Growing Up Kenyan

Team B SMs had the crazy awesome idea to go to Mombasa for a...

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:01:15 +0300

Sunrise over the Indian Ocean

Pool side

Me in paradise

Bahari Pool Bar

Ocean cliffs

Fabric in the wind

Team B SMs had the crazy awesome idea to go to Mombasa for a weekend. I have really wanted to go to Mombasa again and Esther wanted me to stay at her brother-in-laws resort over Christmas, but I never got the chance. I was able join Team B for the weekend and take the bus down to Mombasa. We took a 8 hour night bus to Mombasa and arrived there at 7 in the morning. The resort we stayed at was Bahari Beach Resort and it was very nice. It reminded me of Voyager or Sun & Sand where I stayed as a kid. It was an all inclusive resort, which meant I drank all the Fanta Orange I wanted all day. Bahari had nice rooms, a great pool, multiple restaurants to eat at, and a sand beach in the cliffs. There was also an Italian restaurant in the cliffs that served great pizza. I bought some souvenirs from the locals on the beach and even traded my shoes for few carvings. It was an amazing couple days relaxing in the sun, enjoying the beach, and drinking from coconuts.

On town day, the SMs decided to go to the Nairobi National Park...

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:02:19 +0300

Lion

Zebra kissing

Baby zebra

Two lions want eating an eland.

On town day, the SMs decided to go to the Nairobi National Park instead of shopping. Eric finally got his work permit so we decided to on a safari. It was a tuesday so hardly anyone was in the park, which was kind of nice. We were able to mess with some Zebras by trying to slap them on the butt as we drove by. We also had some fun with an ostrich that was in the middle of the road. Later in the day, we found several black rhinos and even saw a baby rhino in the distance. The highlight of the trip was towards the end of the day when we spotted four lions. The lions were laying down so I opened the car door and got out to grab a rock (stupid move, but a fond childhood memory). The lions suddenly jumped up and I jumped back into the car. We watched the lions for awhile and they wandered over to a dead eland that was in the middle of the road. It was toward the end of the day and we had to leave the park, but before leaving we drove up to the lions in the road. It was an amazing experience to only feet away from the lions. It was also gross because they were eating the guts of the eland. This trip was definitely the closest I’ve been to lions all year.

Last month, I was able to go to camping at Lake Nakuru with the...

Fri, 04 May 2012 23:58:00 +0300

Giraffe walking on the plains

Two white rhino

Muddy Cape buffalo

Baboon

Lizard

Wet baby impala

Last month, I was able to go to camping at Lake Nakuru with the SMs. We drove about 3 hours to the park and arrived at night. Our campsite was at Makalia Falls and luckily a previous camper had left a pile of dry firewood for us to use. That night we had marshmallows and frichik, but I forgot to bring a can opener so had to force the can open with a tire iron. We set up our camp and went to bed. During the early hours of the morning, I woke up to the sound of grass being uprooted and some animal going to the bathroom. Turns out there was a cape buffalo eating grass right beside our tent!

The next morning, we woke up early and drove to see some animals. On the way to the lake, we encountered an aggressive rhino in the road. This black rhino was quite startled and wasn’t happy that we drove up on him. We visited some of the sites over looking the Lake Nakuru. The Out of Africa overlook was a great spot and that’s where we filmed some of the interviews for Part 3 of the documentary. The highlight of the trip was seeing a ton of rhinos. We saw 21 different rhinos in the park in a single day! That is like three times more rhinos than I’ve seen the entire year. A group of 5 rhinos crossed the road right in front of us which made for some great photos. Lake Nakuru is a rhino sanctuary so seeing all those rhinos made sense. The trip was lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting to see all the rare white rhinos.

Recently, I when to Lake Naivasha with Karl, Eric, and Jeanna....

