“So the game park is like, right there?” I asked Shel, pointing left as he drove us back from our visit to a local Mosque.

“Yep.”

“…aaannnnddd is there a fence keeping, say, Lions, IN the park?”

“Yep, it’s about 6 feet tall.”

“…aaannnnnddd is there anything keeping the Lions from jumping said fence?”

“Nope. In fact, a couple of years ago, the headline read, ‘Lion takes on traffic on East Bogani Road’ from a lion that had jumped that very fence.”

I had seen the sign for a side entrance to the park as I’ve walked past a dozen times on my treks to the CarreFore (think mini-Walmart) and had pondered these questions on each walk past, wondering about my safety as only one who isn’t accustomed to lions possibly being thirty feet lateral and six feet vertical away could. The contrast seemed stark between rugged wild life and sophisticated city. This contrast only increased when two days later I ventured into the National Park with the company of my new friends in the safety of a safari vehicle.

A lion sighting isn’t guaranteed with 11,000 hectares of land (google it if you want context, that was what George told us…) and 5 prides of lions (MAYBE 25 lions in the whole park).

Our morning began with an exciting hyena sighting, followed quickly by a second! This one even had a baby with her. We continued on, meandering our way around the park, ooo-ing and ahh-ing at the exotic animals.

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A herd of impalas…

Giraffes right by the road…

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Zebra’s basking in the early morning sun rays…

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We continued bumping over dirt roads, potholes and ruts until another safari vehicle approached us quickly from the opposite direction, we’re talking kicking up a dust cloud half a mile wide! Okay, maybe not QUITE that big… His lights flashed as he slowed to a stop and rolled down his drivers window. “JIMMYBOY!!!!!!!” was about all I caught from our driver before the rapid exchange continued in Kiswahili. Suddenly, our vehicle whipped around chasing after Jimmy-Boy and his passengers. As we scrambled to find our seats the exclamation of “LIONS” moved from the front seat to the back. We were quickly on board with the split second decision to go back the way we came.

We oscillated between careening down the road near 30 MPH, to slowing for natural speedbumps, a quick picture of a baby giraffe, the rare hippo OUT of water, or our first buffalo sighting.

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It was amazing how quickly our priorities shifted: less than an hour before, we had dawdled, gazing in awe at a patterned horse or glorified deer, now we barely even stopped to see a BABY GIRAFFE- choosing instead to prioritize the elusive lions.

I want to chase Jesus with the complete abandon with which we chose to turn our vehicle around, ignoring even the alluring pictures found along the way, only one goal in mind: to find Him. I pray my life is as focused on finding, seeing, knowing, loving and being Jesus as we were on finding, seeing, and not scaring away the lions in our path.

I’ve spent most of my days these past couple of weeks sitting in meetings, learning about how to love others well through their own cultures. I’ve been sitting alongside dozens of believers choosing to do just that. It’s been such a blessing to see the passion and abandonment with which they themselves are seeking Christ.

After at least ten minutes of driving, we approached the sighting of the lion. Several contrasts struck me.

First, we’d been driving along solo- not another safari vehicle in sight, but here, there were a dozen vehicles with several more approaching from various directions. The word had spread, and quickly! Our first day in training was spent hearing how God has called each of us into our specific ministries. It was so incredible to hear the powerful way in which God has been working in so many individuals. I was blown away seeing how God revealed himself in such different ways to each person. I loved seeing so many different scripture passages that spoke directly to sharing the gospel.

Romans 10:13-15 says,

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Feet are needed to bring the good news! Jimmy-boy had a working radio… he quickly heard the good news! George only heard static each time he flipped his on. Each person at our training had a unique journey, each person is called by God to share the gospel of the good news! My prayer is that God would use each of us to share the gospel as effectively as the word of the lions spread that morning in the park!

The second contrast was the landscape. We saw three different lions, the first was a lioness, hunting a herd of impala. As she poised herself in the glowing morning rays, I couldn’t help but gasp at the city skyline that was so perfectly silhouetted behind her, yet so perfectly out of place.

It appears as stark a contrast as the darkness I’ve seen and ached for as I’m learning about people groups that have no access to the good news of Jesus. Each day in our first week of training, we spent our last hour of the day listening to “regional reports.” That is, learning more about the work of others in our organization across the African continent. Our mission is to, “Create Christ centered churches among all African people with priority for the unreached.” When hearing about work in these regions, it means hearing about the people. We’ve been talking also a lot about culture, and seeing the gospel contextualized in different cultures. We’ve talked about learning peoples myths to better understand their values, behavior and worldview- how do they explain various aspects of life?

The last image I saw in my encounter with the lions has been simmering on the back burner even as I took those walks knowing the game park was only feet away. 1 Peter 5:8-9 states, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

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Two thoughts on this one, first, the image of a prowling lion. I’ve compared this often to my parents small kitty who likes to jump on your feet as you walk past her hiding in the tall grass. While not an inaccurate image, it strikes a little different, seeing a full sized prowling lion.

The second thought comes from the second statement, the family of believers throughout the world… I’ve truly been blessed to be reminded that God’s kingdom is so much bigger than Michigan. I’ve meet believers here from a dozen countries. It’s encouraging to remember I’m not alone in this journey. There are others adjusting to culture, others learning to like new foods, others wondering why the season is ‘all wrong’ for the current time of year, and others who are actually in jail, in hiding, and under great duress for their love of the Lord.

I think also to early on in our safari when our driver let us get out of the vehicle. “Stay close.” He said. “The threat is very real.” How many times do I forget to stay close… close to God’s word, close to Jesus? How many times do I think I am fully capable of identifying the danger myself? How often do I ignore the very real threat of spiritual warfare?

When we finally caught back up to Jimmy-Boy, we found he had managed to get himself stuck turning around his vehicle…

Here we are, the very real threat in obvious sight and Jimmy’s van wouldn’t budge. George knew the threat, he saw the threat, yet still, he was willing to step out of our vehicle to help his friend in need. Today’s session was about security and risk management… the threat is real, physical and spiritual, but so is the need for Jesus. George WAS successfully able to help Jimmy (see video below if you’d like an 18 second real-time glimpse of this event). My prayer is that I would be like George- that I would have my eyes open to the needs of those around me, and that I would be bold, courageous but not reckless, and willing in my attempts to share the gospel with those around me.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HZgKmYeeDUEd7BGE7

I’ve got a week of training left, and am counting down the days until I get to arrive at RVA to get settled into my new home. Some days are longer than others, depending on who is teaching, and if I pulled myself out of bed early enough to walk to the nearby coffee shop. I’ve been learning so much, and am thankful for an organization that seeks to prepare me well, but also that lets me have my weekends off for fun adventures in this beautiful new land!

Prayer Points

• Please pray for focus and endurance for myself and those with me as the long conference style days are tiring as we face our final week of sessions. (We finish next Tuesday!)
• Please pray for boldness!
  • …in facing new culture and not being afraid to shy away from new things
  • …in engaging in gospel conversations with the hotel staff
  • …in chasing after Jesus fully each day