The Masai Mara!

The Amazing Masai Mara

 After the mission portion of our adventure, the team was fortunate to wrap up our trip with an amazing safari in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.  WOW!!  It is hard to describe how magnificent all of God’s creatures appeared in this exquisite setting.

The Masai Mara is in southwestern Kenya on the border of Tanzania and is the country’s premier wildlife park.  Established in 1961 to protect wildlife from hunters, it is situated in the Rift Valley with Tanzania’s Serengeti Plains running along its southern end.  The Mara is the reason many visitors come to Kenya – to experience the beauty and abundant wildlife – and we were fortunate to be there during the annual Great Migration of around 2 million zebras, gazelles, and wildebeests on their journey back to the Serengeti.  Of the so-called ‘Big Five’, we saw cape buffaloes, elephants, and lions in addition to cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, mongooses, baboons, vervet monkeys, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests, waterbuck, elands, topi, hartebeest, giraffes, hippos, a monitor lizard, warthogs, ostrich, grants gazelles, Thompson gazelles, crocodiles, marabou storks, secretary birds and, of course, vultures!

The Masai Mara is named after the Maasai people (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara", which is Maa (Maasai language) for "spotted," an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.  Our team had the opportunity to visit the Maasai people and journey into their village of mud huts, singing, dance, livestock, colorful and distinctive dress, all surrounded by their protective thorn fence.

One of my favorite memories while on safari, came to me as a bystander.  One evening after we had all retired to our rooms at the beautiful Keekorok Lodge, my roommate, Ann Petrov, stepped outside to talk to her husband Joe on the phone.  I was in bed reading and heard this loud rumble.  Often the sound of rolling suitcases on the sidewalk outside our window would spill into our room.  But this time I thought to myself – “that is a lot of suitcases going by…” Ann came rushing into the room telling me that a small herd of zebra had just run past her!  I can only imagine what Joe must have thought while on the other end of the phone line!!  So, to say that our team had many up close experiences with the animals is an understatement!!  What a trip!!

 

Alison Peeler

Letter from Samuel

As I mentioned previously, we interacted with many artisans and shop-owners in Maua during the week we stayed at the Maua Basin Hotel. One such person was named Samuel, a very talented artist who specializes in African art made out of banana fibre. On our last night at the hotel, as I was walking out to go back to my room, Samuel stopped me and told me he had written me a letter, he handed it to me and I went back to my room to read it. It was one of the most meaningful letters I've ever received, and I think does the best job of helping me explain to others how kind, generous, loving, and grateful the people we came across in Kenya were. So, here it is:

"Dear Katie,
Let me take this opportunity to thank you and this wonderful team for coming all the way from that great nation (US) to assist our community. I believe your people love Maua community and that is the reason some of you keep on coming back. We also love you. We also know that you sacrifice a lot in terms of money and time. May God bless you and your families back home.
Katie your people are kind, generous, and above all God fearing and loving.
Thank you once again for admiring and buying my banana fibre pictures. In fact, your wonderful team freely interacted with us and bought various items from all the shops. We are happy because we will use the money to help pay school fees for our children. I have two girls in high school.
Thank you for all donations you give to assist our community. I'm sure God will bless you immensely. Katie we shall miss you and your teamates. However, we shall pray for your safe safari back home. Please visit us again and again. You are always welcome.
I hope you have arranged to take our brothers and sisters to visit one of our many game parks. There you will see wild animals in their natural habitat. I am sure you will have nice stories to tell your families and friends back home. Not only will you see animals, you will see various kinds of birds and maybe meet people from other communities. Otherwise we would have loved to stay with you and your team a little longer. Thank you once again and may God bless you all. We wish you all the best. Asante sana (Thank you), Kwaheri (Goodbye), Mungu Akubariki (God bless you).
Samuel
Artist"

Why Did We Come?

