Serengeti

Wow did we have an adventure on safari. We were gone 3 days and 2 nights and saw just about all the important animals. Elephants, Gnus, giraffes, zebra, Thompson gazelle, Grant gazelle, cheetah, lions, leopard, wart hogs, flamingo, storks, hyenas, baboons, monkeys, hippos and rhinos. The first night we saw a group of 5-6 female lions resting in the tall grass on the right side of the road. One picked up her head, sniffed the air and walked across in front of the car (they are not afraid of the cars but run away if you get out of the car, pretty smart) The other lions followed. Seems the first female had smelled a gazelle so the lions surrounded the gazelle and went in for the kill but the gazelle was too healthy and fast and got away. The male lions hide and only come out after a kill has been made kinda like you can get the guys off the couch long enough to fill a plate on Super Bowl Sunday, after you have been slaving over a hot stove all day. Interesting fact: Male lions are the leader of the pride and may have several females often if there are 2 leaders they are brothers. About every 3 years the leader of the pride changes and when a new male takes over he kills all the baby lions from the previous leader. This sounds cruel but it is natures way of making sure the strongest survive.

One day as we were stopped at a picnic table for lunch we saw some elephants close by plus there was a path that lead to a rock where there is a great look out. Mark went to get a picture of the elephant on the way up to the look out. Mark did not see that there was an elephant near the path (how could you miss those huge things? But he did) I drew his attention to the one near the path, Mark was walking in front of me and the elephant saw Mark and was VERY upset, flapped his ears and trumpeted and took a few warning steps towards him. Mark went on up the path, I went back down and hid behind a rock. (Brave person that I am.) Now the elephant is on the path just behind Mark and Mark can’t get back down to me without passing the elephant again. Finally the elephant moved off the path and Mark decided it was safe to come down but the elephant still felt threatened and charged Mark a second time, Mark ran past the elephant and for good measure the elephant charged him a third time just to make sure Mark was going away. This was no baby elephant either it was a bull elephant with a female and a baby. So that explained some of the bull elephant’s behavior. At the picnic area there was a small shop to buy pop and books and souvenirs they called the park rangers but the elephants had moved on before the rangers got there. Every one was safe and we continued on the safari. After the last day we went to a beach hotel on lake Victoria It was so nice to fall asleep with the sounds of waves. But unfortunately they did not have hot water and I also had to wake up to the sound of someone digging out side my bedroom. The whole trip was soooo nice I wish that everyone could have this experience. If you have ever thought of coming to Africa and going on safari I would hope that you would take the time and money to do it. Mark got some wonderful pictures which he will post some time soon. We have not had Internet for several days because someone cut and stole the Internet line in this for this area of town. It is supposed to be fixed on Monday so I hope to send this soon.

TIA Pam

(note from Mark)

Ok, so here's my possible award winning elephant photo, obtained at great personal risk, aka stupidity.

And here's my fellow adventurers watching and getting photos of elephants.

National Geographic Africa

When people come here to Tarime and to the mission house, we tell them this is not your National Geographic Africa. Tarime is not a tourist town and the area is not a tourist area. If you like to see poor people, mud huts, people constantly walking along the road, to live without electricity and water, not bath yourself for a few days, then I guess I could be wrong.

My globe-trotting Mother came to visit us. We picked her up in Nairobi, did the tourist thing of the giraffe park, elephant orphanage, museum and a cultural exhibition of native dances. Then came the 8-hour bus ride to non-tourist town Tarime.

We visited the orphanage, on Sunday mom and Pam did crafts with the kids and Tuesday we left on Safari to the Serengeti. Now that’s your National Geographic Africa. We entered the park and drove 3 hours on rough gravel roads to our fabulous hotel. We of course sighted all kinds of animal as we drove. I’ll attach photos of some of them. After watching animals in the morning, we drove about 5 hours to our next hotel on the rim of a crater that contains more animals, the rarest being the black rhino.

Please excuse some of the photos. This is where the animals live and it’s not a zoo. And I guess I’m kind of ruined for zoos now. I photographed the animals with a telephoto lens. The first rhino we saw was on the horizon and looked like a blob. You could barely see the outline. We were lucky enough to find a group of 5. They were a bit away, but I got some decent photos.

Pictures speak louder than words, so here you go, enjoy.

We were at the entrance to the park when this guy showed up

Wildebeests, aka Gnu were in abundance. You usually saw zebra with them. Our guide Omi said the Gnu was his favorite animal because they were so dumb. We didn't find our particulars, but apparently the zebra lead the migration and the Gnu are not smart enough to find their own way and tag along with the zebra.

Here are impalas. The dude with the horns is the male and these are his wives. There is only one male to a pack.

This is a crocodile. I didn't spot him at first even though he was only 35 feet or so from me.

