Thank you all for your prayers that sustained us through our trip. We arrived safely in San Francisco to be joyfully greeted by our families. We are so grateful for the opportunity for this trip, and we will be sharing our stories and our photos with our families and our communities over the next few months!
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Day 13 Walter
After a late night of reflection we awoke for our drive to Nairobi. We got into our safari vehicles and started our journey. Exiting Masai Mara was an incredible start to the end of our trip. We were lucky enough to see another cheetah, fighting antelopes, and a leopard. After exiting the park we took a rest stop at a a souvenir shop. We were all excited when we were informed of the opportunity to bargain with the salesmen. We practiced our haggling skills for a few hours and then hit the road once more. My safari van entertained ourselves with hours of cards and enjoying the scenery around us. Finally when we arrived at the airport, we checked our bags and passed through security. Our day ended with a meal by our gate and stepping onto our flight to Paris.
Returning to San Francisco marks the end of both our Mission trip, and my time as a youth grouper. As I am writing this reflection on the plane ride home I am praying that our time together doesn't end. I hope the people I have bonded with in the past two weeks, and all those I have bonded with in the past 5 years will stay as lifelong friends. I have so much love and gratitude for the people and experiences I have had in the last 5 years, and I am so grateful I was able to experience Kenya as my final trip.
Returning to San Francisco marks the end of both our Mission trip, and my time as a youth grouper. As I am writing this reflection on the plane ride home I am praying that our time together doesn't end. I hope the people I have bonded with in the past two weeks, and all those I have bonded with in the past 5 years will stay as lifelong friends. I have so much love and gratitude for the people and experiences I have had in the last 5 years, and I am so grateful I was able to experience Kenya as my final trip.
Day 13 Nate
Even though our last day in Kenya was mostly spent driving from Masai Mara to Nairobi, there were still lots of things we got to see and do along the way. In the morning we started with our last drive through the park, seeing tons more animals and even being the first people to spot a leopard in 3 days! From there we exited the park and began our way east to Nairobi. I remember being surprised by the landscape, and specifically by how much it reminded me of places in California, with an arid environment and lots of mountains. Along the way we stopped at a souvenir shop where buyers are encouraged to haggle and bargain for better prices. This was my first experience with a shop like this and I found it to be rather overwhelming, especially with the way shop employees would follow us throughout the store, but there was also an element of fun to it and I think for my first time haggling I didn't do half bad.
After a quick lunch we were back on the road and our next major stop would be at a vista point overlooking the Great Rift Valley, an area where part of East Africa is slowly drifting away from the West due to plate tectonics. The view was absolutely beautiful and I think this was when I really started to appreciate how diverse the regions of Kenya are from each other, and how the nation is far from being one-note. Speaking across the trip as a whole, I have really appreciated that we got to experience Kenya in so many different ways and see so many of its facets, geographically and culturally. This sentiment continued as we got into Nairobi and saw a glimpse of the urban life in Kenya. What surprised me most was when the highway cut through a highly impoverished part of the city and we saw just how large of an area it was. Both the urban and rural poverty we witnessed on the trip has made me hyper aware of the privileges we have in our lives back home and makes me want to do more in the future in service of these communities. Without a doubt this trip has been a powerful experience.
Day 12 Anhai
Today was our last full day in Kenya. We got up early so that we could go out on safari. My group hopped into our jeep with our guide, Frank, who was super nice and funny. We went on a morning safari in which we saw giraffes, lion cubs and a big elephant family with baby elephants taking little baby baths. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to make the trade of my sister and I for a baby elephant that my mom requested (fortunately, I have negotiated Mike and Riley down to only trading my sister and keeping me). Alas, there's always tomorrow.
After having lunch at the hotel, we headed out for an afternoon safari. In my jeep, we prayed to see a cheetah in the next twenty minutes, and five minutes later, there he was. And then another. And then another. Three instead of one, we cheetahed nature!
