Chapter 12: Exploring

We were able to get out and about a couple weeks ago. We went on a short retreat for staff development. We went to a place called Lake Naivasha and spent the weekend in professional development as well as a little relaxing. On Saturday we were able to go on a little safari. We went to a place called Crescent Island (some of the animal scenes from the movie Out of Africa were shot here as well as a few other movies). Lake Naivasha (where Crescent Island is) it use to be a crater that has since filled up with water. Unfortunately though because of a long drought here, the water is starting to recede quite a bit. Crescent Island is more like a peninsula now. We talked with the owner for some time, she is an older British lady who has lived there since the 1970's. We were able to walk around for 3 or 4 hours. We saw giraffes, zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, a python, and some hippos!! There was a time or two were we went off and did our own exploring, apart from our guide...we took the road less traveled as Robert Frost would say...and it did make all the difference...we came across a hippo resting on shore. We got about 10-15 feet from him and then he stood up. We were told hippos can run pretty fast, so we snapped a couple pictures and then moved on. As we were moving out though, we must have spooked him and he took off, none the less, we got a picture of our friend. Hope everyone is doing well!! Love you guys!!

Chapter 11: Furniture Shopping

Now that we have found a house and have moved in, we have been looking to purchase some furniture. We were fortunate enough to be able to buy some furniture from some missionaries who were leaving the field. We were able to buy from them a bed and some book shelves. We are still looking to purchase a couch, some chairs, and a dining room table. Last weekend we went shopping down "furniture alley." There is a road here in Nairobi called Ngong Road and located all along it are numerous furniture stores. It is nothing like Rooms To Go. Each and every morning they haul their furniture out from under cover and then every night they haul it back under. It was a challenge going from store to store and discussing prices with the owners. Just being honest...they see a white person and the price doubles some times triples. We took a few people with us, one of them being a Kenyan, to help us in the task. Long story short, we were able to pick out a L-shaped couch and a single chair. They are making it from scratch and hopefully we get to pick it up tomorrow. No more devotions on a cold tile floor!!