AFRICA PT. I

i have officially been back in the States for twelve days and i am still processing everything i experienced in my travels to Kenya, Africa. prior to going, i constantly heard that this third-world country is beautiful and life-changing, but i had to go for myself so that those words could be mine. before i dive in with loads of pictures and raw stories, "beautiful and life-changing" is the most accurate understatement to me now.

for my sanity and your's alike, i'm going to trace back through the days in order as best i can as i blog these next few days (bear with me).

SAFARI (n.): one of the coolest things i've experienced in life so far, that kicked off our time in Kenya on the most exciting note.
several people who had previously gone on safari gave me the run-down on this part of the trip, but in my mind, i had no category for the way they described it -- "nice tents, incredible service, AC, hot showers..." -- it all confused me. after a long, bumpy ride on lone dirt roads, we came upon Simba Lodge. PARADISE.

the "tents" AKA amazing canvas tents 

dinner view: home to hippos and crocs

monkeys in every tree to greet us (side story to follow)

a quick side story about the monkeys: you're not supposed to feed them, but we just had to. we chose to feed them reese's pieces, and because they're much smarter than i thought, one distracted me and another came behind me, went under my shirt, snatched a fresh bag of Reese's from me, and bolted up the tree. we all died laughing. i''m sure it had the worst stomach ache of its life ;) 

for two nights and three days our days looked like this: wake up, eat an amazing breakfast, bring packed lunches, hit the safari vehicles all day, witness some sick sights, come back for a 5-star dinner, and have devotions together. honestly, it frustrates me that safari really can't be explained to its full potential; words and pictures cannot do it justice. it really is something that you have to just do for yourself. 

so, to save all of us time i'm simply going to post pictures and one last story. 

one last story...this specific year of safari was rad. our driver, Joe, is brilliant when it comes to the wildlife in Africa; he always wanted to find the best spots for us. in my opinion, he outdid himself. suddenly, he stopped the vehicle and told us to be quiet and watch. all of us unaware, he pointed out a lone wildebeest with a female lion prowling on it. WE WATCHED A LION TAKE DOWN A WILDEBEEST, WHAT. it was as if i was watching a TV show on Discovery channel...sickest thing ever.

zebras. zebras everywhere.

acacia tree

cape buffalo

THE ATTACK. ZOOM IN!

topi

i'm talking massive..

1/4 male lions we saw -- i could've touched it

love him

the great migration location

midday picnic

the best safari car - "couples retreat" 

i got to experience it all with my sister, so cool.

the Masai Mara National Reserve is a place i will always think was a dream. i fell in love with a new part of God's creation that allowed me to see him at a new angle, which was an epic way to start our mission in Kijabe.

stay tuned for pt. II!