If you have the runs, can it be a slow day?

Tender mercies come in odd ways. Sometimes just the timing is appreciated. Tom ate breakfast at 6:30 Sunday morning and didn't come in for another meal until 6:30 pm. The meal didn't sit well with him as shortly he was sitting elsewhere and it went downhill from there. Achy stomach, hot flashes, nausea. Poor boy was miserable. But how fortunate he was able to accomplish all he had to do on Sunday before succumbing.

His night was interrupted by trips and in the am he was some better but still drained. This was the day of the funeral service for Elizabeth at the church. He did a few small things and then went back to bed. I played the piano and spoke. We wrote what each room was for on the chalkboards and the missionaries took a few people through the building as an "open house" afterwards.

There are always rumors that this is a devil church. I find it astonishing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-- that speaks of Christ, pray in Christ's name, lives as Christ teaches and obeys the commandments of Jesus Christ is called a devil church. I should take comfort that the pharisees said Jesus was of the devil, too (in Matthew 12, I think.) But the illlogicality of it all just boggles my mind. Anyhow, the open house was an attempt to show the error of those rumors. I certainly hope the message of the funeral was even more effective.

Tom is napping again. I've read scriptures and even caught up on facebook a little. I need to type some testimonies of the sisters here, but indeed, this afternoon has been nicely relaxing for me... and I hope healing for Tom.

Workshop Week

Some weeks and days are vivid and precise, some mush together in a vague blend of indefinite accomplishments. Or perhaps it’s the brain that fails to remember and thus it seems smudged together.

The beginning of the week had a more open calendar. I recall P-day got taken up with events, meetings or support, but I can’t recall what (see first paragraph). I think we were still helping to organize and record receipts and accurate records for the branch. Tuesday and Wednesday also galloped by. We didn’t have district meeting because of transfers, but we met to go over the list of people baptized and see who was not still active. There were only a few that we didn’t know what had happened to them. Our Branch turned one year old this week and by now, probably 3/4 have been members for less than a year. So when we go over converts, we really cover almost everyone. After, we went to lunch at Willikistar’s hotel. Here a hotel is a food establishment and a Guest House is a place to sleep. Then we visited a sister who just had a new baby.

On the fun side, we’ve discovered that we are getting comfortable here. We will walk to the open air market and buy eggs and vegetables and fruits. We are comfortable asking for prices and saying yes or no. We enjoy wandering through the shops. I found needles for the treadle sewing machine and a tailor that will save cotton scraps for quilting. I bought some fabric for a dress and now know enough to look carefully at constructed dresses to see if I want that tailor. When we were in Busia last, I chose some lovely (conservative) lace bordered fabric for a skirt and blouse.Since this is the tailor who made my last dress, I know she’ll do a good job but I want to try and find someone locally. Now we can go out and find most things we need. Tom went and got a part soldered all by himself. We have learned to sing some of the songs of the church with the Kenyan flavor of a few different notes or timing (er except when a member of the presidency “hijacks” the song by suddenly speeding up some parts faster than I can play them, then slowing back down.) We find ourselves pronouncing words with different accents and are even coming to say “twenty ten” for 2010.

We feel more at home much of the time with the needs of the area. People ask for money on the streets, or call and say, “Can I talk to you?” or come knock on the front gate. We used to cringe at times, dreading the need, the guilt, the saying no. And we still hate to say no and we still feel a great empathy for the difficult state of many people. But somehow the spirit is blessing us to remember our own limitations, to give love and compassion, and to give aid only as directed by the Spirit. I do try to buy extra food, and it has no problem finding a way into needy homes.

