Mission Safari: The Next Chapter(s)

Fighting The Melancholy

We did not see the sun at all today. It was hidden behind the drizzle. But our hearts are warmed as we go to bed.

First, it helped that today was the Lord's Day. We have a good church. Even though the weather was cold, the fellowship was warm. And it was fun teaching the 4-6 year old class.

Tonight, however, we enjoyed a fun time together as a family. Our den has a fireplace, but we have had trouble with smoke from the fire coming into the den. The chimney hole is too small for the size of our fireplace. But when we were at the Masai Mara, the lodge where we stayed made their fire against the back wall of the fireplace. I decided to do the same. The results were dramatic.

The fire started up real nice. And there was no smoke coming into the den. After I decided it was a go, we turned off most of the lights, cooked up some popcorn, and sat around the fireplace together. As the fire blazed in the fireplace not only was our toes warmed, so were our hearts. There is something about a hot fire in the fireplace that relaxes and soothes.

I still hope the sun comes out tomorrow, but even if it doesn't I can always put another log on the fire!

A Bit Melancholy

It has been grey, cold, and rainy the past couple of days. The rains are supposed to be finished. Two straight months of mostly grey skies can get to you.

I guess I am also a bit homesick. I have been a bit surprised by this. The past couple of months have been very good and very fulfilling. But I guess spending 10 days with my folks made me realize that I am just a stranger in this land. My incident with the Kenya Police didn't exactly make me feel at home either.

And interestingly I am feeling a bit inadequate medically. Even though I am reading some medical journals monthly, I feel like I am out of touch with medicine back home. Doing medicine here is so different. I feel like I am going to "forget" how to practice good medicine. I guess some of this is pride, some fear, and some anxiety. But nonetheless, it adds to the melancholy.

No spiritual answers in this post. Just an honest reckoning of what is going on in my heart.

I hope the sun comes out tomorrow.

I "Tipped" the Kenya Police Last Night

Last night as I was driving home from a Bible Study with the medical students, I had an interesting incident. As I was driving the car in front of me swerved quickly in front of me. To avoid him, I swerved to the other lane. In doing so, I crossed lanes and as I did that I plowed over a "Slow: Police Check Ahead" sign. Having done so, I pulled over and checked my car. No damage. But then I looked up and saw the two officers telling me to stay where I was.

They approached the car and told me I hit their sign. I apologized. They asked for my driver's license. I pulled it out as well as my alien registration car. After 10 to 15 minutes they returned and asked me to step out of the car. I was not happy. I knew this was going to take a while.

They gave me back me alien card but said they were keeping my driver's license as an "exhibit". They did not say I was getting a ticket or under arrest. They then wanted to know what I was going to do to fix their sign. Noticing that it had been put back up I asked if it was broken. They said "it is damaged". They wanted to know what I was going to do to solve this problem.

After another 15 minutes or so, the officer returned my drivers license. I knew I was off the hook (although I am not sure that avoiding another car that swerves into your lane constitutes a traffic violation). But I was still faced with the police. I finally asked if it would help if I "helped pay for the repairs to the sign" (which wasn't in any worse shape than before I hit it). They said they would see to it. I "tipped" the police and left.

I was so relieved to be heading home. It was not a comfortable time. They had hinted at arrest. They had hinted at keeping my driver's license. I did not want either of those outcomes after dark in Kenya.

See Ya Later

My mom and dad left last night. It was a bit sad. We had such an incredible visit together - the best ever. We shared so many new things together this visit - our new home, our new country, our new church, our new work, our new everything. And we had so anticipated the visit - we had all been looking forward to it since we left the U.S. last September. And now the visit is just another set of memories; but what grand ones they are!

My mom left us this kind note.

"Dear Tim, Marti, Sarah, Ben, and Sam

Thanks so much for our awesome vacation and time we had together. Marti, as always you have created a warm and beautiful home for your family. We love you all and are proud of what you are doing. We look forward to our next visit.

Love, Mom and Dad"

We look forward to our next visit as well!

Happy Birthday Marti

Today is Marti's birthday. Since my parents left last night, we had her birthday party yesterday. She really had a good time.

I was reading Psalm 20 this morning. I thought it made a great birthday prayer for Marti.

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice.

May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fufill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Now I know that the Lord saves His annointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.

Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call."

The Mara 2005

Some photos from the trip are posted under the Photo Album section. Enjoy!

The Kill

One of the highlights of the safari was finding a pride of lions. There were seven of them - 4 males and 3 females. They looked so strong and wonderful when we came across them in the open field. They were on a morning stroll.

