August 17, 2008

  • Where Am I?

    Life here in Zambia is really different from the US…and sometimes I am reminded of that fact.  After living here for three years now….you kind of get adjusted to the dry season and the rainy season.….you even get used to the bugs and lizards….the occasional bush fire….electricity outages and the like, but every now and then you become keenly aware of just where you are.  One such reminder happened to me on the way home from town.  It was just after dark and I was traveling on the back bush road (because the main tarmac road has enormous pot hole craters and is in almost impassable condition.)  Well as I was driving the Land Rover home, I rounded a corner only to have a very ominous black silhouette staring at me from a small knoll on the side of the road.  I could not make out it’s face or features because of the way the moon was shining, but I can tell you about the large ears and it’s very large stature. It towered over the vehicle just standing very still almost challenging me to try something.  In case you are not sure what it was….it was an elephant….a very large elephant!!!  I have become much more knowledgeable about these creatures than I ever hoped to be.  They are not the cute animals from the zoo or the circus that entertained us….nor are they little “Dumbos.”  They are very dangerous animals inducing a lot of fear among the nationals.  Imagine living in a grass hut and seeing one or more of those animals right outside your door!  Or….imagine waking up in the morning to find your fields destroyed from their carnage the night before.  A couple years ago, a mother with a baby on her back was killed right in Livingstone by a rogue elephant. A couple weeks ago they were right here on the farm proper trying to drink water out of the cistern near the dairy…..for those of you who have been here you know how close that is to the guest house and the clinic and orphanage! 

    Well back to my experience the other night…..if you are wondering what I did…..I just kept driving!!!!  Believe me I had no desire to stop and look for a camera! I quickly started praying! I was much better when I reached my apartment and my heart was back in my chest and I thanked God for being my protector!

    I remember Dorothy from the “Wizard of OZ” saying “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”  Believe me, that night I became keenly aware of just where I am..