Africa - Day#9 (Bulleted Points-6-11-17)

Kijani Farm's Boma Camp

Sunday, June 11^th, 2017

            This Sunday was a day of firsts, a day of insight, and a day of reflection; all of that shared through these “Bulleted Points.”

·        * I awoke to a beautiful sunrise with a nearly full moon still in the sky; from moonlight to sunlight.  I recorded the sounds through the tent screen.  It’s one of the first mornings there has not been cloud clover to begin the day, and that after a cool, breezy evening that was good for sleeping.

Sunrise Over The Rooster Coop On Top Of The Outhouse

VIDEO AND SOUNDTRACK OF THE MORNING:

    * Todd’s left eye is completely swollen shut.  After being stung by the bee on Friday afternoon, it had initially swelled, and then went down before he went to bed that first night.  On Saturday he awoke to the area between his cheek, and below his eye swelled and puffy.  He had put on some cortisone cream and taken some Benadryl, but nothing worked to slow down the swelling.  In fact, when he awoke today the area from his eyebrow down toward his mouth has swollen tight.  He is uncomfortable and totally frustrated.  We ate breakfast (Fay’s famous pancakes on a griddle), and then loaded up in to the truck to make the trek to the little village of “Maili Tisa” just south of us.  Our Maasai friend Benson came to Kijani on his motorcycle.  His brother John drove the motorcycle out and down to the village.  Benson rode up front in the truck with Brian Dellamater to give him directions.  Since it was Sunday, we first went to the doctor’s house, as the clinic was closed.   Benson walked down some back, side streets for a few minutes, and then returned with the doctor and one of the doctor’s friends.  Together with Todd and me, the two guys smashed into the back seat.  With 6 total guys crammed into the truck, we made our way out of the back alley, across the main road, and over to the pharmacy called “Gensen Chemist.”  The doctor/pharmacist, named Gensen, unlocked his little shop (about a 10 or 12 by 8 foot room) and looked at Todd’s eye.  Several people poked their heads into the doorway, wondering what was going on.  The doctor was professional, thorough, and gave Todd some eye drops, cream, and two kinds of oral medicine to take each morning and night.  Gensen made Todd promise that he had to have faith and believe, if he had any hope of getting better.  I had Todd stand next to him so that I could take a picture and have proof back in the States that I had properly taken care of my “First Born” (as they say here in Kenya); there may or may not have been times in the past when I’ve brushed things off too soon that required medical attention.

Time To Go To The Doctor

Driving Out With Benson And Brian

Medical Attention With The "Chemist" in Maili Tisa, Africa

Todd And The Good Doctor, Gensen

  * Benson then left on his own motorcycle and John jumped into the front cab of the truck.  We filled the truck with gas down near the village of Namanga, and then stopped back in Maili Tisa to purchase water and a few groceries in a little store.  We went through one of the periodic, police “check points” (complete with assault weapons), and were waved on through (as it’s typically for trucks).  When a guy (not a policeman) waved at us to slow down, as we went through a gap in the tire shredders that were laid out on the road, John quickly said, “Don’t stop. Don’t stop. He’s a crazy man.”  That was helpful and good to know as Brian stepped back on the gas and swerved around the ensemble.

The Little Grocery Store In Maili Tisa, Africa

Sunday In Maili Tisa

Police Check Point-Crazy Man On The Left Side Of The Vehicle Ahead

Driving In With John And Brian

·        * Although a bit warmer with the rising sun, I went running when I returned to Kijani.  It’s my time to reflect, think, and sift through my emotions when I run.  I drank a bottle of water first, practiced my Maasai words of “hello” (“sopa”) and “thank you very much” (“ahsanti sana”), and took off down the path.  I passed many people throughout my route that stared at me as the white man ran by, but then responded with surprise and with kindness once I waved and spoke to them.  Several times I had to wait for their cows and goats to pass by.  The cows especially would move to the side when I said, “Hep,” and then look at me over their shoulder as I ran behind them.  It made me smile.  I ran all the way out to the “tarmac” today (the main paved road) and back; about a ten kilometer total distance (6.2 miles).  It felt great.

Baby Goats Playing On A Termite Mound

A Beautiful Songbird

·        * When I was nearly back from running and passing John’s father’s boma, the others from the Kijani Team waved me down.  They had been invited over for tea, and so I stopped with them, despite being in my running gear and sweaty.  John’s mama (Nora) cooked a pot of tea and goats milk for us.  John came along and sprinkled in some sugar for us as well.  Amazingly, they had enough cups for each of us.  The tea was hot but good.  Another older man (who had stopped by), John’s brother Moses, and one of his brother’s wives (with her two little kids) were present.  John brought out his father’s iron spear and Moses showed us how you hold one end of it and try raising it without bending your elbow.  Along with several others, I tried it and was successful in doing so.  As we drank our tea and worked at communicating with each other, Mama Nora had John bring out some necklaces to give to Brian’s “first born” (Noah) to take to his mom (Heather) once we get back to the United States.  The boma was primitive, make no doubt, but whatever it may have lacked in the eyes of the beholder, it made up for in gracious generosity.  After thanking Mama Nora for the tea, John gave us a walk up an old dried river bed beside their property line and then back to Kijani.  Along the way the sun was hot, but I thought it was pretty cool when we found an old tortoise shell and the leg bone from a giraffe.

John's Parent's House Within The Boma

·        * Once back, I took a splash bath and then Todd and I did our laundry.  We used one tub to suds the article of clothing and scrub it a bit, and the other to rinse it out.  We hung them up on a clothes line in the dry air.

Washing Clothes

Hanging The Clothes To Dry

·        * Once we were finished, and while our dinner of cheesy/spicy rice was cooking, Todd and I sat in the shade and journaled.  After eating, we sat around the campfire and had a devotion led by John Fay.  It was on Hebrews 4:14-5:10 and how Jesus is greater than the high priest back in the day, as He was both approachable and sympathetic to our weaknesses.

VIDEO OF THE BOMA CAMP:

After Dinner Team Picture

·       * After cleaning up from dinner we sat in a circle around the campfire.  Each Team member recalled the past and told stories of when they had experienced the greatest pain.  They were all great stories that ranged from broken bones and shots to the head, to trips to the hospital, being thrown and stepped on by a one ton bull, falling from tree forts, dehydration, and deeply cutting various appendages.

·        * Todd and I finished the evening by taking night pictures on his camera of the stars and rising moon.  He’s really good at capturing such things.  To the North, unbelievably, you could see the same “Big Dipper” constellation that you can also see from the Northern Hemisphere where we live in America.  In addition, we also located the constellation named the “Southern Cross” which is directly above the South Pole.  In the Northern Hemisphere it’s the North Star (named Polaris) that is part of “The Little Dipper” and directly above the North Pole.  This cannot be seen from the Southern Hemisphere.

The Big Dipper

The Big Dipper Outlined

The Southern Cross Over The Black Hill (Upper Left)

            It’s these things: health and healing, running, hospitality, clean water to bathe and wash in, tales around a crackling fire, and time marveling with my son at God’s awesome creation, that cause me to take stock in the blessings we have had, and continue to have.  These are the “bulleted blessings” that are brought to the forefront here on the flip side.

            See you along The Way…