Wednesday evening Elder and Sister R came to stay with us. It’s always so fun to have other missionaries as company. We visit. We relate. We play skippo or Five Crowns. They taught the self-employment workshop on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Once again, it was amazingly informative. We had 19 participants and had to turn at least 3 away. I discovered that the larger the class, the longer it takes for each to participate. But all the class members learned a lot. Thursday, Sister R. was under the weather and Elder R. took the whole class. Friday was a homework day. They went into the community to interview people—either businesspeople who were doing what they wanted to do, or suppliers, or potential customers, or officials. Most were received much better than they had expected, learned a lot, and one even got offered free training. That evening we went to the funeral gathering at George’s house and sang, shared scriptures, and supported him. I listened to the class so I could teach it. Elder Fox made the 85 sandwiches to feed the group.

Saturday they finished the course learning what made successful businesses, practicing value statements, turning negatives into positives, and mock interviewing with a micro-loan officer. Tom and I left early to go and meet Caroline, someone we’d met in town who wanted us to come and see her. Time is always so fluid here, so by the time we really connected, we only had about a half hour to visit before we needed to be back at the church for Tom to interview someone and for me to meet a mama who “wanted to talk to me.” Still, we had a delightful visit. There are just some people that you love on sight and are a joy to be with. Caroline is one of those. She came to church on Sunday. You know, we don’t have the answers to all of life’s problems, but Heavenly Father does. And we can trust if we will just be obedient to what he asks us to do and if we try our best, he will show us a way to get through the trials we face. They may not disappear, but we will be guided and strengthened to endure.

Last week there were many changes in presidencies. So at 9am on Sunday, Tom went into the Priesthood Executive Meeting, and I went to the Relief Society Presidency Meeting. Then we had Sacrament meeting. Next I helped with the investigator’s class while Tom met with the Elders Quorum Presidency. Then we had combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting and Elder Fox and I prepared a lesson on Callings—how they come, what they are, how to sustain those who are called. I don’t know how his part went; because after my part, I went down to help the new primary leadership. So I taught a spiritual thought and a few songs there. Then after primary, we had a Primary Presidency meeting while Tom taught the Temple Preparation class. After that I met with some of the sisters and then some of the elders about Elizabeth’s funeral. She needs a burial dress, they need transport to the funeral and sort of have it arranged, but I strongly encouraged them to get a contract with the person who said he would drive people out, wait, and bring them back. Nothing like finding out the price has changed or it won’t work, the morning you plan to go. Tom finished his Branch Presidency Meeting and they stayed to help do some training with the new financial clerk. He didn’t get dinner until after 6:30. Long days, but this one was most productive.

This next week will be very busy. Monday morning is the funeral service here at the church, and then we drive up country to visit Ruth who wants us to come and see her place. Tuesday we drive up country to George’s place. (The one we spent two hours looking for on our way back from Busia) and go to the burial service. We canceled Institute because it’s not likely we will be back by 5pm. Wednesday is cleaning day and I try to stay around then, but I have at least one person coming over to write their history and we will visit Caroline that evening. Thursday morning we will leave to go to Eldoret for Zone Conference and stop to visit two outlying families on the way. This means we take the really rough road to Eldoret. Not fun. Friday we have Zone Conference. Saturday we come back and there is a Relief Society activity and a branch presidency meeting for Tom.

More and more I see that living the Gospel Principles WILL bring people to prosperity. You have the principles usually associated with religion: faith, hope, love, charity, brotherly kindness, honesty, caring, trust in the Lord, etc. But you also have the principles involved with the organization of the Church. And since this is the Lord’s church, it is also His organization. These are principles of accountability, self reliance, hard work, organization, respecting and caring for others, timeliness, recordkeeping, planning ahead, scheduling, and so on. Can you see that if you apply these principles in your life—both spiritual and practical—you will be blessed? Maybe that’s why Mosiah 2:41 is one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon.

Bugs getting you down? Try this...

I managed to sneak this Mara video past the blog censor. Enjoy...and look for more of them in the coming days.

Caution: The following methods of insect control are not recommended for humans. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy this elephant's attempts to bring temporary relief!

