Monday - 9/17/12

Monday we were blessed with a day dedicated to rest. We were all able to sleep in as long as we wanted. Typically we eat breakfast at Isaac and Esther's house, but we wanted to give them some time off as well, so we purchased some groceries and made our own breakfast at the ENT house. We made our way up to Isaac and Esther's house around lunch time, hung out and discussed what we would do for the afternoon. There was talk of us either going to an over-look area to see the Great Rift Valley and shop for souvenirs or visiting the Country Club at a Lake Naivasha resort. No one knew where we would end up, but we all piled in the vans and took off!

We started out with a tour of Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school for missionary children, where Isaac and Esther's children attend school. After that, we head towards Lake Naivasha. I had assumed this is where we were going because I knew the over-look locations were the opposite direction. We all enjoyed taking in the beautiful scenery on the way to the Country Club. We even spotted a few wild animals on the way! Zebras and impalas, of course.

When we pulled up to the Country Club, we were greeted with friendly Hello's from the staff. We walk through the lobby to the patio area and the first thing we see is a monkey running along the ridge of the roof. Then I notice a few more monkeys, but there's an interesting black and white one. We watch for a few minutes and then go off to explore. 

A few of us head one direction towards a bridge which we thought would lead to the lake, but ended up being a dining area, while some others stay and begin feeding the monkeys. After seeing what there was in one area, I decided to join in and feed the monkeys. They were so cute! We figured out if you held the food in your hand for a second, the monkey would basically hold your hand before eating the raisin or dried fruit or whatever food you had. I couldn't believe how friendly they were.

Ashley double-timing!

After we ran out of food I decided to head a different direction, which really did lead to the lake. I was excited to find some incredible photo opps! As I get out towards the end of the doc I notice the sunlight shining through a break in the clouds. This was the perfect opportunity to practice the photography skills I've been working on. 

Heather, Jessica, Hayley, Julie, Ashley, Hannah

Brent, Jake, Dmitry

While we're on the doc we keep hearing these noises. We had heard roomers of hippos in the lake, but hadn't seen any. But wait, "What's that!" We spotted 2 hippos showing their faces a distance away in the water. A few of the girls thought it would be a good idea to "call" the hippos, so they began roaring at the top of their lungs. I think we enjoyed laughing at the girls more then watching the hippos, but guess what, their roaring worked! One of the hippos even stood up in the water so we could get a better look!

HIPPO!

After the comedic hippo routine, I headed back to the table area to have some chai, my favorite! We were waiting for the sunset so we could get some more pictures. As the sun began to set I got excited about the light. I wanted to experiment with my camera some more, so I headed back down towards the doc to take pictures of the sunlight coming through the trees and finally the sunset itself. 

Heather and I enjoying our Chai!

And again, we were gifted with an incredible Kenyan sunset. 

I think this was the perfect way to spend our day of rest because it was exactly that - restful. The beauty was absolutely breath-taking and we had an amazing experience at the Country Club. God knew just what we needed in order to prepare for the work He had for us in the upcoming week. This is a memory I will cherish forever.

love,

jules