Lake Nakuru
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
Nakuru, Kenya
We left early for Lake Nakuru National Park today. Nema didn’t come with us because it was a national holiday. Her kids were home from school and she wanted to spend time with them. Nancy didn’t know us because her compassion child came in from town and they went to see the sites of Nairobi together. So Moses had used a big van for no purpose. However it was a very comfortable van. I got to sit in the front with Moses and he taught me several Swahili words while we drove through the rift valley. I will not try to spell them just yet, I’m learning how to say them correctly first.
We drove out of Nairobi to the outer area of Kenya. To the east of the country, there are lots of green hills. The air smells sweet and clean. It’s a bit colder the higher you go up in elevation and we are already at a high elevation in Nairobi. We drove past the road block where black people once needed a pass to go into the city of Nairobi. They could only go in to work. We drove past the first Christian church ever built in Nairobi. It was a Presbyterian church and it still stands today. We drove past a famous road that the Italian prisoners created during the world war. Moses was a great tour guide. He pointed out the animals along the way too, and told us stories about his life. Moses is one of sixty-four children his dad had. His dad had four wives and he only has one. He looks for another wife to help his first wife. He only has four children, but he wants to have more too. His father took his wife by going into a Masai tribe and taking her. His father is Kikuyu and his mother is Masai.
As we approached different highlights across the road, Moses would slow down, and tell us to prepare ourselves for what we were about to see. Each time he was right, and no matter how much I prepared the view was more spectacular than I had envisioned in my mind. Africa goes beyond our imagination. God creates such beauty that we can’t begin to dissect his creativeness. The big ooooooo was the view of the Rift Valley. All of a sudden we passed a great bolder and behold the most magnificent view 8000 feet up. Moses pulled over to a lil vendor area, and let us go out and look at the view. In the meantime, he was going to have himself a cup of tea.
The Rift Valley is incredible. From our view point you could see several tall mountains. I saw a volcanic mountain too. It’s the second biggest from Mt. Kilimanjaro. Moses said that a few years ago it started to smoke and scientist everywhere came to check it out. They waited and studied, and in a few weeks the smoke stopped. There were other several huge mountains around. It was a site that I never thought I’d be able to see. We stood there dizzy from the altitude. Happy from the view. At peace with our creator.
We continued to drive even more. The Nakuru Park is about a 3 hour drive from Nairobi, or at least 3 hours the way that speedy Moses drives us. We passed several villages, and had a great time looking at all the sites. I am beginning to think I am a natural at the bumpy road life. I normally get car sick when I drive, but I don’t here. I even fall asleep with the car rides. It rocks me to sleep. It’s a very strange phenomenon.
We drove in to the Nakuru Park and the baboons were there to greet us. They walked all around our car and tried to smell food. We jumped out to use the bathrooms while Moses lifted up the roof. And surely he did. He gave us space so we can all stand up and look around. I personally wanted to get out and walk but Moses said that there are lions in the bush sleeping and we would have woken them up if we had been to close. I know that was a kind way of saying please doesn’t step on the daisies.
Our first site were the flamingoes. Thousands of birds near the lake. They like the alkaline the water has and they sit there for hours soaking it up. There are also quite a few other types of birds too. I saw storks, pelicans, and others I don’t even know there name. The sound they make and the way they fly over the water is amazing. I stood there on the edge of the lake so grateful. The I’m here in Africa moment occurred. I closed my eyes and breathed. I was in the center of a safari near lake nakuru and life couldn’t have been any better at that moment. It was amazing that beauty of this magnitude exsists. We drove around all over the park looking for a simba but we couldn’t find one. We saw so much though. For example we found, gazelle, impala, bison, white rhino, black rhino, zebras, hippos, baboons, giraffes, and so much more. Each time we stopped from our cars and stood up. Looking at all the magnificent creature. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t watching a PBS special or Animal Planet. I was seeing it, touching it, feeling it, hearing it, and loving it on real time there in Nakuru. Moses had a special treat for us. We went to the top look out. There is a look out high up on a cliff. We jumped out of the van and ran to the cliff. And it was breathtaking. From that view point you could see all of Nakuru Lake. I saw it and just cried. Tears just rolled down my face. God made this. As soon as Kristen got there, she said ‘God sure took His time when He made Africa’ she was speaking the truth. I stood there as long as I could. Took some photographs. But then I just took it all in. I just sat there and took it all in. What a blessing. Wednesday was a blessing.
We came down the lookout and towards the lake. Moses parked right on the surf and we had a picnic. A great picnic. I washed down my lunch with passion fruit juiced and talked with the flamingoes and pelicans nearby. Off to a distance we saw the ox and zebra have lunch too.
Lake Nakuru is a miracle. I’m so glad the country decided to preserve that area. It’s pristine. This visit is one that I will never forget. The memories and sounds of Africa will bring me great comfort in my golden years. I will be able to look back on this day and tell my loved ones that I walked the cliffs of Lake Nakuru and felt God breathe life into me. That he does take care of the little birds of the sky. That He did create our universe. That He is sovereign and holds it all in His hands. Memorable.
“How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew of Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessings, ordains eternal life” Psalm 133.
Therefore we do not loose hear. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:16-18
Join me in a prayer?
For people living with HIV/AIDS
Hear our prayer, O God of mercy and love,
for all who live with HIV or AIDS.
Grant them loving companions
who will support them in the midst of fear;
give them hope for each day to come,
that every day may be lived with courage and faith.
Bless them with an abundance of your love,
that they may live with concern for others.
Pour on them the peace and wholeness,
which you alone can give.
Through Jesus Christ, our Savior
who came to give us abundant life
Written by Vienna Cobb Anderson.