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:02:11 +0300

Flamingos

Me and the lake

Crater Lake

Giraffe crossing

Karl on Crescent Island

Recently, I when to Lake Naivasha with Karl, Eric, and Jeanna. We decided to drive up to the lake and stay at Fish Eagle Inn. Once we got settled and had some lunch, we then drove to Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. Crater Lake is a neat little lake inside a small crater. The sanctuary has many walking trails so we decided to walk up the ridge of crater to view the lake. While on the ridge of the crater, we threw some rocks down below and scared some cape buffalo. On the way out of the sanctuary, we decided take one last drive around to see if we could see anything. We weren’t really paying attention and didn’t plan on seeing anything, when Eric spotted a leopard! The leopard was about 20ft from the car and we were shocked to see it. We scared it off with the sound of the car before we could grab a picture.

The next day, we drove out to Cresecent Island. Upon arriving we got to meet Linda, the woman who runs the island. We walked around the island for a while and saw many different animals. There were a few dead wildebeests we found on our walk though. I was also able to walk right up to a giraffe on the island and it didn’t seem to mind. It was a great weekend overall, especially seeing the leopard at Crater Lake.

My Gear

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:01:00 +0300

I brought a good amount of gear with me to Kenya for the purpose of filming a travel documentary...

This is part 3 of the student missionary documentary here in...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 02:01:37 +0300

This is part 3 of the student missionary documentary here in Kenya. This one is excited because it includes a lot of the things we did over Christmas break. Christmas break is about 5 weeks long here so we were able to travel and visit many of the National Parks here in Kenya. The nature and wildlife here is probably my personal favorite on the planet and a slice of that beauty is captured in part 3. Also, the video includes the SMs riding an ostrich and eating an ostrich omelet. I would like to thank all the wonderful visitors who came during Christmas break for making it an unforgettable Christmas!

Maxwell just had week of prayer in which we brought in guest...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:03:17 +0300

Brackenhurst dining lodge

SM hammock party

The playground

Maxwell just had week of prayer in which we brought in guest speaker Pastor Keith Gray from Southwestern. Students attended morning and evening worship where Pastor Gray shared great messages with the students. On Friday, the school loaded up the students and we went to the Brackenhurst Retreat Center. For week of prayer, we had communion on Friday night and also round robin activities on Sabbath afternoon. Pastor Gray shared some amazing messages that weekend and I consider his talks the greatest part of the weekend.

Brackenhurst is one of the highlights of my childhood here in Kenya. I used to love rollerblading around the place finding chameleons and playing on the playground. I ended up bringing two chameleons back to Maxwell from Brackenhurst and letting them go on campus. This is also the place where I first attended summer camp. This Baptist summer camp was a blast as a kid and probably the root of my love for summer camp. The camp has improved a lot since I was kid and now they we a really cool cafe and eating area with internet and a TV room. The gift shop, though overpriced, was and still is very neat. Saturday night, the school played the movie Ghost and the Darkness for the students. It was hilarious because some of the faculty would scare the students during the lion scenes and make a whole row of students jump out of their seats. The weekend was a lot of fun and I was so glad to finally return to Brackenhurst.

I climbed Mt. Kenya again, but this time with the school. A...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:02:38 +0300

The girls on the slope

Karl taking photos of the mountain

SMs at MacKinders Lodge

MacKinders Lodge

The girls at the gate

I climbed Mt. Kenya again, but this time with the school. A group from Maxwell climbs the mountain every year and this year turned out to be an interesting trip. First off, I wanted to climb the mountain again because I wanted to experience it with the students and SMs. I was definitely more prepared this time with all the prep hikes the school required and I also knew what I needed to pack this time around.

We arrived Friday night and did a short hike on Sabbath to picnic rocks. A the rocks, the SMs put together a worship thought and skit for church. It was pretty awesome to have church on Mt. Kenya. On Sunday, we began hiking with our backpacks to MacKinders. It was a 5 hour hike this time instead of 7 hours. I was helping the students in the front of the group with one of the faculty. When we arrived at MacKinders, it was snowing! Some of the students picked up the snow and were eating it.