As we watched them, the lioness leading the pride suddenly went out to the point. All of the lions took their cue. Out in the distance a line of wildebeests started running across the plains. For some reason, a single wildebeest strayed from the herd and started running towards our safari truck. The closer he ventured the more he fell into the trap. Once the wildebeest was well inside the arc the lions had made, the lioness bolted for the prey. He had no chance. As he tried to run away, another lion joined the attack. The lioness swiped at the wildebeests legs causing him to stumble. The other lion jumped on his neck. Then the rest of the pride joined in for the kill.

It was spectacular to watch this. I have seen this many times on the Animal Planet, but to witness first hand the hunt, and then the kill was pretty amazing. Our driver said it was pretty rare to see this in person. We were excited to have been able to not only see the lions, but to see them do what they do best - Hunt.

The Big 5

When you go on safari, you are always looking for the Big 5 - the Cape Buffalo, the Rhino, the Elephant, the Lion, and the Leopard (which is the rarest and most elusive). Seeing the Big 5 in the same trip is like winning the Grand Slam in Golf, or pitching a no-hitter in Baseball. It is difficult to do. You basically need to be in the right place at the right time. It helps to have a great game driver.

It took us 5 game drives over 3 days to do it, but Ben and I did it. We were the only ones who went on all five game drives. And it was worth it! We were in our last hour of our last drive when our driver got a "tip" from another driver that they had a read on the leopard. We arrived at a clump of trees and bush and found a half eaten impala up in the tree. We knew the leopard was somewhere around. We finally "spotted" him moving from the tree to his hiding place in the bush. It was awesome to see his eyes and his spots. He was gorgeous.

And so, despite being tired from the long drives and the long days, we were satisfied to have enjoyed the "hunt" for the Big 5. We will not forget the experience anytime soon.

The List

We continue to have a great visit with my folks. We took them to the Masai Mara for two nights. It was an incredible trip. It was so much better than Animal Planet! My dad was like a little kid in a candy shop. Instead of the Crocodile Hunter, we had "Lion Hunter Larry".

On safari, we saw the following animals, birds, and other creatures:

1. Wildebeest 2. Warthog 3. Thompson Gazelle 4. Topi 5. Maasai Giraffe 6. Elephants 7. Hartebeest 8. Zebra 9. Hippo 10. Cheetah 11. Impala 12. Eland 13. Bateluer Eagle 14. Red Billed Oxpecker 15. Spotted Hyaena 16. Brown Plovers 17. Lions 18. Cape Buffalo 19. Kori Bustard 20. Ostrich 21. Nile Crocodile 22. Silverback Jackal 23. Dik Dik 24. Whitebacked Vulture 25. Woodland Kingfisher 26. Schalows Turaco 27. White Rhino 28. Augur Bustard 29. Banded Mongoose 30. Agama Lizard 31. Olive Baboon 32. Waterbuck 33. Leopard 34. Crested Guinea Fowl 35. Other assorted birds too tedious to document.

Better Stuff on Live 8

Keith, a missionary in West Africa and author of the blog Under the Acacias, has read my past few blogs on the Live 8 Concerts.  He sent this reply:

It's a shame that the media has inevitably focused on the Live8 concerts which, although the most high-profile event, were far from the centre of the Make Poverty History campaign.

The campaign brought together many organisations which recognise the role that requiring good governance and fighting corruption have in dealing with poverty in Africa. Yet it is erroneous to put all Africa's ills down to this. It neglects the progress in different countries in democracy and fighting corruption, and the complicity of the west in the corruption there is. And it diminishes the huge impact for good that aid, trade justice, and debt cancellation can have on the poor - and conversely the harm that is done by neglecting them. They are still needed.

Unfortunately, people tend to reduce such arguments to either/or, when it is both-and.

I have done a short series looking at some of the issues and trying to think about some biblical principles, which you can find here:

G8 Blogging

I have only read the first entry and look forward to the rest.  It is some good stuff.

Tension in Kenya

There is a bit of tension here in Kenya.  There have been some street protests the past two days (click here for details).  The numbers of people protesting has really been minimal but the response of the police has been pretty drastic.  The people are protesting the very slow response of the government to rewrite the constitution of Kenya. 

