Friday, February 16

We spent part of Friday morning and part of the afternoon with the En-Gedi children.

Our usual routine when spending time with them was to put our aprons on and greet the kids who could communicate. Then, each of us spent a few minutes with the immobile, non-communicative children, talking to and touching them, trying to coax some smiles, giggles, or other responses.

We spent much of the day with the En-Gedi kids. We played with large Lego blocks, sang songs (and made up some new, silly verses), and tickled some toes that peeked out of socks. Some of the older children seemed to be in a silly mood! One untied Karen's apron strings when she turned her back to him.

What a joy it was to hear their belly laughs and listen to them singing praises to our God, each in his or her own special way!

We ate an early breakfast and were on our way back to Kitengela by 8 am. We arrived at En-Gedi around 1:30 pm, grateful to be back.

Following a good, hearty lunch, we carried our bags to our rooms, unpacked, and rested for a while.

After a buffet breakfast on Sunday and Monday mornings, our safari driver, Sammy, picked us up, and we entered Amboseli National Park. We were blessed and excited to see hundreds of African elephants, zebras, pink flamingos, and Thompson’s and Grant’s Gazelles. Small groups of warthogs, monkeys, baboons, ostriches, hippos, and a cheetah were among the other animals we saw.

Mid-morning on Sunday, we stopped at a resort for snacks, refreshments, and cooling down. Brenda carried a small bag of potato chips as we walked from our safari vehicle. Several baboons and monkeys were nearby; some mothers held and carried tiny babies. We watched them for a bit. Suddenly, a monkey came out of nowhere, ran toward Brenda, grabbed her bag of potato chips, and climbed into the trees! Brenda squealed, and every monkey and baboon in the area chased after the monkey and chips! Tree leaves flew, and a lot of chattering followed! It all happened in the blink of an eye! Oh, what we’d give to have captured it on video!

After a quick breakfast, our bags were loaded into a safari vehicle, and Margaret and I headed to the Centrim Amboseli Lodge, a five-hour drive from the Tanzanian border and Amboseli National Park.

As you can imagine, five coffee-drinking women needed a restroom break a few hours down the road. It just so happened that the place we stopped sold African items hand-made by talented local crafters. We shopped, bartered, had refreshments, and were on our way again.

As we neared our resort, Mt. Kilimanjaro became clearer and clearer! We did not know we’d be privileged to see this beautiful, famous mountain, the tallest, stand-alone mountain in Africa!

We praised God for a restful night and enjoyed another delicious breakfast prepared by our cook, Rose. We are thoroughly enjoying the fresh fruits grown at En-Gedi or nearby farms!

We heard last night that three or four En-Gedi kids had fevers and were not feeling well. A few became sick with vomiting and diarrhea during the night. A few of us ladies also felt a little “off.” We decided it would be in everyone’s best interest not to visit the En-Gedi kids today. Instead, the four of us enjoyed coffee and devotions together outdoors.

The En-Gedi kids received physical therapy this morning (Thursday, February 9), so Margaret Njuguna drove us through Kitengela to a shopping center. Along the way, we saw many fresh fruit and vegetable stands and other stands selling different foods and wares, like clothing, furniture, plants, etc. People walked along the roadsides, some carrying goods like bananas and potato chips on their heads to sell.

We slept well and were fed a delicious breakfast of eggs, sausages, toast, and more delicious fresh fruit - mostly grown here at En-Gedi! There are mango, avocado, passion fruit, guava, loquat, casava, lemon, orange, papaya, and banana trees growing here, as well as lemongrass, kale, sweet potatoes, spinach, onions, sugar cane, and corn. We genuinely enjoy the Kenyan COFFEE - what a blessing!

We checked in at the Sioux Falls airport and got through security without problems or delays. We proceeded to our gate. We met TJ (see photo below) at our gate at Sioux Falls airport. He had been in Sioux Falls for a week-long Christian men's retreat. This man was ON FIRE for the Lord and couldn't stop talking about what God has recently done in his life!

He had been in the Marines and had used drugs for the past 15-18 years, living in Atlanta, GA. He felt God calling him to leave everything behind and go to Cleveland, OH. He wondered what God had in store for him, but he went. He found temporary lodging in a lovely home through Christian people and organizations. It was there that he met his wife. He is open to doing whatever God calls him to do!