lions, cubs, baboons...and that justice thing

The Mountain Park UMC Young Adult team left late Sunday evening. The dining hall has been brightened with a good sanding of the main walls and the painting of murals—every student at Mountain Park {and Wanjohi} imprinted a hand on the wall. A garden of carrots, kale, potatoes, cabbages and collards has been planted to supplement the large grocery list of the children’s home. Dance lessons. Classroom activities. Mob scene at the bubble station. What…a…week. I have been fortunate to assist three teams since my tenure began here in March. I had forgotten what it was like to be in a group of twenty people under the age of thirty, mostly of which was actually under the age of 25. No offense to either of the two age groups {the above and below 30 crews}, but young people are boisterous, drink a lot of water and soda, antagonize geese, and throw dirt clumps. And they have this knack of eliciting beautiful {be-au-ti-ful} emotions from children…

When it comes to safari, I started big. Go hard or go home, America! In late September 2008, I ventured into the Mara {the Kenyan half of the Serengeti} during the annual wildebeest migration. Some nature lovers will argue that the event is the eighth wonder of the world—that’s hundreds of thousands of wildebeests crossing the Mara river {think crocodiles, hippos and steep banks} plus a pride of lions including a full-grown male, several families of elephants including a newborn, and changing a tire in the middle of a herd of cape buffalo. You can read more about that safari and check out the photos here. However, I must say that our overnight in good ole’ Lake Nakuru, only ten or so kilometers from my front door, gave my three-day at the Mara a run for its money. Due to the expertise and uncanny animal instincts of Julius, we pulled within six feet of a white rhino—the second largest land mammal after the elephant. We saw baboons showing rare agility…during lovemaking. Our first sighting of day two as the sun rose was a pride of nine lions, all females and cubs, destroying a buffalo on a hillside. Yeah, they dragged a half ton animal with horns up a hill with jaws only! Nearly a dozen mangy hyenas waded in the shallow lake desperately searching for an ill or clumsy flamingo to wade their way. As we headed back to the lodge for a late buffet lunch, we crossed paths with a black rhino. Although much smaller than its white counterpart {only fourth on the list of largest land mammals}, it is much more impulsive with a dangerously sharper horn. After lunch, we exited the park on the route we traveled in the morning only to find that our pride of lions was still there, lounging under a tree in the shade and spooning in groups of two or three. We were within fifteen feet {holy cow!}…and then the stench of the buffalo became too much. Pretty incredible, huh?

That same evening after making a brief stop in town to purchase mzungu t-shirts for interested team members, Adam lead devotions. Man, it was exactly what I did not want to hear but needed to hear. As my cousin and guest house roommate Taylor knows, I had a rough first week back in the motherland: high stress, high frustration, having a host of people in my typically empty house, not to mention that whole leaving lots of wonderful people in the States for a planned six months. This equals tears. Adam started off his devotion with a verse—he has been reading the Minor Prophets recently. He reads from Micah 6:

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to be good to others and to love justice...?

Whack! Wham! There is that whole justice and kindness thing again. Don’t you just love this?!? Justice is the conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason. To do just to is to treat adequately, fairly, or with full appreciation. Thank you, Adam—that is why I am here, that is why everyone I love encourages me despite my extended absence {and still loves me back}. It’s funny—once you get beyond the dirt, bouts of lost electricity, and the hormones of a large group of twenty-somethings, the want and need for justice remains. It’s funnier—all that truth and all that admiration and gratitude are emotions and ideas that pour from these children without effort or hesitation or distraction. I’ll get there.

Anyhow, it is a busy week! Gideon and Jerioth return to the States tomorrow. I am behind with the paperwork for the new term and Mt. Pisgah rolls in thirty strong in about week and a half. I am hiring an electrician. Plus, I am knee-deep in planning the trip of my lifetime for August: a little Amboseli, a little Kilimanjaro, a little relaxation among the big game. How do you squeeze this entire country into two weeks?!?

I look forward to sharing more of the Mt. Pisgah details soon...because this post is now too long! Of course, check out the most recent updates with the GWW here. We're doing big things.


I hope everyone is surviving the heat of Atlanta summers. I can almost feel the humidity from here. ; )

Love to you,

tnick