D.L.A.

In Africa there are many, many varieties of species in the antelope family. There are so many that they often just refer to them as DLA (deer-like animals). The land of the Mara is no exception. There are DLA everywhere!

We didn't go two mintues without seeing one. So, here they are:

THOMPSON GAZELLE

I loved the gazelles the most. They are tiny and fragile looking, but they are fast and beautiful when they run. They almost hop through the savanna. You can tell them by the black racing stripe along their sides.

This gazelle, standing with two crown cranes, is another example of how the animals all mix together in the wild.

GRANT'S GAZELLE

Grant's gazelles are bigger than Thompson gazelle. They have white stomachs that continue around the back to above their tails, and they have no racing stripes.

CAPE BUFFALO

In striking contrast to the dainty, beautiful Gazelles, we saw a large herd of Cape Buffalo. They are not in the antelope family, but in the Bovine Family Their horns must weigh 30 lbs. . This is a face that only a Mommy buffalo could love!

Cape Buffalo are one of the BIG 5 AFRICAN ANIMALS (along with elephants, lions, leopards, and rhino). I don't know just how they chose those five, but that seems to be a position of honor and everybody wants to see the BIG 5.

HARTEBEEST

Take a close look at this animal. Can you can figure out how it got it's name? Their horns make the shape of a HEART.

IMPALA

Impala look very much like deer, except for the male's big, beautiful curved horns. Impala are easy to recongnize from the back. On their back sides they have black striping that looks like the letter "M" for iMpala.

It is the nature of almost all the animals in the Mara, except the solitary leopards, to live in families. The antelopes live in herds with one domanent male. He chases all the other males away as soon as they get a little older than babies and takes all the females and babies with him. The poor bachelors just all hang out together and try to get strong enough to challenge the dominant male. The herds have one male and just a few females or maybe many females.

One day a herd of Impala walked in front of our land-rover. We saw the male with his big antlers and then a whole line of females and babies walking with him. They didn't seem a bit intimidated by our being there and just walked slowly across the road in front of us.

Quite a family!

TOPI

I had never heard of a Topi before we went to the Mara. They are quite large and are known for the bluish markings on their back legs. The guides said they were wearing blue jeans. They also have a very beautiful coat. It's dark brown and very smooth and shiny. There were Topi everywhere!

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We had a really funny experience with the Topi. We drove up very close to a herd. They were all looking right at us. They stared for a few minutes and then, one by one, they started turning their backs to us. This was the final outcome--The Topi Shun! Then we realized that every time you got up close to a Topi, it would turn away. I think maybe they're like little children who think if they can't see you, then you can't see them. It was hilarious!

The Topi Shun

WATER BUCK

They are very sturdy looking DLA and we only saw a few of them.

WILDEBEAST

This is a big DLA and we only saw one. He was just hanging out with a bunch of Topi.

Did I mention Topi were everywhere?!!

It looks like the Topi is taking a second look to see what's wrong with this strange looking guy.

There were literally thousands of antelope in the Mara. They are the major food source of all the canine and cat family animals.
They are very beautiful and gentle looking and it made me sad that they were the prey of other animals. But as I watched during the week, I realized how beautiful the Lord's plan is. There were so many DLA and without predators they would soon cover the land entirely and probably die of starvation. But the order of nature makes things work just perfectly. We had a devotional each morning and the Flinders reading from the scriptures about the creation of the animals. ( Abraham 4:24-25). At the ended with the statement it said that the animals were obedient to the order of God. It really struck me that as these animals do things in a way the Lord planned and without interference from man, they thrive by obeying the laws of nature and being part of the amazing plan of the Heavenly Father for order in all things.

Masai Mara Animal Videos

Hippos at play

Lazy Cheetahs

Where the Wild Things Are

The Masai Mara is an amazing place and we explored it in the perfect way. Our view was never obstructed and nobody missed a thing because they were concentrating on driving. We went in land-rovers that had open sides and tops and stadium seats. Each group had the same driver for three days. They all knew tremendous amounts about the animals, their habits and natures. Our driver, Aggry, had spent 11 years as a guide and had a degree as a naturalist.

We followed trails that traversed the savanna, rivers and hills. The drivers split up and when they found something interesting they called and we headed off the trails and across the grassland to where the wild things are. We could go any place and we did!

There was open savanna and lots of rivers. There was also bush, which is where you find leopards up in the trees. We searched through miles of bush, but nobody ever found a leopard.

Moments after we left camp we saw our first animal. A couple of hyenas were lying on the side of the trail. I always thought they were scavengers,but they're really the second strongest hunter in Africa. Only jackals are better hunters. We saw jackals another day.

