Winter is here

So Sheba's new family came and picked her up on Friday night. I guess I'll find out at work on Monday how things are going. Saturday I did vacuuming and am now relishing having my house back to 'normal'. Definitely a lesson learnt. I was a little bit sad to see her go, but also very relieved that things have worked out as well as they have. So it was a dry-eyed farewell and readjustment period. Although Mum went out and bought a pot-plant for me, in the cat's stead... I suppose at least that won't leave poos in the bath.

We had the second week of church badminton on Friday night which was fun, although my shoulder still has a twinge of pain every now and then, if I make some sudden movement or try to smash. Anyway it feels good to be getting some exercise again.

Speaking of exercise our soccer game on Sunday was cancelled - it's been raining continuously here for the last 24 hours and the grounds are resembling a big duck pond. So it'll be another week to wait for my first post-recovery game.

This week being the last week of the school term, I'm organising the first CKC prize night, at my house - just like we had for KBC. There are 4 kids who have enough points to qualify, so hopefully it will be a fun time.

Two weeks to go until my next trip overseas: two days at Stanford for experiments on the way to a conference in New Hampshire. This is my first conference invitation, which means they are paying for most of the travel. It looks good on the ol' CV too! And it'll mean adding another state to the list of where I've been...

I made a mistake

"I've called her Sheba. Yes it is unusual to have a female ginger cat.

We got her from the Wellington SPCA, she'd only arrived a few days before (so that was a good deal for them, I guess!) and the reason she was there was her previous owners said they didn't have enough time for her. Which is pretty sad on their part.

So far she's been very good, only ever done her business in her dirt box, and eaten pretty much anything I've put down, and not scratched at the furniture too much. The first night she was a bit mad, running everywhere (it didn't help that I wasn't feeling well). But she is very friendly, and hopefully in a couple of weeks she'll settle down into being in a new house."

Sorry Sheba. I made a mistake in thinking I was in a position to look after you. You're very cute, and friendly, and you deserve better than me. I know you're still settling in, and I shouldn't mind it that you've been using the bathtub as a toilet, that you don't want to eat sometimes, that you leave hair all over the place. That's what cats do, so I'm told. To be honest I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe that's the problem.

I hope you'll be happy with your new house. Come Saturday and you'll have a real family to look after you, not just a loner who's hardly ever home.

You'll be ok - look how quickly you settled into my place.

The question is, will I? Talk about feeling like a complete and utter failure. But this is the best thing for you, and it's definitely a lesson learned for me. There are some things in life that you can't test-drive, and this is one of them. How do you know how much your life will change by taking on a new pet, like any new relationship? Simple - you don't. Unless you've been there before.

The shortest day

Tomorrow is the shortest day (in the southern hemisphere, at least).

Anyway I needed a title more interesting than "last week".

Big news from last week is, I went back to fracture clinic yesterday for another x-ray and consultation. While things are far from 100% it is slowly getting better, there is clearly bone growth. I'll always have a lump but they don't need to do anything else. And best of all, I've been given the all-clear to get back into sport!

That evening we had our inaugural badminton night down at church, which was lots of fun. My shoulder was hurting by the end but it is ok this morning.
They didn't have soccer training on Friday night so hopefully I'll be able to play if I just turn up tomorrow - assuming the game is on. The weather is supposed to be bad.

New addition

Sorry for being cryptic in the last post.

Here's my news:





I've called her Sheba. Yes it is unusual to have a female ginger cat.

We got her from the Wellington SPCA, she'd only arrived a few days before (so that was a good deal for them, I guess!) and the reason she was there was her previous owners said they didn't have enough time for her. Which is pretty sad on their part.

So far she's been very good, only ever done her business in her dirt box, and eaten pretty much anything I've put down, and not scratched at the furniture too much. The first night she was a bit mad, running everywhere (it didn't help that I wasn't feeling well). But she is very friendly, and hopefully in a couple of weeks she'll settle down into being in a new house.

One week back

Not much to report from the first week back after Kenya. It still feels like a dream that I was actually there. Apart from the malaria tablets that I still have to take, one a day until they are all gone.

CKC (Calvary Kids Club) is going well, we are working through learning about each of the days of Creation this term. At the end of the term we will have the first CKC Games prize night at Bridget's house so that could be interesting... there won't be any Fanta (my carpets are cream-coloured). Ice-cream yes, Fanta no.

Plan for this weekend is to get a significant addition to my house. I won't say anything more in case we can't find the right one but once it does happen I will reveal all.