This coupled with the recent massacres in Northern Kenya (click here for more details), caused by some tribal conflicts, has heightened the tension.  I don't think the two incidents are related but they are worth taking some time to reflect and pray about.  A missionary friend here in Kenya, Lois Ooms, a missionary of some 35 years in Kenya gave this report about the conflict in Northern Kenya:

The whole thing is very serious - indeed there has been a lot of cattle raiding revenge etc. but in the past it has been one clan or family revenging another - very specific and local. This thing is MUCH bigger - it is not only Turbi but is over a good bit of N. Kenya - currently wherever Boran and Gabra are living together. There have been several more unprovoked inter tribal killings and burning of houses in the area. On Saturday afternoon AIM evacuated all of the AIM missionaries from 3 mission stations in the region. The missionaries are not the target but they are being asked for help by church leaders and helping someone means they take sides and then they are very much a target. AIM is not allowing anyone to go into the area. If it spreads further West, which may happen, AIM will evacuate more people. There are rumors that there are politicians involved in stirring up people. The other thing which is unsettling is that now it is the Boran and Gabra. A couple months ago it was the Pokot and Njemps - again it was serious enough that AIM evacuated a family in the area. Before that it was the Masai and Kikuyu.

All Rock, No Action?

More on Live 8. This appeared in the New York Times on July 15th. It was written by Jean-Claude Shanda Tonme, a columnist from Cameroon.

LIVE 8, that extraordinary media event that some people of good intentions in the West just orchestrated, would have left us Africans indifferent if we hadn't realized that it was an insult both to us and to common sense.

We have nothing against those who this month, in a stadium, a street, a park, in Berlin, London, Moscow, Philadelphia, gathered crowds and played guitar and talked about global poverty and aid for Africa. But we are troubled to think that they are so misguided about what Africa's real problem is, and dismayed by their willingness to propose solutions on our behalf.

Live 8 - Will It Make An Impact?

I have heard a lot about the Live 8 Concerts held earlier this month. It seems to have caught more attention in the West than here in Africa. I guess that is why I didn’t really spend much time thinking about whether it was a good idea or not. However, over the last month I have collected a few good articles on the topic of Live 8 and Poverty in Africa and I thought I would post a few that seem to coincide with what I am hearing Africans say. (Of note, read the paragraph regarding Kenya on the next page).

The Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)

June 8, 2005 – Op. Ed. Page 19

Bob's Big Blunder by Andrew Bolt

Bob Geldof hopes to shame us into pouring more cash into Africa, but money won't fix poor leaders or corrupt government.

Bob Geldof is a saint. His aid concerts next month will be watched by happy millions. And the cause is one of the best -- the hungry of Africa.

Yet he is wrong.

His Live 8 shows of superstars such as Madonna and Mariah Carey will feed a dangerous fantasy -- that Africa's squalor is caused by Western selfishness. They will also pamper to a generation of slackers by promising all they need do to end Africa's misery is bully our politicians into sending a cheque of someone else's money.

Kenya From My Dad's Perspective

My guest writer today is my dad, Larry Hutchison. After being in Kenya for 72 hours he shares his first impressions.

"Cheryl and I have made it to Africa. Our flights were long but we survived. The only thing to spoil an otherwise good trip was the loss of our luggage (with all our clothing) for a day.

Since Tim and the family arrived last September, we have been in constant communication. We have listened to the stories, read his blog, and looked at all the pictures. Nothing could have prepared us for what we have actually seen first hand. I have been awe-struck at the mass of humanity walking along the highways, riding bikes with cars going by within inches of them, the roadside huts, or their "round-a-bouts" with traffic merging from several directions - seeing who has the most courage to take the right of way. We also experience our first shopping experience where you are expected to barter for the items you want to purchase.

Sunday we had a wonderful worship experience. We sang songs in Swahili, Hindi and English. We then heard a message that challenged us to be FAT people. I have been in services before that reminded us to practice our stewardship, faith, and love of others, but never have I been told the being FAT was part of my Christian responsibility. I left being blessed and challenged to be a "F"aithful, "A"vailable, and a "T"eachable Christian.

Today we visited the hospital and clinic where Tim works. We Americans can learn from these wonderful people. I would challenge any American to go to the clinic for a check up and wait with 900 other people to see a doctor. Yet even with that number, you never saw a look of impatience you notice at emergency rooms in the US. Everyone that greeted us did so with a very warm and loving welcome.

We also went the Kibera slums and visited St. Lazarus School. Cheryl and I weighed and measured the children as Tim and Elfie, a nurse, examined the kids. All of the children were very pleasant and very well behaved. They greeted us with loud "Good morning Madam (Mister), how are you"? They proudly showed us their work and enjoyed singing for us.

