God’s Beautiful World
Monday, October 13, 2025
Today, our team left the arid region around the Shaba Reserve and began our journey to the Mara region of Kenya. Our drive revealed the vast regions of Kenya. We traveled along the northern slopes of Mt. Kenya, reaching over 8,500 feet in elevation and passing many commercial farming operations.
We passed the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, one of Kenya’s and the world’s great protectors of the rhinoceros (olpejetaconservancy.org). Simon, Africa Exchange’s Change for Children Coordinator, told us to be on the lookout for rhinoceros when we passed the Conservancy, but we had little hope. To everyone’s surprise, we saw over 20 of them today. These are some of the most endangered animals in Africa and the world. We felt extremely blessed to witness their presence in Africa.
We stopped at Thompson Falls for lunch at the lodge. It felt wonderful at 72 degrees with a breeze coming off the falls.
Soon, we headed over a portion of the Aberdare Range (over 9,000 feet elevation) and down into the Great Rift Valley to the town of Nakuru. For more Information: Great Rift Valley
Our journey revealed the extraordinary diversity of places, towns, and regions of Kenya. It even rained as we drove down into the Valley. After being in such a dry and dusty place this morning, this felt very strange. The people of Atulelo are dealing with the ground growing more dry every day while we experienced a misty, light rain and cool temperatures. And we were only 5 hours away by car.
Our team spent the day in the car absorbing our experiences from the weekend, reviewing all of our pictures and memories. We took time before supper tonight to ask cultural questions which arose during our visit. I expect we will be learning from these experiences for a long time.
Tomorrow, we will drive the Mara and conclude the day with a game drive. On Wednesday, we will visit FBC Greenboro’s site. The building of the ICDC has already begun here. We will tour the construction, learn about the community, meet the leaders, and celebrate all God is doing in this community with these partnerships. I can’t wait.
Until then,
Eric