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Saturday we left Gary and Mary’s compound. Gary had his Maasai employees sing us a traditional Maasai song. You can watch part of it by clicking on this link: Maasai Song. After leaving the compound, we stopped back at Endonyo Narasha to treat a few people from the surrounding community.

At this point, we were starting our safari portion of the trip, in the Masai Mara National Reserve. But first, we had to stop at a small village to pick up a spare tire for our van. You don’t want to get stuck with a flat in the middle of an animal reserve! While we waited for the tire, I met a Kenyan named “Black Fire,” who sold various types of vehicle and generator fuel. He taught me to say the date and time in Maasai.

Once our tire was loaded up, we headed for Siana Springs, a tented resort just outside of the reserve. Each dwelling area there is a large tent spread over a wooden frame built into a concrete foundation. Each tent even included a toilet, shower, and electricity! The entrance consisted of a normal tent zipper, and we were told to tie the zipper shut to keep out monkeys, who had learned how to unzipper the doors.

We were able to get a discount for our stay at the resort by treating their workers, so after lunch we held open consultations for the resort staff. Then we spent the rest of the day enjoying the pool and exploring the beautiful grounds (and wildlife!) of the resort. That night we held devotions in the open-walled bar.

On Friday the medical team rode back to the dispensary in Olkinyiei to work with the nurses there a second time. Gary had other plans for me, however. He had a couple of computer problems that he wanted me to look at. I was able to set up his new hard drive that had him stumped, so it was exciting for me to have my own particular expertise utilized (they don’t often find computer technicians out in the bush!)

I also had the opportunity to listen to Gary help some of the Maasai preachers prepare a sermon for the coming Sunday. Gary did a mini-sermon himself, pointing out what he felt was important about the Bible passage, and the Maasai listened and took notes. Gary encouraged them to make their sermon their own; to relate the Biblical stories to the experiences of their people and of themselves.

I also spent a lot of time talking with Gary and Mary that day. It was interesting how easily I felt like I had something in common with this family, since they were the only other white people we had seen in a while. But I quickly learned that we had many differences as well, as we discussed not only their mission work, but also their experiences in Ireland.

At the end of the day, I went with Gary to retrieve our team from the dispensary. There were a number of Maasai there who wanted a ride home, so we crammed all these guests in Gary’s Land Rover along with our entire team. As we drove through the barren savannah, the Maasai suddenly shouted for Gary to stop. This was their stop, we learned, though there was nothing we could see that differentiated this spot of land from all the land behind and in front of us.