The first water buffalo we saw, one of the 'Big 5' and apparently they don't live constantly near water.

We saw a lot of giraffe and some were really huge and tall. I'm posting this picture to give some perspective. He was taller than the tree and note the water buffalo.

I will take a separate post to describe what we saw here. We were fortunate enough to watch lioness' hunt, and this is what I captured. The lions were trying to surround a gazelle. If you can find them, there are 7 lions in this picture. There's a brown blur just left of the base of the tree in the upper right part of the photo. That's the gazelle running to live another day.

This little guy greeted us at our first hotel. Sorry, lost his name.

From our hotel room, this was out back. Nice way to say that if you venture out, it's your own fault if you get eaten.

I wish I could say this was a lion roaring, but it was just a yawn.

One of our first elephant sightings. Bulls, female and baby.

The leopard, one of the 'Big 5' and the hardest one to find. We were really lucky to have this good a view. This is zoomed in as far as I could go and blown up.

We saw warthogs, and every time, they ran away with their tail up. Pam loved em and Omi said the tail up is a signal to 'follow me.'

We saw two species of hyena and they are larger than Pam, mom or I thought. They are bigger than a large dog, say a large German Shepard, and look tough and muscled.

This is what the Serengeti Plain looks like during mid-migration time. Those are zebra and gnu in front and all the dots in the background are also zebra and gnu.

You will occasionally see 2 zebra looking like the are resting their heads on each other. They usually are arranged so they flick their tails it will brush the flies away from the other zebras face. Here are 3 who are apparently learning what to do, but then maybe they took a gnu stupid pill.

A better shot of a gnu.

A zoomed in shot of two lions and a lioness. We were in the Ngorngora crater and seeing male lions anywhere is not the common.

A cheetah, fastest land animal. We didn't see it run, but it was some distance off and then walked closer and posed for all the cameras.

Hippo pools are usually in are close to stagnant water and that is of course where the hippos usually are. There is a distinctive odor associated with where they are.

A Pam snapshot. It was a good shot of a zebra, but notice what's behind the zebra's right ear.

We finally saw the last of the 'Big 5' the black Rhino. This shot is zoomed in all the way and blown up quite a bit, but gotta love it anyway.

And here's Pam relaxing on the shore of Lake Victoria. A great way to end a great trip.

TINGA (This Is National Geographic Africa), Mark

Hi all, just a real quick note. Pam and I are back in Nairobi and we have a decent connection to the internet. Living in Africa, you get used to things not always working or going the way you planned, as proof of that, we've hardly had access to internet for 3 weeks. We came to pick up my mom the night of Feb 7th, and it's already time to take her back. When she first arrived we spent 3 days here, and the hotel's internet was down. We got back to Tarime and that internet was not working all the time. We went on safari to the Serengeti (it was awsome, have some great photos to share) and of course no internet there. We got back to Tarime and someone had stolen the telephone line and since that's happened like 3 times in the past few weeks, the telephone company is reluctant to replace it, meaning no internet until they do. Frustrating, but TIA. Here's one shot of a female lion, and lots more to come of lions, elephants, and so on when Pam and I finish our blogs.

Like I say, TIA, Mark

The Good The Bad and the Ugly

The Good:

The Angel House School is open! Let me tell you that American kids have it easy when it comes to school. In Tanzania school starts about an hour before we do in the states. Students have to wear uniforms except for Friday when they can wear a school T shirt if they have one. The uniform code even includes the type of underwear you can wear! I walked in on a punishment where the student wore jeans and a shirt that said “One Love” to school and he was on his knees with his hands behind his head in the office! Yikes! If you don’t have a uniform for the first couple of weeks then you wear dress pants not even khakis, dress pants and a white dress shirt. If it is is cold you put on the school sweater. Being on your knees in the office must have been very intimidating. Tanzania still uses caning as a way of punishment. Although in the Angel House School we are trying different methods of punishment like using the slashers to cut the grass during your break or running a mile. Sounds military doesn’t it? I have not seen push ups yet or anyone peeling potatoes. When answering a question the students must stand up next to the desk. The teachers are VERY strict and the kids honestly respect them. And this is important..... They LOVE school and can’t wait for it to start after each break! Learning is a big deal here because so many can not afford to go to school. I was told that preschool age kids have to go to preschool for 2 years before they can start in the public schools. Just another finical barrier to education. Not to mention the uniforms and shoes and socks and workbooks etc.

The Bad:

This had been a bad couple of months for sickness! I knew I had been busy but while I was in the hospital with one of the kids I added up the sicknesses, 20 malaria, 7 infections and 5 with typhoid. Only one snake bite though. The kids are sleeping under mosquito nets so I’m not sure where the malaria is coming from. I would like to see the grass kept shorter around the house because mosquitoes like the long grass. (so do ticks just ask the dogs) I have even offered to fix the lawn mower. The government was just our to spray for mosquitoes so hopefully that should help!

