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NILE RIVER EXPLORING
One thrill towards the end of my time in Kenya was rafting on the Nile River. Just about all of the residents and students from the States traveled together to Jinja, Uganda on a Friday and spent most of Saturday rafting Class V rapids. For one who had never been rafting before, this was a bit intimidating! However, I felt relatively safe the whole time and had a great experience. The Nile River is very deep in this part of its course which bodes well for safer rafting (less risk of dashing head or limbs on rocks!).
Meghan and I before our rafting adventure
My boat on its way to the rapids
Dad's Visit to Kenya
Over spuds and sandwiches at McCalister's one September afternoon, my dad agreed to join me in Kenya for 10 days towards the end of my medical rotation in February '09. I so anticipated his arrival when February rolled around. We had many adventures together. We stayed in Eldoret for the first couple of days so that he could see life in Eldoret and appreciate what my daily life looked like. We toured the hospital, visited Imani Workshop, and even made a journey to Iten to see the Rift Valley. After saying good-bye's, we left for the Masai Mara via Nairobi, where our three-day safari experience commenced. The Mara (meaning "spotted" because of the spottiness of vegetation/trees) is a national park, protecting East Africa's famous wildlife. It was so exciting to see the some of the"Big Five" (elephant, lion, black rhino, cape buffalo, leopard) as well as other animals in their natural environment on our tours. Our early morning and late afternoon "game drives" allowed us a special looks into the life of African wildlife. One highlight was listening to the roaring of three male lions early on our last morning in the Mara.
Our driver, Hassan, was excellent and had a lot of knowledge about the animals we encountered. We were definitely wishing we were there during September/October to witness the "Great Migration," USA Today's Seventh Wonder of the world.
Here are some other photo highlights from our safari in the Mara:
Our Kenya tour led to the coast of the Indian Ocean in Mombasa. We were very touristy in this fascinating port city and spent more time pursuing R&R than any culture this time around.
We traveled from Mombasa back to Nairobi and were able to visit with our dear friends, Cyrus and Susan Gikori along with their two beautiful daughters. Cyrus and Susan's family had spent one year interning with Grace Community Church in Carmel, IN during which time we met and became good friends. We celebrated the fact that we were finally enjoying a meal together in their Kenyan home.
We also visited with Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF) and Hope Partnership missionaries, with whom our church is partnering in the Mathare Slum in Nairobi. The specific community that Traders Point will eventually be working with is Korogocho (#10 on map). It was nice to meet the missionaries of CMF/Hope and visit the ministry. Centered on Community Health Evangelism (CHE), CMF/Hope focuses on meeting the stated needs of a community. Education, public health, and skills training are key components of every community intervention. One of the highlights of our visit to Mathare was meeting "Class One Yellow" (one classroom of first graders), where we shared beaded friendship bracelets that my Mom's Traders Point Christian Academy first graders had made for them.
Mary Kamau, founder of Hope Partnership, overlooking Mathare Slum, where this ministry has made a significant impact.
On 2/28, we departed back to the States after an awesome ten-day adventure. I was really thankful for this time of respite after an intense two months in Eldoret and morever, uninterrupted time with my dad - in Kenya!
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