from Addis Ababa to Rome, or short ground stop and a bit after we started our second leg. Then Megan was wide-awake. They seemed to wake you up every 2 hours to eat or to do this or that. It was hard to get any rest. Megan was so excited to be going home. She was a great traveler. She did not complain one time. She was never whinny or unwilling to do what the group was doing. I am so proud of her for this reason and many more.
We made it to the USA and Megan got to stamp her own immigration form. Megan kept breathing in heavy and say, “Smell that USA Air! Just Smell it!” I think she was happy to he home. Customs was a breeze and then we went to the gate for our flight to Florida. We told Joy, John and Toni good-bye. Megan said she felt sad. She was going to miss seeing them everyday. I am grateful for the group embracing Megan and finding a special place in her heart. Thank you for taking the time with her and making the connections.
We were blessed to go to Kenya safely, but even more blessed by the people who were with us.

A Day With Patrick

Today was a great day. It had so many ups and downs. Patrick was to pick us up at 9:30 to take us to the Elephant Refugee. It is only open from 11-12, so we were worried when he did not show up until about 10:15. The Guest House tried to tell us they did not have room for us. We stood our ground and we ended up in the same rooms. We had hung around all morning relaxing and now when we are getting ready to leave, they tell me that we have to move rooms. We finally headed to see the elephants. As Patrick tried to pull out of the Guest House, we weighed too much. We all had to get out of the car so it would go up the hill. This was a first, but worth all the laughs. On our trip we have run into many tight or scary situations. We always seem to sing, “God is so Good, Good is so good!” Megan knows some of the words in Swahili, so we found ourselves singing this several times as we went out to the Refuge.
Megan was so excited. All elephants were babies and so cute. There was a school group there on a field trip. The children would get so tickled at the elephants. Megan just watched and touched and enjoyed herself so much. As we were watching the elephants, up came 4 or 5 giraffe in the backdrop. It just made it all seem so wild. The elephants had the longest eyelashes. The men helping would play with them and told us all the facts about elephants. They really seemed attached to each other.
When we left the elephants, the same refuge has 2 rhinos that it is caring for. We did not see any rhinos on Safari, but we saw two within a few feet. Several Warthogs said goodbye on our way out. We headed to lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the animal Safari Walk and orphanage. It was relaxing and the food was tasty.
After lunch, we went to the market to do some shopping. It is such hard work to buy something in the market, but so much fun and you get a real sense for the cultural and people. We made several purchases and promoted the economy. Our short trip turned into a bit longer then we had planned, but it was fun. Patrick joined us for dinner and we did a little computer work. I think we overwhelmed him with information. Dinner was fun, because we get to have relaxed time with Patrick, the principal. After dinner, we packed our bags. Tomorrow we will be flying home.
The day flew by and was filled with lots of African experiences.

Last Day at the School

We tried to sleep in this morning, but Megan and I were both up by 6:30. We went and enjoyed a long breakfast. We arrived at the school and everyone was getting ready for the ‘Winner” show. This was going to be the groups that had done well in the recent competitions. We enjoyed being with the kids and teachers. All the teachers were dressed up for our dinner later tonight. The groups preformed and were amazing. It really is awesome the talent that our school has for the conditions they live in. Megan was missing home and spent most of the day with Pops inside. She is doing great!
Axi had the dancers use their cowboy hats and they loved it. We left the school about 1:00 to go home and get ready for our dinner with the teachers. It was sad telling the children goodbye. They touched our hearts these past two weeks in so many ways. Their smiles and eyes will stay with us forever!
We got ready and head for the restaurant around 3:30 for dinner. It seems strange to head for a restaurant so early for dinner, but we are in Africa and things move at a different speed. We arrived at the Sahara City, the restaurant, and it was so great. They were cooking our food on ginkgos, small charcoal stoves, and the tables were set up outside. Megan found a playground and was happy as could be. The teachers arrived and we had planned an icebreaker to help introduce each person. We were all so excited to have dinner with them. This was a real treat for everyone. We took turns introducing each other and telling 4 or 5 things about the other. Several of the teachers commented that the loved the activity. The food was served and everyone enjoyed it. Then we just enjoyed time together. Patrick, the principal, did not make it in time to join us. He had gone to the airport to collect the 2 boxes of books we had shipped before we left. He got both boxes by 8:00 and met us as we were leaving. It was a miracle he got the boxes. A few years ago, it took my day 3 days to get a generator we shipped.
The teacher left for home on one bus and we left on another. Megan fell asleep in my lap. The about 15 minutes into our trip, our bus stopped and I looked up to see smoke coming up from the driver seat. Then I hear Joy say, “Fire…Fire! Everyone off the bus!” We all quickly got out of our seats and as we got off the bus, traffic was coming on the side we exited on. Joy stood in the middle of the road and held up her hand and told the car to “Stop!” Toni was one of the first off. She stepped over the side into a mud pit. Her foot was covered in mud. We all got off and we must have been a funny sight… a bunch of white people running off a bus into on coming traffic. I bet a few Africans had quite a laugh. We laughed all the way back to the Guest House. We got back on the bus and all was well. It seems to wires and touched and thus caused a small fire. It is just another African experience! Lucky we all made it home safe and sound!

