Maasai Development Project

The Maasai Development Project Blog will be used by members to post updates particularly while on trips to Kenya. Here you can view these posts and make comments.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Shopping and Departure Day

Everyone was up early and ready to head into town to try their out their bargaining skills! We parked at Sarit Center (a mall) and from their the group could spread out and shop both at the mall or at the "Blue Shacks" across the street! Most headed for the "shacks" to see what kinda of African treasures they could get!

Everyone was given some cash to spend for purchasing their lunch at the mall - all though some did spend it on curios instead of food - SMILE

After shopping for several hours we headed back out of Nairobi towards the Division again - stopping just briefly at another shopping center so that I could pick up some items for the Mt Kenya group.

Back and the division the group re-packed all the goodies they had bought, we had worship and supper and then headed to the airport. All flew out, except for 9 of us! Our next goal was Pt. Lenana - on Mt Kenya.

This was a great group of people! I enjoyed each of them! I know they were a blessing to those they came to serve - and I KNOW they blessed me!
kim

Monday March 22nd

We woke up to a fantastic breakfast buffet! There was just about anything anyone would want to eat for breakfast and more! The group packed up, stopped briefly by the pool for a group picture and headed out to the truck for the ride back to the East Central African Division Guesthouses.

Not to far out of the park one of the truck ran out of fuel, but fortunately we were close to Narok and so the the first truck filled up a container with fuel and drove it back to those waiting. It was not long before we were on our way again -

Back and the Division we unpacked the truck and re-sorted and packed ALL the supplies so they would be ready for the next trip in July. It is a long job and not fun! But most were real troopers about it! A special thanks to Amanda, Jill, Lindsay, and Leon for staying up till the job was complete! They were a huge blessing!

Everyone was tired from the trip and ready for bed at the end of the day!
kim

Sunday - March 21

It rained all night and many woke up to wet mattresses and sleeping bags (some of us had nice toasty dry ones....SMILE) We warmed up by the hot coals from the fire during the night, had worship and then enjoyed a breakfast of fresh fruits, cereal, boiled eggs and hot drinks.

After we packed everything up we headed back through the Mara to Sarova - a fantastic lodge where the hospitality is heavenly! We pulled in just before lunch and were greeted by the staff handing out cool wet wash clothes with eucalyptus oil on them, and a cold glass of fresh passion fruit juice. Everyone was briefed on their room assignments, and what was available at Sarova then headed for lunch and an afternoon of sunbathing, swimming, ping pong, sleep, reading, massages, and hot showers.

There was an optional game drive for those who wanted it at 4pm and the other truck took Marlin Meharry to the airport strip at Keekerok (in the game reserve) Marlin had to head back early to the US to start back to work on Monday.

Supper found everyone rested up and relaxed - as we enjoyed a candlelight meal and headed out to bed (our rooms were ready - with beds turned back and hot water bottles tucked inside to keep our toes toasty warm)

Sleep came quickly for most - Sarova was a well earned treat! There is truly no better hospitality found in Kenya - then at Sarova Mara Lodge!

Good night all!
kim

Monday, March 22, 2010

Sabbath in the Mara

Clinics are over and everyone gets to sleep in a little on Sabbath morning! The drivers and I are up bright and early though, cause we are heading back to Siana to pick up the academy kids and bring them back for a pancake brunch.

When we get back to camp the adults have all eaten and are sitting under the big Fig tree talking, bird watching and reading. The days already feels different then all the rest of them. It's going to be relaxing and much slower paced!

The academy kids enjoy their hot showers before we pack up the two trucks, then we had a group worship and headed out to a game drive, with a picnic a long the way. We stopped at the Mara River where the wildebeest cross in July and took pictures of huge crocodiles laying on the banks sunning themselves. The Mara is green and the grass is long, so it makes spotting some of the cats a bit harder.

Because the sun is so warm we opted to just go to our campsite for lunch where there is lots of shade. Tonite we are at a new campsite, not the one that the group has been at for the past few days..... tonite we are camping on the edge of the Mara River out in the middle of nowhere! There are not fences, no guards, not people, just us and the animals. From camp we can see two female lions laying around, elephant wonder around the edges of our camp eating and you can hear their stomachs rumbling as they communicate back and forth with each other. Hippos snort in the river next to us - and we feel blessed by nature and all God's creations.