Hmm what else. Work is going ok - I have two major papers that are in their final stages of drafts at the moment. Both have got about 8-10 co-authors and it seems just as the statistics about committees (that the more people you have, the less productive it is, and the optimal number of people on a committee is about 0.8) the same is true about writing papers. Everyone wants to throw their $0.02 in and sometimes they disagree. Annnny-way such is life.

Kenya trip diary

Ok so as you will notice I've updated this blog with the diary I kept while in Kenya. I've broken it down into bite-sized chunks, but because (at least the way I have it set up) the posts go from newest to oldest, you have to start HERE and keep clicking 'Newer post' to get it in the right order.

Or use the navigation thingy under June 2008.

More pictures here!

Videos here!

Enjoy...

Final impressions

start here...

It’s difficult to put together a few summary thoughts, and I have already written about the biggest things that impacted me.

We witnessed the disparity of wealth in Kenya first hand, both extremes. We participated in some of the richness of African culture. We were treated very generously in Emali, by people who had next-to-nothing. They have an innocence and contentedness that is almost enviable. Yet there are still problems in some areas: AIDS, polygamy and child marriage, which mostly stem from a lack of education. It is a generational thing that will take time for a society to change. And just as we can’t solve all the world’s problems, we can’t solve them instantly – but we can make an impact for one person, one family, one community.

Childfund NZ home page

I love airports (not) (1-2 June)

start here...

We met up with the others after showering and packing, checked out and headed to the airport. With two hours to kill we all dispersed to the shops and I managed to find a few things worth buying.

The flight from Johannesburg to Sydney was quite good: it was overnight this time and I got about 7 hours’ sleep. I also had a spare seat next to me, and the flight was not too full so we disembarked pretty quickly (for a 747).

At Sydney airport we farewelled Di and Colleen and faced another 3-4 hour wait for our final flight back home. Sam and I had quite a good chat about the air force and church etc. (and the trip, of course). Then it was goodbyes all around, as I was the only one going to Wellington and leaving slightly earlier than the others.

Half a day in Johannesburg (1 June)

start here...

Both groups left for their respective destinations at about the same time. The taxi fare of 1100 rand return (about $200) was a bit of a shock; we discussed hiring a car for the day but by then the cab had already arrived. Paul managed to negotiate him down to 800 rand, which was better than nothing but still expensive.

Frances and I stuck together, Kate and Joy headed off and Paul kind of wandered around checking on us from time to time.

We didn’t really see anything we wanted to buy and only got a couple of things. So we ended up spending more to get to the markets than we did while we were there. Lunch was very nice though – I had salmon and pasta.

Flyaway home (31 May)

start here...


Saying goodbye to our van and driver Lucas (L-R: Paul, Joy, Kate, Frances, me, Lucas)

We had a relaxing morning in Nairobi, as we didn’t have to check out of the hotel until 10. Getting across town took about 45 minutes. I got a few family gifts at the airport in Nairobi. The flight was not too bad; we even arrived about ten minutes early into Johannesburg.

We made our way to the same hotel as before, avoiding the opportunists. I got about US$100 changed into rand; which was possibly too much but anyway.

Tomorrow five of us are going to the Rosebank markets – apparently they are meant to be a bit more civilised, like the ones in Melbourne. The other five remaining (as we farewelled Neville at the Tanzania border, Ian and Beryl in Nairobi, and Jean and Vern going their separate ways from Johannesburg) are going on a private tour of Soweto.

Last night in Nairobi (30 May, part III)

start here...

In the afternoon we came back to the hotel for a bit. I thought a lot about what had just happened and prayed for clarity… while washing my trousers in the basin. They were dry in plenty of time for dinner at the Carnivore restaurant, which is apparently in the world’s top 50. They start off by bringing you soup and salad, then they bring everyone a hot cast iron plate and start coming around with big skewers of meat and sliding a piece onto your plate. They keep coming until you surrender by putting the flag down. I had lamb, beef, chicken, ostrich meatballs, turkey and a sausage, but declined the pork and crocodile.


Dinner at Carnivore's

Earlier in the day while driving in the van we had come up with some ‘awards’ for everybody. After Paul said a speech Frances and I read them out, and I think most people appreciated them.