By Gail:

Right before we left, Katie asked us each to write about why we signed up to go on the mission trip. On our last day in Meru (we now had worked both at the Maua Methodist Hospital and the Meru Bio-Intensive Farm), I started reflecting on what I felt the purpose(s) of the mission trip were. As I think we can all attest, it is more than difficult to put into words what we have experienced, however listed below are some of our purposes I see now for this trip.
We came here to work: to build an orphan home, to build doctor's housing, to paint a maternity ward, to build a pig house
We came here to learn: about the Kenyan way of life, how they trust God so completely, how they appreciate what they have, how well they use their limited resources
We came here to show that we care: individually as well as a church
We came here to appreciate God in this country.
We came here to establish friendships.
We came here to understand what we really need to be grateful for.
We came here to give of ourselves.
We came here to bond with each other.
We came here to be a part of dedicating the orphan home we raised money for.
We came here to fundraise and be ambassadors for those programs.
We came here to bless and BE BLESSED.
We came here to share God's love.

A few funny moments...

Rhonda: On the first day in Maua, Jim and Sue told us some helpful things about the culture in Kenya.  They told us that the children love to fist bump with everyone.  Sure enough, children we encountered everywhere would smile and hold out a fist in greeting.  However, Debbie and I learned a variation of the fist bump on our day to visit the Zoe Hope Companion Projects.  We were visiting a young woman's seamstress shop when a child-like woman, we later came to know as Lucy, approached us.  She was babbling incoherently but every now and then she would say "I love you".   As I held out a fist to her she beamed and bumped my fist and when I lowered my fist she punched me in the boob!  Debbie didn't escape the "boob bumping" either.  Lucy followed us around the market center and never missed an opportunity to greet us again if we didn't get our arms up fast enough to block her.  Wc shared the cultural update with Jim and Sue that evening :0)

 

Katie: During our work in Maua, many of us got the chance to "sling mud" with a man named Moses...while helping to build flats for doctor's and their families to live in. Moses was a joyful, spiritual man who loved to sing and tell bible stories. On the first day, he taught Rhonda, who then taught all of us a song that went like this: (to the tune of "Pop, Goes the Weasel") "Everytime I come in, the monkey's on the table, I take a stick and knock it down, through, through the window". We all thought it was a cute children's song, and nothing more until...

The second day on the safar, we all got up very early to go out before breakfast...after a couple of hours we returned to the lodge for breakfast. Keep in mind these lodges are right in the middle of the Masai Mara, no fences or gates to keep the animals out. So, we were driving back in and saw a troop of Velvet Monkeys had taken up residence at the Keekorok lodges for the day. We "oohed" and "ahhed", and learned not to go near them because their bite is well poisonous, then went on to breakfast. I was the first to return to the table, which was sort of a corner of the lodge restaurant, surrounded by glass pane shutter windows which were open, as it was a beautiful morning. I sat down, and could see the outside patio, where several folks were getting their cameras out to take pictures of one of the monkeys who was on the roof. Richard and Marion were headed over to the table at this time, and I said "hey, look one of the monkey's is on the roof out there". Then I looked, and I couldn't see it anymore...at which point said, "no! it's right there!) and pointed to the seat right next to me! I looked over and sure enough the monkey was in the chair, grabbed Debbie's open jelly, and jumped back out the window....I was of course already up and on the other side of the table. The monkey then jumped back in and took most of my breakfast back outside with him! I guess he liked potatoes with jam! By this point, Marion had shooed him out with his napkin and the waiters had come over to assist, they closed all the windows, only to realize that the monkey was definitely smart enough to push open a shutter window! The funniest part was, Richard and Marion were the only ones who saw it happen, and when I told the others, they thought I was just making it up, or referencing the monkey song! Luckily, Richard got some of it on video...to be posted soon....