At 5pm we did a short game drive, stopped at the gate to the park which was not far away and everyone went into the bathroom, then on the way back to camp sat by the pride of lions in the area - there were 4 cubs that were full of energy, pouncing on each other and their moms. It was hard to pull away from them.

Back in camp we had worship around the fire as the sun went down, enjoyed fresh fruit and Raman noodles for supper and then some headed to bed while others sat and visited late into the night. The night was quieter than normal - other than an occasional hynea laugh, or a hippos snort. At 2am I got up and put more wood on the fire and a baboon alerted the others that someone was up and moving around. About 3am in started raining and rained the rest of the morning - several had wet sleeping bags by morning time.

It was fun! Most seemed to really enjoy it
kim

Clinic at Siana

Friday morning we got up early ate breakfast and left for Siana with a 2 hour game drive on the way there - we were blessed with a rhino, lions and huge herd of buffalo, plus all the regular grazers.

We set up for clinic and I headed up to check on the kids working at the building site nearby and drop off some more food for them. They looked worn out, but happy and begged me to allow them to stay there one more night. So I agreed and told them we would be stopping by after clinic at Siana to tour the site and check out the work they had been doing.

Clinic went well. We had plenty of patients. Had to send one to hospital because of a possible brain tumor - the childs mom was 17 years old, she was married at 12 years old and this was her second child. Praise the Lord for all of you who have sent in donations to "Charitable Medical Funds" for the mission trips. That money will go to help the child above and another one that we had to send in for emergency surgery in Oliotokitok.

After clinic the group toured the building site before heading back to our campsite for the evening. Tomorrow we pack everything up and head out to the Mara River for the night! Cant wait - all though there seems to be some rain clouds gathering over the Mara.
kim

Clinic in Talek

Thursday morning we had an optional game drive before clinic. Our first drive out we saw a bunch of lions, tons of elephants and lots of grazers! It was great fun seeing the excitement of the group seeing all the animals in the wild for the first time.

We headed back for breakfast (coffee cake and scrambled eggs) and then we loaded up for clinic in Talek. The academy kids stayed in camp and packed up their things cause they were heading to Siana to spend the night and do some construction at the MDP building site.

After I got the adults all settled in at clinic in Talek, I headed back to load up the academy kids. We got to the site about 11:30am and the kids piled out and went right to work, some shoveling sand, some pouring cement and some smoothing out the cement. The spend the night out on the ground under the stars on mattresses.

Back at clinic the adults were working hard - I got back to them just as they closed up clinic and we loaded them up, took them back to camp to freshen up and head out on a optional game drive. A couple of them came with me up to check on the burned baby that had had surgery on his foot this past Christmas. He was doing great!

Back at camp we loaded everyone up and headed out for another game drive - saw three cheetahs and some more lions, besides lots of other creatures. It was a great day - and once again we sat around the fire for worship and then headed to bed.

God had blessed us once again -
kim

Mt Longonot

Morning came way to soon for those climbing the mountain - breakfast was inhaled at
5am (muffins, mangos, pineapples, papayas, passion fruit and oranges) and we we about 20 of loaded the truck and headed out in the dark for Mt Longonot. Those who stayed in camp got to sleep in and have breakfast about 8am before taking down camp.

Meanwhile those climbing the mountain arrived at the gate, took their water bottles and headed up the mountain. We were lucky that the weather was good - there was clouds that kept the sunshine for beating down on us, and a nice cool breeze. Norbert was in the lead and I brought up the rear. Everyone made it to the rim and in good time too! About 11:30 am the last of the group made it back down the mountain to the truck and we headed back to meet the rest of the group at the town Suswa. It was a great hike - and most everyone was worn out!

We met up with the rest of the group by the MDP church in Suswa and headed out for the Masai Mara National Reserve. We arrived at Sekenani Gate around 4:30pm and headed straight for Gametrackers campsite. After unloading the truck most headed for the showers and then for a hot supper under the stars. Worship was by the fire and everyone turned in early - anxious for the early morning game drive on Thursday.
kim

Clinic at Olgume

Tuesday morning we headed out to Olgume for our second clinic day. We traveled down the escarpment into the Great Rift Valley, stopping briefly for pictures and a bathroom break, before heading off on a little dirt road to the village of Olgume on the side of Mt Suswa. We set up dental under the tarp of the truck, optical and wound care under trees and pharmacy in the church.