Faith

Sunday we had a brilliant Gospel Principles class taught by the young missionaries in Busia. It was on faith. The class had some good questions and there was some serious doctrine taught. We discussed what faith is, why we need to have faith in Jesus Christ, and how to deepen our faith. We learned how actions are the evidence of our faith. One man asked, how can you tell the difference between true faith and false faith? The answer: Who or what is the faith based on? If it’s based on Jesus Christ, the faith is placed in a true place that will never fail. Faith based in any other place is based on a human or earthly thing that can fail. (Although we do have faith in things every day—like if we work we’ll get paid, if we plant we will harvest, etc.)

And the evidence of your faith is your actions. If you say you have faith in Jesus Christ, but take a pongi and go hack up people or you go and steal, you don’t have faith in him. Faith leads to action. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, you do what he commands; you act as he would to the best of your ability. When you see people’s actions, you know what they have faith in.

I thought that comment had profound implications as we view ourselves and others-- and how we live-- vs. what we say we believe in.

Elizabeth

My dear friend Elizabeth was baptized in January. She was introduced to the Church by her neighbor and friend. At first her husband didn’t want anything to do with the church or that terrible book and forbid her to bring the Book of Mormon into the house. However the missionaries persisted and he watched them closely and decided they were good men. When we came to his house to give Elizabeth a Blessing he was impressed. No other churches had come to his humble home. So he began to read and pray. He was baptized the following month. They have two sweet girls: Mercy and Hope.

It was neat to see the family come to church together. They struggled. George had been a successful businessman for about 14 years, but then illness took the capital of the business. Still George took the Employment Workshop and Elizabeth started to find success making baskets. I bought one two and they are lovely.

Then in April, Elizabeth fell sick again. She went to the hospital several times, then to a private clinic for nearly a week. She seemed to improve and went home. A few days later, she was back in the public hospital. Tom and I went to see her. In these hospitals, there is a distinction between care and medications. The hospital provides the care, but you are expected to go and purchase many of the medications. Tests also often need to be paid for in advance. It’s a little difficult when there no steady employment and sometimes it’s hard to find enough to eat. How to pay? Borrow or find someone to give. Although Elizabeth was very weak, she seemed to be improving and after 9 days, they released her. This is looking back down the hall we wheeled her down. We had to wait at our end for them to unlock that gate.

Two days later we got a call very early in the morning. Elizabeth was bleeding from her mouth, her limbs were numb and she was having seizures. She said she didn’t want to die at home. We felt so sad. She was young—early 30’s. Life just seemed to be getting better for her. We loved her! We didn’t want her to die. She went back into the hospital. One of the Nairobi Missionaries is an MD and happened to be visiting here. He came to see her and had test ordered—basic diagnostic tests. They did not look good. She went into a stage where she was not very responsive. We prayed. We fasted.

I fasted for Elizabeth, but I came to realize I was the one that was blessed by the fast. Elizabeth didn’t change, but I did. I became more accepting of the Lord’s will. He loves us, knows what’s best for us and has suffered all we suffer. I prayed that His will would be done. My grief turned to peace. Elizabeth rallied a bit and was able to speak. Then the next morning she died. It was still hard to see this little family motherless, but I have faith that all will turn out okay. I know Elizabeth is in a good place. She was faithful and tried her best.

The living, however, have been a new challenge for me. I have a hard time understanding cultural requirements. George has to go to his ancestral home and build a house before Elizabeth can be buried. Traditionally, the community helped with the costs of the house and the burial. The community and extended families no longer seem to offer any help, but the social mores are still exceptionally strong and the requirements rigid. Traditionally family and friends gathered at the home of the bereaved to comfort. They would spend all day and night there until the body was buried. One person explained that was to guard the body and chase away hyenas. There aren’t hyenas in Kisumu and the body is still in the morgue, but friends gather every evening to sing, share scriptures, visit and offer condolences. They may limit their work days to come, and for George, he can’t focus on work until after the burial.