Day 10

Today began early for me. I went with Axi to help with the dance. Megan got to come a little later with Gram. She had my hot chocolate and arrived at the school safe and sound. Megan spent the morning with Ray. Ray was building shelves and Megan was helping when she could. She built a small “sub” out of some scrap wood and nails.
Megan played outside with the “outsider” today. One of the started crying and she walked over and tried to comfort him. Her big heart really showed today.
We went to Lake Navasha. On the way to Lake Navasha, we were stopped by the police for a road check. They carried large guns and we were a bit tense. The countryside was so beautiful, so green and lush. We sat at Belle’s Inn and ate some samosas and French fries. It was so quite and relaxing. Ester’s sister met us at 2:30. We took a car up the mountain to Ester’s parents home. The car went so fast and we were really scared. On the way up the mountain there were zebras walking on the countryside. It makes you remember how the animals roam around the country. We kept saying we would not be able to walk up the mountain because we were out of shape. Megan kept saying, “The German’s could do it!” My mom had told her a story of when she climbed Mt. Kili and the Germans climbed with out porters and came back to carry mom’s pack as well. Megan is hearing so many stories and remembering them all. Her father and mother were waiting at the road for us. They cheered and jumped up and down as we arrived. A huge feast was prepared for us. Megan said, “This is HUGE!” Megan enjoyed playing with Kevin and all the other children. She went outside and chased the cows. Toni made a new friend as well. I made the baby cry…I hope it was because I had the camera and the flash scared her. It began to rain, so they told us we should leave or the road would be too bad to get back down the mountain. When we got about half way down, Ester’s sister called and said we had left Gram’s passport and money. We had no other choice but to try to go back up and get it. The whole way they slipped and slid all over the road. Gram said it was the scarcest ride of her life. Megan kept hoping Gram would make it back down the mountain. We were happy to see her when she made it home.
Megan is counting down the days to see Kyle.