Most improved bargainer – Joy
Best prepared – Di
Best attendance – Marilyn and Bryan
Most cheerful traveller – Colleen
Man with the shortest stick – Vern
Best behaviour – Jean
Best packed traveller – Frances
Most decorative – Kate
Best team players – Ian and Beryl
Most creative – Bridget
Best Maasai jumper and daraja la kwanza kiswahili award – Sam
Did not complete – Neville
Man of the match – Paul

(Sam got two ‘awards’ as a kind of payback – earlier in the week he had been showing off by coming out with a new Swahili phrase every day. I’d picked up a phrase book in Sydney and between Paul and I decided to play a practical joke on him. On a piece of paper I wrote, ‘I had a nice time’ and ‘Nina uyabisi wa tumbo’, with the intention he would get up in front of everyone in Emali and say it. It actually means ‘I have constipation’. He didn’t actually do it, because his child’s translator told him it wasn’t right – which is probably a good thing in hindsight. Anyway it would seem he wasn’t told what it actually meant, because when we revealed all he said ‘Ok, this is war’ and later must have asked the drivers for phrases, and started saying ‘Bridget yada yada’, ‘Paul yada yada’. I figured it was time to call it quits so consulted the book on how to say ‘you too’ (na wewe) if he said it to me, or ‘him too’ (na yeye) if he said it to someone else.
Anyway that’s the background to the daraja la kwanza kiswahili award. Which again is a kind of joke, but perhaps a Biblical one, to bless when you are cursed. It means ‘first class Swahili’.

Postscript: At the end of the trip Sam told me what it was he was saying: ‘Bridget doesn’t understand what I’m saying.’)

Back to ‘civilisation’ (30 May, part II)

start here...

From there it was another two-and-a-half hours drive along more dusty roads to Nairobi. We had been invited to the safari company owner’s house for lunch, but through some miscommunications ended up going to one hotel for a toilet stop before checking in at the other. By this stage it was 2:30 and everyone was getting pretty irritable. We made our way to the house, and there the fun began.

I am not sure how big the house was, nor do I really want to know. The parts that we saw were enough to make me speechless. First we were ushered into a room with a veranda and enough space for about five couches; in fact with fourteen of us plus the host and two staff waiters it was not at all crowded. After drinks and a brief history of her family, we were presented with gifts of banana leaf pictures of animals. I saw these for sale at the market in Nairobi and didn’t like them at all, so I guess mine will be on TradeMe fairly soon – with more reasons to follow.

After this we proceeded downstairs: through a room that had a pair of elephant tusks making an archway for its entrance, down some steps into the room set up for us. There were three tables set for six, and would have been room for another two. All of the rooms we saw were literally full of African things – gourds, statues, carvings, tapestries… The family was third generation Kenyan, of Goa Indian heritage. The food had been prepared by the cook and her assistant and was served by another waiter. There wasn’t a lot there that I actually liked, so that made me wish I had stayed back at the hotel and got something from the restaurant, but there was even more to it as to why I was upset about the whole shebang.

Once I got back to the hotel, I managed to put my finger on it. Basically, it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that a safari tour operator could live in this ridiculous house, while the vast majority of the rest of Kenya were living in one-room shacks and mud huts. Now I know there is a dispersion of rich and poor in any country, but this was too much. In New Zealand I would estimate two orders of magnitude as the absolute maximum disparity in income (i.e. x 100 between poor and rich). In Kenya it is more like four (i.e. x 10,000). As for the house, ok in Beverly Hills, but not in Nairobi, where just down the road you have a million people living in a slum with no running water. Nor am I saying that everybody in Kenya should be poor, just that the level of disparity is too great.

Paul had said that he had staff members visiting CCF projects who ‘went a bit troppo’ when they returned back home and questioned the manner of their existence. Well I went a bit troppo today observing this. To top it all off, she asked our table what we had been doing in Emali. When we said we had been visiting our sponsored children, she replied, ‘Oh, we sponsor children too. Last year we took twenty children from our project to Las Vegas to sing, and advertise our tours.’ Excuse me?!

Anyway, back to thinking it’s not fair.
It’s not fair – if material possessions in this life are the sole measure.

I know some far richer people living in a small village Samuli in the hills behind Emali. Their treasure is in the next life: all they have in this one is faith in Jesus Christ and a steadfast hope in His return. But that is all that matters in the next life. And I am convinced that the mansions they will have in heaven (John 14:2) will be far better than those of most people living in luxury today.

Ok enough of that rant. I know not everyone feels the same way so I do apologise if anyone was offended by what I wrote.

Success in bargaining (30 May, part I)

start here...