It was a cold night at MacKinders and we had to wake up at 1:30am to begin hiking up the summit. This time up the mountain it was a lot more cold and windy. On the ridge, it was too cold to stop and take a break from hiking. Everyone made it to the top of Point Lenana! That’s pretty amazing for a group of 28 students and 7 faculty.

Our luck soon changed though. From summit, the group had to return the base camp the same day. One of the students, Erica, headed down the mountain and separated from her group (we required the students to hike in groups). Erica missed an important trail on the way down and ended up hiking for hours down the wrong path. By the time people realized she was missing it was already evening. The park organized a search party and some of the students helped search for her as well. With no luck, they returned for the night. We had a group pray for Erica and everyone became very emotional when they realized that Erica would spend the night lost on the mountain. The next morning the search party set out again around sunrise and they found her later that morning! When she arrived everyone was so excited and ran to hug her. She then told her story and how she had left her backpack in order to keep hiking. She had no sleeping bag, warm clothes, or food and she had to drink water from the creek where she slept for the night. Erica also encountered buffalos and other animals, which she clapped she hands to let the animals know she was there.

Everyone was so glad to have Erica back safe and sound. I think the students on the trip really bonded together on Mt. Kenya. I personally got to know some of the students better and grow closer to the SMs. It was a lot of fun with the SMs and made a difficult trip easy and memorable. Will I climb Mt. Kenya again? I probably will, but not for a long while. Twice is enough for one year. Maybe I’ll climb it with my children someday.

A few weeks ago, Karl and I had the weekend off and we decided...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:58:56 +0300

Rhino with the Ngong Hills

Lion

Zebra

Secretary bird

Rhino close-up

Giraffe head

A few weeks ago, Karl and I had the weekend off and we decided to go to the Nairobi National Park. We haven’t been to the Nairobi Park at all this year so we wanted to go check it out. The nice things about the Nairobi Park is that it is located about 15 minutes from Maxwell. Karl had forgotten his camera batteries and we were able to drive back and get them with no problem.

A liked this park as a kid and my family would often go because it was so close to the school. The safari Karl and I had did not disappoint. We saw tons of zebras, giraffe, and hartebeest with the Nairobi skyline in the background. We also saw a mother lion and her three cubs eating a kill. The highlight of the day was definitely the rhinos we saw. We found three black rhinos quite close to the car. After waiting for about an hour, two of the rhinos came right up the car. It was kind of a dangerous situation and we thought they might not like the car being there, but the rhinos ended up walking around the car and crossing the road. It was an amazing experience to have two massive beasts only feet away.

Karl and I drove around the whole park that day, visiting everything from the hippo pools to the baboon cliffs overlook. It was a great safari!

Maxwell had another Sabbath afternoon activity at Kibera slums....

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:59:17 +0300

Ashley and friends

Lauren and her friend

Karl holds the hand of a child

Jillian

Eric

Maxwell had another Sabbath afternoon activity at Kibera slums. It was a great opportunity to share songs, Bible verses, and give some food to the single mothers of the community. The SMs enjoyed playing with the children and taking photos. The young children love seeing themselves on the back of the camera. Above are some of the photos of us with the children. Hopefully, we brought as much joy to the children that afternoon as they brought to us.

Things I Miss Back Home

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:59:00 +0300

This year has gone by real fast for me. I’m coming to the end of my volunteer service as a...

My Photography Book

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 11:45:00 +0300

For the past few months in Kenya, I’ve been working on a black and white photography book...

I had the chance to go to the Mara one last time before school....

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:03:06 +0300

Lunch?

Floppy truck

Mara West Room

Giraffe

Crown Crane

Zebras

I had the chance to go to the Mara one last time before school. This time in the Mara was a little disappointing because we only saw one lion and no other big cats. I stayed at Mara West camp again and really enjoyed my stay. I love the food and view from the camp. The SMs and I found a few trees and set out our hammocks. It is so peaceful and quiet at the camp. The Mara is such a beautiful place. I hope someday I will get to go back.

