The Lodge we stayed at inside the Mara was very nice, to say the least. We stayed at Keekorak Lodge, which is one of the nicer and fancier lodges in the park. I am pretty sure that this is the kind of place that extremely rich people fly into the private air strip and spend a long weekend driving around the park. In fact, I am pretty sure there were several couples there that were very well to do. It is kind of sad though, thinking that for many people this is the only few of Kenya that they receive and don't get to experience the vibrancy, love, and hurt of the people of Kenya. The Lodge was very 'westernized' in that the staff knew English well and waited on you hand and foot at means, which kinda bothered me a little, because that is definitely not what we are used to. But it was good for the team to be able to relax and get a taste of back home. It was hard for me though to see the luxury of this place compared to that of the students and the people we have gotten to know and interact with, especially now that we have visited the poor, orphaned, and destitute in the slums of Kibera. I still think I am trying to process it all. But before I get on to Kibera, I wanted to tell you all about the Safari.
I am not so sure words can describe it all and I am not even sure that my pictures were able to capture it. The landscape and the animals were amazing and breathtaking. We were able to see upclose countless lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, buffalo, zebra, wildebeasts, and dozens of random weird little deer/antelope creatures. It was just sweet. We would spend our days driving around in our little van in the middle of nowhere looking for animals and enjoying the landscape. We were always up before the sunrise and out till after the sunset, which were so beautiful and breathtaking. On the safari I was really struck with the power of creation and just seeing so much point toward the sovereignty and majesty of God.
On the second afternoon we were able to visit a Maasai village inside the Mara. We were able to join them in their dancing and singing (they are the tribe that jumps really high), its a sign of manhood, we didn't do too bad, I even put a lion headress on and was fairly certain I was going to get lice for a while...so far so good. They live completely and entirely off of their cattle, including poking them with sharp spears and drinking their blood and letting it heal over. They live in huts of dried cattle dung and practice pologamy and male and female circumcision. After going through their village they took us to the village market, which surprise surprise they sold the same tourist junk that everywhere else does. I did manage to get a sweet pair of Maasai sandels though, which they make out of used tires. It was cool to see their way of life, but sad to see that even they too have sold out.
It was a great three days though and I think that the entire team was able to come back to Nairobi recharged and rested for the remaining three weeks of ministry.
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