The morning started off ok; an early start and once again driving through the Amboseli park. Not far from the lodge we saw some lions so stopped for a bit to watch. They were near a herd of elephant, who really didn’t like them being so close – some of them went towards the lions, trumpeting, while the others made a tight-knit pack with the babies in the middle. The lions moved off and the elephants went on their way. We drove along a bit and again got to sit in awe while these enormous creatures silently crossed the road around us.


Elephant, and lion. Can you see it?

After that we had another hour driving to the edge of the park, then another hour to the border where one of the guys who was continuing on to Tanzania left us. This was pre-arranged at a rather large shop, so we all had a look around. I got some soapstone dishes and two small paintings for 1000 shillings ($20), after setting aside a banana-bark Africa-shaped wood ornament which I quite liked. (The assistant had been asking 1300 shillings for it - $26.) After I went outside he came with it and asked me what price. I pulled out five US dollar bills, and showed them to him. He muttered, ‘Too low, too low, my boss would kill me’ and wondered off. I quickly emptied my wallet of everything except another two dollars. Sure enough, he came back and asked what my best price was. Again I showed him the five dollars, then opened my wallet and pulled out the two and showed him it was empty. He sort of stood there for a bit and then said quietly, ‘Put this in your bag’ and surreptitiously took the money from me. So I got that for a quarter of his initial price, and the other stuff for about half. I was pretty elated given how stink I felt about the day before, at the Maasai village.

Tsavo to Amboseli (29 May)

start here...

We were in the vans out in the park by 6.30 am, looking for, well, whatever was on offer. No geographic misplacements this time, and we saw zebra, giraffe, impala, kudu and rock hyraxes. No big cats or rhinos but maybe later. Then it was back to the lodge for breakfast and loading up the vans to head for Amboseli, across the Shetani (devil) lava fields. Of course, this whole area is part of the Rift Valley so there is or has been a lot of volcanic activity.


A zebra crossing...

On the way our van got two flat tyres within the space of about ten minutes, but they managed to replace them pretty quickly. At the park gate there were once again a bunch of people offering jewellery for sale. Some of the others bought things but Bridget just sat and hoped they would think she was a man…

Once in the park the animals were coming thick and fast. Amboseli is a lot more open country compared to Tsavo. We saw zebras galore, gnus, elephants; not so many giraffe though (there were not many trees), impala, gazelles of several different varieties, warthogs, baboons…

After a late lunch we made our way to a Maasai village nearby, which was basically a tourist trap. After we paid our money, they greeted us with traditional dancing and we followed them into the camp. The medicine man told us about some of the roots and herbs they use (for malaria, stomach-ache, and ‘man power’). The chief’s son told us about the layout of the camp, and two others showed us their houses. Then we were led out the back to where the women had all their wares for sale. It was quite annoying how they split us up and took us to each mat, saying ‘this is my wife’, ‘this is my second wife’ – i.e. please choose something to buy. I ended up with a carving, a set of beaded boxes, ten bangles and five necklaces. Then the bargaining started: 9000 shillings ($180) for the lot. I took out piece by piece and got confused about the exchange rate, ending up paying US$45 equivalent for one necklace, one box, the carving and the bracelets (which I had decided I didn’t want after all, but they gave me anyway). Oh well – I should be able to sell them on TradeMe and recover most of the money. It would seem these people have been spoilt by American tourists prepared to pay a lot of money. I wish I had walked away – only a couple of people did. We already gave them 1000 shillings ($20) each to go inside, which should have tipped us off from the start.

From there we went for our evening game drive and again saw lots of elephant, eventually coming across a solitary hyena and finally a group of about five lions off in the distance. Then it was back to the lodge for dinner, at which a discussion ensued about distributing photos to everyone. I’ve been lumped with the task, more by default than voluntarily (not that I mind), but I’ve warned everyone it could take six months to put the photos into slideshows and make DVDs from them. We shall see!


Elephant at Amboseli

The highlight of today was being out in the park and watching a herd of about 20-30 elephants cross the road in between two of our vans. They would have been less than 20 metres away, and for large heavy animals they moved very very quietly. They are indeed most magnificent creatures. God sure does have a good imagination...

See the video here!

On the road again (28 May, part II)

start here...

Two-and-a-half hours later – the road was good – we filled up on petrol and entered Tsavo West. We were all suckered into buying a few things on the way from the roadside vendors – Joy bought a basket for 100 shillings and a carving for about $4. I got a wooden elephant for 200 shillings, which makes the other ones look like a rip-off! Oh well.

