Part I - Kenya

So far I've ridden an ostrich, chased two giraffes, taken maize to a Maasai village, seen a herd of zebras, and watched a dog chase a warthog away from the house next door, and I've only been here two days!

Catching Road-Kill
October 7, 2000

This morning we passed a road-kill zebra. We decided that on the way back we should grab a hunk and feed it to the crocodiles. When we returned, the zebra was gone. All that was left were the intestines and the stomach. There was a boy that had some of the ribs a little ways off in the bush. Apparently people had already taken everything else - head, skin, and even feet. I guess you have to be quick even to catch road-kill here.

"I am the only one who isn't feeling sick"
October 19, 2000

Greetings from the lower slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

I am here in Oloitokitok with 5 other OCI workers conducting a survey for UNICEF. We are weighing and measuring children under 5 years to see if they are malnourished.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

Some of them are so cute! Even though they are dirty and ragged they still know how to smile. We have two more days to weigh 128 more children. On Sunday we are going to the town of Rambo. Because of problems with armed robberies in that area we are taking a military escort.

Right now I am the only one who came down for the survey who isn't feeling sick. Three of our crew (including Danny) have had a fever and terrible vomiting. There is also a cold going around as well as the ever-returning diarrhea. I think it's only a matter of time until I come down with something.

Some of the children do look like they are starving, although most seem pretty healthy so far. I feel kind of bad coming back to Kibo Slopes Lodge every night and having a 3-4 course dinner. The drought is still very real here. It has not rained here for 2-3 years. Everything is so dry! The dust is something to behold. Some places it is so deep that if you fell down you might drown.

"The traffic jam was 20km long..."
October 23, 2000

Well, we successfully finished our portion of the survey for UNICEF and came home on Sunday. On the drive back from Oloitokitok we ran into a massive traffic jam on the highway. Traffic had been backed up for four hours already, and nothing was moving. We backed out of the mess and followed some guy who knew a detour. Three hours later we met back up with the main road, only to run into the other side of the traffic jam. According to the GPS, the traffic jam was 20km long and getting longer every minute. The military was called out and will be sorting out the mess for the next few days.

"He slipped and fell 20 feet to the bottom"
January 4, 2001

For the last three weeks I have been in a new location building a church with Mt. Pisgah Academy. A strange thing happened to me the morning after we arrived. I rolled out of bed and started walking to the cook tent, when a Maasai walked up to me and said, "Hi. I'm the Apostle Paul. I'm here to collect my bride and my debt." The Apostle Paul also claims to be the Prince of David, but he's a hard worker (rare around here) and he enjoys digging. Once he unloaded a truckload of sand by himself during our lunch break.

Danny captures a strike on film

There are lots of interesting animals here. We caught a four-foot python and have ten pet turtles the size of silver dollars. The other night a leopard killed four goats at a nearby boma. Zebra, giraffe, and gazelle graze on the grassy plains nearby.

Steam collectors with Mt. Suswa in the background

One day I decided to hike to a nearby peak by myself. When I finally made it back I had walked over 20 miles and climbed 2500 feet of vertical elevation. I walked with a blister on my heel for at least 3/4 of the way, but it was totally worth it. The peak was Mt. Suswa, a volcanic crater. The top was covered with wild flowers. On my way back I passed several steam vents, so the volcano could be active.

Near the volcano are many lava tube caves. We explored several of them last weekend, and camped there Saturday night. We lowered 12 of us about 25 feet down a hole into a lower lava tube. After much exploring we found another way out, so we didn't have to figure out how to get everyone back up through the hole. A few of us went back to gather the ropes we left behind. Greg (a recent arrival) went hand over hand down to collect the gear we had left at the bottom. He slipped and fell 20 feet to the rocky bottom. I asked if he was hurt, and he said the only thing he had hurt was his pride. As usual, Providence is looking out for us.

Mt. Kenya

Climbing Mt. Kenya
February 19, 2001

I got back from climbing Mt. Kenya a week ago. I had a great time, although we didn't make it to the very top, which requires about six hours of rock climbing to reach. We rented all the necessary equipment, but when we got up there I was the only one feeling well enough to try any climbing. So, we settled for 16,300-ft. point Lenana, the usual destination of Mt. Kenya trekkers. I felt great at that altitude and want to climb 19,480-ft. Mt. Kilimanjaro now.