DAY 7 CONTINUED Pastor Paul's Perspective

Day 7 Part 2
PS on day 6. I won my first game of Spider Solitaire before laying down Tuesday night.
After lunch we started out to go to one of the Masia Villages. Just a short distance out one of our guys spotted some cheetahs under a tree. Our guide, Raphael drove us to them so we get some pics and video footage. Little did we know what was in store for us! The cheetahs were beautiful under the tree, but after a couple of pics they started moving toward a herd of zebras passing through. Several of the group had been so anxious to see a kill. I consider myself a lover, not a fighter, (no comments please lol), so I wasn’t really sure that was on my list of things I wanted to see for this safari. I was content. I had seen lions, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and giraffes. (Not to mention my new found animal friends including the monkeys that nearly invaded our tent and other animals that I can’t even remember their names. What more could anyone ask for? Well, I was about to get more, like it or not. The cheetahs started chasing the zebra hoping to find some good lunch. Eventually one of the zebra made a horrible mistake and pulled away from the group. (Harvest Center folks, you will hear this message eventually and if you hear it in SS b4 u hear it from me, I may send her to Africa J .) After the zebra pulled away from the group, it was singled out and doom was surely to be its new found destiny. Just hours before I had thought of the hundreds of zebra we had seen and wondered if they needed to be thinned out. Now it didn’t sound like such a good idea. The lone zebra was a much easier target now. The three cheetahs zeroed on and tripped the zebra up, pulling it down. They clawed and worked and thought they had everything under control and in the midst of shouts of “get in”, “WOW”, “I’ve never seen this before”, and “Oh No!”, “YES”, and “Run zebra RUN”, the zebra got up and I prayed that it would be able to get away. Just beyond on the hillside, some of the zebra had come back to try to lend support by sending a beckoning call, but their call soon turned into a mournful cry. As the cheetahs got the zebra down again, starting in the back, (WARNING: Graphic descriptions that may not be suited for the weak stomached and the spiritually lukewarm!) between the hind legs, they started trying to pull the intestines out. I’m not sure how many times the zebra got up, but I realized that the last stand was at hand. The zebra on the hill could be NO help now. It was TOO late. He had made a wrong choice to pull away from the group, and was now paying a dear price, life. As the cheetahs continued their death grip and the zebra continued to suffer such a violent death, a hyena appeared on the scene to run off the cheetahs and take the zebra as prey for itself, just as if it deserved it. Almost immediately the crows and cranes began to gather to await their turn. Eventually one of the guides threw rocks that ran the hyena just a little ways into the distance, leaving the zebra now to be fair game for those who had killed it. The hyena continued to try to make another stand and came back again and again and again. The amazing part of all of this is, that it is said throughout Africa that cheetahs can’t take down a zebra. National Geographic would’ve loved to be in our spot today! Finally the cheetahs slowly moved back in to reclaim their kill as the hyena looked on, (not calling for help from other hyena’s but hoping to keep it all to himself), and the cranes, and the buzzards continue to gather by what looked like hundreds by now. We had finally seen and heard enough. I’m not sure if the video captured the sound of the hide tearing or not, but it was horrible, realizing that the zebra was still alive during so much of this. If only it had stayed with the group. But it didn’t and now the food chain that God created is being witnessed at its finest. On the flip side, had the zebra not died, others may not have lived. Everyone seemed to be waiting in line to get their share. After seeing enough, we headed on to the Masai village to visit. We were welcomed by the greeters and we were greeted with a welcome dance by the Mighty Masai warriors. Dressed in colorful garments they chanted, danced and marched around us with sounds that we will probably never understand. They yell, dance, and jump and jump, to welcome their guest. Some of the bravest of the guys were invited to join them in the jump and dance. You’ll have to see the video to know who those brave men were! Then it was on the inside of the village, watching our feet/shoes every step of the way. The cattle had already been herded in for the night. There was a puppy laying in the middle of the cows, asleep on one of them. We walked around piles of branches that would soon be pulled to the openings as the gate of protection for the night. We gathered around the cattle and the women of the village greeted us w/another song and dance. After they finished it was off to tour the homes. The houses are made of stick and mud basically. The roof had sticks, mud, grass, cow manure, and a combination of things over it to make it secure. About 7 of us were stepping in to the first room of the house which was very small. As soon as the door was blocked I had to get out quickly to breathe. The quarters were way too close! I got my breath and was ok to go back in for a minute. We moved to the next room, which was very dark and we were told to sit down. I finally sat down, and again when the doorway was blocked ---WHEW-- I had to get up and change places. I got to hear a little about the home and the traditions of the Masai, but I am looking forward to looking more up when I get home. After the tour of the house, it was down to the market. The tables consisted of much the same consistency of the roof. The Masai are also facing troubling times, and they were desperate to sell, but not desperate enough to come down to some of the prices that were offered. I left with a couple of what I hope were good deals, and we were back to the Jeep to clean our shoes and head back in to the camp. On our way back we continued to see zebra, gazelles, impala’s, and a host of other friends. When we got back to the sight of the kill, the vultures had clearly taken over by this point. There was quiet a crowd of onlookers to see what was taking place. I wonder if anything is left by now? We got back to camp in time to clean up quickly for supper. Supper was moved out into the “bush” as our farewell surprise and appreciation. A fire was built for grilling. We were served; cream of pumpkin soup, salad, rice, potatoes, spinach, a chicken dish, steak and chicken from the grill and a variety of desserts. By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Miss Lynda. Today is the official day!
After the meal I spent a little time walking, looking at the handiwork of a sky filled with stars. Finally had to come in and start packing a few things up for tomorrow. We have the early morning game run at 6:30, back for breakfast and final purchases and packing, and zip our tents and head to the landing strip. After landing we are back to Kibera briefly to spend some final moments with the kids, get packed and loaded, and headed to the airport to stand in line and wait and wait and wait. I know that everything at home is in great shape, but I am sure looking forward to seeing some folks.