I feel like my time in Africa was a long time ago. Probably because it was. And I never really blogged about Mpeketoni, Kenya (February) or Morogoro, Tanzania (March). Opps. I fear that it is too late for many stories, but not for all, so I’m going to attempt to share a few this month in tandem with Cambodia stories (where I currently am)….starting with the easy, non-spiritual stuff like my safari experiences. 🙂
I have a semi-random love for animals. Random in that I love the Discovery Channel, but am not a big fan of most house pets. Anyway, when I found out that we were going to Africa I imagined the lion attacking the zebra, heard the British voice over, and longed to see it in person. I tried not to get my hopes up because things change frequently on the World Race and safari isn’t the reason we came to Africa…not a high priority. But I still silently hoped and prayed.
Then one day in Mpeketoni, our pastor told us that we were going on safari! My heart leaped! Again, I tried to manage my expectations as we climbed into the back of a borrowed pick-up truck and sat on benches from the church sanctuary. We drove for only 20 minutes and reached a lake with hippos! And then a little further we came to a couple large clearings where we saw cranes, zebras, wart hogs, impalas, water buffalo, and baboons! It was great! We spent less than an hour taking pictures (mine turned out terrible because of the lighting and distance from the animals….bummer.) and then returned via the beach at sunset (breathtaking.). I fought disappointment that I didn’t see elephants, giraffes, or lions and tried to just be grateful that I got to go….it worked and then I checked safari off my life list of things to do. 🙂
The following month I found myself in Morogoro – in the heart of Tanzania – just two hours from Mkumbi National Park. When Team Olur, also working in Morogoro, announced they were arranging a day safari to the Park I asked my team if they would mind me taking a day off to go. Knowing how much I loved Discovery Channel animals (and probably wanting relief from me talking about them!), they fully supported me and off I went.
The day started off in disaster – two flat tires, being left at a snack bar with no snacks for hours, a tour guide who didn’t say anything, torrential downpour, tinted windows – you get the point. I was so bummed because I had actually paid for this safari (thanks, dad!!) and wanted to see animals! Then, while we were at the snack-less snack bar, a stranger came and offered to take us around the park while we waited. Normally, I would never get in the car with a stranger – especially in Africa. But he had a badge, we all felt good about it, and, well, we wanted to see animals.
So we hoped in.
Best decision of the day. He totally redeemed the situation! He told us great stories and went on a search for lions (it’s rare to see one…we saw eight, including 8 cubs!!). Ken Virzi made a great video of our day…the best part is me running from baboons, which was scarier than it appears in the video (ps, lesson learned: when they say not to feed the animals, they mean it)….
The final animal blessing story is my favorite. Anna, Emily and I traveled from Tanzania to Kenya (our flight to Asia was from Kenya) a bit early to visit schools along the way (Emily has an incredible dream to open a school in Mpeketoni stay tuned for more information!). We had two nights where we had to be in a hostel, but couldn’t find one to fit our $5 budget. During our last school visit, we were waiting outside the office when we started talking to a missionary mom. Turned out she also ran a school, invited us to see it, found out we didn’t have a place to stay, and offered their guest house, free of charge. We were so grateful!
Little did we know that not only would they offer their guest house, but they would also fill our free day (before the whole squad came together for our flight) with amazing animal adventures! We got to feed giraffes, pet cheetah cubs, feed an ostrich, and hold a monkey – it was Melanie heaven. Maybe my favorite non-ministry day of the race. Such an unexpected, random, blessing from heaven.
In the end, during our three months in Africa, I ended up going on TWO safaris and visiting an animal refugee center… mostly for free! It was more than I could have even hoped for!
