Sitting under my mosquito net....words could never describe the last few days. As mosquitos buzz around my room and I shelter myself from the fear of contracting malaria, I am pensive about the people that I have watched struggle for simple existence. A few days ago I watched a majestic, old male lion saunter in front of my safari jeep - just a few feet from me. He clearly knew that I was in his world .... and would respect my smallness next to him. I watched a zebra as he barely escaped becoming breakfast to another. The open wound on his leg was his painful reminder that he would live to see another day on the Mara. Springtime on the Mara is so beautiful. Watching life renew itself....Mamas...elephants, zebras, lions, giraffes....all with their new babies...doing everything they can to escort them to adulthood. We watched young, teenage lions care for their baby siblings as mama stood by keeping a keen eye on everything around her... Words can never purely describe what the heart feels in this moment.
Today, I sat with my new friends in the front yard of Barak Obama's grandmother. We sat with her and chatted for about 40 minutes. Imagine yourself traveling through the bumpy dirt "roads." We traveled for 40 minutes to go just a few kilometers....just a few miles from the Ugandan boarder. She was a charming woman who explained that her pride in her grandson was strongest when he succeeded in helping the world find peace. Anything else would not due. Her smile was infectious and she reminded me that without peace we achieve nothing.
On our way home from Mama's house, we stopped in the local "supemarket" to purchase school supplies. We will use these supplies to surprise a slum school that we visited last week. Every student will have a new notebook and pencil. Simple for us, but these eager children covet their school supplies as though they were gold. They hunger for knowledge and never hesitate to share their smile with a visitor. I can't wait to see their faces when they see their new supplies.
So much for now. Sleep is calling me and I must begin teaching early in the morning....
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