Day 9 A Calm Day at the School

Today was an amazing day! We began the day early and it was worth getting up for. Our day began with doing a lesson on The Hungry Caterpillar. I had planned to work with just one class. It was a shock when we walked into the classroom and there were 125 students. It was going well until we started the activity. Then it felt out of control. I guess making butterflies with 125 students at a time is insane. Then we worked with another class and it went so smoothly. We made our butterflies using coffee filters, tongue depressors, and pipe cleaners. Later that day, I saw the pipe cleaners made into glasses.
Another group went to the orphanages and had a great time. Megan decided to stay at the school with me and she was in heaven. She played with small groups of children all day. I turned to check on her one time and she was standing in front of 5 or 6 children teaching them a dance or maybe it was the Hokie Pokie. It was the cutest thing.
Patrick, the principal, was pulling into the school and one of the “outsiders” was waving him into his parking spot. It was great!
Many of the students had gone to a music and dance competition. Mercy Care Centre had won 1st place in 3 events as of this afternoon. The competition goes on 3 days. Our students are so gifted and talented.
A team came from Feed the Children. This group provides all the food for our students. We thanked then and told them how much we appreciated all they have done. One gentleman from Feed the Children took a liking to Megan and gave her a beaded necklace he used on his cell phone. She was so proud of it and wore it all day.
Megan and I went to help in the clinic. Megan found a place on Toni’s lap, for which I am grateful.
We had worship and Joy and John lead the group in communion. It was a great way top end our day!
Except, we had games to play. Every Wednesday afternoon, the school plays games in the courtyard. They do exercises and then play games. My friend, Toni, had brought tennis net and balls. She taught the teachers how to play tennis and then they taught the children. It was so great to watch! It is the first time tennis had been played in the Valley.
Megan is amazing and is really feeling comfortable with being her. She is missing her dad and brother. We have been working very hard and she has been a trooper. She loves being with the children and is so curious about then and what they are doing. The children play this rock game, which is like Jacks. Megan wants to be able to play it, but she just can’t get it. She has not given up. She is really trying to be able to play.
Tomorrow we are heading to see friends and have tea. The change in our routine will be good.
Thanks for all your comments and we will try to answer them soon.

Day 8 Field Trip

Megan as she was waking up said, "If the basketball team from Lynchburg had gone to Mercy Care Centre’s Sport day they would get better and faster!" Then we hung out until Patrick came to pick s up. We arrived at the school early and it was nice, because we have been arriving right at break and it is crazy.
Megan learned how to balance a basket on her head. She worked for about 30 minutes and was able to walk across the schoolyard with it balanced on her head. She played several games with the “outsider.” She entertained them with her tricks and games. Today was the day Megan took her first group to the Animal Orphanage. The children were so excited. We took 240 students and 13 adults in 3 buses. The bus I was in had 80 children and 7 adults in a bus with 27 seats. We were tightly packed in. On all the buses, the children sand songs most of the way to the Animal Orphanage. The best part was watching the children take in the city and all the sight we take for granted. They loved the airport and when one of our other buses passed, they waved and cheered. Children add so much joy to the world. Today the children were wonderful…excited about our trip.
At the orphanages, we divided into groups. We saw lions, cheetah, leopards, monkeys, baboons, and more. It was a great trip. The children asked lots of questions about what type of animals we have in the US. The thought it was so funny that we did not have elephants or giraffe wondering the country.
We returned to school for lunch. The children in the preschool had porridges first thing in the morning, but most were complaining they were hungry.
Megan was proud what she could offer the children. She was excited that she was able to bring them. Tomorrow, another group will go.
After we went back o the school, we decided to head to the Maasi Market. Megan did a great job. She did not leave my side and picked out a few things to buy. The market can be crazy, but we all had a good time.
There were several women who were begging for money. Megan had lots of questions as to why they were begging and it opened a whole conversation about poverty and working hard. I tried to explain that sometimes people have hard times and need help. We ended up buying them some food instead of just giving them money.

Day 7 Safari

We awoke early and again, Megan jumped out of bed. We wanted to see the balloon take off before we went on a game ride. There were two balloon and they were beautiful. They moved so gracefully with the wind. Once they were off, we headed out on our game hunt. This time we were headed to see the wildabeast near the Mara River. Each year the wildabest migrate from Tanzania to Kenya by the thousands. I head it is a sight. On the way we saw lots of animals. It had rained during the night, so the roads were muddy and we were sliding all over the place. Megan thought it was cool to be 4 wheeling on the plains. We saw the wildabeast run like they do in the movies and in Lion King. The noises they made were grunting sounds. While we were watching them 2 lions (1 male and1 female) walked up beside the head. The saw it can take up to 2 hours for a lion to complete a kill. We had traveled so far to see a part of the migration we had to speed o get back to camp. We ate breakfast then headed back to Nairobi. We saw baboons, antelope, ostrich, and more on the drive back to town.
Total animals spotted were 42! The Safari was more then any one could have expected or planned for. She said she missed Kyle and could not wait to see him.