It was a busy day - and most of the academy kids had the opportunity to pull a tooth or two. As clinic neared the end a storm was building around us and you could hear the thunder and smell the rain. We quickley put things away and set up for supper in the church.

Everyone put up their tents before supper - and God blessed us by having the storm move west of us. Some of the academy kids joined in with the Maasai playing soccer and then we all settle down for a burrito and fruit salad supper before heading to bed for the night.

It had been a busy day - and everyone was tired. Tomorrow will be a big day for those climbing Mt Longonot.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers -
kim

Monday, March 15, 2010

Heading back to the ECD Guesthouses - March 15th


Today was Howard's 79th birthday! His second time to celebrate in Kenya with us!

Much to the dismay of the group I got them up bright and early (actually it was dark....)They loaded the truck at 5:15am and had breakfast at 5:30am, but 6:15am we were on the road headed back to the Division Guesthouses. They had two options, take one truck and head to Kajiado Rescue Center with me to visit the students there and have a brief tour of the school, or head back with Stephen straight to the guesthouses with a short stop over at the airport to pick up someones luggage that they had forgotten when they landed (wont mention any names - SMILE) The group was almost divided exactly in half.

Stephen's group picked up the suitcase without any problems and made it home in good time. Enjoyed some showers and unloaded the truck. My group had a blast at the Rescue Center. The girls that are sponsored through MDP gave them a tour of the classrooms, kitchen, dorm room, and sang to them! Lots of hugs and smiles were shared before we headed back to the guesthouses at the Division.

It has been a very busy afternoon! Unpacking all the supplies and repacking, sorting, washing water jugs and refilling them and loading up all the kitchen supplies and food! The day seems never ending - it's 1am and I am still baking muffins for breakfast this week for the group! There is an energy that comes when I am working in Kenya..... is is from the heart, and I love it. I feel very passionate about the people here, and am very blessed to be able to do what I do. Thanks for making it possible.
Keep us in your prayers - we head out tomorrow once again bright and early (5:15am we will be loading up) and we will be doing clinic tomorrow in Olgume - in the Great Rift Valley.

kim

Sunday's Clinic - March 14th


Mt Kilimanjaro was beautiful this morning - the sun coming up cast a pinkish glow on it and there was not a cloud in site! Everyone was anxious for the first clinic and seemed to be up and ready to go early! After breakfast we headed out - stopping for some great pictures of the mountain! The entire mountain was clear - and seemed so close to us!

There were a few people already in line when we arrived at Namelok - after prayer with the lay workers we unloaded the truck and set pharmacy, medical, dental and wound care. We were not able to do optical at this clinic but will be able to at the rest of the clinics.

Wound care had their share of cuts and infections, from cuts all the way to the bone between the thumb and pointer finger, to barbed wire shredding a man's shin.

Medical had us taking young boy to hospital who needed immediate care - the kind we could not offer. When clinic was over we drove him and his mom (who is a widow) to the hospital in Oloitokitok.

Dental had plenty of patients and Mat and Zac were able to pull some teeth, and the toy department was kept busy with lots of little kids. Everyone did a great job!

After clinic was over we spent a little while playing with the kids, they love bubbles, playing volley ball, soccer, and just having stickers put on their foreheads! It was a great day - and everyone was tired out when we got home. At supper time Don realized that he had lost his hearing aid and so the drivers and I went back to the clinic site to see if we could find it. I was hoping to be blessed with a night creature on the way there - and had to be satisfied with a great big tarantula crossing the road. We found his hearing aid within minutes of getting back to the clinic - the Lord is good!

Sleep was needed for all! The day was a blessing.
kim

Sabbath March 13, 2010

We woke up to Mt Kilimanjaro in our back yard! It was beautiful, but the clouds came in fast. We ate breakfast and headed out to Namelok for church service. It was a little over an hour drive, and we stopped along the way to take pictures of the Mt Kili. The little church was packed and we crowded in a sat on little wooden benches. The walls and roof were made of tin with no windows and by the end of church everyone was quite warm.

