Hakuna Matata

Well, it's mid-afternoon and a beautiful 85 degrees in Kenya. I feel like saying hakuna matata. No worries. Love the weather here and have been having a wonderful time catching up with my college friends Heather and Jason. Jason works as a surgeon at Tenwek Hospital here 150 miles outside Nairobi. You can check out their blog at mccropders.blogspot.com.

I have to say ... Kenya is beautiful. My first two days were spent site seeing. We saw a baby elephant orphanage, a giraffe park, and Crescent Island. Crescent Island is a 400-acre piece of land used 25 years ago to film Out of Africa. Animals were brought in for the film and never left, making it a great tourist spot. We took a boat out to the island and then walked around looking for animals. Here are a few highlights from the sites:

Wildebeest below an Acacia tree

"Baby" elephant (about a year old)

The best part about Crescent Island was an unexpected gift. While we were walking across the island our guide Bernard spotted something. He called to us, "Come quickly!" We didn't exactly know what were were running toward but hurried down the hill to see. Bernard had just seen a baby giraffe being born. We arrived about 30 seconds later to see the baby on the ground, fluids still covering him. Bernard told us it was quite unusual to see a giraffe being born because births usually happen at night. Amazing. It wasn't long before the baby started lifting his head and trying to walk. We waited for 30-40 minutes to see him take his first steps, thinking out loud that it takes our babies a year to start walking. It attempted several times to get up but our boat actually arrived before we could see the climax. Below are some photos of the mother and newborn:

And a video of one of the baby's attempts to get up!

Hakuna matata. I am sure he was up in no time.

Pineapple on a Stick?

 Fresh fruit is quite a treat here in Mozambique. Walking through the market, driving through the city, or driving along the highway fresh fruit is always around and ready for the eating! Today is my last day in Mozambique, so Dara, Nede, and I went into the city to get a pineapple treat. Mmmm.... pineapple on a stick! We picked up these little pineapples for a crazy 15 cents a piece. The vendor sliced off the rind and the end result? YUM!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

What I've learned in the last 3 weeks living with a five-year-old:

1) You never know what's going to happen next.

2) Kids have a lot more energy than I do!

Nede is the little girl Dara is taking care of, and she's full of spunk and joy. The other day I got out the grass mat to do some stretching at the end of the day and Nede decided it would be fun for her too. So she found the smaller grass mat and "monkey see, monkey do!" I am pretty sure it was her first time stretching (how much stretching does her body of endless energy need, anyway?). She did great.

I love the multi-tasking in the next photo. She's working on her abdominal stretch, holding a mango, AND getting a tongue stretch in as well! Note the beautiful pink princess dress she's wearing. This dress is one of her favorite play dresses that sometimes doubles as her "presentation" dress when visitors arrive! Pink is a daily theme. (-:

Monkey loves climbing trees too!

Playful and adorable. (-:

Mountain Adventures

I heard a friend say this week "only in Africa." I chuckled and nodded. I've only been here three weeks but see some truth to that. Every day brings a little adventure and risk, especially when driving a '69 Land Rover in the bush.

So this week we had a "planned" adventure hiking up a small mountain called Old Man's Face. The hike was great—invigorating and beautiful. We took our Rover (The Beast) to a local village and parked when we could go no further for fear of breaking the axle. The four of us then hiked through the corn fields, around a rice paddy, and across a stream to get to the foot of this mountain. The hike up was short and steep, and the views were worth it. Here are a few pics, then some thoughts along the way: 

Our hiking group: Rebecca, Dara, Jose (and me).

Dara, me, and Rebecca. (Rebecca is living with us right now so that she can finish grade 10 in the city.)

We made it! Jose (middle) insisted we take this hike to see the views!

The views!

cousins

The hike was great, and our planned adventure brought more experiences and pondering than I had anticipated. What you don't see in these pictures is the witch doctor we passed as we walked through the village or the place near the mountaintop where goats are sacrificed to keep away evil spirits. But then, on the other side of the mountain, we passed a group sitting under the shade of a tree listening to preaching—and then praying to God. 