Finally, at night we had our youth group tradition of appreciating each other, a practice dubbed "crying circle". Each person has a turn in which everyone on the trip has the opportunity to share what they appreciate about that person. It is always very sweet and often quite teary. And so it was tonight.
When we went on safari, we stayed at an isolated resort within the park. We were really shocked when we got there to see the place filled with tourists instead of the people who we had interacted with during all of our time in Kenya. It was strange to think that the people in this hotel had come all the way to Kenya, but never actually experienced it, at least not the Kenya we had. We had visited communities, natural landmarks, and met people who had spent their entire lives in Kenya. People who never left the resort the entire trip never saw what most of the country actually is. I've become so grateful to have gotten to meet so many of the incredible people who make up what Kenya is. Today was a wonderful day of meeting Kenya's more furry, feathery and water-dwelling residents, and it made me even more grateful to have met its human ones as well.
Anhai <3
After having lunch at the hotel, we headed out for an afternoon safari. In my jeep, we prayed to see a cheetah in the next twenty minutes, and five minutes later, there he was. And then another. And then another. Three instead of one, we cheetahed nature!
Finally, at night we had our youth group tradition of appreciating each other, a practice dubbed "crying circle". Each person has a turn in which everyone on the trip has the opportunity to share what they appreciate about that person. It is always very sweet and often quite teary. And so it was tonight.
When we went on safari, we stayed at an isolated resort within the park. We were really shocked when we got there to see the place filled with tourists instead of the people who we had interacted with during all of our time in Kenya. It was strange to think that the people in this hotel had come all the way to Kenya, but never actually experienced it, at least not the Kenya we had. We had visited communities, natural landmarks, and met people who had spent their entire lives in Kenya. People who never left the resort the entire trip never saw what most of the country actually is. I've become so grateful to have gotten to meet so many of the incredible people who make up what Kenya is. Today was a wonderful day of meeting Kenya's more furry, feathery and water-dwelling residents, and it made me even more grateful to have met its human ones as well.
Anhai <3
Day 11 Katherine
Hi everyone! This morning, July first, was a hard one for all of us, and for a few different reasons. Most importantly, it marked our final hours at the Nambale Magnet School, the beautiful campus we have called home for the past week and a half. What made it (significantly) more difficult was that we were brutally awoken at 4:40 in the morning in order to leave the school at 6:00 am. I'm sure that getting a group of fourteen teenagers out the door at the crack of dawn was not an easy task, and it could not have been done without Mike's Phase Three wake-up, the African pancakes delivered at 5:00, and our final prayer led by Madame Director Evelyn. I think a couple of us had tears in our eyes as we rolled out of those gates and away from Nambale, but the anticipation of our next adventure kept our vans (somewhat) lively.
After nine hours of sleeping, singing, and magic tricks, we finally passed through the gates of the Masai Mara National Park Game Preserve, the park which we would be exploring over the next couple of days on safari. Tears once again filled a few eyes as we drove through the park to our lodge and were greeted by elephants, giraffes, and zebras. After a very late lunch at the lodge, we set out for an afternoon and evening game drive, during which we saw more of the beautiful creatures and the vastness of this incredible park.
We closed out our very long day with our typical reflection, this time focusing on our thoughts and feelings as we had moved on from the Magnet School. Many of us continued to share the difficulty of leaving the school and its community behind, but we also reflected on the difference between Nambale (and other rural towns that we had passed through) and the resort that we now found ourselves in. While in a way, we welcomed the change and were excited by the unexpected luxury, we also recognized the complexity of resort culture. We discussed how many people come to places such as Kenya and move from resort to resort, arguably missing the opportunity to truly see and understand the country. While I am incredibly grateful that we are able to stay in such a beautiful place as we explore Masai Mara, I am even more grateful that we were given the chance to see how the vast majority of Kenyan people live. While it wasn't easy, it is what personally made this trip one that will inspire and motivate both service and understanding throughout my life.