Elder Fox and I have gone three times in the week since Elizabeth passed. We sing. We share scriptures. We discuss how the house is going. (slowly) But it is an uplifting time. People are happy and at peace. They feel sorry for George, but he, too, is confident Elizabeth is well and out of pain. We sit outside George’s small house. It’s kind of like attached apartments in a square. So all the neighbors get to hear the singing and speaking as well. A few neighbors obviously listen in—and they are welcomed. Others go about washing children, taking clothes from the lines, cooking dinner and the other factors of life.

We get home after dark and have been blessed by safe travel and also that no mosquitoes have bitten us. It’s the dusk to dawn mosquitoes that carry malaria. When we visit, we feel the love and compassion of Georges friends, church members and neighbors. While we are in Busia and elsewhere, we know these faithful friends will gather nightly until June 1 when Elizabeth will be buried.

Conversion Stories

The mission president's wife has been collecting the conversion stories of the women of Kenya and Tanzania. I have had the privilege of helping out here in Kisumu. I love typing the stories as the women share them with me.

Joan-- pronounced Jo-an-- was baptized last Saturday.

This is her story:

I met the Elders the first time around the 2 or 4^th of April. I met Elder Hays and Elder Lipengah along the road and they taught me about the gospel. From that day I promised them, “On Sunday I’ll come to the church.” I had gone to many different churches. I was looking to find the right thing for me. On Sunday when I come to church I met different things. When I came to this church first I felt love here. All people welcomed the visitors. And even my heart liked here so much. So I decided to welcome the missionaries to my house.

They came to my house and they taught me about the Book of Mormon and they gave me the book. But the question I asked them is, “What’s the meaning of Mormon and what’s the meaning of this book?” Lipengah said that Mormon is the name which is inside this book. And this book is another Testament of Jesus. If you read it you will find the answers inside this book. But first pray before you read it, so that your question will be answered if this book is true or not. So after that, I took my opportunity to pray. Each night I prayed for an hour. I didn't open the book. I didn’t start reading the book. I wanted to know if it was true or not before I started reading it. I prayed for three days. After 3 days when I finished praying. I heard a voice saying, “This is the true church and I am the living God and this is my book.” When I finished this prayer, I was told to read Mosiah 26:22. After that I started crying.

[Mosiah 26:22 says: For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him I will freely forgive.]

After reading this, I started crying myself. Then I said to God, “Thank you God. Now I know you love me and you answer prayers.” Then I started reading from the beginning. I’ve learned many things through this book especially faith. And many commandments are in this book.

The missionaries came back and continued to teach me. They taught me about repentance and faith. He taught me about baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. He taught me many things. Me, always I like praying so much. And if I started praying my heart be broken so much. So when I found this church, I feel something in my heart like peace and like love. To love each other. Always I’ve been asking God, what is my talent? I like praying so much. If life is difficult to me, I can kneel down and god will never forsake me. I trust God so much.

I was baptized May 15, 2010. I became so much glad! Always I was asking Mr. Hayes, when can I be baptized? He said we have to teach you somethings first. Since I was born I have not been baptized. I really wanted to be baptized. After I was baptized I have have been so much happy and so strong. And if I remember my past things, maybe to do something wrong, something tells me “No, remember to do what is right.” Sometimes temptations are there, like I want to quarrel with somebody; I don’t because I remember the commandments are there.

My children all enjoy coming to church and even my husband. My heart is so much easy. Our family is more loving now.

I want to testify that I found the Book of Mormon is the true book. Second, I am very much happy because we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. And third I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and Jesus Christ is the son of our Heavenly Father. Again, this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a true church and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I am SLOOOWWW of speech

I tend to speak VERRRRY SLOOOWWLY and enunciate clearly when I talk here. People comment that they can understand me. I think it's a two way street. There are some things said here that leave me puzzled. I ponder what they mean as the conversation continues. If they speak slowly, sometimes I can figure it out before they've gone too far.