There is so much going on here spiritually and seeing a witch doctor on the same hike that we heard a group praying to God really brought that to light. There is a real battle going on here for the hearts of the people. I have met some who follow Christ who still seek healing through traditional rituals such as those performed by the witch doctor. The scars on their bodies tell all. I wonder what draws them to seek answers apart from Christ—and then begin to wonder the same about myself. We come from very different cultures, yet at the root I think we are very much the same. We are all seeking answers—and seeking to fill our hearts with hope and assurance. I have chosen Christ for life, yet I see how much it is a daily choice as well. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) I see more and more how the battle for our hearts is real. I pray we continue to encourage one another daily to put our faith and hope in Christ.

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Conviction

One wonderful thing about my time so far in Mozambique is that I have had time to read. The last story I read was about William Tyndale, a reformer and translator who was martyred in the early 1500s. I've learned that Tyndale was the first to translate the whole Greek New Testament into English and make it available in printed form. Check out some of these beautiful verses that have stood the test of time from Tyndale's original English translation:

The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be merciful unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:9)

In him we live, move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

I share this with you because I am fascinated that Tyndale dedicated his life to this translation—to something he believed in so deeply that he was willing to die for it. Tyndale was an Englishman and the Roman Catholic church at the time forbade translation of scripture into English. Yet Tyndale firmly believed the Bible should be available in the language of his people. For fear of his life, he left England in 1524 and worked on the translation in Germany for the next 12 years. In 1536 he was burned at the stake for this work and his reformed doctrine. In 2011—almost 500 years later—I now have the privilege of reading scripture in my native tongue partly because this man was willing to give his life for it. Thank you, Tyndale. I pray I can live my life with such conviction.

The Beast

So is it odd to take a nap at 7:30 p.m.? Our power went out around then. I was beat from a day in the sun, a birthday party for Dara’s friend, playing a fun game of futebol, and riding in our new “tractor” Land Rover (stay tuned for more on that). The power came back on at 8, but my body didn’t quite have enough oomph to get up. The power promptly went out again soon after. I sit here now at 8:30 p.m., awake, writing this in Microsoft Word, thinking (hoping) the power might come back on later this evening and I can transfer it to the internet. Ah, there it is. Lights! And access to you, the rest of the world.

Now on to the more comical part of the day.

My cousin Dara and her car situation has been a matter of some concern, prayer, and entertainment since I arrived. Her goal is to buy a new truck for herself soon, but until then, she is at the mercy of some generous friends who have been loaning her a vehicle. Yesterday we took her Bighorn in to get some work done and her replacement vehicle turned out to be our latest source of hilarity. An early 70s Land Rover with the engine of a ’69 tractor. You’ve got to be kidding, right? No, for real. We feel like we’re heading into a safari—just without the animals, only the thrill of the ride. We’ve gotten plenty of strange looks—and a few outright laughs—as we (two young white girls) drive around in the Beast with a little Mozambican girl perched on my lap in the front. And we've had plenty of laughs ourselves, so we couldn’t resist taking a few pictures for your entertainment as well.

If you’d like to read more about this adventure, check out Dara’s blog at thereforego.blogspot.com. She details the “instructions” we received as we piled into the Rover. And funny thing, the tractor/truck combo we affectionately call the Beast apparently drives like a boat.

The Beast.

Me and Nede (pronounced like Freddy with an "n"). Nede is the five-year-old girl Dara is taking care of.

Dara, still smiling.

Some Things I Love in Mozambique

As I sat down to write this blog, I was hoping to share with you a few pictures of where I live and some creatures I live with, but then the list turned into something more. My couple of pictures started a brainstorm of all the things I've enjoyed for the last 12 days in Mozambique. I'll spare you the whole list, but among the "things I love in Mozambique" are the warm weather, the landscape, the fruit, the interesting creatures (that don't crawl on me), the slower pace of life, and the company! Here are a few pictures to give you a sense of where I am:

I hadn't seen my cousin Dara in about 10 months, so it's been a joy to spend time with her every day. This is a picture of her living room.

These are pics of the landscape on the way to visit the "mission" where Dara volunteers. It's about 40 km from the city.

 

Not sure if I "love" Lizzie Jr., but I find her quite amusing. She hangs out in my bedroom. I haven't seen her mama Lizzie in a while, but Jr. is about 3 inches long.

I just spotted Lizzie Jr. Jr. on my bed today. She is only about an inch long!