Curious Critters and Collections at RVA

Almost every day brings us new sights and new introductions to creatures and characters and collections here in East Africa.



We see bulbuls everywhere--don't be deceived--he is a bandit.
This cheeky fellow with the yellow rump
likes to eat the squash blossoms in our shamba.











This fellow likes to put the bulbul in his place. Jim calls him
the "orca" of the bird world. Shrikes don't want any competition for bugs,
and it suits us just fine when they chase the bulbuls out of our garden.












One of Jim's eighth graders found this chameleon by his dorm.















Another raider in our shamba--an ibis after nesting material.

And weeks later, here are her babies

No, she looks like a stork, but she does not bring babies...she just has them...

Loud babies...think raucous crows...BIG raucous crows.

A Curious Collection -- Chai cups.

Everyday at about 10:30 RVA students and staff enjoy chai--yummy hot tea

with lots of milk and sugar. Each high school student brings a cup,

and some leave them outside day after day...rinsed...or not.

Most kids turn them upside down and that's good, because birds love new perches

...and to leave small "gifts."

A sunbird in a blooming jacaranda tree. These relatives of humingbirds don't hum,

because they know the words.

A rare sight -- blossoms on an acacia -- the flat-topped tree we associate with Africa.

A sadly rare sight -- rain. We enjoyed a brief spell and things were looking

much greener. The total for the year is about half of

what it should be. You need to make this a matter of prayer.

This unusual bush with purple, lavendar, and white blossoms is

called Yesterday and Today. The leaves and blossoms on our bush

have wilted from the drought. Much more serious, potato plants

in local Kenyan shambas have died.

A Favorite Character -- Max

This fierce guy is a Rotweiler/Doberman mix. He can clear a five-foot hedge with no strain at all.

And he is on the job, protecting us from...

Monkeys...this one is a Colobus.








Seriously, if it weren't for Max things like this would happen more often.

A baboon crashed through a friend's roof recently, creating this hole.

A few months earlier, and the baboon would have landed on their daughter's bed

and possibly their daughter as well.

This Welsh Corgi likes to think of himself as Max's nemesis.

He has just enough attitude to turn his back on me and walk off from a photo op.

Max is not impressed. He hops over Crown of Thorn bushes.

Having the run of the campus, he goes where he likes.

But he's really just a big baby. I felt a huge presence nudging my leg

as a I worked at a desk top in the staff lounge...it was Max wanting love.

I think you are all expecting bugs in Africa. Here is a flying ant...a huge flying ant.

Rugged RVA kids eat them.

Sometimes even Africa must cope with invasions of alien species...one of the most notable...

TEXAS AGGIES!

Student Life at RVA 2 -- Pine Wood Derby

The entire campus mobilizes for this major event at RVA: The Pinewood Derby. From the Titchies in elementary grades to our secondary students, parents and staff members, all use their best skills and craftsmanship to compete in this exciting event, under the careful guidance and encouragement of Mr. Baker our industrial arts teacher. Chuck Baker will be quick to tell you that the real goal is glorifying God in it all.

Pastor Jim prepares to launch the next competitors' vehicles.

Seventh graders wait their turn with their vehicles.

All of RVA turns out to watch.

A proud staff member shows her work.

Adult women await the results of their race.

The massive track reaches nearly the entire length of the gym.

Audience and competitors alike look for photo finish results.

That evening winning competitors will receive coveted trophies
that they will cherish for years.

Finding God's Glory

The blessing of rain, a greener valley, yet still beset with challenges. The white IDP tents remain.

We bumped down the mountain road and onto the highway that would lead us to the Internally Displaced Persons Camp again. En route we saw a man delivering a garden bench by bicycle. The wooden bench, back rest and all, teetering precariously behind the delivery man served to remind us that life here in Kenya is generally a challenging balancing act.

We turned left toward the camp. Newly built stone homes had sprouted, but many were without a roof and many tents remained. Rain has fostered grass, but the blades struggle, overgrazed by sheep and goats.

Jim spoke from Psalms 44:23-26 and in his authentic, straight-forward way spoke to the struggles and doubts the Psalmist and these folk both faced. "Where was God in calamity?"

Folks gathered under the weathered acacia tree to ponder this...in rainy drizzle. We prayed hard that it would not pour on them -- though the land badly needs the rain. Those of us who had hoods put them up at one point, and someone in the congregation sacrificed an umbrella to shelter our bare-headed friends.

Ever wonder what dogs chased before cars? Donkeys with burdens strapped to their backs, in this case right along side our service. A stray goat also wandered through our midst. Despite rain and livestock, worship went on. A little one in a green filmy party dress, a peach sweater two sizes too big and blue canvas shoes toddled from one side of worship area to another.

Jim spoke to God's glory that He conceals and how in the midst of troubles we cannot always see His perfect plan. Did the message hit home? I think at least our presence did. The hugs, the handshakes, the heartfelt greetings said as much.