Example 1: In church on Sunday the speaker was talking about ways people come to church. "They come with ole hat." Old hat? Old hat? Does this mean disrespectful or casual? Fortunately context helped. "They come with "ole soul." Oh! Whole Heart!

Example 2: Accents are often on a different syllable: Sub SEE quent ly is really subsequently. And pronunciation is different: "This is Etay." Is this a new name or a name with different pronunciation? Many names are Western based. It turns out to be Eddy. But then, politely, I should call him Etay as he calls himself, even though I remember it in my mind as Eddy. Somwell is Samuel. But when I met Hawa and asked her to spell it.... it was HAWA. Okay then. Not all names are Christian based. And then there was my confusion for MONTHS about "Ness esa rey School." I finally figured it out as necessary school... and only a few weeks ago, did I learn it was really Nursery School.

Example 3: different terminology or ways of speaking. words that might be pejorative to me are not here. "We must ape Christ." As in we should imitate or follow Christ. Or "Time is not on our side." Really? Whose side is it on? Oh, it's a phrase that means we're out of time.

Sometimes I feel like a detective. There's always the thrill of success when the truth is unraveled. And all too frequently, Tom will ask, "What did he say?" And I'll have to admit, "He answered the question, but I didn't have a clue what he said." Sometimes we try again. Sometimes they'll say, "I didn't understand?" Which is so helpful. Sometimes we just give up. So when either person smiles and nods... either American or African.... don't ever assume that means they REALLY understood a thing.

And Life Goes On

We haven't been resting on our laurels since the Mara, eventhough it might seem so from the blog. We passed our 6 month mark on Sunday May 2. We spend much of our time looking at things that need doing-- training, callings functioning well, improved Home Teaching or Visiting Teaching, budgeting and a million and one other things so that sometimes we think we really aren't making much difference at all. Then we need to stop and look at the progress we have made: from 6 Melchezedek priesthood holders to 30. From 60 Members to over 100. From callings not filled to Young Women doing personal progress and Seminary and Institute programs going. And we see the wonderful, fine spiritual people coming into the church in great numbers.

We came home to find our dear friend Elizabeth back in the hospital. And we spent time visiting her. She has a great husband and two small children: Hope and Mercy.

We spent part of the week trying to get budgets and financial things in order for the Branch. We made charts showing were the money had gone and how it fit with what had been budgeted. We visited with leaders. budgeting, recordkeeping, handling receipts and asking for accountability from members are difficult things here. With one of my proteges we worked up simple accounting to help her keep her business money separate from her personal money.

Friday, May 7th we went to the Kisumu Museum to meet the curator, Peter, who had spent time in the USA and invited us to visit him. He was so welcoming! He and his financial right hand shared their faith, their love of the museum, the difficulty of some things there, and invited us to wander around again. We found an art show there with some surprisingly lovely modern art. (Surprising because I usually don't like modern art much.) They also had some tradtional art, eggshell art, pictures of African scenes and the like. I comissioned a necklace. Then we went off to pick up a tricycle for a disabled man who lives on the way to Busia. when we were at the hospital, we helped spring Elizabeth from there. I won't complain about US paperwork anymore.

Saturday morning we walked to Kenyatta Park and met with a group of branch members working toward self-sufficiency. They are trying to set up small businesses and are also trying to get microloans. One of the Savings and Credit officers is Leah, a delightful woman. In the afternoon, we went to her home to share the gospel with her. At the museum, we also met two young men and invited them to learn more. One is an American who lives about ½ hour from Palmyra, New York, the birthplace of the church. He said he’d go to the pageant there this year. Bernard, the other man has started taking the missionary lessons. We also met a sweet young woman coming out of the bank. We stopped and chatted and shared about the church and she is supposed to come this Sunday. I love it that people are so open to hear about Jesus Christ and how to have a happy life.

Saturday evening Elder and Sister U came to visit. It’s always so nice to have company. They rode with us to Busia. We dropped off the tricycle to Morrice on the way.

