Safari

The last few days of our trip to Kenya ended with a safari.  We stayed at the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge.  This resort lodge was in beautiful surroundings, but in the back of your mind you still knew that there were lions very close.

The rooms were very nice and a large buffet was served at every meal.  I was not always sure what each dish was, even when told the name, but there was always plenty of food and the service was excellent.

This Masai woman was selling Masai blankets near the lodge.  Very brilliant colors.  We brought home two black and red checked blankets that I plan on using as accent pieces as I redesign one our bedrooms.

Another Masai woman had beautiful earrings.  I asked her if she would allow a picture because I found her so beautiful and her earrings so interesting.  She was happy to allow the request.

My next blog will have pictures of some of the wild animals we saw while on our safari.

Displaced Kenyans

A mission team that came before us, bought land and built this home for a displaced Kenyan woman named Lucy.  She has three children and previously lived in a small room.  This land purchase and home cost approximately $4,000.  This is not a lot of money considering what a change this made to this woman's life.

In this picture, Karen, from  Heart of the Bride Ministries, is reading to Faith, one of the two-year old orphans.  Karen purchased groceries and kitchen supplies for Lucy.  She probably spent around $50 and helped Lucy and her family through some very hard days.  Lucy is a single mother and one of her children, Ruthie, has physical problems.  In this situation in particular, you can see how your dollars can help someone so quickly.

This is a photo of Lucy and Ruthie.  After we visited her home and took her the supplies, she walked us all the way back to the orphanage.  To do any less, would have not been gracious and thankful for our visit. 

Future projects for Lucy include a fence around her land and medical assistance for Ruthie.  There are so many needs and through Heart of the Bride, many of these needs are being met.

Crescent Island

On Saturday, when the children were out of school, we took the older children from the orphanage to Crescent Island in Naivasha Kenya.  This is a park with wild animals roaming and you walk among them with a guide.  Mostly giraffes, wildabeasts, and zebras - mostly non threatening.  When the children first got into our van, I passed out chewing gum and we had a bubble contest!  Julia won I believe!

The scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed walking around the island with the girls and boys.  They were very well behaved and really enjoyed seeing the animals.  It was a special day for them and us.

One of last year's team members, who is a woman that attends our church, sent along the money to pay for this special day and we thank her.  Money well spent.

Kristopher in Kenya

My son, Kristopher, went to Africa with his father and I.  We were so happy that we could experience this trip and our mission work together.  He was such a big help on the trip to me especially (will tell more about that on a future blog) and worked so hard on the many projects that we completed at the orphanage.

Here are a few pictures of the work and he also worked on the orphanage's computer lab.  He really felt comfortable in that environment.  He is a computer engineer, so that was his element.

He also had a chance to play soccer with the children and just have a fun time with them.

Health and Education

One team member was a teacher.  She prepared worksheets for the school children and they were very excited to receive the bright colored notebooks.  These children were happy to be in school and were very well behaved for their teachers.

Another team member was a nurse and she did well checks on the children in the orphanage.  They were so very interested in the nurse's stethoscope and very excited to get a sticker when she was finished with the exam.

I sewed crayola caddies prior to the trip and handed them out to one of the classrooms.  The children were very appreciative. 

Projects

While in Kenya, our team worked on and completed several projects.  The team built a base for a rain barrel and built gutters on the school for the rainwater to pour into the barrel.  This is the third rain barrel for HOHH.  Currently there is not a well on the property and so additional rain barrels are very helpful.

Another project was building a bigger kitchen.  They currently have a small building that houses a wood burning stove. The team worked really hard all week and I know this new kitchen will be greatly appreciated.