July 18

Gen 1:24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.




Today our team woke up at 6am.  This morning it was hard to wake up so early after having a day yesterday to sleep in!  But, the reason we were waking up so early was because....we were going on Safari!!!
The drive was about 2.5hrs, I slept most of the way, even though it was pretty bumpy (Kenyan's don't play when driving!! They are everywhere, and lines on the road are only a suggestion! lol!).





As we pulled into the park we were immediately approached to buy the safari hats, Elyse was already prepared with her AWESOME hat that even had a spot for her hair to come out:) It was legit!I wasn't really wanting one so I declined but Jaylyn is now sporting a new safari hat and looks pretty awesome in it!
We had to wait about 20min for all of the paperwork to get done and then we were off.  As we started to drive thru the park we didn't really see much at first.  It took about 30-45min before we saw our first big find...zebras!!!  


After that we started seeing all kinds of God's amazing creatures!! Elephants, Giraffes, Gazelles, Pumba's (you know,  like from Lion King!), and Hippos.  Then the most amazing thing happened!  We saw a Lion!! Not just any lion, a male Lion!  He was resting under a tree, and even looked straight at us when we were taking pictures!! It is apparently really rare to see a Lion, so we were very blessed by the Lord today!  After at least an hour maybe more it was finally time to go to the hotel, but as we were about to go, our driver got called by another telling him there were two lioness' nearby!  So we headed that way and got to see two more of God's amazing creatures hanging out on a rock ledge!  It was so incredible!  Seeing one lion is really rare but 3!  Wow!!


As we started to pull up to the lodge, I realized we were going on top of a hill, in a little Kenyan van, with a few sticks keeping us from falling off this mountain!! If you know me, then you know I have an incredible fear of heights, I was not very fond of the drive up!





However, as we pulled in and got out, we were offered a cool damp towel to clean up our faces (that had red African dirt all over them from sticking our heads out the roof of the vans), and then had a delicious lunch.  The view from the dining room is breathtaking.  Every where I turned I was reminded of the beauty of our Lord, and how He gives us wonderful things because He loves us.  He created this view and blessed us with it, I am in awe of Him constantly.





When lunch was finished we headed to our rooms.  Elyse and I are bunking together tonight.  The rooms are beautiful.  The best part is the french door going out onto the balcony, where you overlook the plains of Africa, with Elephants wandering in plain view, and a few baboons hanging out! 
Once we got our things settled, we all met back at the dining room to hear Matt, Elyse, and Kaylene's testimonies.  I love hearing about each other, not only the good but the bad.  Every experience makes us who we are today and knowing these things helps us to understand what makes us tick. 




 Each and every one of us on this team have a completely different story, but we all have one thing in common...Christ saved us.  Saved us from whatever our pain was, took our burden and we accepted Him and haven't looked back.  We have found friendship unexpectedly in each other, we have created a bond, and have become family.  We now have more accountability partners than we probably know what to do with, but what a blessing.  I love each and every one of my team members, and can honestly say I am having the time of my life!



We ended the day with one more safari tour, a 5 course dinner and a round of Mad Gab. 
Today was wonderful