Good morning from the Uhuru Lutheran Hostel in Moshi -
What a whirlwind the past four days have been. Here's a brief recap.
Sunday, July 6
Our safari drivers picked us up in wonderful, pop-top land rovers (all the better to see animals with, my dear!) I was pleased to see my friend Bashieri was one of our drivers - he was with us two years ago and looks well. Bashieri is a Muslim who spends most of his time with Christians and is as gracious as can be. As he says, peace is most important. Amen to that. We drove to Lake Manyara National Park where we drove around looking for animals (here simba....). The highlight of the day was a group of three giraffe *a gaggle of giraffe?) who stood right by the road and posed for pictures. They preened like contestants on "America's Next Top Model" for about thirty minutes. We spend the evening in Karatu at the Bouganvilla Safari Lodge - a wonderful place with individual rondavels and fireplaces in each one. There was also a swimming pool - but it wasn't quite finished. They promised it would be done in two years! We experienced a great All-American dinner of beef and mashed potatoes. Our safari drivers joined us and wanted to talk about, yep, you guessed it, Barack Obama. Africans are fascinated with the man.
Monday, July 7
We got up early and drove to "the crater" (The Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, to be exact). I love this place - spectacular views, lots of wildlife and Masai boys leading their cattle to watering holes. Everything just seems to work. We spent a good while wathing two lion cubs hiding out just off the road. There were about 7 land rovers hovered around them and they would pop up for a split second and the cameras would start clicking. At that moment it dawned on me - I think it is more interesting to watch humans taking pictures of lion cubs that taking pictures of lion cubs. We saw every member of the big five (consult wikipedia if you are unclear on this phrase), but nothing crazy like lions wrapping themselves around the tires of our land rover. We hightailed it out of the crater in mid-afternoon for the long drive to one of the best spots on earth - the Tarangire Safari Lodge in Tarangire National Park. It sits on a bluff overlooking a watering hole. Upscale tent cabins, specatular food, even a swimming pool - this time in good working order. Steve and I threw on shorts and were in the pool within 15 minutes of arrival.
July 7 is Steve's birthday and I didn't tell anyone in the group because I wanted to do a little celebration at the Safari Lodge. Once we arrived, I told a few people and they insisted we sing to Steve and dinner, which we did - cute and comical. Right after we finished singing, the lights flickered in the dining room and the entire waitstaff comes out singing "happy birthday" in Swahili in three part harmony. This was definately not like the waiters at Chevy's halfheartedly singing to yet another sombraro-clad birthday victim. These waitresses marched all around the room singing - It was magnificent. They even brought him a piece of cake with a candle. That night we listened to the sounds of various animals below us at the watering hole.
Tuesday, July 8
The group got up at 6am and took a morning game drive in Tarangire - more lions, zebras, elephants - it all starts to run together. This was the point of the safari when we all began to say, "Look, another group of zebras doing cartwheels," and not one camera was raised. After another drive around the park and some up close encounters with elephants, we heading back to Arusha. One land rover made a stop at the Massae Girl's Lutheran Secondary School for a brief visit. We brought them 50 new Swahili hymn books (their's were falling apart) but more importantly, four of our team finally met the specific girls they are sponsoring *they were away on holiday when we were there last week). I also paid Jean Wahlstrom for the school fees for the 9-year old girl who was married, rescued and now moving on with her life. She is now covered for the rest of 2008.
Wednesday, July 9
Time's up in the computer lab. Pastor Godbless Mamkwe is showing up in a few minutes to take us to see some of the orphans we have been sponsoring. I think there will be singing and dancing and much laughter in our immediate future. Praise God for the many ways he has helped this partnership to grow. More later...
Kwaheri-
Pastor Rick, for the entire team