Day 6 Safari

Our wake up call was a man asking us to wake up outside our tent. Since there are no phones at the camp, we had to have a different type of wake up call. That was a great wake up call. The fig tree has no TV’s and they switch off the power at night, so it is the darkest night I have been in. I had decided that Megan would stay home with Gram for our morning game hunt. I was brushing my teeth near where she was sleeping. She sat straight up in bed and asked my what I was doing. I told her I was brushing my teeth. Then she asked where I was going. I told her on a game drive and Gram was going to stay home and let her sleep. She jumped up in bed and said, “I want to go!” In no time, she was up and dresses and ready to go before me. I think she is having a great time and really enjoys riding around on the plains. We saw lots of animals again. We even saw lion cubs, and mom’s playing. 10 lions were in one group moving slowly across the plains. Megan began taking pictures to day and she was so excited. She took some great shots of the animals. We were very luck that we saw a leopard in a tree and then watched him climb down. We saw hippos, water Buffalos, hyenas (Megan’s like these best!), more giraffe, elephants, and lions….all before breakfast!
We had a bush breakfast in the bush near our camp. They set up tables and food for us to eat out in the wild. After breakfast we had some down time. Megan wanted o hang out on our porch and watch for animals. We saw an elephant come down to the water near our tent and drink. She loved sitting there and enjoying the view. She went swimming, but it was too cold. She liked candlelight. At night when they turn to electricity off, you have candles in your tent. She wanted to do everything by candlelight. She made roasted Baboon treats. We had watched a baboon across the river in front of our tent. She thought if she left them treats she would see them better. After lunch, John led us in a short worship service. Megan, Pops, and I went up in the tree house. We were able to watch a baboon eat from a bird feeder. It was huge and a bit scared. Megan wanted to see the baboon up close. I was a bit scared. They have big teeth. Then we got ready for our afternoon game drive.
As we were getting ready, a monkey broke into George and my dad’s tent. They pulled the Velcro door and got away with some popcorn and a Snickers bar. There was a mom and her baby was hanging on her front…so cute.
We saw an elephant herd moving up the hills, Diki Diki (a small antelope and hard to spot), lions, giraffe, water buffalo, Eland, and many more. Lions growled at us for being too close and an elephant spread it’s ears wide to warn us we were too close. As we headed back to the camp, we saw the most breath-taking sunset. She said this was the greatest thing ever! At dinner, the Maasi men came with a birthday cake for mom. Her birthday was back in March, but her present was a balloon ride tomorrow. The surrounded her and danced, sang, and jumped. The Maasi men can jump very high. It scared Megan a little, but she enjoyed it somewhat. Seeing a Maasi carry a birthday cake while dancing was very funny. It was a great surprise for mom and we all enjoyed the dancing.
Megan has fallen asleep fast each night.
She has been great. She really loved the safari. She would get so excited to see animals.
Tomorrow some of our team will go on a Hot Air Balloon ride and the others will go out on another Safari. This was my dad’s birthday gift to my mom on her 60th birthday.
Driving on the plains is breath taking. I love to ride with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face! Each day we are in Kenya is seemed to get better and better. We were lucky to see so many animals and have such a good time.

Day 5 Safari

We heading out a Safari today and Megan could hardly stand it. She got right out of bed and was dressed and ready to go in no time.
It took about 5 hours to get to Maasi Mara. This is the game park where we were going to have our Safari. The road was bump but it was beautiful countryside. When we arrived at Fig Tree Camp, where were going to stay, we had already seen so many animals: Giraffe, gazelles, ostriches, zebras and others. It was very cool and very exciting. We got settled and then headed out for our first game drive. On the game drive we saw around 30 different animals. It was great luck that we saw so many. Our driver, Stephen, was wonderful. Right before we headed back for dinner, we saw where a leopard was staying. We saw his kill but not him. Maybe tomorrow. We had dinner and then went back to our “tents” to sleep. The animal noises put us right to sleep.

