Maasai Tribe has always fascinated me — ever since I saw them jumping straight up and down ceremonially on television. How to have an authentic experience with the Maasai people became my goal as we crossed from Uganda to Kenya.
William, a missionary in Arua, Uganda, suggested for us to visit his parents in Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria, who can then connect us to potential hosts in the Maasai area. It seemed like a roundabout way but we felt that God is connecting us from people to people so we need to trust what God is doing.
So after praying as a family, we decided to go on this adventure of trust our next step to God. First stop, Mfangano Island!
“What time is it?” shouted the little girl, Imihle, who was standing right outside the yard barefooted where we were staying.
“It is 1 pm,” I replied, realizing that she has no watch to tell time.
“When is the Center open today?” Imihle asked again.
“3 pm!” I shouted back.
For the next two hours, she, her little sister Isi, and several of her friends just stood outside of the fence waiting and passing time among each other. Unlike children in western countries, these children had no toy, no ball, and no iPad. For them, coming to the Education Center would the highlight of their day.
“Here is another ice cream for you. Free” said the ice cream vendor holding out an ice cream cone with 3 different scoops of ice creams, exactly like the ones that we dropped on the floor.
We were shocked.
We accidentally dropped the ice cream cone onto the sidewalk in front of the store. As seasoned travelers, we immediately picked up the ice cream from the floor, scooped away the parts that were dirty, and continued to lick the delicious and multi-colored ice cream. However, without us asking or realizing it, the vendor saw that we dropped it on the floor and proceeded to give us another 3 scoops of ice cream, absolutely free. So we ended up with 6 scoops of ice cream for US$1.5!
This was our first encounter with the people of Morocco. It proved not to be an exception but as one of the many acts of kindness, generosity, and friendliness that we received in our one month of traveling in Morocco.
“Look at what I have calculated!” Hugh said excitedly as he showed us some numbers on a small piece of paper. “This is the largest harvest we’ve ever had. We harvested 482 large bins of grapes, which is 12,050 Kg or 12 tons or equivalent to 9000 bottles of wine!”
“I can’t even comprehend what that number means,” exclaimed Annie.
“Can I call it the Su Family Vintage 2020?” I proposed to Hugh and Jane, the vineyard owner. “We want to reserve some bottles when it is ready to drink in 4 or 5 years?”
“I want to serve the Su Family Vintage Wine at my wedding!” Laughed Nathan.
“Boom!…Boom!…” the earth trembled with hollow echoes from a distance.
“What is that?!” I gasped.
“Bombings from artillery.”
Wide-eyed with disbelief, I stared at Steve. He didn’t say anything more, and so I kept silent.
“Ta ta ta ta a ta….ta ta ta ta ta…ta ta ta ta…”
I whipped my head around again and asked, “What is that sound?”
“Machine gun sound—”
Before I even had a chance to respond, a loud noise boomed from the sky overpowering all conversation. Four F-161 fighter jets streaked right above us in a straight line over the orchard.
