Kenya Highlights I

My hubby got up for the day at 11:30 PM last night. I made it all the way until 2 AM. I was ready to use the phone at 5. Glad I looked at the clock!

Before I forget ... In case you're interested, a couple of months ago AusJenny interviewed me about coauthoring, and her piece ran today over on her blog.

Okay, back to Kenya. For the beauty shots, come back on Wordless Wednesday. For now, here are some mental snapshots: Awakening in Nairobi to the Islamic call to prayer; the smell of burning hemp; sleeping on an island and opening my eyes to a sunrise; seeing yellow weaver birds steal sugar from our bowl; tasting Stony (ginger ale on steroids); braking for a flange of baboons running across the road; hanging out for the day at a Maasai boma; meeting new heroes--including a teacher with one outdoor class of 91 kids (with no school building and zero supplies) who goes on to conduct after-school literacy classes for adults, and Moses, who has supported his four AIDS-orphaned siblings since he was 16 by driving a car; getting treated like a hero for simply showing up; rocking down with an African church choir; learning the difference between Maasai and Pokot; doing stuff I swore I'd never do again like riding in a small plane, giving impromptu speeches, and being separated from my family in a foreign country; the smell of mosquito repellant mixed with SPF 30 lotion; hearing exotic bird sounds; seeing a family of giraffes near the road; having a smart student beg me to find her a sponsor so she can stay in school and become a surgeon (I think she needs about $50/month); interacting with monkeys on hotel grounds; experiencing hospitality that would put a Southerner to shame; turning a white washcloth brown from the dust on my face; tasting crocodile and ostrich; sleeping under a mosquito net; crossing rough waters in a little boat with no life preservers; watching our team van get un-stuck by men with machetes and a government vehicle with a winch; asking "Where is OSHA?"; seeing the snows of Kilimanjaro; having our vehicle chased for more than a mile by children who want us to stay; having to stop for lions in the road.

I've included above another shot of, Joseph, the Maasai evangelist. He set it up for us to show the "Jesus" film one night at a boma, and you have to imagine this... They're shepherds. They have sheep ba-a-ahing as we watch. One even runs out of somebody's home and into the crowd. Without electricity, stars glow against a black sky (the movie runs on a battery-powered data projector). Then we get to the part of the film where angels appear to shepherds abiding in their fields keeping watch over their flocks by night...and amazement ripples through the crowd.

(Picture below compliments of the Jamisons' newsletter.)