Rhino up close and personal!

So, when we set out on the safari, we did not know that we would get out and walk some! It was a surprise to me and I was not really dressed for it. (I was wearing a long skirt, as is the uniform for me these days.) But, they have the Rhinos in an area with guards all around. They are endangered, so they like to keep them safe. Every other animal just completely roams free. It was amazing to see! Just think, most of the African animals I have ever seen in a zoo came from right here! This is their home!

We stayed at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club. It was beautiful. The "rooms" are actually thick canvas tents. The beds were comfortable and the mattress thicker than 6 inches which was enjoyable! We could hear all the sounds of the wild so well. Hippos swam right below us outside our door! What an experience. We have synced pictures to a web album which is much easier than uploading to the Blog. It does not require a sign-in, or a subscription. Mostly there are just pictures of Liam in our living room, so don't feel like you have to look at all of them! But, if your favorite part of our blog is the pictures, then this is for you! We will keep updating it as we take more pictures, so save the site and keep checking periodically. This is the link to our web album: www.picasaweb.google.com/loganandjulie

Logan is out of town this week at an Africa-wide Mission Conference called Brackenhurst. Doctors travel from all corners of Africa to attend this for two weeks. Fortunately it is held right outside Nairobi, a mere 3 hour drive, so Logan is able to attend for half of it. I spoke with him briefly last night and he said it is going well. He is getting to meet people he has read and heard about. These guys are literally the ones they write books about! We pray he is refreshed and is able to meet and connect with the people the Lord wants him to get to know.

We had a wonderful little 24 hour visit with Dr. Todd Stephens, Dr. Leu and his son-in-law Craig from Wichita. Dr. Todd was "checking up on us" as well as visiting his old friends. Dr. Todd is the director of this International Family Medicine Fellowship we are a part of. He and his family got their start with Missions right here at Tenwek. In fact, they lived in the very same apartment we are living in! So he felt RIGHT at home! He brought us parmesan cheese, cinnamon gum, and other goodies that are treasures here.

For those of you who are still thinking about how close we are to that Rhino in the above picture, yes we were that close! It was amazing. We felt plenty safe with the guards (not pictured) around us. That was the only time we got out of the vehicle. The rest was viewed from the safari jeep. This location is one of the most famous African Safari destinations. What you picture in your mind of a "safari"? That is exactly where we were. We constantly hummed and quoted bits from the Lion King. Their researchers came to Kenya for their inspiration. It was amazing to see all these unique animals and marvel at the creativity and brilliance of our Lord the Creator. Indescribable.