Hell’s Gate is another National Park in the Rift Valley I...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:03:05 +0300

Fischer's tower

Hell's Gate gorge

Gorge walls

Hell’s Gate is another National Park in the Rift Valley I was able to visit during Christmas break. Hell’s Gate is an interesting name for a park, but the description seems to fit. The park is dry and hot! There are man-made watering holes for the animals because there is so little water in the park. Hell’s gate is one of the few parks that you are allowed to walk or bicycle through. The park has many towers and cliffs that make it a popular place for rock climbing and bouldering. Fischer’s tower (pictured above) has a bicycle suspended by ropes near the top of the tower. The challenge for climbers is to reach the bicycle and if you reach the bicycle it’s yours to keep. Hell’s Gate has a beautiful gorge that you can hike through and also many hot springs. Some of the hot springs are so hot that you can boil an egg in the water. Hell’s Gate is neat park and definitely worth a visit!

One of my favorite game parks in Kenya is Lake Nakuru. I...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:04:05 +0300

Leopard in a tree

Lauren and Ashley

Rhino

Dik-dik

Giraffe

Baboon

Sunset at Lake Nakuru

One of my favorite game parks in Kenya is Lake Nakuru. I recently visited Nakuru with the SMs and had a great time exploring the park. Rhinos are quiet common in park so I finally got a decent photo of a rhino. The sad part about visiting Nakuru was that all the pink flamingos were gone because the water level in the park were up. We stayed at Flamingo Hill Camp, which was beautiful luxury tent camp. The highlight of the trip was finally seeing a leopard. Steve, our driver, spotted a leopard about 20 feet from the car. Unfortunately, a car drove up and scared the leopard away so I was only able to get a few pictures. Now I’ve seen the big five game animals this year in Kenya.

Another trip I made over Christmas was to the Aberdares National...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:03:06 +0300

Fishing lodge

Jillian at the Aberdares

Hiking to Ol Doinyo Lesatima (13,120ft)

Bushbuck

Karuru falls

Chaina falls

Another trip I made over Christmas was to the Aberdares National Park. Aberdares is quiet different than most parks in Kenya. The park has majestic mountains, moonlands, and waterfalls. I was able to see these moonlands when I climbed to Ol Doinyo Lesatima, which is the highest peak in the park at 13,120ft. I also visited four large waterfalls in the Aberdares. One of which is called Queens cave with a cave behind the waterfall. This is where Queen Elizabeth II had a picnic in 1952 when visiting Kenya. A friendly bushbuck walked up to our group at the falls and was looking for food. Ashley’s mom stretched out her arm and the bushbuck started licking her hand! It was a very neat experience to have a wild bushbuck act so tame.

In the Aberdares, our group stayed in Fishing lodge, which is a nice warm log cabin. I stayed at Fishing lodge as a kid and I have many good memories of staying there. It is good place to fly fish for trout. The Aberdares is home to some of the fanciest resorts in Kenya like The Ark (a giant resort shaped like Noah’s ark) and Treetops (a resort in the trees). Both resorts have watering holes that the animals visit and the resorts ring a bell in your room to let you know when a leopard visits. An interesting fact is that Treetops is known for the resort where Queen Elizabeth II went to bed a princess and awoke a queen. I really enjoyed the Aberdares and would recommend a visit for those traveling to Kenya.

One of my favorite hikes as a child was climbing Mt. Longonot....

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:04:05 +0300

Mather family at the rim of the crater

At the top of the peak

The peak

One of my favorite hikes as a child was climbing Mt. Longonot. I’ve been able to climb the volcano twice since I’ve been here. Mt. Longonot has a perfect volcanic crater with a rim you can walk around. The trip is 11km long and the climb up to the peak is quiet a work out. The hike is dusty and hot with slippery volcanic rock. I preferred hiking up Mt. Kenya because the cooler weather is more enjoyable for hiking. Mt. Longonot is next to Mt. Suswa and makes up one of the many volcanos in the Rift Valley. Maxwell uses Mt. Longonot as a preparation hike for climbing Mt. Kenya.

