Today was mostly a travel day, driving from Kruger National Park to Johannesburg. It’s given me lots of time to savor the memories of our time in Kruger. All day Saturday, I rode in the white van with Lanecia, Erin, Hannah, Mary, Sarah, TJ, and Richard (our driver). Two of the highlights of the day were:
From another care, we heard of cheetah sighting. Cheetahs are the rarest animal in all the park- there are only 225 or so in the 4 million acres of KNP- so we raced to the site. A jumble of cars, trucks, and minibuses clogged the road, and we jostled our way into the pack. Fortunately, most of us were able to see the cheetahs about 30m off the road in the shade of a tree amongst some tall grass-even if all some of us saw was a flash of orange spotted fur.
Later, we drove to Transport Dam, a watering hole that was the site of “Battle at Kruger,” a famous YouTube video. We didn’t see anything quite a spectacular as a face-off between Cape Buffalos, crocodiles, and lions, but we did see another special event: a giraffe trundled down to the watering hole, awkwardly spread his front legs, and bent down to take a drink.
I’ve really enjoyed our time it Kruger, but it has had a very different feel from Cape Town and Swaziland. I’ve felt much more like I’m on vacation than a mission-pilgrimage. Just like I have to be watchful and vigilant to spy game in the bush, I have to work harder to find God in Kruger. The meaning doesn’t come to me; I have to go find the meaning.
The meaning I’ve found so far in this: to take joy from the fact that we can marvel at really all aspects of God’s creation at Kruger: beautiful sunrises and sunsets; the brilliant Southern night sky; acacia trees, silver cluster-leaf trees, impala lilies, and aloe vera with yellow cone flowers; creature of the air (horn bills, mouse-birds, guinea fowl), water (hippos, crocodiles), and earth (rhinos, giraffes, impalas, elephants). This morning, watching the sun rise, I could also echo the creation and say as God did on the sixth day of the creation story, “It is very good.”
Yet the creation at Kruger is mission something: man and woman, and the hopes and dreams and struggles that have enriched our time in Africa. Tonight we will meet the local people with whom we will stay for two nights in El Dorado Park. I wait with anticipation for the encounters with God we will have in Johannesburg!
P.S. Richard cooks up a mean burrito!
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