I had a doctor approach me and ask if he could put a boy, about 8-10 years old in the orphanage. His father is dead and his mother abandon him. He has no place to eat or sleep and has been going around to different people and family members who can afford to keep him a night or two then send him on. I was told he needs 2-3 sponsors from America to help pay for the room and board and for school. So if you are inclined to help this little guy please let me know. His name is George Wilson. (Ever hear that name on Dennis the Mennnis?) I need a sponsor for $45.00 a month and one for $35.00 a month. They can be from a group of people like a church or woman's group or an individual and the $45 a month can be divided between 2 different people. You need to commit for a year. The last time I talked to the doctor George was with an uncle but the uncle travels quite a bit and the wife doesn’t like him so his life there is VERY dificult.

Sorry but I have to put the Ugly in here now:

Mark was trying to grow his hair out. He has had the same basic haircut all his life and decided to make a change. I however couldn’t stand to see his scraggily hair every day. Most the time he wears a hat so I didn’t have to look at it. I threatened to cut it while he slept. Well he finally gave in and let me cut his hair. I did a pretty decent job too for the first time. So I’ve put in some before and after pictures. Hope you get a good laugh. We did save his pony tail. I don’t know what he’s going to do with it but it is on the desk in our bedroom right now.

No snow here as I write this it’s about 85 and I’m hot and sweaty! I could use a little AC right now! How’s it back in Iowa?

TIA Pam

I have to PS this blog:

Having long hair is not what it's cracked up to be. It was fun for a while, but got rather tiresome, but I do thank Pam for letting me try it.

Also, I'm doing this post as Pam is ill, again. She has Malaria for the 4th time and not feeling the best. Bless her heart and please keep her in your prayers.

This is a great time of year here in Tanzania, school is starting up at all levels, nursery, primary (grade school) and secondary (high school).

There is much happiness here in the mission house, the Angel Secondary School is up and running. You wouldn’t believe how much time and work the volunteers have put in to start the school. It had to be built, furnished and licensed. Each phase was very difficult and time consuming as each phase also meant inspections and involvement of government officials. It’s amazing they got it all done in time to open it on time.

Here’s a recent example of what occurs here; we have arranged to have a grader come to work on the road going to the orphanage and school. This involved much planning, getting funds together and coordination of a lot of things. The use of the grader we got for free, we just have to pay fuel to get it here and while it’s grading. We finally got the grader here, the fuel arranged for, but then the operator of the grader wouldn’t do any grading without the permission of the landowners the road goes through. We were not informed this was needed, so now we’re talking to the village chairman (like our mayors) and some government officials that were involved in getting the grader here. Then there will be a meeting of everyone, village officials, village elders, landowners, a missionary and government representatives. Unfortunately, this is a common thing here. You think you’re already to move ahead, but then something comes up; they don’t like the building plans that they’ve already ok’d, a name can’t be whited out on a paper, but the paper has to be completely retyped and resubmitted, the official needs to sign the form, but is on vacation for a month and you need the form signed in two weeks, and on and on. TIA

I’m very happy to see the kids in school, but I’m also very sad. I drive a lot in the mornings, taking the Angel House nursery kids to school for one thing. I drive by other schools and see the kids there, but I also see all the kids in our neighborhood, other kids beside the road and by their houses who are not going to school because their family cannot afford it. You wish you could help them, but you know you can’t. We can only do what we can do for the orphans and others involved with the mission we’re on.

I want to share just one photo with you in this blog. It’s a photo I’ll be submitting to my photo club. It’s one of the orphans, I call it “Orphan Eyes.” I’ve printed if off and have it hanging with some of my other photos, but it really stands out. It’s a constant reminder of why Pam and I are here. TIA, Mark

Mark forgot to mention that the meat was goat, not beef like he said. I didn't eat it but he said it was better than beef and tasted like beef. Also I wanted to let people know that the goat we ate on Christmas Day was not the one we had been given as a gift. That goat was pregnant and gave birth to a baby just before Christmas both mother and baby are doing fine. The mama goat even visited us one Sunday during worship service. How could you eat her after that?. We also had the chickens visit us during church service. I'm just glad the 2 Brama plow cows we have didn't try to get in to church.

Thank you all for the cards and good wishes. Keep in touch we love to hear news from home.

TIA Pam

AFRICAN CHRISTMAS

So I had some people ask about what Christmas is like in Africa. We were just saying tonight, that they probably do it more right here than at home in America.