We checked into the lodge and had lunch, overlooking the waterhole where we could see giraffes, water buffalo, impala and baboons. After that we went on our first game drive. The van top was up and every seat had a pair of binoculars in the back pocket. We were driving towards the Mzima springs, on the way encountering zebra, warthogs, ostriches, giraffes, impala. At the springs there were monkeys, hippos and crocodiles. On the way back we saw some kudu but not very clearly. Each of the vans seemed to take a different way back. We ran into difficulty with a broken tree blocking the trail (thanks to the elephants), so we reversed and tried a bit of off-roading, which although we managed to get temporarily misplaced (otherwise known as being geographically challenged), led to us almost bumping into a herd of elephants, about 12-15, including a few babies. They are magnificent creatures – and despite their size can move very quietly, which is why we got so close without realising.

Once back to the lodge we had dinner, and a smaller group of elephants came to drink at the waterhole. It all felt quite surreal. Another day and a half of this and then we return home.


Game drive at Tsavo

Goodbyes are hard (28 May, part I)

start here...

After the perfect day (with some minor glitches) we had a few more celebrity engagements. By 8 am we had checked out of the Kindu and were on our way to an early childhood development centre near Mulala, where some of the funds from our tickets – about $50 a head – had helped the people there to install a water tank. This was in the Kamba tribal area rather than the Maasai, and we were treated to a welcome by the women, who ran alongside the vans waving branches and trilling. When we got out of the vans to walk down I joined in with the branches etc. (a few other people were a but more reluctant) which was fun.

Once we were seated we were treated to some songs, and then the usual: prayer, introduction, then speeches. The children at the centre came and sang a song about the water tank, which was really cute. Then we were given the opportunity to look inside their classroom and take pictures with them. Finally it was time to ‘present’ the water tank and Paul did a very ok job. Then they presented all of us with gourds for drinking water (which I hope we can take back into New Zealand!). The generosity of these people is very very humbling.


The water tank - the people were so happy

Our final engagement was back at the CCF office to see our sponsored children one more time. Tom and his mother and father were all there and it was great to see them all again (his father was going to a pastors’ meeting afterwards). We had a few minutes to eat and drink and talk. The previous day Tom’s father had said they had given me a Maasai name because Tom had difficulty pronouncing my English name, so I asked what it was. Jacinta wrote it down for me: Naserian, which means a person of peace.

We had a group photo and then all filed inside for the very last speeches and once again were showered with gifts: bags for the women and ceremonial walking sticks for the men. Ian got up to say a teary word of thanks and so did Paul. Then it was back outside to say our final goodbyes and get in the vans. By this stage I was really starting to lose it, and apparently to cry is a sign of deep mourning in African culture. Tom just kept softly saying, ‘Goodbye, goodbye’ as I hugged him and blubbed something about growing into a good man. Then I gave Jacinta a big hug and told her, you are my sister, we will see each other again, if not in this life then we will in the next in heaven. She replied, amen. I said amen, then that was it – into the van, wait for the stragglers, then our driver Lucas took off with a hiss and a roar. I am glad he did actually; to have just driven off slowly would not have been good.

The bitter end to the perfect day (27 May, part VI)

start here...

I promise not to dwell on this.

When we got back to Emali from visiting our children’s homes, we were taken to a building nearby to hear from a group of women who have AIDS. They sang for us and made the customary speeches, which were all interpreted.
Now I must admit that I was bored, but this is Africa and people must be allowed to express themselves. When we got to the end of the time, looking back I realised how important this was for them, to talk to us; AIDS awareness being one of the key activities of CCF in Emali. Having been exposed to this directly through initially sponsoring Maundu (who died of AIDS when he was just six years old), I knew how the disease was and is a big problem here. We weren’t there so much for us as for them. Eight of the twenty or so women there had children who were being sponsored.

At the dinner/debriefing table that night, two vocal groups arose. There were those who thought it shouldn’t have been done at the time, because it had been a long day and the primary reason we were there was to see our children. Then there were those who thought it was wonderful and powerful and were disgusted by those who didn’t. The ‘discussion’ actually turned rather ugly and I spoke up and said yes I was tired but I’ve come to appreciate the bigger picture, and it’s not about us but the community.

Now it is the next morning so we shall see if the dust has settled (ha ha). People were tired and cranky last night so hopefully it doesn’t cause a rift in the group – although I think nobody wanted to swap vans anyway.

Contemplation (27 May, part V)

start here...

