Showers, Salads, Safari...and Saying Goodbye!

Somehow we made it to the end of this trip and our time at Tenwek!  After saying goodbyes and settling our bill at Tenwek on Friday morning, we set off for a couple of days at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club to take refuge in special tents, comfortable beds, showers that were just the right temperature and to see all we could see on the legendary Masai Mara plains, one of the world's richest wildlife reserves.  Memories were made for a lifetime and it was a truly unforgettable end to the trip!

After a constantly bumpy road we thought might never end, we found ourselves seemingly in the middle of nowhere and on the edge of the Masai Mara reserve at the Fairmont.  We were greeted with warm washcloths and glasses of mango or passionfruit juice and were seated outside on a veranda overlooking a river with hippos and a crocodile just floating/lounging around, all casual.  No big deal, just the background noises of hippos grunting and blowing water out of their noses!  

After getting settled in our tents, we headed to the hotel's buffet lunch which had the most beautiful array of salads and fresh foods, of which we have had little the past two weeks.  It was heavenly.  No rice or pasta or dough of any sort made its way onto my plate.  And they brought us passionfruit Fantas--with ICE.  They had prepared tables just for our group and it was such a blessing to soak up every detail and rest in the moment.

The reason one would choose to stay at the Fairmont Mara is chiefly to go on game drives to try to spot "the Big Five" and any other wildlife specimens you might happen to encounter.  It is in the middle of seemingly nowhere and that is, by far, the main attraction.  

Our package included a total of four game drives--Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning.  The beauty of a drive across the Mara at sunset, letting the cool breeze from the open top truck roll over you as you pass herds of gazelles, wildebeests, topi, the odd jackal or dik dik--all to the backdrop of a coral-peach-orange sunset and the black silhouettes of the lone acacia trees dotting the plain...well, it's one of the most heavenly trip memories I have of anywhere we've ever traveled.  It's the kind of beauty that makes you feel small in a good way...and marvel at the hand of God.  

Farewell, Tenwek Hospital!  

The first Sunday we were at Tenwek, they sang a song in church called "Double Double," which the team latched on to for the rest of the trip and frankly, couldn't get out of our heads.  Several jokes were made including this "Double Double" Dad-Camera-Pouch-Belts-&-Bucket-Hats photo with Dean and Josh at the Fairmont.  Looking like locals, guys.  Way to go.  

Our luxury tents!  They were so cozy and comfortable. 

Setting out on the Mara for our first game drive!

Lesli & Dean's game driver, Kepha, posed with these buffalo horns that were just lying on the Mara.  Kepha was the man!  We requested permission to stick these horns in our suitcase, but alas, no such request was granted.

We all sat mesmerized as we luckily got to see these cheetah brothers feasting on a recent topi kill, probably only a couple of hours dead.  It was noted that male cheetahs in pairs have to be brothers; otherwise, they do not pair up together.  It was also pointed out by our drivers that the cheetahs wisely wait on opening the stomach of their kill until the last because the smell of it will attract hyenas and the cheetahs want to keep this meal all to themselves for as long as possible.

We spotted (wink) these cheetahs a couple of other times later in other game drives and both times, they were just lying around.  After loading up on topi, these guys had no desire to exercise for several days.  

A herd of wildebeests

Footage of the driving the beautiful Mara!

We were so close to the rhinos.  These are white rhinos, which are endangered.  They live in a rhino sanctuary where they are protected.  

This is a mongoose.  Let it be known that a group of mongoose is called a "business."  How awesome is that??

A topi

Footage of actual laughing from hyenas. So creepy!

Props to Josh and his mega lens for some of the truly amazing closeup shots he got of the wildlife on game drives.  This is an eland, the second largest antelope in the world.  Notice all his hitchhikers!

Another fantastic Josh capture!  Hippos kissing!  Or talking very closely.

Water buffalo

The Douglasses and Zander almost became lion bait as their truck got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out with a wench.  Kepha had tried to get a little closer to where some lions had been spotted in the trees, but it ended up not working to our advantage.  See below for the video of the moment we finally got unstuck:

And later, we got to see a whole group of lions up close.  Lions are LAZY.  They are truly giant cats.  Watch toward the end of this video for some "lion sounds."  What amazing animals.  Kepha said these lions have most likely been recently kicked out of their pride and are wandering around trying to find new territory.  Because many of them still have spots in their undercoat, they are fairly young. You can see the beginnings of manes forming on the males.  

We came across a family of around 9-10 elephants on the Saturday morning game drive.  As Kepha commented, "They are never in a hurry."  It was pure magic to watch them in the morning light, as we all sat quietly just marveling at their size and beauty.

Here is a video of the elephants using their trunks including the very precious baby elephant!!  What a gift to be this close to God's amazing creatures!  

And as if all that wasn't enough, we ended on our final morning after the early game drive with a special "bush breakfast" out on the beautiful mara, complete with tablecloths, hot coffee/tea, omelette station and all the trimmings.  An armed guard stood off in the distance, just in case anything unsafe happened with the animals and IT. WAS. SO AWESOME.

If I could go back in time and tell these people in this picture to just savor and soak up the moment to somehow prepare for the trying and laborious journey we were soon to take on our five-hour pilgrimage to the Nairobi airport which involved sanity-robbing bumpy roads, public transportation vans emitting horrible, high-pitched noises and the vehicular homicide of a goat...I would.  Not sure it would've mattered but in the end, we got to the airport, boarded our Kenya Airways flight home to JFK and 15 hours later, made contact at last with our beloved US soil.  

We came home with heightened gratitude for warm and steady showers, our own beds, nicely paved roads, abundant and clean water, access to education, a fresh variety of foods...