Sports Day

Today was a great day. Megan and I began it by reading the comments on her blog. She loves hearing from you.
We headed to the Valley for Field Day. One time a year, Mercy Care Centre rents a sports field about a mile from the school. The children gather for races and relays. It is a great day and the children really look forward to it. The students are divided into groups with colors. We were put with the yellow group…or Lions. We cheered and cheered for our team. The yellow team came in third out of 4 teams. The children are really talented. Megan was interested but did not choose to participate in any of the games. Instead she made lots of new friends. All day small groups of children would be drawn to her. She would play with them and had a great time.
The races went on all morning and into the afternoon. Many of the children had not eaten since lunch the day before and were still able to run and compete successfully. They truly amazed us. It was after 3 before the children were feed lunch. The parents who had come to watch the races, were invited back to the school for lunch as well.
This was a real treat for the students. The winning team was given a bottle of soda. All the winners were given medals brought the Australians and the winning team received a trophy. Megan managed to find a playground near the field. She and enjoyed some time together playing and talking.
Tomorrow we leave on Safari and hope to see lots of animals. We will return on Monday and will update the blog with all our activities. We will be going to Masai Mara and it is out in the Serengeti. They do not have Internet services.
Megan said her day was great and she made some new friends.
Our evening ended with a quiet evening of packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow.
Check back on Monday to see what animals we saw on safari.

Day 3 Megan Found A Niche

Megan woke up rested and ready to face the day. We ate breakfast and Gram had her Hot Chocolate waiting. I think she likes being spoiled by Gram in the morning. Joy has become Megan’s new bus buddy. Joy used to baby sit me when I was a child. So I get excited to see her and Megan interact. Joy plays these games with her as we drive to the school. Today we got points for things we saw. 10 points for a baby on a woman’s back, 50 point for hand cart being pushed, 1 point for something on their back, and 100 points for this and that. The rules kept changing as we went on. Some how Megan and Joy always won!
We began at the school teaching in the preschool class. The class has about 80 students ranging from 2-6 years old. We brought a big book and read it aloud to the children. They loved the pictures and had a great time acting out the story as we read and reread the book. Then Toni taught them a song, which they also enjoyed. Megan was a bit shy…but I guess I would be teaching 80 children as well! No more complaints from you teachers reading this blog about your class sizes!!!!
Our day was busy and Megan spent her day with Gram and Pops. She helped Gram do little things and then Pops played ball with her. They were making bookshelves for the library. The “Outsiders” or Orphans that hang around the school collected the scraps of wood and played all day with them. They used them for music, building, and Megan helped them write letters and numbers in the sawdust. She was amazing today. She played with the “outsiders” for most of the morning. There were about 6 of them. She was so happy teaching them letters in the sawdust and they were so happy to be with her. She did not want to leave them when we went inside for lunch. One little boy was especially fond of Megan. Although he never talked to her, he stayed very close and watched her every move. He was maybe 2 years old. He had collected about 6 or 7 pieces of scraps and was building shapes, buildings, and playing with them as his blocks. Megan gave him a plastic bag to keep all his pieces in. Patrick and the school take great care of these "Outsiders." They feed them and watch after them. Patrick is really modeling for the students generosity and compassion. He is instilling in them responsibility for helping others in need. 2 children had dropped their food today and he asked some student's to help get them some more. They did so willing! It was amazing to see the love they showed to these small children.
After lunch Megan gave another show. The children asked her to do her tricks one more time. She also helped with the dance today. Megan is getting more and more comfortable with the children.
Some of the classes have asked that I come to talk with them and bring that little girl. I will make sure we get there next week. Tomorrow is Field day and this will be a fun day for all the students, teachers and our team!
At the Guest House, the staff has been calling Megan, “the Little Missionary.” She has been just that. She has shown love to all the children she has encountered, she has not been judgmental, she wants to see and learn as much as she can about them as they do about her, she has been truly amazing and I am so proud of all she is doing!
Thank you all for your comments to the blog. Megan loves to hear from you and misses you all!