We drove back to Emali and met up with the others. It had been a beautiful day and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way from what we did. We laughed: for instance when Paul was being made an elder, the speech by the chief was translated as the women in their traditional garb ‘looking very ok’; so when it was his turn to reply he said how welcoming everyone had been and the women looked very ok and the men too. We cried: for some it was at the first meeting with their child and parent; I was so excited to have instantly recognised Tom that I didn’t cry until later, as I was telling his father how humbling it is that something so small in New Zealand can mean the difference between a bad life and a much better life in Emali.

One of the things that has really hit me over the last two days, in visiting the people today and listening to the people at the project offices in Emali and Nairobi yesterday, was how we are not just impacting the lives of individual children, nor their immediate family alone, but the whole village community. I would not be surprised if our letters are treated like the epistles of Paul and circulated around for everyone to read. I had not appreciated that before and I will definitely take more time to read the project reports we get about all the community work going on in Emali (which I tend to skim over as being less relevant).

The second aspect, which I was more prepared for, is the spiritual one. We have been told a few times and I have read in the past how CCF is not a Christian organisation with the focus on evangelising. (In fact, it started as the ‘China children fund’ and changed its name when all foreign organisations were kicked out by the Chinese government.) But many of the people here are Christians and it is wonderful to be able to share spiritual things with Tom’s family. As I said earlier, I am not sure how many of the rest of the group are believers, but I do count the relationship between Tom’s family and me to be special because of that bond. While the others are also told, you are part of our family, Tom and I really are brother and sister in the spiritual sense. Some of the people’s sponsored children and families are Muslim, for instance, so this just makes me all the more thankful.

All in all a perfect day and I praise God for it.

Tom’s house and family (27 May, part IV)

start here...

We made our way back down to the vans and organised ourselves into them, one van per family to be visited. Ian and Beryl came along with me; I really felt for them because they didn���t get the same opportunity.

We passed Tom���s school (Sambuli primary) on the way to his house and once gain were greeted with a Maasai welcome by the whole village, about 40-50 people. Tom���s mother Jacinta (who writes the letters to me) was one of the first to greet me and I gave her a big hug. We all shook hands and danced our way back to the house.


Me with Tom's family in their house

They invited me inside to sit on the bench, so with Tom and his three brothers sitting beside me we took some pictures and I gave them their gifts. They loved the puppets (although one of the eyes was picked off within about ten minutes, so I hope they can fix it!) and I think Jacinta especially appreciated the Bible storybook that I had for Tom. After that we moved outside, with the furniture and gifts and all the kids. We prayed and then had some speeches. The project zone chairman and secretary spoke about how they had been waiting for a sponsor to come, because they receive all this support and things that help the community but they don���t really know who it is that is helping them. The secretary also said that from the letters they had assumed that Bridget was a man ��� which made everybody laugh. I got up and gave a short speech, again thanking God, as they had already done, for bringing me to them and said something like if it was not for Him I would not have been able to help or to come. (I got a bit tearful.) Ian said a few words also, thanking them for the welcome. Then they presented us with gifts: a necklace and earrings for Beryl and a full Maasai outfit for me ��� skirt, blouse, belt, bracelet; all exquisitely embroidered with beads. It was only when I got back to the hotel that I looked at the belt and realised (because of how the buckle holes were worn) that it must have been somebody���s that they gave up for me. I knew this sort of thing was going to happen, that I would be given the widow���s mite (as it were), but the only response is to accept it.


Outside Tom's family's house, after being dressed in a traditional Maasai outfit

We closed in prayer and then Jacinta and some of the women gathered around. She told me how they all loved Jesus and had been praying for my journey. I said how much I admired their faith, and that many people in New Zealand have so many things that they think they don���t need God. It was a very special moment, to realise these women are my sisters in Christ and to be able to share that with them. Being ���made��� a Maasai helped as well, I think, to show that I was just one of them ��� human.

After this we took some more photos, with the family and with all the women, then they escorted us all back to the vans, singing all the way. Jacinta provided a summary translation (praising God for bringing me), although I could hear the words ���Iesu��� and ���Niuzilan��� on a regular basis.

Lunch with the Maasai (27 May, part III)

start here...

After that initial meeting and conversation we were ushered back to the vans to head off for the Maasai lunch. We gave Tom the option of travelling with his father or going with me, and to my surprise he went with me. We got in the van and I showed him the bag of gifts I had, then gave him the soccer ball to pump up. He attacked it with gusto and for the first time he seemed to relax a bit.
It was a long drive out to the Maasai, on some roads, dirt roads, and eventually what seemed like animal trails. There were four of us in the can, with three children, so it was pretty cosy. Paul had pointed out that many of the children might not have ridden in a vehicle before, and we were told a similar thing at the school earlier, that many of the children had not travelled as far as Emali.

