The Animal Kingdom

I just spent a very long time doing four posts, trying to get caught up on posting pictures.  This post is about the amazing animals that live here.

I know that our Heavenly Father loves animals.  That's why he created so many unique and interesting ones.  I did a previous post about "The Big Five" here in Africa.  Now I would like to post pictures of others that I find just fascinating.  It will be fun someday to talk to Heavenly Father and to our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to ask them how everything was done.  And to Adam and Eve who were the first people on earth.  That must have been an adventure!

So here are some pictures, not in any particular order.  But I still say penguins are my favorite!  (Next to zebras and giraffes, etc. etc. etc.)

Hippos are so ugly, they're endearing.  Not cute.  Just endearing.

Ostriches are funny creatures.  Big birds that can't fly.  The Layton family who lived near us in Grassy Lake, Alberta, raised ostriches one year.  I remember that an ostrich pecked Virginia Layton on the chin and she still has a scar from it.

Giraffes are regal and graceful.  Craig has a cool picture of one spreading its legs and bending somewhat for a drink.

A dik-dik is like a very big jack rabbit.  So interesting to know that it is a type of antelope.

We have so many deer and antelope at home that at first I didn't think antelope were very interesting.  But they have lovely horns.  The impala (above) has curved horns and black stripes on its rear end.

Grant's Gazelle has long, fairly straight horns.

Thomson's Gazelle has straight, long horns and a black stripe on its sides.

Ah . . . my lovely zebras.  This shows the brownish hue that is on many zebras.

The Hartebeest has interesting horns that grow kind of  u-shaped and its back slopes downward.

The Wildebeest is not a lovely creature!

The male Eland often has a droopy neck.

The Waterbuck has coarse shaggy fur.

Craig and I had a hard time identifying this antelope.  It is a Bushback.  Furry tail.

Wheelchairs for Those in Need

The Church is involved in many humanitarian projects.  One of these projects is to donate wheelchairs to those in need.  This particular project in Nairobi was not only to give wheelchairs but to train Kenyans how to measure someone for a wheelchair and how to put them together and maintain them.

The wheelchair needs to fit the person.  Those watching are learning how to fit the chairs and how to maintain them.

Sister Jensen (one of our senior couples who works with LDS Charities) is visiting with a young man who is excited to get a new chair.

This wheelchair belonged to one of the patrons who came to get a new one donated by the Church.  The person certainly needed a new one!

Wheelchairs are given to those in need regardless of their religious affiliation.  This young woman was born with a growth on her neck that has paralyzed her and it is getting worse.  She's waiting to be fitted for her own wheelchair.

Notice this man's foot.  It is growing completely backwards.  He's excited to get a wheelchair bike.

Look at that smile!  So thankful to be able to be mobile!  He usually crawls on the floor because of his foot.

And here's another man who has been given a wheelchair bicycle.  He had fun learning to handle it.

Elder and Sister Petersen have been here for 18 months helping with many LDS Charities projects.

And then on the way home, we see not wheelchair bicycles but motorbikes.  These are motorbike taxis and delivery bikes.  I bet they're happy to have motorbikes instead of walking and carrying their loads on their heads!

Neighbors, Members, and Missionaries

We have great neighbors here in our compound.  And we live in a cute little apartment amongst palm trees and flowers.  Kenyans would say that we "stay in a cute little flat."  They don't live.  They stay. And apartments are flats just like they are in Great Britain.  Kenya was once a British possession so there are a lot of things in common with England.  And there are a lot of words in common with Canadian English, such as sorry (sore-y, not sawry as the Americans say), and zed, and holiday (not vacation), and I can't remember more at this moment.

We love our neighbors and visit with them from time to time.  The neighbors from India will soon have a new little baby.  Will be great to hear that new-baby cry.  And we have great members of the Church here too.  And wonderful missionaries.

South African get-together.  For a long time now we have wanted our South African neighbors, Jaku and Mariska, to meet our South African missionary president, President Msane and his wife.  Jaku and Mariska are Afrikaans and President and Sister Msane are Zulu.  There was a time in the past when white Africans and black Africans didn't get along.  But that is in the past although there are still vestiges of prejudice here in Africa just like there are anywhere in the world.  But finally we got our South African friends to meet each other.  It was such a fun evening.  The South Africans laughed and laughed over South African jokes and it was really great!  Emily, also a South African, standing on Sister Msane's right, is a friend of the Msanes who was visiting in Nairobi.  A great time was had by all.

Sister Msane had cooked a "South African brai" which is basically a barbecue with lots of meat and salads.  The Assistants, Elder Wafula and Elder Hales came too and then helped with dishes after.

Mariska and Jaku had brought some of their home-made biltong as a gift for the Msanes and the Msanes were absolutely thrilled.  Mariska makes her own biltong which is like beef jerky.

Screven came over one evening and he and Elder Torrie had a great time playing on the virtual organ that LeRon has set up.  Glorious music.  Screven plays very well and loves music as many Africans do.  Screven spent four years in Edmonton, Alberta, getting his undergraduate degree.  He speaks English just like an Albertan.  So fun to talk with him.  Screven is the stake organist.

We had to go to Upper Hill and it was great to meet up with some of the missionaries.  Here are Elder McGrath, Elder Munyariri, and Elder Wafula.

And Elder Cox and Elder McGrath.  They look very hot.  It's hot here in the day.  LeRon and I are lucky that generally we are in the mission office during the hot part of the day.  Mornings and evenings are still nice and cool.