A few minutes later when we crossed the river, we saw our first hippos. They stay under the water most of the time to cool and moisten their skin, so we saw hundreds of hippo noses in our three days and a few other really great sightings.

For the rest of the two-hour game drive we saw one sort of animal after the other. One of the things that was most interesting to me was that all different kinds of animals were together. Sometimes even predators and their prey would be right together. We asked Aggry about it and he said that the prey just knew the predators were not hungry, but they kept a very watchful eye on each other. These bat-eared foxes are sitting right by some gazelles, who would sometimes be their dinner. This time the foxes just weren't hungry.

We saw several herds of giraffes. They were beautiful as they glided gracefully across the savanna in long lines. The baby giraffe was adorable.

We saw many, many warthogs-That would be Pumba.

When they run through the grass you can see their little tails sticking up like antenna. They are the favorite food of lions. It's interesting that in THE LION KING Pumba and Simba (lion in Swahili) were friends. Not on the savanna!

Then there were lions. There are at least 30 prides of lions in the Mara. We saw lions every day. They were so close that we felt like we could reach them in two giant steps. One day a group of lions discovered that there was shade in the shadow of the land-rovers, so they all went over and sat in the shade.

Baboons and monkeys were all around. We zipped our tents every time we left to keep them out and it worked. No baboons getting into our things.

The cheetahs were about two steps from our vehicle. . The cheetahs looked so cute and cuddly, like stuffed animals. Elder Puckett asked Aggry what would happen if we got out of the land-rover He said that we appeared as one big animal in the vehicle (like an elephant), but if we got out then we would look like "lunch" and we would be eaten in a minute!

And this all happened in just the first two hour game drive on DAY ONE.

THE MASAI MARA- Camp Intrepid

Tuesday morning we left early for the Masai Mara, one of the biggest and best game parks in Africa. Eleven mission couples, and seven visiting family members from the U.S., loaded into a bus and a van and drove to the airport, which was small, but still much nicer than most we've seen.

Our plane was a tiny, 12-passenger, prop airplane. Can you say terror?! I mustered my courage, found the air sick bag and off we went!

The trip to the Mara was supposed to be 45 min., but we made an unexpected stop at another park camp. Does Rule #1 apply in all of Africa? We just let passengers off and then took off again. Both places we landed were dirt landing strips in the middle of the savannah! I must admit thinking that I might have to live the rest of my life in the Mara if going back on those little planes was the only way home. But we made it safe and sound and it was well worth the trip.

Camp Intrepid was wonderful. It was surrounded by an electric fence to keep animals out and there were paths to our "tents," the dining area, pool, gift shop, patios and other locations. I kept wondering if we could we still be in Africa? They served cold juice and cookies on our arrival and from then on the service was first class. It was a beautiful place, with helpful staff, good food, nice "tents". They even brought hot chocolate to our "tent" in the morning before breakfast and put hot water bottles in our bed at night so that it was nice and cozy when we got home at the end of the day. I did wish that they'd have warned me about the hot water bottle. When I climbed in bed, I thought I was going to be sharing the bed with some fuzzy,warm, but wild creature.

We did stay in a "tent,"but it was no ordinary one like the ones we camp in. It had hardwood floors, nice furniture, a modern, clean bathroom and shower, a pleasant porch with a view of the river and was generally wonderful. The only thing that would suggest that we were in the wilds was the reminded us to keep the tent zipped and put the mat against the opening to keep out baboons. None came, but we did have bush babies (tiny, nocturnal primates) flying around and landing on the tent the first night.

They always sat on the rafters in the dining room at dinner time. The first night one scampered down, grabbed a roll off our table, headed back to the rafters and munched happily for the rest of the evening.

Surrounding the camp is the Masai Mara. It's 1,510 sq. km. of open savanahs, hills, and rivers that are home to thousands of animals, who live in their natural habitat.

They live free and compete for territory, food and survival, just as nature intends. It's a fascinating place to view exotic animals in great numbers and varieties.

Going to Kenya

Oh, where to begin! Where to begin! Our trip to Kenya was the most amazing experience! We traveled all day on Monday. We made the 2.5 hour trip in just over 9 hours from start to finish. Rule #1 (Remember nothing is ever easy in the Congo!) Upon our arrival at the airport, we were met by our facilitator and thank goodness! Rule #1. Nothing in the airport is labeled. If you don't know where things are, there is nothing to tell you where to go and it takes at least six steps to get through the process of getting on a plane. Rule #1 Our young helper took our bags, paid a few francs to the inspectors so they didn't search them as we entered the airport, got us checked in, processed our luggage, which requires a hand search and weighing of every bag, and seated us in plastic lawn chairs while he finished the last step, passports and visa. Rule #1 It turned out that we needed an additional visas that made it possible to leave the country and then return again. After much time spent by Brent and the facilitator with the head immigrations person and $200 paid for the infraction, we were able to go. Rule #1 Our flight took off, an hour late, and they announced that we were going to Kenya, by way of Ndola, Zambia, which was a surprise to us. Rule #1 So, after a short diversion and forty-five minutes on the ground in Ndola, we were off to Kenya. We had a very nice flight, with even a pretty good meal and a movie on our way to Nairobi.