...and a new appreciation for the beautiful and gracious Kenyan people, a burden for those who lack basic necessities and access to adequate healthcare, clean water and education--but we are challenged and inspired having encountered people who possess so little materially, but who are filled with a resilient hope, a richness of spirit and who cling to their faith in Jesus.  

Kenya, we will never forget you and all your many memories!!

The Girls of Nasaruni Academy

The main event Thursday was a trip to the town of Narok to visit Nasaruni Academy, a girls school in the Maasai region of Kenya (about a 2-hour drive from Tenwek).  This was a very personal visit for Melissa as her recent 6th graders learned about and raised funds to benefit Nasaruni through a clean water initiative called H2O for Life.  The money they raised will go directly to Nasaruni to help provide a new latrine block, hand washing stations and expand their gutter system for rain cachement.  Getting to visit Nasaruni in person was a full circle moment for Melissa, and also very meaningful for the whole team.    

Nasaruni Academy plays a vital role in the Maasai community as they attempt to offer hope and an alternative of educating young girls who would otherwise be caught up in the traditional Maasai practice of being married away very young—ages 12, 13, 14—as a second or third wife to older men whom they may not know nor have chosen.  In Maasai culture, girls are mainly valued for their ability to work in the home and for their “bride wealth” which means a girl’s family receives a certain number of cows from the man who marries her.  The girls are encouraged to bear children as soon as possible because the more children and members of a family, the greater their stature in the tribe community—even though large families are rarely able to meet needs with so many mouths to feed.  Education is the only way out of this cycle for girls and it is very rare that traditional families would sacrifice to pay school fees for girls.      

We met Michelle and Lisa, two dynamic women from James Madison University (JMU), who are spending some time at Nasaruni this summer to help lead, plan strategically, and evaluate the school.  Michelle and Melissa are actually slated to present together at the National Council for Social Studies about project-based learning and cross curricular connections, using H2O for Life as an example. 

Lisa, Michelle and Melissa 

We also met Moses and Alice Sayo, who founded Nasaruni out of a vision from Alice who herself, as the 11th of 12 children, was the only girl in her Maasai family to escape early marriage and pursue an education due to the miraculous advocacy of an older brother and her mother.  Alice went on to graduate high school and attend university in England where her school fees were paid through Save the Children.  Her story is powerful and it is obvious God has set her aside for such a time as this for so many Maasai girls who will get a chance to be educated.  She is a light and a miracle.  Alice and Moses are giving their lives to the mission of Nasaruni and it was an honor to meet them. 

 

Dean & Lesli with Alice & Moses Sayo

Moses and Alice, JMU, the Nasaruni Board and various fundraisers conducted by JMU students thus far have played a significant role in getting Nasaruni off the ground as it expands.  Nasaruni currently boards and educates girls through grade 8 and they are very anxious to secure funding for another classroom building so they can continue to educate the girls in high school.  It would cost $7K for them to build another classroom building so they can have a 9th grade class.  They hope to eventually add a total of four classrooms to complete their high school. Another need is sponsors for school fees.  It’s only $80/semester to cover a girl’s school fees and many of the girls currently at Nasaruni need sponsoring as their families cannot afford to pay these fees.  For more information and to learn how you can help Nasaruni grow and provide for these girls, please visit www.nasaruniacademy.org 

Zebra crossing as we were en route to Nasaruni!

Our welcome from the girls and staff at Nasaruni.  Kenyans really know how to welcome you!  We've noticed this everywhere we've gone.

Some clips of Michelle giving us a tour of the facilities at Nasaruni.  

Truman removes multiple ticks from Nasaruni's school dog, Simba.  Thankful, ticks do not carry lime disease in this area but Simba should feel like a new man after losing all those "friends."

Visiting a Nasaruni class of 6th graders.

Melissa and her 6th grade teaching Nasaruni counterpart.

The values painted on the side of this building were values that the parents of the girls came up with: respect, honesty, love, hard work, faith, peace, patience, self-reliance and cleanliness.

Inside of one of the cubicles in one of the two dormitories.  The bedding usually comes from the family and whatever belongings each girl has go in her trunk.  The iron beds are made nearby.  

All the girls in the dormitory share this bathroom.  This may seem primitive by American standards, but having regular access to water in this way for hygiene is quite uncommon for most Maasai girls who would be used to traveling very long distances on foot to obtain a container of water for their family to use.

Painted on one of the original buildings that they used when they started Nasaruni.

Books in the school library.  Magic Tree House!

The girls have begun learning about computers and this dry erase board shows them how to navigate the creation of a document on their computers.

Nasaruni has a compound of tents called "Camp Madison" which is open for visitors and is a way for the school to generate income.  The tents were very nice and would form a great base for exploring the Maasai Mara for safari!

What time is it?  Chai time, of course!!  The dining area for Camp Madison where we had chai and biscuits.  We also got to hear more from Michelle and Alice here!  

Several Nasaruni students came in and put a special beaded necklace around each girl's neck as a way to say thank you for coming to hear the story of Nasaruni.  We all loved our necklaces.

More at Nasaruni than any other place we visited on our trip, Mamie attracted quite a crowd for the duration of the visit.  They loved touching her hair and asking her questions.

And of course, as always, there was soccer!

Mamie with the Nasaruni 6th grade girls (her own age).

This giant locust/grasshopper was attached to Mamie's back as we started to leave.  SO big!!

Our Nasaruni visit left a deep impression.  Hearing Alice's story and seeing with our very own eyes how her story is impacting a new generation of Maasai girls was truly inspiring and provoked reflection.  Several of us on the trip are now considering how we might partner with Nasaruni to help this school and the girls.  They are off to a good start but there are more girls out there who need what Nasaruni is offering and they will need help to get the school where they want it to be.  Please be in prayer for these girls, the staff at Nasaruni and for any Believers who may feel led to join in this mission.