Shelvis, Nancy, Sarah and Anna at Lake Nakuru National Park
I like to think of myself as an adventurous person. An adventurous outdoorsie type. So when my friends, Anna and Sarah, told me that we were all going camping when they came to visit Kenya, I thought to myself, “Hakuna matata (Kiswahili for “no problem”). I can camp, I can handle this.” Even though they told me we would be camping in the game park, I did not fully realize what that meant until we arrived. Yes, we were literally sharing our sleeping space with the animals. Hmmm…
Because we were with a large group, and everyone else seemed fine with the sleeping arrangements, I told myself, “I am adventurous. Yes, I can do this.” But in the back of my mind I was thinking of all the animals (the water buffalo, the zebras, the hyenas, the rhinos and the warthogs) we drove past on the way
to our camp site. Perhaps we were all trying to look tough so as not to scare each other with the reality of the situation. At least, I think that is what Shelvis and I did. Neither of us was willing, however, to leave the tent at night for a trip to the bathroom (a whole in the dirt).
Surprisingly, in the midst of the fear, I felt an incredible peace. The beauty of watching wild animals in their natural habitat, the incredible landscape, and the fact that I was able to sit around a camp fire in Kenya with two of my best friends from college (and my husband!) to welcome in a new year, was overwhelming.
Sarah told us to read Psalm 19 while we were in the park.. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands…” (Psalm 19:1). I have never seen the sky and the earth as I did in that place, and I am not sure I have ever been so grateful to see friends. Anna and Sarah are the kind of friends that even when time has passed, we can pick up and laugh and cry, and encourage each other with words or just by presence. Communion with my friends and with creation clarified for me the presence of God in that place, and consequently in all places.
Thank you Anna and Sarah for sharing your lives with me and for making my husband and I more adventurous than we ever thought we could be!
Posted on January 29th, 2009 by Nancy
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