Bio-Intensive Farm Meru, Kenya

Nestled quietly on the eastern slopes of Mt. Kenya in Meru Central District is the Meru Bio-Intensive Agricultural Training Center.  Recently honored by the Kenyan government for their training and educational work, the farm is improving the quality of life for families all over the country.  Established in 1992, the farm organizes basic training courses for small farmers in ecologically sound agricultural practices and livestock management under zero grazing.  The objectives of the Center might be simple – but the impact on the lives of Kenyans is immeasurable. Those objectives are:

1.      Increase the livelihood of the small farmer by teaching conservation and bio-diversity.

2.      Demonstrate that a small family can grow food and maintain a cow and calf unit on less than an acre of land

3.      Provide facilities for training the small farmers

4.      Create awareness of technologies that are safe, efficient, and affordable.

 

Our team of 12 arrived at the farm on Saturday, August 25^th.  After getting settled in our rooms, we were given a tour of the farm and the main focus areas:  1. Livestock – including dairy cows and goats, fish (tilapia), pigs, rabbits and chickens,   2. Beekeeping,

3. Kitchen Gardening,  4. Farming “God’s Way” - natural composting,   5.  Fruit Trees,  6. Greenhouse Gardening, 7. Conferences for Farmers and ZOE program,  8. Extension Services. 

 

During our stay at the farm our task was to build a 4-room pig house!  We learned that pigs are one of the smartest domestic animals because they, by instinct, separate areas for sleeping, toilet, eating and bathing.  We spent a long day mixing cement, pouring foundation, sawing and nailing boards, and erecting the metal roof.  The afternoon was highlighted by the purchase of 1 male pig we named “Tex” and three female piglets we named “Kelly”, “Midland” and “Ish”. 

 

Each evening we ended our day with a devotional and a time of sharing the experiences of the day.  The final day of the mission portion of our journey, after hard work building a pig house, showering our tired and dirty bodies, and filling our bellies with good food, we had a worship service.  Kelly read from Phillipians 4: 8-13.   Kelly told us that we had been the face, the hands, and the feet of God as we served with and worked beside the people of Kenya.  We have seen the faces of poverty but more importantly the faces of hope.  He reminded us that as we return to the United States it is important that we take our stories back to the people at home.  To tell of the projects that are bringing about change for Kenya and will indeed make a difference in the world.

The kitchen staff at the farm provided bread and juice and Kelly used his beautiful chalice and plate, made by local artisan Peter Ewasa in Maua, to serve communion, with Alison's assistance, to us all.

The journey the 12 of us made has blessed us immeasurably.  The relationships formed half a world away as well as those formed and strengthened with each other have changed us forever.

 

-Alison Peeler and Rhonda Becker

Revisiting Kenyadoit2007 team's work!

The last day we spent in Maua, Marion and Leon were given the opportunity to visit the family for whom they built a home in 2007. I asked Marion to write a little about it, so everyone could see the lasting impact your contributions and our mission outreach makes!!!

From Marion: Leon Jeffcoat and I were on the 2007 St. Luke's Mission Team to Kenya. The 2007 team built an Aids Orphan home for a lady with three small children who was unable to walk because of a disease she had contracted. She had been furnished with a wheel chair but the family had no home because their previous home had washed away in heavy rains. We built a standard aids home but added a ramp so she could get in the door with her wheel chair. When Jerri Savuto visited St. Luke's in April, I had ask about the family. She related to me the lady had been taught to knit by a mission team and was able to help support her family by selling the things she knitted. After we inquired about the family after we arrived in Maua, we were given the opportunity to visit them. Leon and I along with a case worker and Stanley Gitari, who is in charge of the outreach programs for Maua Methodist Hospital, drove to the home over very rough roads on Friday morning. The house was as we built it in 2007 with the addition of an outdoor cooking area and an outdoor toilet. The three boys were there to meet us and the older two said they remembered us. The lady made her way out the door and into her wheel chair. She seemed glad to see us and would nod and answer in Swahili which Stanly translated for us. In response to a question, she said she did not have any knitting to sell. As we were leaving, the oldest child told Stanley she did not have money to buy any more yarn. Leon and I ask Stanley if we could give him some money to buy yarn for her and he said yes. We  gave him the money and that afternoon back at the Hospital, he came by with a large bag of yarn in several colors and said the yarn would be delivered to her and he would give us a report on how she is doing. 

This is another example how small things can change a family's life in Kenya. We saw many examples of this during our time there. God is good all the time.