He had several of his friends who also want tricycles with him. One had polio, another 13 year old was born with such bowed legs they amputated them at the knees. We think we have arranged for them to have transport. We always enjoy visiting the Busia branch. They had made me a dress, so I got to model it this time. And I took the scarf so they could show me how to tie it. We taught the temple prep class and headed home. We stopped at the Equator so Elder and Sister U could get a picture there and visited a member’s shamba. Our curiousity was aroused when we passed this truck. Why was it in this position? Our conclusion: The trucks here have a higher center of gravity, may not have the weight evenly distributed and if you saw the depth of the pot holes adjacent the current location of the truck, it all makes sense.Monday we left early to go to visit the Balochi Project in Asembo. The Church asked the U’s to check out an orphanage to see about assisting them. We had a little trick finding the place, but succeeded and found as well that the people there were warm and welcoming and also well organized. They showed us around. The U’s had high hopes of returning to Nairobi that day and expected a quick visit. It was not to be. We visited the aged mother of the man who had donated the property. Then moved to the Ambassador’s house where they fixed us a sumptuous meal. Then we visited the market…including the livestock, fish, vegetable sellers, grain sellers, and used shoes and clothing… so the U’s could see Asembo’s version of Walmart.We visited Elizabeth on the way back. She was not doing well. She is such a sweet person. Elder Fox and I fasted and prayed for her. We so wanted her to live, but came to accept that it would take a miracle for that to happen. Elder U is an MD and so suggested some tests. Then they adventurously headed to Nakuru (about a four hour drive), knowing they’d arrive after dark.

Tuesday we did some training, taught Institute. Wednesday we ran errands and Tom took me out for an early birthday dinner. I also prepped for the Employment Workshop the Employment Specialist and I were teaching on Thursday and Friday. It’s a 16 hour class. We had 12 students. It’s so important for people to learn to recognize their goals, their strong points, and how to present themselves well. It was fun to see them gain confidence as the course progressed and exciting to see them discover new opportunities. We did not do as well as Elder and Sister R, by far (the mission couple that teaches this course). But I believe the students learned and it was fun to see the Employment Specialist connect with the class in uniquely African ways. “If you ask for too little money when you are hired, you’ll be tempted to reap where you did not sow.” (steal) This is our graduating class. Tom was the master of set up, photocopying, and lunch making (30 PB and J sandwiches for each day) and helped a great deal. Thursday I felt pampered with roses and a birthday cake shared with the class. By Friday night I was pooped!

But today, Saturday we had a 2 hour training on presidencies, goal setting, and finances with the branch leadership. As the meeting began, I got a call that Elizabeth had passed. I was so sorry. But I was grateful she’d lived long enough for our acute sorrow to turn to acceptance that the Lord’s will be done. After Leadership Training we had a baptism of two great people and Tom performed the baptisms. Several people wanted to meet with us so we slotted them in after the baptism. Fortunately two canceled so we were able to go do a little shopping and check mail (Got Pictures of Denali! Hurray!) Tom’s getting a little tired of my attire, so I bought some fabric for a dress and impulse bought a lovely scarf. Now I’m blogging instead of working on tomorrow’s temple class. So I will quit, repent and get to work there.

Back by popular demand!

The lessons of the Mara are back by popular demand! While you may think this blog is for the birds, there are lessons to be learned here, too. Note the ostrich below; they are the largest bird in the world - albiet they can't fly. The female, with the brown and grey plumage, is on the left, while the male, with the black plumage, is on the right. Note the various antelope in the back ground, all contently eating.

The next bird is the red-necked Spurfowl. For you bird lovers, these are two Egyptian Geese, but it's the corcodile that has my attention.