The airport in Kenya was completely different than those in the Congo. It looked like an American airport. Things were clean, in good repair, modern and well marked and navigating the airport was simple compared to the 8 previous hours. We bought our Kenyan visas with no problem and as we walked through the security, there were our friends, the Pucketts, waiting for us! They had been waiting for two hours, since there is no checking ahead to see if flights are on time. It was a joy and relief to walk out and see their smiling, welcoming faces. We drove through crazy Nairobi traffic directly to their apartment building, which was fairly ordinary in the "real world" but looked amazing to us.

Except for the barred entrances to their "flat,"you would have thought that you were in the USA. Six missionary couples live in the same stairwell in this complex. All the couples in Nairobi meet on Monday nights for FHE, so we went along. When we entered the room, lined with 10 or 12 chairs full of senior missionaries, it was almost overwhelming to us. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing as I saw all of these good seniors who had left home and family and were together in Kenya serving the Lord. I wasn't sure if the tears were because of the dedication represented in this group, the warmth of their greeting, or just being with others who share so much in common with us, but it was a very emotional experience for us to be with them for the first time. Spending four days with these wonderful people was going to be the highlight of our trip!

Elders and Sisters Bergeren,Blake,Fox,McBride,Flinders,Nevin,Randall and son,

Puckett, Watt, & Udall, and Hunters, Larsens, the Blake's son & daughter

Crash!

Today I planned to write about our trip to Kenya, but that will have to wait. We had a new adventure. As we were coming home from church on Sunday, we stopped at a red light when......................CRASH! We were hit from behind by a transport filled with about 20 people. The people piled out and started yelling and waving fists at the driver. Fortunately, there were two policemen at the corner who saw the accident and came to restore order among the transport passengers. What a change it was to be happy to see the police!! Our rear bumper was seriously damaged. His bus, which was a wreck to begin with, was even more damaged. The police identified him as the person at fault, which was a real relief to us. So, a new experience began, as we went through the whole process of a traffic accident in the Congo. Immediately after the accident, one police officer climbed in the back of our truck and the other got in the transport and we headed for the police station. The driver stopped, at one point, came to our window and pleaded with us to forgive him and just go on our separate ways. That wasn't an option, so off we went to the police station.

There will be no pictures of the events there, since you're not allowed to take pictures around a police location or officers.

The police station was in an old house with broken doors and windows, cement floors and lots of spider webs. We were ushered into a tiny room that held several small wooden desks and a couple of police officers sitting at them. We were given a seat in plastic lawn chairs and proceeded to file the report. After two hours of answering questions which were taken down in long-hand on a blank piece of inlined paper, the police report was finished. The report contained amazing details of Brent’s life, including his parents' names, how many children we have, the accident details, and even his personal feelings about the event. The officer now knows more about Brent than our family does. We asked for a copy but were told that they have no copy machines. Then the policeman said that we should try to work things out among ourselves. Next,we went with the young driver and looked at the damage again. It would require a new bumper, but the driver wanted to repair it. His transport was held together with masking tape, so we didn't think his repair job would do. They impounded his bus and will keep it until the problem is settle. We are concerned about the young driver, who will have no work until this matter is finalized. But what else can we do? Monday we went to the insurance agency, which was closed?? Nothing is ever easy in the Congo! We were prepared to enter a complicated arena. As we waited outside the office, we got a call from the church transportation person saying we didn't need to go there after all, but to return to the police office to get a copy of the report, which we had tried to do before. Back we went to the little room to begin efforts to get the report. We were not encouraged. Then suddenly all the officers in the room jumped to their feet and stood at attention. The chief of the police "just happened" to come into the room to see a "zombie" (bad guy in Swahili) who was sitting by us. It was at just the moment when we needed help. When he saw our badges, he began to talk about Christ and the atonement. He actually gave a perfect first lesson from Preach My Gospel. Then he ordered the officers to get our paperwork done TODAY! They were not, but Brent did get the information he needed to go to the insurance office. The saga continues. It's always a long process, even at home to take care of these kinds of things. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get all this done the Congolese way!