Thursday, July 21, 2016
Dear
brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with
you. 2 Corinthians 13:11(NLT)
Continuing with our journal from a short-term mission
trip to South Africa:
Zimbabwe Journal,
Sunday
afternoon, October 7, 2007
Game Drive – Hwange
National Park/Preserve
“Wild animals cannot be scheduled – however, our
guide, Livingston, is a native Zimbabwean who grew up walking daily in this
African bush. Over the years reading and
observing the wildlife have made him a storehouse of information and wisdom
concerning life in the bush.
He knows, for instance, that the red-billed weavers
that build their nests like plumes at the end of tree branches do so to avoid
having the heavier eagles land near their nests, endangering their young. The mother will nearly close off the entrance
to prevent snakes from entering, and the male will bring food to feed the group
through the tiny opening. They also
build an exit as well as entry hole to vary their comings and goings; these are
wise and faithful parents, protecting their young against the dangers.
During the dry season (which is every month except
Oct/Nov) water determines almost every aspect of life here. The elephants move in herds to find
water.
Today the watering hole was spectacular – as many as
30-35 elephants, a half-dozen giraffes, dozens of baboons, kudu (antelope) and
at least one sullen and cranky croc.
When one giraffe was startled by a huge catfish jumping out of the
water, probably scared by the croc, the whole group of antelope and giraffes
dashed back from the water. The kudu
were barking and the elephants playing nervous trumpet!
This bull elephant decided to challenge our presence
near the water hole. We drove off, and
his pride was protected. (Not that we
were much of a threat; He was less than 30 feet away, and I distinctly remember when he looked at us with that
menacing stare that I wanted my mother!)
For all the violence of African bush life, there is
beauty and order. When considered
against my Western worldview, there is a sense of futility in this lack of
abundance and opportunity; “upward mobility” would be a strange phrase in
Africa! Yet things have stayed the same
here for millennia.
Opportunity is also a word that can be applied to our
Western culture’s lifestyles of self-destruction. When you compare the human isolation of
Western (so-called) civilization to the simplicity of Zimbabwean survival by
cooperation and perseverance, it makes one wonder who, indeed, is the savage.
For You Today
Have you done some thinking lately about what’s really
important?
No comments:
Post a Comment