We're home!

We (Doris, Karen, Laura, Matt, Dennis, Ryan) arrived safely back to Lancaster around 6:00 Wednesday evening. Thanks for your prayers and interest in our Kenya experience. We look forward to sharing with you what we learned! You are also welcome to attend one or both of our public sharing times:
February 15, 10 a.m., Mellinger Mennonite Church
March 1, 10 a.m., Stumptown Mennonite Church

Chris and Joe will return to Lancaster on February 5.

One more "last" post!

by Laura Livengood

Today, Doris, Karen, and I had the privilege of accompanying Cindy to the English class that she leads for a small group of Somali ladies. The class began with us all singing several songs in Somali and then Karen, Doris, and I sang "Come Thou Fount" in English for them. After Cindy led the group in a bit of a review, we each paired up with a lady and engaged in a full hour of practicing conversational English and working together through some ABC picture books with the women. It was a tiring but fulfilling experience! Afterwards, some of us bought bags that the women sewed in their sewing class.

One last posting before one long plane ride

By Dennis Diller

Our group along with the Brislens and Chris Peifer’s three adult children visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust outside of Nairobi. This park takes care of orphaned young elephants and rhinos. Orphaned elephant younger than three years can not survive without milk. To a baby elephant, family is very important. A replacement family (human keeper) must be with the infant elephant at all times, even during the night with the keeper sleeping next to the calf. This park has successfully hand-reared over 80 elephants since 1987.

Thirty years ago the elephant population of Africa stood at approximately 3 million. Today less than 250,000 remain due to ivory poaching and other human pressures.

We had lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant and did some shopping at Triangle Market in the afternoon. Tomorrow Joe Miller, Chris Peifer and his three children leave for Tanzania while the rest of our group head back to Pennsylvania.

Olepolos Mennonite Church


Joe with a Masai friend


The fancy "tents" at Masai Mara game park

Masai Mara and Olepolos Mennonite Church

By Joe Miller

I am sitting outside and enjoying the African early morning by myself and this seems like the perfect time to reflect on the last several days. I am smelling the sweet fragrance of Easter lilies and flowering bushes and think of all you dear folks back in Lancaster County facing another winter day. Our group will soon enough be joining you.

On Friday morning we loaded into two vans for the five hour trip to visit a Game Park and to worship at the Olepolos Mennonite Church. Nate and Jill Milton and Mike, Cindy, and their six-year old Alia were a part of the group. After a very bumpy ride through the Rift Valley we arrived at the Masai Mara Game Park. The park is in the Rift Valley and has a large variety of landscapes. Mike had made reservations for us at a small lodge that had fifteen tents that slept two people each. Tent is hardly the description that defines the tents at the lodge. See the photos for a view of what a luxury tent can be like. Each tent had a bathroom with a shower/bath, sink, and toilet. People in our group said that their beds in the tents were the best they had slept in since leaving home.

Upon our arrival we were each given hot towels to wipe away the dust from the road. We had about 45 minutes to relax before starting our first safari. We divided into two vehicles that had tops that lifted up so we could stand and watch animals and take pictures. We drove through the park from 3:30 in the afternoon until 7:00 and saw elephants, zebra, lions, all kinds of antlered animals, Cape buffalo, cheetah, wart hog.

When we returned to the lodge we relaxed and sat by a fire outside a dining hall tent. The super was amazingly good and was prepared and served by Masai men.

The next morning we set out for our second safari drive at 6:30. We were served coffee and chai (tea with milk and sugar) and promised that at 9:30 when we return to the lodge we would be served a large breakfast. The morning drive was even more interesting and productive than the earlier drive. We saw cheetah, hyena, and more of the animals from the evening before. After a wonderful breakfast we spent time enjoying the lodge before leaving for Oleoplis.

Olepolos is a mainly Masai congregation. Clair and Beth Good were a part of the congregation when they served in Kenya. We were welcomed by church and school leaders and given a tour of their work as a congregation that involves a health clinic, school and of course the church. We divided up in twos and were taken by local families to their homes for the evening and overnight. This was a stretching experience for many of us because of the basic facilities of our host families. For most of us, there was no electric and no toilet. Some of us were being hosted in sod/mud homes. All of us were deeply grateful for our hosts’ generous spirits and willingness to host us. Children and adults were eager to connect and to interact even when we did not share a common language. The worship service on Sunday was very special and meaningful. Again the hospitality was overwhelming. Our time at Olepolos was an important part of our growing and appreciating different cultures. Before we left the United States we read a number of books and articles about how different cultural values shape the choices people make. We have been repeatedly challenged to not assume everyone in the world has the same values or desires for life. The Masai value traditional ways of life, family, and community and shared life more than enlarging their homes. They see value in their herds of cattle, sheep, and goats and see less value and importance in their homes. Their pastoral traditions of temporary shelter remain in their simple homes and lean material possessions. As one guidebook observes about being invited to visit a Masai home: “Do go in if invited into a person’s home. Don’t be put off by the smell or the size of the quarters. These people don’t want or deserve our pity! They have chosen to live this way because they believe it is what brings them joy and true happiness. In fact, they feel sorry for us!”

We left for Nairobi after church and arrived very tried but glad for the weekend trip and also glad to get back to the Mennonite guest house. We ordered pizza and had a wonderful evening with Mike, Cindy, and Alia looking at pictures and videos of our weekend and sharing stories of our adventure.

Masai Mara safari


Noah's Ark wood carving

Another wonderful day the Lord has made.

By Chris Peifer and Ryan Ebersole

This day was again quite an experience. A bit different than all other days. Not as emotional for me, but still at the same time a learning experience. Which is the whole point of this trip. This morning we started out thinking that today was going to be a lighter day with some time in the afternoon to relax and unwind. Wrong again. We met a nice french canadian named Jonathon. He works with MCC working hand in hand with artisans and crafts people. First we went to a whole village of crafts people. In part to do a little shopping, but also to see how they work and carve. They are amazingly talented people who have been doing their trade for years. The Artisans that Jonathon works with are some of the craftsman who sell their product to ten-thousan villages. Their were a lot of other crafts people that we were able to barter with, but Jonathon told us the ones working for ten-thousand villages were fairly priced and we should not attempt to barter. All of us got a little crash course in African bartering.

After the artisans village we went to the head MCC Africa office. We had a wonderful and relaxing lunch with the Millers, Nate Milton, and about 15 others. After that we took a vehicle tour of downtown Nairobi. One stop we did make while in downtown was at the high court area, which also had a statue of Jomo Kenyatta who was the first president of Kenya. We did the vehicle tour while we were headed to see where Mike Brislen works. Mike is a professor at Nairobi International School of Theology. After taking the tour of the school, we stopped at the local Nakumac, which I have learned is the Wal-Mart of Kenya. We stopped to get some water and supplies for our time out at Masai Mara, and Olepolos. That time away from Nairobi starts tomorrow (Friday) morning. We were all so tired after the day that we ended up laughing about virtually nothing for a while this evening.