Maasai Mara -- Part IV-- The People

The animals and the landscape of the Maasai Mara were magnificent, but by far, I most enjoyed meeting the Maasai people. We were privileged to visit one of their villages. Maa is their language and "sai" means "the people." Young single men, morani protect the village and their livestock. These young warriors stand guard and defend against marauding predators. They wear red robes so that they can recognize each other from a distance and frighten predators who have come to understand that the men in those robes are dangerous.


The young warriors dance and sing to welcome us.

These young men show their tribal membership by either piercing their ears with sharp knives, burning tribal scars into their upper arms or by knocking out the middle two lower incisors. Some young men choose to lose the teeth in order to better fit in with modern society.


Third from the right, Peter, the chief's son, leads the warriors in a jumping contest. The young men leap to show their strength and desirability to young Maasai maidens.











These bold young men began young herding goats and sheep and learning how to defend themselves and their flocks. Once they are of age, they begin standing guard for the village and their precious livestock, each armed with a rungu (a war club), a finely balanced spear and a "Roman" two-edged sword. I witnessed one young Maasai in a larger city, attired in blue dress shirt and dress pants and a sweater vest. He rode a bicycle and had his Roman sword strapped to his side.



One young man bore the scars of a lion attack on his throat and neck. His fellow warriors rescued him, one literally pulling the lion away by its tail.

Once a young man marries and becomes a family man, he no longer has these dangerous duties.







Jim dances with the young warriors.











Building a fire.








The beginnings of a new home. It will be plastered with cow dung and mud. The parents will sleep on a bed made of springy branches and covered with cowhide. The children will have a small bed in an adjoining section.






A small room for new calves inside a home.








Drying laundry. The young Maasai men construct a formidable fence of densely packed branches for their villiage and one interior fence (boma) with thorny acacia branches to protect their flocks.







Beginnings of new village, with fence enclosing the families and precious livestock.
















A sausage tree provides containers for milk, sometimes mixed with blood from cows.








Precious Maasai cattle--their wealth.







A young boy tending sheep and goats.

I am an African boy
And my father and mother named me Sahoi
My tribe is nomadic
And our moving around is quite systematic
I know every bush and tree apart
And I know when the hungry hounds howling will start
I run barefoot through hot sand;
I live in a desert; a barren dry land.
My meals are normally blood, milk and meat
And getting good three times a day is a treat
On the night of full moon,
War cries were heard in the distance, meaning our enemies were
coming soon
I leapt from the ground,
As did everyone else, and moved toward our precious cows
without making a sound.
My father brandished a club,
And I stood, teeth clenched, like a young lion cub.
Our enemies were surprised,
When they saw a line of warriors standing on a low rise.
Now under the full moon light,
I saw a sad sight to see, of men who bravely came to fight.
Most of our enemies have now run away,
Some were killed, we'll move their bodies another day.
Some day I'll be a warrior too,
I won't act like a foolish child and everything I learn will be new.
I am an African boy,
And my father and mother named me Sahoi.
Written by Alanna (now a freshman) during 8th grade
Both her parents and grandparents have ministered
to the Maasai.





A lone Maasai travels through town.

Maasai Mara III The Big Five

The blessing of being here in Africa alone is staggering to us. I don't think either of us ever imagined the possibility--at most a childhood dream. The Kenyans are good enough to allow residing missionaries to tour their parks much less expensively than tourists, and that's a blessing indeed.

Not only did we get to tour the Maasai Mara, but we got to see all of the Big Five: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. Veteran visitors may go several trips before they see them all. These are dangerous beasts, but no worries. All visitors stay safely inside tour buses and vans.

Samuel was patient with us wanting to stop and photograph every little bird or antelope, but when he received word over his radio that this fellow had been sighted, he let us know it was time to move on -- quickly. Sighting a leopard is a rare event and the cluster of tourists snapping photos in their buses tells you how excited they were to find him. The leopard seems less impressed.









Sighting a rhino is an equally rare event, and we saw three. We first saw this mother and baby from behind and the "little" one was nursing. Samuel carefully maneuvered around, and we were able to get this view. We also saw a huge male, but there were just too many tourists and he headed for the bushes. A rhino can't exhaust himself charging ALL the tour buses.



Buffalo are possibly the most dangerous of the Big Five. They have nasty tempers and will charge with little provocation. Observe the Robert De Niro "Are-you-looking-at-me?" expression.






The older the bull, the more massive the horns. How much gel do you suppose it would take to achieve a "flip" like this? Again, another Robert De Niro stare.






It was our very last safari (journey) before we left for home, early in the morning, and we did not think Samuel could find anything to impress us now. We were wrong. He brought us to this early morning kill.






Notice the zebra leg to the left and the zebra mane under the jaw of the lioness on the right.














These cubs and lions from the same pride have already eaten their fill.