Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 3/3]

Lake Sonachi, near Lake Naivasha, is one of 137 major crater lakes in the world lying inside an extinct volcano 

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Linet and I headed out to Crater Lake, a place we had heard of but had never visited. Our quest was adventure, plus we also found and logged five GeoCaches as we walked part way around the rim of the volcanic crater.

The open road... where will it lead us?

Such stunning landscapes all around us!

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

~ Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French novelist and essayist

We observed a lot of rain off in the distance, but we stayed dry!

“The flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.”

~ Robert Leighton (1611-1684), Scottish preacher, and university principal

Lovely acacia trees

Discussing our next destination with our boda boda guys

A beautiful setting sun at the end of our adventure

The two of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in God's great-out-of-doors! The next morning we had a Philippine-style breakfast with a gal I met in Uganda at a missionary retreat. Gotta love all the many connections I've made during my 18 years in Kenya!

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 2/3]

We left Nairobi via a bus, but mostly used motorbike taxis

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Rose and I headed to the Tigoni-Limuru area where there are many tea plantations. Our mission was to find several GeoCaches and enjoy our adventure in the great-out-of-doors. We went twice, once in September and again in October, to look for the remaining ones (to add to my solo hunt several months prior).

Simply gorgeous!

Kenya produces some of the world’s highest quality tea and is the third largest producer of tea after Sri Lanka and India. Tea bushes were first planted in Kenya in 1903 by European settlers and eventually became Kenya’s largest export industry, continuing until today.

In Kenya, tea leaves are still primarily picked by hand. The workers choose only a few top young and juicy leaves with a portion of the stem and the bud (or tip), a leaf not yet expanded at the end of the shoot. It's common practice for the tea pickers to be underpaid.

Rose looks for our next destination on the GeoCache app

Tea pickers working in a plantation, with the baskets on their backs 

All Saints Church, Limuru, was built by European settlers in 1940. We enjoyed reading the gravestones at the cemetery.

Two of the GeoCaches were located at Kentmere Club, where we enjoyed swinging for a while

Stopping to smell the 'roses'

A beautiful sunset after one of our days together

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure; enjoying God's great out-of-doors [part 1/3]

Linet, like me, loves to be outside enjoying God's great out-of-doors

Sadly, many people never take the time to see the beauty in their own backyard. A mere 25% of Americans under the age of 35 spend more than an hour outside each day, and 30% of American adults do not spend any time outside on a daily basis. We have become risk-averse, and in doing so have dulled our experience of life. [source: US National Park and Recreation Association]

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors, including 87% in buildings, houses, etc and another 6% in vehicles. That means only 7% of your entire life is spent outdoors. [source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1987]


And so... Linet and I headed out for a two-day adventure outside, looking for GeoCaches and exploring new vistas. We started with a stop at her son, Jeremy's school in Gilgil. He was happy to see both of us and also happy with the snacks we brought for him.

From there we found another matatu (public transportation vehicle) to Nyahururu, Kenya's highest town at 7,740 feet. It's name is derived from a Maasai word - e-naiwurruwurr - meaning waterfall, windy, or place of storms.

Linet was thrilled to see Thompson Falls (243' high) for her first time
(The waterfall was named by a Scottish explorer in 1883)

Chameleons are such cool creatures!

We watched hippos here, including one that opened its mouth big and roared - another first for Linet!

Then we got two boda bodas, and arrived at a viewpoint with a few curio shops.
I logged a GeoCache that was placed in this shop, and also bought a few items.

From here, we got on another matatu and headed to Nakuru in the dark and rain. We each got a cup of tea at a café and found a cheap room for overnight. Our first destination in the morning was Lake Elementaita, where we found and logged a GeoCache.

Linet was excited to see this lake up-close for her first time. Unfortunately, the flamingos were a bit far away.

We used two boda boda guys to take us to four different places, including this big hill where we found another GeoCache.

Joseph, the guide at Kariandusi Pre-Historic Site, is so knowledgeable! I'm holding a hand-axe dating thousands of years ago.
Besides learning about the history here, I was able to log two more GeoCaches. It was another place Linet was seeing for her first time.

"More of our population would be out in the countryside if they knew what was there waiting for them. Inside many of us beats the heart of Indiana Jones, craving the chance to have an authentic experience in the wild."   ~ Forest Fenn, art dealer, author, and adventurer

18 years in Kenya (October 2001 - October 2019), Oswald Chambers' thoughts on being a missionary

I am created for God; he made me.

I must continually keep my soul open to the fact of his creative purpose

and never confuse it with my own intentions.

God wants me in a relationship where he is so easily my master and teacher

that I have no conscious awareness of it -

a relationship where all I know is that I am his to obey.

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit

has brought about this realization:

'You are not your own.'

We are called to be Jesus Christ’s own

and are not dictate to him what we intend to do.

The same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our 'Jerusalem'.

There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed,

and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude.

But nothing must divert us from going 'up to [our] Jerusalem.'

Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem.

He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted,

or lingered in others where He was blessed.

Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord

even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go 'up to Jerusalem.'

The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus,

but of being a perfect delight to Him.

The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say,

'I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.'

Be entirely his!

The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ,

not the needs of the lost.

He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty,

teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”

“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself,

so that I may finish my race with joy,

and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24).

That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is

attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself.

It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us.

Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life,

but He had an inner detachment except toward God.

The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on

keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people,

but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him,

which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.

God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses.

And why is He doing it?

He is doing it for only one purpose - that He may be able to say,

“This is My man, and this is My woman.”

Once God has placed His call upon you,

woe be to you if you 'turn aside to the right or the left.' (Deut. 28:14).

He will do with you what He is not doing with other people.

Let Him have His way.

All of God’s people are ordinary people

who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them.

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God.

The great controlling factor is not the needs of people,

but the command of Jesus.

The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us.

The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front -

to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success.

In the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us,

and is the Lord Jesus Himself.

The goal is to be true to Him - to carry out His plans.

In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call

will be replaced by the needs of the people,

to the point that human sympathy for those needs

will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus.

The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult,

but we must remember the command of Jesus Christ -

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19).

A missionary is created for the purpose of being God's servant,

one in whom God is glorified.

Beware lest you forget God's purposes for your life.

To go simply means to live.

- - - - - - -

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest.

His writings have greatly influenced me!


All quotes above are Chambers'.

Photos are a random selection, representing my God-ordained ministry relationships.