Short Week-- Long Blog

We have had a wonderful time with Rebecca, Marian, and Deborah. We are still basking in the afterglow of that enjoyment. We are also exhausted and are catching up on sleep.

Thursday January 27th, as we left to go to Nairobi, we got a last minute email from Ian saying the plane was snowed in and they would not be leaving as scheduled. We left anyway. And it was a good thing. We spent time at the mission office getting more Institute and seminary books, collecting the Liahona magazines for all the members who subscribed here, visiting with President Broadbent, and doing a host of other things. We were staying in a missionary couple’s flat and they were gone, so we had the house to ourselves. I was surprised at how restful that was. We’ve always enjoyed visiting with the couples and getting to know them better, and so I was unsure about staying on our own. It worked out well in that when the kids arrived we had extra beds for them, too.

Friday we went to the Jogoo Market to get a few things. This is an industrial area where they are making clothing on a wholesale level. We bought little dresses for Rebecca’s children for about $2-3 a piece. How could we resist? So we needed one for Sarah as well…. And… Well, we stopped there for now but bought hats for the boys which our visitors used on Safari. Rebecca, Marian, and Deborah straggled through immigration, luggage pickup and customs and emerged about 10pm. We went back to the flat and crashed.

Saturday we were up early and went to the Giraffe Center where Deborah was brave enough to
be kissed by a giraffe.

Then we went off to the Sheldriek Wild Animal Trust—which is the Elephant Orphanage to see the babies frolic in the mud and water. Marian really enjoyed them… even when they got a little mud on her!

Then we headed back to Kisumu. It was a bit of a rush to get home before dark. We stopped to shop at Nakumatt and did get home after dark, ate a quick dinner and sacked out.

Sunday we decided to go to Busia for church since they were having 5 baptisms and needed our baptismal clothing. It was also a chance to take them materials and check on seminary and institute attendance. Rebecca and Deborah learned how Africans carry babies on their backs.

The kids enjoyed stopping at the equator to get their picture taken, and enjoyed church, but the drive was long.

Monday, since they were up early anyway, we went to Dunga Bay to see the lake and the birds. After coming home and breakfasting, we took boda-bodas to the Maasai Market.

The boda-boda riding:

At the small maasai market Deborah and Rebecca indulged in a shopping spree. Marian was great. She had 50 shillings and if it cost more than that, she’d say, I only have 50 shillings. One nice vender gave her a painted soapstone egg. One nice mother gave her a few more shillings to buy something she really wanted.

We had thought of going other places, but it was hot and we came home and rested until it was time to go and visit some families in Manyatta. We visited Joyce and George and his girls, and then went and visited Everlyn and Fred. Marian especially liked playing with the children in the slums. She played with the goats and chickens, and would have gone out after dark if we’d permitted it. Fred’s wife Patricia made some rice and Greengrams (you have to roll the rrrs when you say it.) and everyone enjoyed the food.

Tuesday we went to the fruit and vegetable market first, then went off to visit Ericah in Sabatia. She has a large shamba there and Marian again played with cows, kitties, and a zillion children. We visited the school there and the 340 children were a little intimidating, but half a dozen or so at the shamba were fine.

.

We met one of Erikah’s sons who has been reading about the church and changing his ways. We spoke of food storage and having a garden, and he said, “Oh, yes, I read about that in Latter-day Saint Women.” So I believe him when he says he’s been reading church material. I think one day there will be a branch in Sabatia because of Erikah’s example. Here is Marian with some of Erikah's "grandees" or grandchildren and a son.

And here's the group in front of Ericah's house with Ericah and her son... I think his name is Eric.

We came back from Erikah’s in time for us to teach Institute class. The kids rested while we taught, but came up to greet our class members. We then got phone calls. “Why don’t you come see me and bring your family?” Alas, we could not see everyone.

Wednesday we left early for the Mara. It took forever over rough roads, but we arrived in time for a late lunch, a bit of unpacking, and then an afternoon game drive. Ah, we saw many animals—hyenas, lions, cheetahs, zebras, lots of gazelles and DLA’s (deer like animals) This is a topai and below is an Eland, one of the largest DLAs. Note the oxpecker bird on its shoulder.

By the time we showered and had a 7:30 dinner, it was time for bed.

Eleven cubs, five lionesses and three males in this pride.

Thursday we were in the safari vehicle by about 6:30 for our long game drive.

Again we saw amazing animals- a leopard up in a tree with a kill,

cheetahs running across the road in front of us,

Elephants,

giraffes,

cape buffalo, secretary birds and many more. We stopped for breakfast under a tree. Little privacy for our call of nature… but we managed. We went on to see crocodiles and hippos and returned in time for lunch.

Marian was zonked and wasn’t sure she was up to going out again. it was hot and some got sunburned. But by 3:30 Marian was ready to go again. This time we saw many of the same animals, but I was surprised to see so many black backed jackals and

Hyenas.


We went in search of a rhino… and found one! Later I learned there are only 17 rhinos in the Mara!

We decided to forgo the Friday morning game drive in favor of the chance to do some last minute shopping in Nairobi. Good thing. It took us longer to get to Nariobi than we thought. We did managed to get to the Hilton shops and had a grand time there scooping up “essentials” for them to take home. We weren’t sure where we would hang out until the flight but the couple who had invited us to spend the night ended up going out of town to a water project closing and so we invaded their house for a few hours. The kids crashed… and blogged and checked emails. We scarfed down some spaghetti (they said it was okay to eat their food) and some delicious brownies they left for us. I LOVE the missionary couples! And (boo hoo) we took the children to the airport and sent them on their way.