This is what I call a REAL SAFARI!

This is what I call a REAL SAFARI !! 

 

So for anyone that doesn't know, our race has became 10 countries in 11 months. Honestly this was very hard news for me and the team to take.  We love Kenya but we have been attacked the full month of Kenya – especially through our physical health. Every single team mate has been ill. We have been in and out of the hospital and had the doctor out at our house every other day. We have had blood tests,urine tests and stool tests every single week. As a team we have had  typhoid, malaria, chest infections, cysts in the stomach, diarrhoea, urine infections, hook worms,  amoebas, parasites, nausea, headaches and just been so  completely weak that you can hardly move. 

 

So yea!, month 7 in Kenya was very hard and as much as we love Kenya and love the family and ministry we were ready to go and start a fresh month in Uganda. Then we were told that we couldn't get to Uganda because of the ebola virus. This was hard to hear, but at the same time a relief at that moment as we were unfit to travel and we honestly didn't think we were going to be able to get on the bus. We had hoped that we were going to get sent to another country, but then we were informed a week later to get comfy because we were staying in Kenya for another month. 

This was very hard news for us as our month has been associated with so much sickness. But we decided to go with it as we really did not have any other choice- we realised that obviously God Still had things that needed to be done! 

And yes he has done great things and we have been able to continue wonderful relationships and also make new ones.

 

We still have been really sick so in a way its been a blessing not needing to travel and try and be in a new ministry, but instead able to take rest because the pastor knows us and knows how our month has been, so he has let us take it easy and do ministry when we are fit and able. 

 

The awesome thing is that God has been speaking so much to me through all the sick days and the hard times we have been facing. I have been reading the Psalms so much and God has been showing me so much through it. Especially through David,and reading the hard times he went through and reading his honest feelings – he had some rough times and in many ways I can relate to some of the things he felt. But the beauty is that even in his low times – in his darkest hour, not once did he give up on God! He continued to praise God in the low times and I have found that I have had to be like a David. I have decided to praise Him even when I feel low because God always deserves the glory no matter how I feel. I have realised the minute you start to praise its like a burden is lifted off! God has spoken to me so much!
Satan can attack me physically but I will not let him  get me spiritually! 

 

We have had a great month despite the sickness and one of the amazing blessings God gave us is being able to go to the Masai Mara:) 

 

This was something we were meant to do on our first month in  Kenya but we weren't able to because we were so sick. So I feel blessed because God gave us the chance to go this month, and we did and it was one of the most incredible times of my life. I feel God was giving us a break and a time of fun and blessings after such a rough month! 

 

The Masai Mara was awesome! We did it world race style haha A.K.A- the cheap missionary version of safari lol !! Haha- we got a matatu-  ( african mini bus)to take us around . This was a bumpy time and maybe not as smooth or as fast as a land cruiser, but we had great fun and definitely extreme moments of feeling like we were going  to tip on our side or start rolling backwards  down steep hills into rivers…. 

We then arrived and stayed at a Masai family home – it was incredible! The Masai Warriors are incredible people and it was like stepping into the unknown.  They are beautiful people who love to live in simplicity!  They don't use electricity in their home and they cook over a fire outside. The toilet is a hole in the ground with a few bits of fabric pinned around you lol, and the shower… Well you just stand outside in the open  and take a shower with a bucket of water haha ( none of us took a shower funnily enough). To some people this might seem like an awful time but honestly it was an incredible time of living in the culture 🙂

It is probably the most Peace I have felt on the race – you would absolutely stand outside in the fresh air and hear nothing 🙂 it was amazing! It reminded me so much of home when me and my family would go up to the Highlands and enjoy nothing but fresh air, beautiful scenery and peace and quiet 🙂  

The family were incredible – we stayed with a pastor called Peter and his big family- he lives with his wife,kids and his fathers wife and their kids, sisters,nephews and nieces They live in community and have mud houses set up around the main house for all the other family members to stay in. 

This family did not know a thing about us yet they welcomed us in with open arms, cooked food and made us feel at home.  🙂  

During the day we went out on the bus to do our safari 🙂 

We had such an incredible time. We saw beautiful scenery and at times you felt like  you were in a scene from  the Lion King. Some of the scenery was almost identical to scenes from the film. 

We saw so many amazing animals -zebras, giraffes, baboons, buffalo, elephants, ostrich, gazelles, wilder beast, wild boar, hyenas and rhino 🙂 sadly we did not see a lion  🙁 but maybe one day!  I was happy and blessed to see what we did see :), and this was not just a normal safari – we got to get out and walk about with the animals! We were so close to zebras and giraffes and we were literally 5 steps away from a rhino – which was scary but so amazing!  It was such a great time of being taken around by people who live there. We were told cool stories about how they killed their first lion and about some of their traditions.

We were then taken to literally the middle of nowhere where we drove through a field and finally came to a church building (this was pastor Peters church) – all that was around us was mountains, fields and wildlife!  As we drove up to the field we saw chairs sat around in a circle and a table with tea and biscuits. There we were with more of the Masai tribe- they sang songs for us and even gave us their very own necklaces as gifts. It was a precious time and very overwhelming to be there and feel loved by people we didn't know. Ashley even got to share the gospel with them for 5 minutes 🙂 

We then went to another Masai  village that lived in a larger community. We went in and were welcomed with singing and dancing and then they pulled us up and had us singing and dancing with them 🙂 We were shown how to make fire with sticks. It was really impressive- to see how fast they could get a fire going! We then went into their houses – this was hard to see how they lived. Their homes are very tight and are in complete darkness as it is  small mud houses. They only have the 1 room where they cook in and the full family sleeps in. The house was full of smoke, it only had a tiny hole to let the smoke out. I got out and wondered how they manage to live in it. But they are happy and are very proud of where they live – it is very impressive and amazing because everything they have they have made themselves. We then went to their market where we could buy blankets, necklaces, bracelets, ornaments and many more beautiful things. This is their way of making income. The things they make are very unique and beautiful!     

Being able to meet the people from the Masai villages was such an incredible time. It is something I will cherish for the rest of my life as they are incredible people. It was a great honour to stay with them and spend time with them. 

We were also shown to one of the fancy hotels in the Masai Mara. It was beautiful with breathtaking scenery, beautiful fancy rooms and elegant dining. It was like going from 1 extreme to another. This was where the holiday makers that come for safari come and stay. It was beautiful and it would definitely be nice to enjoy the luxury of that kind of hotel but honestly I would never trade it for what we had that weekend.

I believe we were unbelievably blessed with what we got to experience.

We experienced real life in the Masai Mara! It will be a time in my life that I will never ever forget. 

Also when people got to the Masai mara for a holiday they will pay up to $2000 for all the expenses where as we payed like $40 each- and I believe we got more than what you would get if you were to do it the expensive way!  

So we  may have had a rough couple of months but God is truly blessing us and he gave us an unforgettable experience! 

so excited to see what God has for us in Thailand 🙂

Love Dani xx