A lot of churches go all or most of the night. A lot like New Year’s, welcoming in Christmas day. The emphasis is where is should be, on the Christ child. There is not much pre-Christmas adverstising or hanging of lights or wreaths. For sure no Santa Claus. We saw a 1 1/2 foot table-top Christmas tree in a stationairy store about 2 weeks before Christmas, almost bought it, but the ornaments on it were being sold seperately, so we waited. Good thing we did, we ran across a small tree here at the house and used it. There is a picture of our Christmas tree below. Pam and I had also picked up some lights while in Nairobi and the American team that was here pre-Christmas used a wall in the living room and shaped a Christmas tree.

Anyway, not much going on, but let me tell you of our Christmas week. We started out on Tuesday handing out gifts of clothing to area villages. By that I mean you would drive to the area of a village and walk to someone’s hut. I did it one day as I fell a little ill after that (nothing to do with the visits), Pam did it one day as she was ill before me. But the giving went on. I visited four huts, most with what I’ll call a compound area. The only photo I took was of a home we walked to and no one was there. We had either kids or adults familiar with the village area take us to the most needy homes.

The second hut was surrounded by corn and had two huts, no livestock and the occupants were two eldery persons, man and wife. We sang a couple of songs, talked with them, read to them from the bible and prayed with them. The third hut I’ll describe to you later. The fourth hut was the ‘richest hut’, it had chickens and ducks within their compound area. There was no man present, the grandmother was the owner. She lived with her daughter-in-law, and 4 grandkids. Her husband had died some time ago and her son had died last year. No other children or relatives to help her. The fifth hut area held only one mud hut, occupied by the grandfather/grandmother owners and two boy grandchildren. The youngest boy was there, the older one we found out was the money earner and was actually diabled in the leg. The parents had died of AIDS some time ago. The older grandchild was off doing his job, watching over and feeding some cattle. He earned TSH 10,000 a month. That about $7.00 American. That’s the entire income of this family of four.

I learned that the more money you had, the more elaborate, if I can use that word, the hut area is. If fenced in, has more than one hut and has some livestock or fowls, they have more than ones with no compound area and just one mud hut, which describes the third hut I visited.

We probably walked anywhere between 1/4 a mile and 1/2 a mile between huts. As we walked to hut 3, all we saw was a mud hut and a lean-to type structure. Beside the lean-to was a young boy of about 7 and a child under 1, not yet walking. He told us his mother was down to the river washing clothes. We sat down and vistied with him a bit until his mother showed up with his two younger sisters. This compound area was not fenced, no livestock, only the two structures. When I say we sat down, I mean they brought out stools that are maybe 6 inches above the ground and we sat on them. Our group was 4 of the orphans, the orphanage supervisor who speaks English and myself.

What really got to me here was not only the obvious poverty, but this young mother of four children had just lost her husband. She was sitting not more than ten feet from his fresh grave. We sang, talked, read and prayed and gave them clothing, but you wanted to give so much more.

On to Christmas eve. Services started about 8:30 and went until midnight. The services were at the orphanage and the orphans wanted to go all night, but they barely made 12:00.

The next morning we were back to the orphanage for Christmas morning service. We then sent the kids outside as we set up their presents. We brought them in by age groups and boy were they all smiles. We also gave gifts to the staff and families.

After giving of gifts, we had Christmas dinner, photo below. Pam and I then headed back to the house, short nap, and some peeling and cutting of carrots and potatoes for supper. We then went to take our turn for a couple of hours at a dance the kids went to at Goldland Hotel.

We had been invited to the Baptist missionaires’ home to share Christmas dinner with them. We 5 missionairies got there a little later than we wanted, but great dinner, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, and so on.

Our missionairy group then went home exchanged gifts. Pam and I then opened our gifts and finally to bed. African Christmas, TIA. Mark

============================================

This is the Children’s choir, Christmas Eve. Not much differerent than home, kids sing, special groups sing, choir sings, praying, bible readings and sermon.

Here’s Pam doing a bible reading. It was read in both English and Swahili. Notice she has a small flashlight. The lighting is deceptive, but it's rather dark as there are limited lights in the orphanage as they only have solar power.

The gifts (mostly placed in backpacks) are waiting for the kids.

The younger ones lined up to find their gifts.

Derrick and his bag of gifts.

This is Winnie (nickname) and her backpack.

Lucy and her gifts. She’s the one we tried to get to America for a 3 month study/schooling, but good old USA wouldn’t give her a visa.

A staff family getting their gift box. This is Chacha, one of our night guards.

Here’s the cooking of Christmas Diner, outside, over a fire.

The serving of Christmas dinner.

Actual Christmas dinner. Bannanas, grow in this area, rice, beef (a treat), a tomatoe sauce freshly made and potatoe or cooking banana. Pretty much eaten by hand.

The Travis Tree 2010.

Hoping you all had a great Christmas and wishing you a very happy year for 2011.

Blessings, Mark and Pam