We have met several different missionary families already. I have listened as they discuss their ups and down and have witnessed first hand what the support of others means as they go about their call of service. I have set very comfortably in the pews of churches, listened and watched as visiting missionary told their stories. Now I have lived and somewhat walked in their shoes. I can only plead with all of you to keep up the good work with your gift of financial support, your words in letters or cards and most important, your continued prayers."

What a Week!

This past week was extremely busy. As I anticipated my parents arrival for a 10 day visit, I tried to get a lot done. It has been a whirlwind week.

Monday I gave my first lecture at St. Mary's Hospital. We are doing a Clinically Oriented Lecture Series. It was exciting to kick this off. We had a good turnout.

After the lecture, I spent the rest of the day in the OR. I ended up doing six c-sections and a few other procedures. It was fun as I had a couple of MTW Interns who are pre-med students assist me. They were like kids in a candy store. They were so excited to be able to participate.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I spent the day doing administrative work trying to get caught up on paperwork. Although this wasn't particularly fun, it was good to do this. And of course Wednesday I went to Nakuru to pick up Ben.

Thursday, I had some meetings during the day. And then that evening we had the medical students over for Bible Study. I barbequed chicken. The students "ate it up". Then our Bible Study was really good. We talked about the need to evaluate cultural traditions (both secular and church) and examine them in light of what the Bible says. Do the things that we say are "right" based on tradition or the Bible. It was awesome to see these guys ask tough questions.

Friday, I spent the morning at St. Mary's seeing patients with a Clinical Officer. It was a good time of teaching. I then went to pick up my Medical License renewal (which wasn't done - "come back next week"). I ended the afternoon with our first Journal Club for students at the University of Nairobi. We had it at the Karen Coffee Garden. The students were very attentive and excited about learning how to read the medical literature (new research articles). Pray for this to open up opportunities to reach non-believing and Hindu students.

At the end of the day, I was blown away at how God has really opened up some incredible opportunities for ministry here. To Him be the Glory.

My Parents Have Arrived!

My mom and dad arrived last night safe and sound. They will be visiting us for 10 days. They looked a bit tired but it sounds like they had a pretty good set of flights. They have 2 of 5 bags missing. We are all so excited to have them with us for the next 10 days. We plan to have a great time together.

More on the Adventure

We have several pictures of Ben's trip. However, we had trouble posting the pictures in with the text. So please take a look at the pictures in the Photo Album section. There are more pictures of Ben helping out with the building, pictures of the church members in their new church (without a roof), and a few others.

Ben's Excellent Adventure

Ben is back.  He had an amazing trip.  He left on July 3rd.  They travelled all day up to the Pokot Region.  They even passed the equator where Ben got out and stood stradling the two hemispheres.

The trip took almost 10 hours because of the amount of supplies they were taking up to Pokot.  The living conditions were a bit harsh for Westerners.  They did not have electricity or warm running water.  Everything they built was by hand power.  It was hard work. 

To make matters worse, Ben got sick with a fever while there.  He was in bed for 2 days with high fevers and other unpleasant symptoms.  He told me he cried sometimes, but not in front of anyone.  I asked him if he ever thought of coming home and he answered, "Sort of, but not really."  What a tough little guy!

Ben helped out with a variety of tasks.  He helped break up the ground, he carried blocks, he helped carry boards, hold boards, and saw boards.  He even got to help construct the pulpit.  And, despite being sick, we have reports that he did all this with a cheery spirit.  The team was glad to have him along.

Ben said the highlight of the trip was seeing the people in church on Sunday.  They praised the Lord even when they didn't have a roof over their heads.  Ben said that after a few days he didn't think the church would get built before they left.  But he said God was faithful and helped them get the job done.  He also said that now he knows that God answers prayer because he was really afraid he wouldn't be able to be gone the whole time without wanting to come home early (because he missed us so much) - but God helped him day by day, even when he was lonely, to have the courage to stay.

Ben Is Back

I drove to Nakuru to pick Ben up this afternoon. The rest of the team was going on safari and so we had a rendevous in Nakuru which is about 2.5 hours away from Nairobi. It was so good to see him. He looked pretty good. He showed me his pictures and told me his stories. He was pretty tired by the time we got home at 7pm. I look forward to relating more of his stories tomorrow.

To Ben - Day Ten

Wednesday July 13th

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:19

Ben, I hope you had a great trip. I can't wait to see you tonight. I hope that you will never forget this trip. And I hope you never forget what this trip is all about - bringing glory to our Father in heaven by going out and making disciples of all nations.

Welcome home son!