I help teach music to Primary children in the Langata Branch.  I like to teach songs using things easily available to Kenyans.  Most Kenyans don't have a home computer nor access to a printer.  So I've been hand-drawing the words to songs.  It's tempting to print some wonderful flip charts from the internet because they're so well done and the children love them but it's not practical for here in Kenya.  When I'm gone, I want the members to be able to use the ideas I have and do it themselves.

This picture and the previous one are for the three verses of "Choose the Right" with the chorus at the end.  I thought it was pretty good if I do say so myself.

LeRon visiting with a member, Evelyn, who is Sharon Poche's mother.  Sharon is the Langata Branch Primary President.

Evelyn is a convert to the church and very strong in the gospel.  Before she joined, she really studied to be sure she understood what she was getting into.  She continues to study and when she teaches a Relief Society lesson, you would never know that she hasn't been a member for her whole life.  She's one of the many amazing members of the church here. 

Fun with the Sons

Trying to get caught up on posting my pictures.  When our amazing sons were here we had a great several hours at the Nairobi National Park.  The first time LeRon and I went there, we didn't see much.  We had no map and didn't understand the orientation of the park.  But when Heather came, she figured things out and we saw lots and lots of animals.  So when Michael and Craig came, we knew right where to go.  It was a wonderful safari and we got to drive ourselves.  That's what's so great about the Nairobi National Park.  In the Masai Mara, it's best to have a safari driver.  But in the three parks we've been to -- Nairobi, Nakuru, and Hell's Gate -- you can drive yourself.  Nice.

So on this trip we finally saw lions and wildebeets and we got to see hippos and rhinoceroses and so many kinds of antelopes that I'm not putting those pictures in this post.  I'll do it in another post.  It was fun to walk through the forest with a Masai guide.  You generally have to stay in your vehicle except if you are with a guard.  We were lucky to get a Masai guide who knew so much about the animals, birds, and vegetation.  More about him in the pictures below.

Timing is everything.  We were at the park entrance about 6:15 a.m. and entered the park around 6:30.  Right in front of us on the road were two lions leisurely sauntering along.  Not much light to get good pictures though and they were almost always facing away from us.  It was still exciting.  If we had been 10 minutes later, we wouldn't have seen them.

Something on the road caught the lions' attention and they tussled for awhile over whatever it was.

Then the lions got up and ambled into the bush.  So great to see lions in the wild!  (And from the safety of our truck).

Then in the pond just inside the park, there were hippos soaking in the water.

And a rhinoceros hiding in the tall grass.

Wild ostriches are huge!

I restrained myself and didn't take many pictures of zebras this time although I find their stripes absolutely fascinating.  I love their faces and I love the way the stripes cross the tail on their back ends!

Thought we needed to take a picture of us in one of the few places you can get out of your vehicle.

Me with two of my three sons -- actually with two of my four sons, counting my son-in-law Andy.

Now to our Masai guide.  He is very well educated and we learned a lot about the Masai and how they live.  The younger generation is getting more education and they are changing some of the old ways.  For example, many don't cut big holes in their ear lobes anymore nor do they always knock out one of their front teeth.  But this fellow (can't remember his name) did have burn marks on his legs which has a meaning that I can't remember.  They want to keep much of the Masai ways but they understand the need for education and to integrate more into society.  Click on the picture to enlarge and you will see his sandals made from rubber tires.  He could walk so silently through the bush.

I asked him if he carried a gun since there are lions in the park.  He said that he's not afraid of lions.  He was in the last group of young Masai who had to go out and kill a lion.  (They can't do that now as the lion population is decreasing).  That was in 1990 and from his age, we figured that he was 8 years old when he killed the lion.  He said that no lion will attack when a Masai is near.  That was comforting!

He knew the names of all the birds and he could tell us what animal had been eating the bushes nearby.  He pointed out tracks of hippos and other animals.  So interesting!  Wish I could remember it all.  I should have done this post sooner.

We can tell there are no crocodiles at this place in the river because if there were, these sheep would not go down to water.  The young Masai children know how to check the river for crocodiles before they jump in for a swim.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with this Masai guide.  Wish I could remember his name.  He's about the age of Heather so I felt like a mother talking to my son.

Of course the visit ends up at a tourist trap.  I bought this banana leaf artwork because I wanted to take a picture of this lady.  It looks like she has blacked her hands and face.  I was just reading about albinos in Kenya and Tanzania.  For some reason, there is a high rate of albinism here and people are very suspicious of albinos.  So I wonder if this lady is an albino who has blacked herself.  She wanted 3000 Ksh for this (which is about $30 US).  I told her that was way too much so I offered 400 ($4) and she took it.  It was probably still too much.  Oh well.

We saw lots of Wildebeests this time.  Not the great migration but certainly a lot of them.  I don't care if I don't see the great migration.  I can see it on Planet Earth!  But it was great to see so many here in the wild.

A crocodile waiting to snap up an unsuspecting victim.  Or just sunning himself on the beach.

What kind of bird is this?  I need to find out.  There were lots of them and their shiny white heads were vivid against the dry grass.

We thought we might not see a giraffe but just near the end of our 6-hour morning, there they were!

Giraffes are absolutely graceful.  They are another favorite animals of mine.  It was a great 6 hours!  So fun to share it with our sons.