After nine hours of sleeping, singing, and magic tricks, we finally passed through the gates of the Masai Mara National Park Game Preserve, the park which we would be exploring over the next couple of days on safari. Tears once again filled a few eyes as we drove through the park to our lodge and were greeted by elephants, giraffes, and zebras. After a very late lunch at the lodge, we set out for an afternoon and evening game drive, during which we saw more of the beautiful creatures and the vastness of this incredible park.
We closed out our very long day with our typical reflection, this time focusing on our thoughts and feelings as we had moved on from the Magnet School. Many of us continued to share the difficulty of leaving the school and its community behind, but we also reflected on the difference between Nambale (and other rural towns that we had passed through) and the resort that we now found ourselves in. While in a way, we welcomed the change and were excited by the unexpected luxury, we also recognized the complexity of resort culture. We discussed how many people come to places such as Kenya and move from resort to resort, arguably missing the opportunity to truly see and understand the country. While I am incredibly grateful that we are able to stay in such a beautiful place as we explore Masai Mara, I am even more grateful that we were given the chance to see how the vast majority of Kenyan people live. While it wasn't easy, it is what personally made this trip one that will inspire and motivate both service and understanding throughout my life.
Final journey home
We safely arrived in Los Angeles, and are now on our final flight to San Francisco! God is good!
Monday, July 3, 2023
On our way to LA!
Our plane from Nairobi landed late to Paris, and we booked it through the airport, and we're the last ones on the plane, but we made it - barely - and we are on our way to the US!
Sunday, July 2, 2023
Day 10 Cia
Well. Happy birthday to me (thanks guys for making it one of the best ever. And thanks to my parents- I made it to (sorta) adulthood, largely because of you).
Today was a very calm day. We went to Lake Victoria, about a two or three hour drive from the Nambale magnet school. When we got there, we went to a sort of beach resort. We waded in the water, played pool, and watched Amy geek out over a bunch if different aquatic animals. We ate fresh fish for lunch and watched as a birthday party played in the sand across from us. After, we drove through the nearby fishing village and waited for some of the people who went with us to buy some fish. We got home at about 7 pm, cleaned the house, packed, and got into bed early in anticipation of an early start the next day.
I found today enjoyable, but it brought up a lot of mixed emotions. It was our last day at the Nambale Magnet school, and though we haven't spent much time there since the kids left, it was strange to think we'd be leaving the house we'd called home for 10 days. Much as we might wish to come back, it is likely that some or most of us never will. It is such a special place, and I know we will hold it in our hearts forever. I'm already missing the kids I grew close to over the past few days, their enthusiasm and love of learning. They are all special, beautiful people, and I am truly blessed I got to know them, even for a short period of time. It breaks my heart to be leaving.
At the same time, I am so, so excited to get to go in the safari tomorrow. And, God willing, this will not be my last visit to this school or to Kenya.
Today was a very calm day. We went to Lake Victoria, about a two or three hour drive from the Nambale magnet school. When we got there, we went to a sort of beach resort. We waded in the water, played pool, and watched Amy geek out over a bunch if different aquatic animals. We ate fresh fish for lunch and watched as a birthday party played in the sand across from us. After, we drove through the nearby fishing village and waited for some of the people who went with us to buy some fish. We got home at about 7 pm, cleaned the house, packed, and got into bed early in anticipation of an early start the next day.
I found today enjoyable, but it brought up a lot of mixed emotions. It was our last day at the Nambale Magnet school, and though we haven't spent much time there since the kids left, it was strange to think we'd be leaving the house we'd called home for 10 days. Much as we might wish to come back, it is likely that some or most of us never will. It is such a special place, and I know we will hold it in our hearts forever. I'm already missing the kids I grew close to over the past few days, their enthusiasm and love of learning. They are all special, beautiful people, and I am truly blessed I got to know them, even for a short period of time. It breaks my heart to be leaving.
At the same time, I am so, so excited to get to go in the safari tomorrow. And, God willing, this will not be my last visit to this school or to Kenya.
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