Nakuru, Kenya
We left early for Lake Nakuru National Park today. Nema didn’t come with us because it was a national holiday. Her kids were home from school and she wanted to spend time with them. Nancy didn’t know us because her compassion child came in from town and they went to see the sites of Nairobi together. So Moses had used a big van for no purpose. However it was a very comfortable van. I got to sit in the front with Moses and he taught me several Swahili words while we drove through the rift valley. I will not try to spell them just yet, I’m learning how to say them correctly first.
We drove out of Nairobi to the outer area of Kenya. To the east of the country, there are lots of green hills. The air smells sweet and clean. It’s a bit colder the higher you go up in elevation and we are already at a high elevation in Nairobi. We drove past the road block where black people once needed a pass to go into the city of Nairobi. They could only go in to work. We drove past the first Christian church ever built in Nairobi. It was a Presbyterian church and it still stands today. We drove past a famous road that the Italian prisoners created during the world war. Moses was a great tour guide. He pointed out the animals along the way too, and told us stories about his life. Moses is one of sixty-four children his dad had. His dad had four wives and he only has one. He looks for another wife to help his first wife. He only has four children, but he wants to have more too. His father took his wife by going into a Masai tribe and taking her. His father is Kikuyu and his mother is Masai.
As we approached different highlights across the road, Moses would slow down, and tell us to prepare ourselves for what we were about to see. Each time he was right, and no matter how much I prepared the view was more spectacular than I had envisioned in my mind. Africa goes beyond our imagination. God creates such beauty that we can’t begin to dissect his creativeness. The big ooooooo was the view of the Rift Valley. All of a sudden we passed a great bolder and behold the most magnificent view 8000 feet up. Moses pulled over to a lil vendor area, and let us go out and look at the view. In the meantime, he was going to have himself a cup of tea.
The Rift Valley is incredible. From our view point you could see several tall mountains. I saw a volcanic mountain too. It’s the second biggest from Mt. Kilimanjaro. Moses said that a few years ago it started to smoke and scientist everywhere came to check it out. They waited and studied, and in a few weeks the smoke stopped. There were other several huge mountains around. It was a site that I never thought I’d be able to see. We stood there dizzy from the altitude. Happy from the view. At peace with our creator.
We continued to drive even more. The Nakuru Park is about a 3 hour drive from Nairobi, or at least 3 hours the way that speedy Moses drives us. We passed several villages, and had a great time looking at all the sites. I am beginning to think I am a natural at the bumpy road life. I normally get car sick when I drive, but I don’t here. I even fall asleep with the car rides. It rocks me to sleep. It’s a very strange phenomenon.
We drove in to the Nakuru Park and the baboons were there to greet us. They walked all around our car and tried to smell food. We jumped out to use the bathrooms while Moses lifted up the roof. And surely he did. He gave us space so we can all stand up and look around. I personally wanted to get out and walk but Moses said that there are lions in the bush sleeping and we would have woken them up if we had been to close. I know that was a kind way of saying please doesn’t step on the daisies.
Our first site were the flamingoes. Thousands of birds near the lake. They like the alkaline the water has and they sit there for hours soaking it up. There are also quite a few other types of birds too. I saw storks, pelicans, and others I don’t even know there name. The sound they make and the way they fly over the water is amazing. I stood there on the edge of the lake so grateful. The I’m here in Africa moment occurred. I closed my eyes and breathed. I was in the center of a safari near lake nakuru and life couldn’t have been any better at that moment. It was amazing that beauty of this magnitude exsists. We drove around all over the park looking for a simba but we couldn’t find one. We saw so much though. For example we found, gazelle, impala, bison, white rhino, black rhino, zebras, hippos, baboons, giraffes, and so much more. Each time we stopped from our cars and stood up. Looking at all the magnificent creature. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t watching a PBS special or Animal Planet. I was seeing it, touching it, feeling it, hearing it, and loving it on real time there in Nakuru. Moses had a special treat for us. We went to the top look out. There is a look out high up on a cliff. We jumped out of the van and ran to the cliff. And it was breathtaking. From that view point you could see all of Nakuru Lake. I saw it and just cried. Tears just rolled down my face. God made this. As soon as Kristen got there, she said ‘God sure took His time when He made Africa’ she was speaking the truth. I stood there as long as I could. Took some photographs. But then I just took it all in. I just sat there and took it all in. What a blessing. Wednesday was a blessing.
We came down the lookout and towards the lake. Moses parked right on the surf and we had a picnic. A great picnic. I washed down my lunch with passion fruit juiced and talked with the flamingoes and pelicans nearby. Off to a distance we saw the ox and zebra have lunch too.
Lake Nakuru is a miracle. I’m so glad the country decided to preserve that area. It’s pristine. This visit is one that I will never forget. The memories and sounds of Africa will bring me great comfort in my golden years. I will be able to look back on this day and tell my loved ones that I walked the cliffs of Lake Nakuru and felt God breathe life into me. That he does take care of the little birds of the sky. That He did create our universe. That He is sovereign and holds it all in His hands. Memorable.
“How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew of Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessings, ordains eternal life” Psalm 133.
Therefore we do not loose hear. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:16-18
Join me in a prayer?
For people living with HIV/AIDS
Hear our prayer, O God of mercy and love,
for all who live with HIV or AIDS.
Grant them loving companions
who will support them in the midst of fear;
give them hope for each day to come,
that every day may be lived with courage and faith.
Bless them with an abundance of your love,
that they may live with concern for others.
Pour on them the peace and wholeness,
which you alone can give.
Through Jesus Christ, our Savior
who came to give us abundant life
Written by Vienna Cobb Anderson.
Comments
Reading your adventure every day. Praying for you.
Danny
Gerry