I took the little children and went under a tree and told stories and sung songs with them while Gwen Edwards did the sermon. After church we greeted everyone and wished them well then headed back to Kibo Slopes cottages for lunch and some R&R for the afternoon.

About 4pm about half us headed up to have a tour of the hospital in Olitokitok. It was amazing to walk through the labor and delivery rooms and see the equipment and the condition the room was in. It was like you had stepped back in time.

Saturday night we sorted meds and repacked them for clinic in Namelok before finally falling into our beds for another good night of sleep.
kim

Friday March 12

Most of the morning was spent packing up the supplies we needed for the clinic and loading them on the trucks. Just before noon we were done and were able to head out with a short stop for most everyone to exchange dollars into shillings. Then we were on our way.

The roads were great for the most part, and traffic was not too bad as we went through Nairobi and out on the Mombasa Rd. We stopped briefly for a bathroom break about half way and then turned off the main road and headed towards Olitokitok.

The group got all excited as we passed giraffe, zebra and thompson gazelles. It was not long before we saw Mt Kilimanjaro rising up out of no where! The last 15k of the road were under construction so we bumped around in the trucks for about 30 minutes or so before crossing the last boarder patrol before Tanzania - and turning down our little road to Kibo Slopes Cottages - nestled in the trees on the foot hills of Mt Kilimanjaro.

There was just enough time to unload our goodies, shower and head to a hot supper. We opened the Sabbath hours with worship and then headed to our rooms for a good night of sleep.
kim

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Group Arrives

It's Friday morning and the world is still asleep. The group came in last night with almost no difficulties - other than Norbert Schwer missing one suitcase - but it will catch up to us somewhere along the way. It is nothing we can't live without. As soon as we got to the East Central Africa Division everyone unloaded and moved into their guestrooms. Some took showers, others waited in line for the phone, some ate, and some went to bed..... and some did not go to bed until 1:45am! It was so much fun to sit in my guestroom with some of the academy kids and listen to all their stories about the last 24 hrs! I felt like I needed an extra pair of ears - they all talked at once!

Today I will have everyone up and going within the next hour, breakfast will be served, worship and orientation will take place, sack lunches will be packed and we will sort through all the goodies that everyone brought! (I think there are 2,999 beanie babies.... SMILE just kidding - but am not sure if there are any left in the US at this point) We will reload the two trucks and jump on board - heading to Oloitokitok on the foot hills of Mt Kilimanjaro for the weekend. Sabbath we will be visiting a Maasai church in Namelok and then the group can catch up on some R&R Sabbath afternoon, plus there will be an optional visit to the local hospital. Sunday clinic will be at Namelok and then back to Kibo Slopes Cottages (that is where we will be staying for the weekend - if you want to google it you might enjoy reading about it and seeing some pictures)

Monday we will load up REALLY early, did I say REALLY early? Not really - about 5am only and head back to the East Central Africa Division with the options of going on one of the trucks to visit Kajiado Rescue Center, while the other truck goes back directly to the guesthouses.Bobbie Bishop, who is on the trip with us sponsors a young girl through MDP there and will have the opportunity to meet her.

So it might be that once we head out you wont see us on the computers again till Monday evening. This is a great group to have here - full of energy! I can't wait to get them out of bed this morning and watch them experience their first day in Kenya -it will be awesome.

Thanks so much for all your prayers - keep them coming!
kim

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

March 2010 Medical/Dental Clinic Begins

Am busy doing last minute preparations for the groups arrival tonite. I am so excited! There are 36 of us and we represent the following places:
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Arkansas, Oregon, California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and South Korea. There are 2 Dentists, 5 MD's, 4 RN's, 1 Highschool Teacher, 1 Retired Farmer, 12 Academy Students, 2 Elementary Students, 1 Social Worker, 1 Occupational Therapist, 1 Hospital CEO, 1 Pre-dental Student,and more!

Tomorrow morning we will sort and re-pack all the goodies that everyone is bringing and then we will head out to Oliotokitok on the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The rains have come to Kenya and that land is green. Last March the trip was very dusty -so am hoping the landscape will be a little greener - but not muddy!

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel about - I will update you after the group arrives tonite. Thanks for all you do! We could not do this without each of you!
kim