Safari Tales

            I can say that I have been camping in Africa! All four of the Titchie (elementary) dorms went on a campout one weekend. We drove about an hour and a half away from campus, down into the Great Rift Valley. The campsite that we stayed at was a dusty place surrounded by Acacia trees. I felt very African at this time because of the surroundings. We set up camp and then had dinner, which consisted of roasted hotdogs wrapped in bread dough, carrot sticks, and chips. We also roasted marshmallows for s’mores and sang songs around the fire. When we went to bed it was a bit chilly, but we were fine with our layers and warm sleeping bags. During the night, some people heard hyenas running through the campsite, but I didn’t hear anything.

            The next day, we went on a safari walk to the nearby Crater Lake. We walked around the edge of the Crater, which used to be a volcano. About half of the crater is made up of the lake; the other half is vegetation. We went down the other side of the Crater and walked around the dry, brown land looking for animals. We were fortunate to see lots of interesting ones—zebras, giraffe, dik-dik, warthogs, impala, waterbucks, and even a fox! It was amazing! After our walk, we went back to the campsite, ate lunch, packed up and left.

            On our way back to RVA, we stopped at another lake. From the road, the lake looked as though the water coming up to the shore was all pink. It was covered with thousands of flamingos! We were blown away! It was amazing to see them all and to see them fly out in mass over the water. It was like a domino affect. One row of flamingos would start flying out and then another and another. There was also a dull roar of honking coming from the enormous group—they were so loud when they are all together that you could not even hear the boat that was on the water start up its engine.

            I was not able to get great pictures from the campout. The following pictures are actually from a different little excursion I took with some ladies to a place called Crescent Island. It’s actually a peninsula, but you take a little motorboat across part of Lake Naivasha and see hippos in the water. Then you dock at the peninsula and walk around with a guide. If you are stealthy, you can get pretty close to some of the animals! Actually, I think the animals are just used to people walking around because this particular area is one of the most densely populated areas of animals in Kenya. Therefore, it gets quite a bit of tourist attention and they have even filmed movies there.

Package Arrival!

Mom, you're the best!

Life is Beautiful-Ugly

            After the women’s retreat, I made my way to RVA (the Rift Valley Academy) and I started to get settled in. It took a while for me to get plugged in because I wasn’t assigned to a specific position. But I found ways to help out with the Titchie (elementary) classrooms and office, the administrative offices, babysitting for young moms, and any other needs that arose.

            Now, I have been living at RVA for over a month and a half. I have been able to be productive and serve—in small ways and larger ways. I have felt completely at peace about being here and I have learned much from the people around me. I have come to feel at home and comfortable here.

            God has blessed me by letting me live with the Hildebrands (my former youth pastor, his wife, their four boys) and their seven 5-6^th grade dorm boys. I have been so blessed to get to spend time with this family, learn what it’s like for them to live in Kenya and hear their heart and their love for their boys and their ministry.

            Uprooting a family and moving to a new continent is an intense and difficult endeavor—it is a huge sacrifice! There are sacrifices that each of us must endure in order to follow God’s call on our lives. After all, Jesus gave up his heavenly throne in order to humble himself, become a man, and endure everything a human endures. Plus, He bore the sins of the world and died an excruciating death. Now THAT is sacrifice. And are we not called to “take up [our] cross and follow Him”(Lk. 9:23)?

            Jesus’ sacrifice, although it was painful, brutal, and ugly, brought about the most beautiful redemption and salvation for mankind! In the same way, the sacrifices we make for God are trade-ins for more beautiful outcomes. In coming to Africa, I sacrificed time at school, time with friends and family, money, and more. Other people, like the Hildebrands, sacrificed much more than that—they committed their lives to live here and be far away from family and everything familiar and comfortable. It’s like discovering how to live again!          

            Although their sacrifice was great, this family has seen the purposes for which God called them here. God has rewarded them by allowing them to serve and work in a larger community of believers and see God's hand in many circumstances. They have relied on God through many difficult situations, and God has shown himself faithful and has shown them that His plan is greater than anything they might think is good. It's all about TUST. Can we trust that, even when we are going through hard times, God is in control and He has our best interest in mind?

            I have learned to call this concept a “Beautiful Ugly,” (a phrase coined by a lady here at RVA) and it applies to many things that we face in this life. Although a situation may seem so terrible, a sacrifice may seem too great, a task may seem too large, and life may just be plain ugly sometimes, God is working beauty into the ashes, the ugliness, and the confusion. There are great rewards for doing what God calls you to do and for relying on God through the difficult things in life.

            So, no matter what you face in your life—from the small inconveniences of daily life, to the life-altering changes that God calls you to make, to the tragedies that rock your foundation—God is working a greater plan for your life. He knows the purposes that He has and they will result in beauty and grace and growth! TRUST HIM!

