Saturday safari and more...

We got up bright and early for a 6am breakfast and were on the road to Lake Naivasha with our driver Humphrey.  He pointed out many interesting things along the way and took us to a different lodge than we had ever set sail from before.  We were pleasantly surprised that the entry fee for each of us was only 2,000 Kenyan shillings or about $25.  We saw many birds, nesting and in flight, and Linda and I both used our DSLR cameras to the max.  All of my practice with the new camera really paid off in what I know are going to be some high quality photos of hippos, zebras, wildebeests, water bucks, many more animals as well as birds in flight.  I was a little surprised to see that I had taken nearly 1,000 pictures, a new daily record, but I did do many multiple shot action sequences, which accounts for a lot of shots that will more than likely end up on the cutting room floor.  Pictures will hopefully begin to trickle up to the blog over the next couple of days as time and Internet availability permit.  As always, about 2 weeks after we return to Austin, I will have many of the very best of the best photos linked into the blog.  We had a nice lunch at the lodge that costs us another $25 or so each, which offset some of the savings from the safari.  Still, a very affordable, enjoyable day trip was had by all.

Our ride back to Nairobi found most, if not all, of us dozing off on occasion.  This was due both to sleep deprivation and travel jet lag but also from being out on the water in the wind and the sun all morning.  Upon arrival at the convent where we are staying, the St. Joseph Spirituality Center, Pastor Kevin and I were immediately summoned to a meeting of all of the team leaders with Catherine, Shara and leaders from the Central Diocese who are hosting our clinics.  We were welcomed warmly by all of our friends and we discussed our partnership in sharing the Gospel as effectively as possible. 

We worshipped with the other teams, since many will be traveling long distances and will not get the opportunity to worship on Sunday with the congregations they will be serving.  One of the blessings of doing urban ministry within Nairobi is that we worship with the people we will be working with during the week, renewing old friendships and starting on new ones.

Worship was followed by a very good dinner of chicken, rice, greens and watermelon and pineapple for dessert.  We all turned in fairly early, since the coming days will be very busy indeed.  Next up, worship in Kawangware on Sunday and our other activities…