Meanderings from Miriam

Where do I start? The last few days have been packed full.

As Marv wrote we started out on Friday from Tenwek and went to the Masai Mara and stayed at the Fairmont Safari Club. Let me just say that they have the nicest tents I have ever stayed in....that is the way I like to camp! four poster beds with great linens, oriental rugs, and hot water bottles to warm your bed before you crawl in! Of course that doesn't compare with the trumpeting of the fifty hippos who swim below your front porch on the Mara River. We went with 3 of the medical students who are here from Miami and U of Louisville which also made it fun. The contrast to life at a 5 star with the rest of Africa is daunting.

However, tourist dollars are a significant part of the Kenyan economy. The sad part is that whether it is the world wide recession or the fear of violence here, tourists are way down. There were only about 25 of us there in the hotel or about 12 tents filled out of 50. Our guide Henry, was wonderful and went out of his way to accomodate us. I really can't begin to describe our experience. First of all the roads going,coming and on the Mara make Michigan potholes look like superhighways. Add a bit of rain and some slippery mud and you have a four wheel heaven. Hopefully a video of our jeep stuck in the mud will be posted on facebook soon. It is a good laugh, now that it is over!

The animals are gorgeous and zoos will never be the same after the vistas of the Mara. It truly is a wonder of the world and makes you very aware of the greatness of God's creation. We saw, elephant families, lions, tigers, zebras, giraffees, impala, dick-dicks,cape buffalo, rhinos, etc Just bumping along in the jeep looking for animals was fun. the rides were at sunrise and sun set which added to the beauty.

We came back on Sunday afternoon just in time to participate in the Bible quiz going on at tenwek with Kenyan and missionary children. A Kenyan child has already memorized 85 verses from the Bible. They are asked questions as a team and if they know the answer they push their buzzer! Kind of like an american quiz show from the 50's! The questions are taken from the Bible verbatim and are really hard I think.... fun to watch .

Yesterday I went with the community education people to a dispensary (one of many tenwek staffs) that was about 12 miles from here on unbelievable back roads. The driver prays before and after the the trip and thanks God for safety. I would say that at least 100 moms and babies showed up for immunizations and family planning. They weigh the babies from the cloths (kagaa) that mothers use to carry babies on their backs. They attach the kagaa to a fish hook hanging from the tree and weigh them from a primitive scale in kilos. There was an elderly lady, probably younger then me, who is on the community health committee helping weigh, teaching about Jesus and exhorting the benefits of family planning as the woman gathered to socialize under the tree. The entrepenuers were also there selling used clothing from the states. (many AIG shirts for adults!) Another woman set up a restaurant under the tree and sold cooked beans. I passed on buying them. Interestly, the older woman told me how Sue Steury, whose husband was the first doctor here, taught her about Jesus and now she teaches this generation. Again, the seeds planted are not returning void, the Lord is at work here. In fact Christianity is a great comfort to many of the people I meet in a very concrete way. The government is so corrupt that they only find peace and comfort in their faith. A good lesson for me and probably for many of us. I felt pretty useless as far as doing anything, but did take lots of pictures of kids which they absolutely love seeing. I think I scared a few kids who I know had never seen a white woman before. I did lots of hand holding and back patting and admiring babies.....a language which can be translated anywhere. Moms are proud around the world.

That is a very very brief summary of some wonderful experiences. Hope I haven't gone on too long. Miss you all and send lots of love,
nana and poppy,
micki and marv