This is the Grey-crowned Crane. Like the spiked hair?
The most distinguished looking bird in our bird book is the Secretary Bird. And we were privileged to see them. They are a long legged bird of prey that, according to Sandy, is the closest thing to the Phoenix in 'David and the Phoenix'.
Two more Secretary Birds.
The largest of East Africa's Bustards (not sure what they are) is the Kori Bustard, pictured below. They are about the same size as the Secretary Bird.
This colorful guy is a Crowned Plover.
This is the Grey Heron.
I like the shades of blue on this Ruppell's Long-tailed Starling.
If you look closely (at the feet), you can why they call this next bird a Yellow-throated Longclaw.
And for our final number, we have an African fish Eagle, at long distance.
These are only a small fraction of the number of birds we observed in our three days. They live in harmony with the other animals and their chirping provides a sweet melody to the quiet of the Mara.

This blog's lesson: there is beauty all around, if we just take the time to pause long enough to look and listen; and then we stand in awe of the marvelous creations God has provided for us to enjoy.

How to Celebrate the Big 'O' BD on a Mission

In a word: with lots of adaptation.

We started to celebrate Sandy's birthday on Wednesday by going out to dinner. For less than $20, we dined in an outdoor restaurant on French onion soup, lasagna, beef stroganoff, and a fruit smoothie. All were tasty.

Thursday was the big day, but Sandy was team teaching an employment workshop that day with the branch employment specialist. Neither had taught this workshop before; but that didn't keep them from doing a great job.

While they were busy instructing, her hubby managed to fulfill some of his responsibilities. You can't go wrong with a $3 bouquet of 18 fresh roses.

And then there was the cake I baked during the day. I brought it up just as class was concluding, so that the 13 attendees could all sing 'Happy Birthday' to her. They were more than happy to indulge in cake eating; they don't get many sweets like this.

Then it was time to collapse for the remainder of the evening; opps, there was still Friday's class to prepare for.

While not the traditional way to celebrate a worthy milestone as this, I prefer to reflect on the good that might be accomplished from those 13 who attended this class: they were taught skills that, if applied, will assist them in finding better employment and help lift them and their families from the grasp of poverty.

What a better gift can any of us ask for than giving service to another that will help bless lives in the days to come.

On the Run...

The antelope on the run are Topi (sloping back, darker legs). See how many other animals you can find in this short video.

Lessons of the Mara 6: You can take too many pictures!

Okay, okay already. I know you're getting tired of all these animal pictures. I promise these are the last of the Mara (some videos may follow). We do love the giraffes.We watched this one eat for a while. They really have to straddle to eat from the ground.
They are funny, cute, close up.
And you'd think something this big would be hard to hide. It's not an elephant in the living room-- you can miss a giraffe.
Tom loved watching this bushbaby who entertained us each night at dinner time. It's a kind of monkey. The first night it came down and snatched a roll from someone's plate.
And here is the strangest wildlife of all.

Lessons from the Mara 5:Don’t Judge a Hippo by its Grin.

Our first visions of hippos consisted of eyes, ears, and maybe a snout. They really didn't look all that big. Even when the head rose out of the water for a quick snack of air, they didn't seem too imposing. But MY GOODNESS! When you see a hippo out of the water, they are sizable indeed!
I'm sure they must be attractive to other hippos, bu for me, their attractiveness level is somewhere between a slug and a spoiled potato. Add to that, the statistics that there are more human fatalities from hippos than from any other mammal, and I'm willing to keep my distance.
It was a little hard to see how this could be true, but I suppose that goes back to the Lesson of the Mara 3: Looks Can Be Deceiving. We heard recently of a man who had his food bitten off by a hippo. And they say hippos become irritated when someone stands between where they are and where they want to go. I guess people get trampled. After all, they’re half the size of a freight train. And the guide says they can move very fast. I wouldn’t know. Our visions were of quiet stupor.How many Hippos can you count?

They lounge in the murky water, only occasionally rising up for air. They sprawl in shallow water, occasionally grunting as they shift position. The rivers were filled with pods of hippos. At night the travel inland maybe 6-10 km to eat and eat huge amounts-- I think 100’s of kilos a night. Then they travel back to the river and spend the day floating and digesting.

