When
you wake up at 5 am for a 14 hour bus ride and your whole day consists of a bag
of peanuts, a package of crackers, mouldy
bread and no knife to spread your peanut
butter, you know you’re on travel day…WELCOME TO TANZANIA!
Before
I talk about this beautiful country, I would like to tell you about my ending
in KENYA.
After
a month of experiencing African living in Busia, Kenya, Team Radiance and I ventured out to the world famous Maasai Mara National Park to experience a
safari (due to many events I was the only one from team S.W.A.T who could go).
This park is the top park in all of Africa for “Wild Game” and “The Big 5”
(which includes: Elephants, Black Rhino, Leopards, Lions, and Giraffe).
Where
to begin in this adventure– it was a mind 
blowing experience I will never
forget. We took three buses (First bus leaving at 7pm, last bus arriving at
final destination at 5 pm the next day). Let me tell you though, the last bus
we got onto was one of those rides where you think, “Now this is Africa”! It was a bus jammed with people and
everything else (rice, ugali, potatoes, gas, chickens, you name it and it was
probably on the bus). We were jammed with our knees in our faces and boxes all
around us, making it a puzzle to get out.
We
were dropped off in the middle of a desert, jumping off the bus not knowing
what to expect. We walked and found a village of mud huts. Yes, that was our home for the night- a mud
hut- sleeping on the floor on some cow hide with seven people side by
side. The night we arrived we were
presented with a tribal dance and a goat for dinner (yes, they killed it and
cooked it that day- what can I say; this is tribal living, actually Africa in
general).
The
next morning we woke at 5am for the driving safari. Before we even got to the
gate of the Maasai Mara National park we were amazed with our very first
sunrise – a beauty unlike none other.
Throughout the day we saw herds of wildebeests and zebras- let me tell
you, zebra are radiantly beautiful animals (one of my favourites now). Seeing
animals in the wild is much different than the zoo. Also in our four hour drive
we saw elephants, giraffes, gazelles, buffalos, hippos, jackals, hyenas, mzungus,
wart hogs, and antelopes. Also an ostrich, a crocodile, a
black rhino and a baboon. One of my
favourites was the lion (male and female) on two occasions, eating its lunch (zebra).
The male picked up the dead half eaten zebra and dragged it into the bush for
privacy (we followed the male lion for some good photos- it was an intense
moment). 
The
safari was an experience like no other; we got to see “The Lion King” truly come alive. Sometimes I forget what a great journey
it is to be here in Africa and travel across the world- I thank God for His
blessing and rejoice that He is King over all (even the animals and ocean).
Side note: On a completely
different note, please be praying for Team S.W.A.T- due to many events, a lot
of people have been sick and we truly need your prayers of strength, health and
healing upon all of our bodies. One of
our team mates has gone home for better treatment (and hopes to come back for
Eastern Europe), please be praying for fast recovery.