We finally arrived and were greeted by the Maasai. This involved some line dancing (for want of a better word) and the whole tribe filing past us and everybody shaking hands with everybody. We are learning new words all the time: ���karibu��� in Swahili and ���sopa��� in Maasai is ���welcome���. I even experienced the ���African handshake��� which was quite touching as it is only used among close friends. After this we climbed up the hill a little way to where they had a marquee and seats set out, and food cooking. The food was simple and good ��� stew, rice, meat, some vegetables like spinach and cabbage. By this stage Tom and I had been reunited with his father and our interpreter, so we continued the conversation about African culture.

After everybody had eaten we went to the top of the rock on the hill, which Tom���s father told me is called Kimpas. We took some photos ��� the view was spectacular ��� and I gave Tom my camera to take some snaps for himself. His smile was getting bigger all the time.

Then we were treated to some tribal dancing and Paul was made an honorary elder of the tribe, much to everyone���s amusement.


Paul being made an honorary elder of the Maasai tribe

Meeting Tom (27 May, part II)

start here...

By the time we were on the road again back to the CCF office, we were about half an hour late. Nobody there seemed to mind too much (after all, we see many people on the streets just sitting, not doing anything). I think we were more concerned, because it meant we got less time to spend with our sponsored children.

When we arrived they were singing the same song as the day before:
Happy we are, happy we should be, happy forever more
Singing together, praising the Holy Lord, oh-h He will not fail

I recognised Tom and his father instantly and that was really exciting!
We made our way in and found our respective children and their family members who had come, and the interpreters from CCF helped translate back and forth. Tom was very very shy and I must admit I couldn���t think of many questions to ask. His father asked a lot of questions about New Zealand, how people work, the school system, the food, and some quite profound questions about what people think about Africa and how I felt as a person visiting them; also about poverty in New Zealand and how many people there are Christians. I asked what Tom���s favourite subject at school is (Swahili), what he wants to be when he grows up (a teacher), and what his normal day is like. That was an interesting one. He gets up and prepares himself for school. He goes to school from 8 am until 2 pm, when he goes home and has something to eat if they have any food. Then he helps his mother by fetching water etc. Paul had said to ask them how long it takes to do things like fetching water, so I did. There was some discussion (I suspect because Tom probably doesn���t have a sense of time yet) and I was told, ���Not long; the water is from a pipeline close to their house, so only 15 or 20 minutes.���


Photo of me and Tom, taken at lunch

The school visit (27 May, part I)

start here...

The ���hotel��� we are staying at is right on the main road, so we all got woken up at about 4 am from all the trucks going past. This made for some cranky people by the end of the day but I���ll get to that. I had offered to go around and knock on everyone���s doors at 6.30 to wake them up but there was really no need!

After breakfast we drove to the Mulala primary school and were greeted by about 700 children. The principal took us to the staff room and introduced all the teachers, after which we had to introduce ourselves like yesterday. Then we each went to different classes, I went to year 7. The guy I was with was a bit of an idiot ��� using broken English to talk to the kids (���New Zealand only four million people���) and being sarcastic ��� I told them how I went to university for seven years and he piped up and said it was because I was a slow learner. Oh well, his problem���

Video of children dancing

Then we all gathered at the assembly area outside and were treated to some dances by the parents (!) and the older girls. After that they had trees for us to plant, which is apparently an important symbol to acknowledge distinguished visitors. It was more moving than I had anticipated, as this little boy unwrapped a seedling, held it out to me, and we both lowered it into the ground and pushed the soil around it.


Planting a tree at Mulala school, with help

Emali (26 May, part II)

start here...

After the meeting at the project office we made our way to the Kindu ���hotel���, which is probably pretty good by Emali standards. It has running water and electricity ��� and not much else. The light in my bathroom doesn���t work, so I have to shower with the door ajar. But I would be really disappointed to be staying in a Hilton (a la Israel trip 2006).


Penthouse suite at the Kindu. Just try not to step on the floor...

We had some food (well, everyone else did ��� it was 9 pm by the time it was served, and I just wanted to go to bed), after we had discussed the schedule for the following day. We start by going to one of the schools, then it���s off to the project office again to meet our sponsored children. From there we go to lunch, with them, for a Maasai barbeque. Afterwards some of the group get to go with the children to visit their houses. Only six people are able to because of the locations involved, and I am one of them, so I am very thankful about that.