If that wasn't enough to keep you out of the water, here are some more reasons:

Can you see both of the crocodiles below?

Lessons of the Mara 4: Watchmen on the hill

We had fun watching the Topi. These larger antelope are the watchmen of the Mara. They find the tallest place around and stand, watching. If danger approaches, they will warn not only the other herds of topi, but also the gazelles, impalas, hartebeests, warthogs, and every other animal of that danger.

All through the Mara, we’d see the topi standing guard. I thought how they resemble our prophet who looks out, and stands prepared to warn us of danger we cannot yet see. We can argue and say, but the grass looks peaceful, there really aren’t the problems you say there are. Or we can be like the animals the topi warn. They trust the messenger and run.

When the topi are on guard, the other animals graze or relax and lay down, knowing someone is watching. If there are no topi, other animals watch. The impala male seems more concerned about guarding his harem of does. Apparently he watches over maybe 20 does and fights off the competition. The guide says a male usually lasts about 2 weeks before he is tired from all the fighting and other activities and another male takes over the herd. I suppose it’s one way to insure there’s little inbreeding.

The little Thompson’s Gazelles often take up guard. It’s cute to see them standing, facing the lions and watching them. They step closer and closer to the lions and I wondered if the lions would give chase, but they stop far enough away to have a good head start. Then they just stand there, head up, gaze unwavering.

The Cape Buffalo are among the largest of the antelope family. They are a force to be reckoned with and we did not get all that close to the herd. Apparently their disposition is a might cranky and they have sufficient horns and bulk to enforce their displeasure.

Dik dik’s are the smallest antelope. They are elusive but very cute. It made us want to take a few home with us. I’d like them until they started eating my roses.

And the hartebeests seemed large and cow-like. We get the tail ends because typically when we drove up, they started moving off.

Lessons of the Mara 3: Looks can be Deceiving

We were impressed that our guide had a healthy respect for the elephants, but would drive right up to the lions. Some of the lions would wander in front of the jeeps.Some even got up and sauntered over to recline in the shade cast by the jeeps. Often you knew lions were out there because the guide knew the size of the pack, but you'd have to look very carefully. They were hidden in the grass. Occasionally there'd be a faint movement and a touch of brown, then only grass again. He said with the tall grass, cheetahs and lions could be anywhere and you wouldn't see them. It all looked so peaceful in the grass, but I was not tempted to wander.

For the most part, the lions looked lazy and gentle. They looked like giant kittens that one could go out and pet. They snoozed. They rolled over. They sprawled in the grass. It was an event when one raised its head or opened its eyes.

But don't let them fool you. They go from lazy to launch in a second. In the jeep in front of us, someone jumped to sit on the top of the van for a photo. The head came up. The body tensed and the eyes focused. All was in readiness. Then she saw there was really no food after all. The posture relaxed and it was back to snoozing.

The last day we were photoing a warthog family. They wandered across the plain, through a herd of Thompson' gazelles munching on grass. When warthogs sense danger, the tail goes straight up and off they go. But we were lucky this time. They seemed content to ignore us and eat. We got our pictures and moved forward...
Just in time to see a warthog streaking from the grass with a lion in pursuit. The warthog won, but we looked up the hill to see a dozen lions up, alert, leaning forward and watching intently. We really didn't get a good photo of the intent look.

The little Thompson's Gazelles stood guard watching. The intent looks of the lions relaxed. You could almost see them thinking. Look, we don't look like a threat, do we? They looked away. See, we're really not interested. They eyed the antelope out of the corner of their eyes. Too far to catch. Gradually they sauntered away, plopped down and snoozed again. Yes, just little harmless lions. Really. For sure. Come closer and check us out... especially if you're particularly meaty.

This video shows some of the lions. The last part is kind of iffy, but the first part is good.