 

Steven Curtis Chapman knows what it means to live this out in a very real way because of the tragic death of his daughter. Here is a song he wrote that exemplifies what I’m talking about.

"Beauty Will Rise"

We Have a BIG Family

            For the first couple of days that I was in Kenya again, I was able to go to a retreat for missionary women. It was quite a reverse culture shock for me to be surrounded by English-speaking women, eating chocolate, having a pedicure, making cards, and listening to a speaker! It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a wonderful refreshment for the ladies. They pour themselves out constantly and they rarely get a break! They work in difficult environments and they cherish the little pieces of home that come with the women’s retreat.

            It was encouraging to me to be around the incredibly real, down-to-earth women at the retreat. I had come from Tanzania where there were people from three separate continents together, working for the Lord. I felt such unity in Christ—like we were close simply because of our relationships with Jesus. This connection was not surprising though because we are all a part of the same family now. It was wonderful to come from that fellowship right into another, different community of believers. These women came from all over Kenya and maybe other parts of Africa. I was able to feel the unity of Christ in both settings—the Tanzanian Bush and the Kenyan retreat center.

            The unity of the Body of Christ doesn’t change, whether you’re in the Bush of Tanzania, the more advanced places of Kenya, or in the privileged country of the United States. We are children of God and we are connected through the blood of Christ.

            I wonder if we remember that when we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I wonder if we are aware of the strong bonds that we possess. Do we take advantage of them by encouraging each other, building each other up in our faith? Or do we consider Jesus’ death to be so meaningless? Powerless? No. It unites us beyond culture, beyond location or circumstance, beyond personality or opinion. And God had called us to Unity, Peace, Encouragement, Love, Grace, Joy, and Bearing with one another. Let us not waste the precious time we have. But let us remember our kinship and our Father, who sacrificed more than we can comprehend to give us access to His Power, Love, Community, and Inheritance. We do not walk this road alone but together.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:10-11

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:26-29

Crossing the Border

            My time in the Bush was up at the end of January. It was time for me to take a shuttle (basically a big van) from Arusha, Tanzania, back to Nairobi, Kenya. This five-hour journey is a slightly nerve-racking experience—especially when you do it alone. Thankfully I’d made the same trip before on my way into Tanzania and I hadn’t been alone then. So I knew a little of what I’d have to do at the border, but I was still a bit nervous.

            At the border, the shuttle stopped and everyone got off. We all went through one line, crossed the “no man’s land,” and went through another line. The goal is to get through it all as quickly as possible so the shuttle driver doesn’t leave you behind. He wants to keep on schedule, you see.

            Thank the Lord, I got across the border and the bus in plenty of time. Plenty of time for the Maasai people to offer me all sorts of good things through the open van door. One man even offered to trade me his carved giraffe for my watch. I really appreciate my watch, so even though it was a tempting offer, I had to decline.

            As our bus was starting up, I realized that the man who’d been sitting next to me was not back yet. His bag and coat were still there, but he was missing. I was right behind the driver. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Are we leaving right now? He’s not back yet!” I pointed to the seat beside me. The driver said, “I know. We cannot wait much longer. We will stop at the rest stop soon for ten minutes.” I knew he was talking about the rest stop that was just beyond the border. They always stop there because they charge you to use the restrooms at the border.

            By this time I was freaking out a bit. This poor man was going to be left behind! How would he ever find us again? How would he get his stuff back? How would he continue his journey? Oh, it was all so unreal! Was this really happening?! What was I going to do? I had to do something! I was terrified for the man!

            When we stopped at the rest stop, I had meager hope that the man would know where to find us, let alone have a way to get to us in time. I contemplated what I should do. I considered I would have to talk to the bus driver and get him to go back and look for the poor guy. I even thought I would threaten to tell his superiors that he left someone behind if he refused to go back! The courage was beginning to well up within me as I prayed that God would help me and the man would be taken care of. BUT, miracle of miracles, the man showed up on the back of a picki picki (motorcycle) at the last minute! Thank God! He had arrived in the knick of time! He had been detained at the border, for whatever reason. I was just impressed that he knew where to find us and he got to us in time! And I didn’t have to threaten the driver! The tension left me completely and the rest of the journey to Nairobi was quite peaceful and uneventful. Thank you, Lord!

                             (Mountain through the shuttle window)

Getting a Little Help with Breakfast One Morning :)

Breath-Taking Views

This shot shows the valley between two mountainish hills. There's a river running through them. I lived far off in the distance of this picture, to the right of the river.

This photo was taken on an early morning as we were on our way to a Duah (Doo-ah, "funeral") that was a three hour walk away.