I think the thing I am most looking forward to will be to pray with Tom and his family. They opened and closed the meeting yesterday with prayer and I made sure to give a hearty ���amen��� ��� given that very few other people in our group are Christians. Wouldn���t it be awesome if they were able to notice that these people in Emali have something that they do not.

Off to Emali (26 May, part I)

start here...

We spent the morning at the CCF Kenya project office in Nairobi, which was quite interesting (although it involved a lot of talking), then we hit the road ��� literally. They are doing what felt like 100 km of roadworks. As one of the guides said, ���this is the road to heaven ��� you will have the hell shaken out of you���!

The scenery was fantastic along the way, and we even saw a giraffe in the distance ��� the first of many, I���m sure.

So after three and a bit hours we arrived in Emali to people singing and smiling ��� it was all quite overwhelming! They welcomed us and then we had afternoon tea. It was interesting to see many of them taking pictures of us, just as we were taking pictures of them. Two of the women were dressed in the traditional Maasai garments and we are certainly going to see more of that tomorrow.


Afternoon tea at the Emali CCF project office.

Then we had another one-and-a-half hours or so of talking, beginning with everybody in the room (about 50) introducing themselves. The locals spoke so softly that we couldn���t hear, so that was a bit frustrating (not that we���ll remember their names anyway) but I suspect it���s an important part of African culture, that everybody is introduced before the meeting can begin. They certainly appreciated us greeting them with ���Jambo��� (���hi���)!!

Nai-robbery (25 May)

start here...

It was a pretty full-on day in Nairobi today. We started off by going to the Karen Blixen house. Next stop was a giraffe park, which was a bit more fun because we got to have them eat out of our hands. We were rushed through that in order to get to the elephant orphanage, which is only open for an hour every day. Lunch was at a nice caf�� and then we drove around downtown Nairobi for a bit before heading off to the markets nearby.


Feeding a giraffe
Video here

I can now say I have experienced African shopping��� they sure know how to put you on a guilt trip and they are pretty determined to get your money! First they ���invited��� me to go into the ���shop��� and look, then said what do you want to buy. Reluctantly I pointed at some small animal figurines, so they picked some out and said 4000 shillings (about $50). I said no way and went to leave, but they had the doorway blocked ��� I pushed through and they asked what price I would like to pay. I said 400 shillings and got another plea because of his small children and ���you are my friend��� etc. I saw some of the others in the group and started heading towards them. The shopkeeper and his friends followed me down the street. 1800 shillings? 600 shillings? I said 500 ��� ok, deal done.
Now I realise that bargaining for the camel ride in Jordan was child���s play compared to this!!
And there will be more to come, in Emali etc.

I need to prepare myself and decide what sorts of things I want before we get there. Otherwise we���ll get taken for a ride. But it helps to know you can haggle them down to 10% of the starting offer. Imagine if buying a house was like that...

Arrival in Nairobi (24 May)

start here...

The flight today (from Johannesburg to Nairobi) didn���t feel as long as it should have, which is a big relief after yesterday.

We are most definitely in Africa, if the roads are anything to go by! Lane markings are pointless, so they don���t have any; traffic lights might as well be decoration. Along the side of the road and even walking in the middle of the road were people of all ages trying to sell various things ��� car mats, flags, hats, sunglasses, fruit, snacks, CDs, etc. They would come up to the side of the car and ask if we wanted to buy anything. Apparently this is all illegal but at least they are trying to do something more legitimate than stealing.
And the number of people walking alongside the road, even out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere (between the airport and the city)! There were tracks running all over the median barrier from foot traffic. But I expect to see a lot more.


Typical main road in Nairobi

I have a feeling that food is going to be the biggest challenge, especially when we go to Emali. But that���s only for two days.
A Scripture came to mind today, that nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving (1 Tim. 4:4).
God is bigger than any bug there might be, so I have to trust Him that I won���t get sick.

It���s interesting to note how many in the group are not Christians. Not that the issue has ever directly come up, but just listening to what they say (alcohol this-that-whatever, swearing, anti-Israel, etc.).

On the way (23 May)

{{Start here for my trip to Kenya}}

It was a super long flight from Sydney to Johannesburg, but at least I got a spare seat next to me. Flying long-haul during the day doesn’t help.

Once we arrived at the airport and found the hotel shuttle we were greeted by somebody in an event I presume will become commonplace – a man posing as a porter asking for tips. We didn’t realise that he hadn’t actually helped carry any of the bags… at least only one person actually gave him anything.
Anyway, it was a big eye-opener to be on your guard and a lesson not to take your wallet out in public.