Home Sweet Home

After a long journey and no computer access at the airports, we arrived in Asheville yesterday afternoon about 4:30pm. We were exhausted but glad to be home safe and sound. Within the next few days, we'll have another post and some more photos.

Near Mt. Kenya

Sweetwaters Tented Camp, located at the base of Mt. Kenya and on the equator, is very quaint. We stayed in "tents" but they were extremely nice with tile floors, hot showers, and plush beds. The food at Sweetwaters was very English and delicious! Our late afternoon game drive was soggy and wet... we did get to see a herd of cape buffalo and lions feeding on their catch.

After an early view of Mt. Kenya, breakfast, and a group picture, we drove to Nairobi. Some of us rested in the afternoon while others visited the National Museum of Kenya. Dinner found us at the Carnivore, an open-air meat specialty restaurant. It was a dining experience! We ended the evening with worship and communion.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our last day in Kenya... We will go in different directions as we visit the Nairobi campus of Kenya Methodist University, the National Museum of Kenya, the bead factory, the giraffe park, and the Karen Blixen home. We fly out late at night and will continue working on the blog as we journey home.

On Safari

After working at St. Matthews Church moving more rocks until after lunch, we said our goodbyes to the church people and the school children. When we arrived at the gate of the Shaba Game Preserve, the drivers popped open the roofs of our vans so we could stand up to see the wildlife. From Thursday afternoon until Saturday morning, we saw elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, monkeys, and leopards to name a few. It was awesome!

The Simba Lodge was very nice - it was great to have hot and cold running water for the sinks and the showers. Each room's balcony looked out over a pond to the grasslands beyond. Last evening before going to dinner we counted eleven elephants feeding. There was, however, no internet service. As one of the staff remarked, "We are in the bush."

This morning after our last game drive, we headed to Sweetwaters Tented Camp in a private game reserve. On the way we crossed the equator. We stopped for picture taking and a little shopping. Tomorrow it is on to Nairobi and, hopefully, a new post with pictures.

What Didn't We Do?

Today we picked up rocks, counted pills, played ball, and gave away school supplies. Our last full day of mission was spent at St. Matthews Church where some of our group finished filling one classroom foundation with rocks. Others assisted with this church's first-ever medical clinic by assisting with prescription medications and directing patients. Three hundred and seventy-three persons were seen by the doctors and nurses during the clinic. We also delivered a massive amount of school supplies and books for the school. While the teachers got to "sign out" their materials, the children played soccer and helped with the rocks and trash pick-up.

The children have been very loving. We walk holding hands with three, four, and five children on each side. They delight in touching!

After a full day of work, we stopped by a children's home for orphaned children to leave gifts of money, clothing, and school supplies for students.

Tomorrow we will be back at St. Matthew's until after lunch and then we will leave from there to travel to a game park.

Enjoyed seeing these pictures? Checkout new pictures on some of the previous posts!

"Take me! Take me!

Those words we heard from the children at St. Matthews School today when we pulled out our cameras to take pictures. They were so excited to see themselves as we checked to make sure we had good pictures.

After arriving at St. Matthews Church and School this morning, we were entertained for over an hour by dancing and singing children. And, they were amazing! We saw and heard traditional Kenyan dance and songs; these children could perform at Folkmoot... they are that good! Then we went to work throwing stones into a foundation which needed to be leveled so the floor can be finished with concrete. We are working on two classrooms for the school, which serves 120 students ranging in ages from two and a half to twelve.

Tea and lunch ran together today, and we were graciously fed by the women of St. Matthew's Church. After eating and resting, it was back to work hauling and throwing stones. It became a team effort as teachers and students joined in. Late afternoon we stopped work to hand out a package of maize meal, a toothbrush, and toothpaste to each student and teacher. As the chairman of the building committee said, the maize will not only feeding children, it will feed a community.

Monday - A Long Day

Starting with chapel at 8am at Kenya Methodist University, we spent a good portion of our day touring the campus, having tea, meeting with students, and eating lunch. Mid afternoon we traveled to St. Matthew's Church, our work site, to meet church leaders and learn about our work responsibilities. Arriving at the church, we had tea and then got down to business. Actually, we worked a little on Monday; we moved some cornerstones and met some of the children. Then it was back to Meru and out to dinner with people from KeMU. We finally arrived back at Thiiri around 9pm.

Kenyan tea is very good and is usually served with hot water and milk. We have eaten a lot of fruit... the bananas, papaya, and pineapple are delicious!

Sunday Services

Paired with a lay person, the eight clergy in our group preached in the local Methodist churches. Most of the services started by 11am and lasted for about three hours. All of the churches received a regular offering and many received a thanksgiving offering. Consisting of eggs, homegrown fruits and vegetables, sugar cane, chickens, and even a calf, these items were auctioned off at the end of the services with the money collected going to the church. After lunch and visits to other places on the individual circuits, most of us arrived back to Thiiri, our home away from home, late afternoon. But there were several persons who arrived back as late as 7pm. It was a tiring day but a joy to meet and spend time with the local Kenyan people!