I had the chance to go to Lake Naivasha again, but this time I...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:04:05 +0300

Guide hut on Crescent Island

Me and a polo horse

Lauren and the group

The Mather family and the polo horse

I had the chance to go to Lake Naivasha again, but this time I was able to go to Crescent Island. The island is a small stretch of land off the shore shaped like a crescent moon. Animals and wildlife have purposely been placed on the island for the purpose of filming movies. There are over a 1000 animals living on the small island! Movies such as Out of Africa, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Gorillas in the Mist, and Tomb Raider have been filmed on crescent island. We were able to do a walking safari around the island with a guide and see all the different animals up close and personal. It was crazy being 30ft from giraffes and surrounded by zebras while walking on foot. The owner of the island is a polo player so his horses were roaming the island. Ashley’s mom loves horses, so she had us stop and take some photos with the horses (pictured above). Crescent island has a strange paradise feeling. I really enjoyed walking along side the wild animals. It reminded me of how we will walk in heaven with the animals one day.

During break, I was able to go to Amboseli National Park....

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:07:05 +0300

Amboseli sunset

Silver backed jackal

Elephants

Ostrich

SMs in Amboseli

Baby Hyena

During break, I was able to go to Amboseli National Park. Amboseli is known for elephants and view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain is just across the border in Tanzania and creates for a great backdrop for photographing wildlife. Unfortunately, Mt. Kilimanjaro is often covered by the clouds and I was only able to see the entire mountain early in the morning. Eric, Jeanna, Jillian, and I were the SMs who went to Amboseli. The others got sick with a stomach bug the morning we were leaving. While in park, we saw elephants, hyena, monkeys, warthogs, and many of the more common animals. The only big cats we found were two cheetahs. I hope to go back to Amboseli to get some better photographs of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

For New Years, the student missionaries went to Mombasa. We...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:59:05 +0300

Dillan at the best photo shop in town

Watamu Beach

Happy New Years!

Jillian with James

Mrs. McCoy enjoying the shops

For New Years, the student missionaries went to Mombasa. We decided to head down to the beach to check out the beautiful Indian ocean and the rich coastal culture of Mombasa. As a child, I always wanted to ride the famous Mombasa train down to the coast, but never got the chance. This is the famous British railroad, which faced problems with man eating lions in Tsavo during construction. We decided that we would try something new and take the train. The train was delayed about 3 hours in Nairobi due to engine trouble so we waited for hours in the train station. The train made many stops along the journey and moved quiet slow for a train. The arrival time in Mombasa was 9am, but we arrived at 3pm. We were served dinner and breakfast in the dining car. Our small room on the train had two bench seats and two fold down beds. In the morning, the group got together and played cards in one of the rooms. The train experience was a lot of fun! It was hot and there was no air conditioning, but still quiet enjoyable despite the many hours we were on the train.

Once we were in Mombasa, we drove 100km North to Watamu. There is an Adventist Beach Resort on the shore of the Watamu Marine National Park, which gave us a good deal as student missionaries from Maxwell. The resort was a lot nicer than I expected. It was simple, but had the usual things you would expect at a resort such as a pool. The beach was beautiful with a nice view of the rocky islands from the resort. Watamu beach is where Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and The Sea. There were lots of beach store attendants selling souvenirs to tourists. The culture of the coast was quiet interesting and the people were friendly and easy going. James (pictured with Jillian above) gave me a small gift from his shop because he thought I looked like Jesus with my beard. The group also tried snorkeling and we were able to bright colorful fish, starfish, and coral. Watamu was originally an Italian settlers city and many Italian visit and still live there. One of my favorite things in Watamu was a busy little Italian ice cream store with the best gelato I’ve ever tasted! The journey to the coast was a great trip full of new experiences and well worth the time.