Africa Days 7 & 8
Day 7 – March 24
Today is a sightseeing day. We left Nairobi at 7:30 this morning and drove 5 hours to the huge game reserve in Kenya, the Masai Mora. This is one of the most amazing places on the earth. It covers about 950 square miles. The topography is gently rolling hills covered with grass and scrub brush. Mountains in the distance. And animals everywhere – herds of zebra, elephant families, lots of gazelles, tons of giraffes, impalas, lions, cheetahs, warthogs, and many different types of birds. We saw them all. Warthogs are the most interesting. They look very strange. When you drive up they run away, stop in about 20 feet, and stand looking lost. I asked the guide about them. He told me they get scared and then forget what scared them and stop running. I am sure there is a metaphor in there for how we live our lives, but I can’t figure it out right now.
We arrived in the Masai Mara (mara means ‘dots’ because the countryside is covered with bushes that look like dots when seen from the air) at about 3:00 PM and checked into our ‘hotel’, the Sekenani Camp. Judy and I shared a tent. But not like what you think of when you think of tenting. It is a large structure built up on pipes, probably about 600 square feet. It has a wood floor, a queen-sized bed, a full bathroom, canvas walls, a front porch, and lots of ventilation. Very posh and comfortable. Built up off the ground, it makes you feel like you are in the trees.
Once we checked in, we loaded up into the trucks and took off into the Mara. They popped up the top, drove on dirt tracks through the landscape, and saw all of the wildlife I mentioned above. One of the highlights was a pride of lions sitting around the zebra carcass they had killed the day before. The giraffes and elephants were stunning. For others, the highlight was a cheetah resting in the grass just feet away (from the truck!).
As we were leaving the Mara to return to camp, the sun was setting. I got an amazing picture of large Jacaranda tree highlighted by the sunset. It was incredibly beautiful. Do you know the picture of the tree that the TV show Nature uses as their logo? It is the same tree. See the picture below. As I was reflecting on that image, I heard in my spirit God reminding me of words He had spoken to me a few years ago. He said: “I am more beautiful than that tree”; I get that. But then He said “you are more beautiful to Me than that tree and sunset”. Incredible; and given all that the world and enemy says to each of us, more difficult to believe. But true, nonetheless. If we all walked in that truth minute by minute we would develop an unoffendable heart – and our world would be a different place. The words God spoke to me are Kingdom words.
After we returned from the field, we had a good dinner, a great time of conversation about how we are doing and where we think the ministry is heading. Then we all retired to our tents for a good night’s sleep, or so we thought.
Day 8 –March 25
At 1:30 AM we were awakened by three lions that got in among our tents. Not in our tents, but under and around our tents. So close (only a canvas wall between them and us) we could hear them breathe, hear their footsteps, their growls. But what woke me up were their roars. They roared!!! A Masai warrior with a spear guarded each cabin. I am not sure where they were when the lions were all around us, but we found out later that they were as surprised as we were. The lions ‘serenaded’ us for three hours.
It was strange that the lions were underneath the tents of Dr. Dennis and Lisa and Dean, our trip leaders. One of our team sensed that this was a demonic attack. I tend to agree with that.
It was another incredible experience. Like swimming with sharks in the ocean, we were in their territory. We are not as in control as we think. Good to be reminded of that sometimes. Some of us were seriously terrified. This experience is also a metaphor for our spiritual life. But with a different twist. Peter (1 Peter 5: 8) tells us that the devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. Unlike these lions in the camp who could really devour us in a minute, the enemy has more than met his match. The only power that he has over the believer is the power that we give him. Too often, however, we are as terrified of the enemy as we were of those real-life lions. But Christ died on the cross and rose again. This enemy has been defeated. As we rest in the acceptance and value of the Father and daily receive the Father’s love, we embrace and enforce the victory.
We left to go back into the Mara at 6:00 AM to see more wildlife. Drinking our coffee and tea, we all shared our lion stories. What an amazing experience. We laughed with the Masai staff, but we weren’t laughing early in the morning. They told us lions had not been seen in the camp for 4 years. Why this morning?
I am sure we all will remember this adventure for the rest of our lives.
After a few hours of sightseeing on the Mara (the highlight was when one of our trucks was charged by a bull elephant) we headed back to Nairobi for a night of ministry.
After another 5 hour drive and a great dinner prepared by the wife of one of our drivers/guides (David and Barnabas) we drove into the gravel parking lot of the Healing of the Nations Ministries church. It was a wooden structure with a tin-metal roof (good thing it wasn’t raining), and a dirt/gravel floor. It is in one of Nairobi’s slums and sits next door to a large garbage dump. The evening opened with the pastors, including the local Bishop, dancing and singing for Jesus and for us. Dr. Dennis shared his story of growing up in Uganda during the reign of terror of Idi Amin. He spoke of death, rape, plunder, and the voice in his head/heart that said “you will never escape this devastation. You will die young”. And how he met Jesus and a life of desperation became a life of hope and joy, even though his circumstances did not change.
After that message we ministered to about 30 people – some pastors, some older, and many young people. All of them needed to hear this message of hope.
We ministered for about 3 hours. We were back in our hotel at 9:00. After a short briefing about tomorrow (apparently I am going to join a panel discussion about Christ in the workplace and careers) we went to bed for a much needed sleep.
We all need prayers for energy and health. We are near the end of the trip, but some of the most intense and challenging ministry is coming up. Your prayers are working. They have undergirded the entire team. Thank you.