5/08/09 pt. 2

(continued...)

We got back to shore, and after a few tasty chocolate chip cookies, we headed into the game park. We stretched our legs in an unlit round room with pictures of all the creatures we could expect to see inside. It was a little odd. I’m (Carl wiggles his fingers) thinking like a writer, but this is a Jurassic Park moment -- there’s an electric fence around the place to keep big things from getting out... but it doesn’t stop little things from sneaking in. I think of Dinner the goat, tied to a rope again. Ah, Lex... as if you really knew Unix.
We dropped our stuff off in our “cabins” -- military tents on raised “decks” with thatched roofs for extra covering. The deck of Brian and my tent was freshly treated to prevent termites... i.e. used motor oil was smeared all over it, like a Kevin McCallister trap. With my shaggy beard and scruffy hair, I feel like Marv as I ice-skate in sneakers...

The trip through the backwoods of Liwonde was so cool! The car, clockwise from the driver’s seat was Rick, Tim, Ruben, Ron, me, and Greg. We saw impala, wildebeests, waterbucks, baboons(!), wild boars, and eventually, elephants!

We started off, trying to drive to the rhino enclosure, well to the north of the tents and the lodge. Rick and Greg scoped it out, but soon, we realized that it had been a while since anyone had been down this path. I try not to think of Frost, and instead enjoy the ride. Soon, we arrive at a disabled vehicle, and a tractor. The bridge is out, or never was.
We get out, and walk across, with Rick splashing and 4x4ing behind us. I didn’t even think of the possibility of crocs in the water to the left and right. Later, the guys offer me money to run across the backs of any crocs we come across -- $5 to go from one side to the other; there and back again. Easy money.

After driving on what Rick and Greg called “a game trail” for a bumpy long time, we had to get out and go over a dry river bed. There were a number of clean, fresh clam shells here. Greg guessed that baboons had a picnic lunch here, having brought them from the water, 300+ yards away. It was kinda suspicious, you know? An empty house, with dirty dishes still on the table. I still think it would have been cool if the monkeys had gotten into the car while we were distracted.

We drove past many more amazing trees, deer, and rustling brush before truly finding our dead end point. There was no bridge that a car could take -- maybe Erin’s Bumblebee, but not this rental car.
We cracked out the Cokes and Fantas we’d packed, and listened to the silence. It was amazing. I don’t have the words for the feeling -- this was the furthest from anyone else I’ve ever been. Yeah, the rest of the guys were there, but no-one else. Animals that didn’t know the hand of man were literally just beyond the next tree. Rick, Ron, and I got out on the wooden supports for a (former) bridge. It was cool, high above the water, sipping a Fanta.

We went back, over hill and over dale (we missed Chip), and back to the path beyond the river... Ron got chased over the river by Rick in the car... I’m glad he didn’t fall in. We were close to camp again when Ron spotted two elephants off to the left. We watched and photographed them, and I even (on a dare) tried to tag either of them with a rock. Fortunately, I’m not a good thrower...

Man, next we saw a grip of elephants crash through the trees in front of us, and a ways behind us. It was sweet -- we heard one or two of them trumpeting. I wasn’t scared... don’t know why. Seriously -- I would have thought that would rile me, but it was just cool; cool like an airplane taking off, or seeing an 18-wheeler parallel park.
So, once we got back to the lodge, it was dark, but lit by candles and kerosene.
Ruben, Greg, and I sat, drinking our bottled sodas, feeling like we were 19th century Brits on safari. So we started talking like it. Greg told us of the ‘chaps’ that he’d known who had been gored or trampled, and Ruben spoke of trying to rescue friends from quicksand... and losing them. I had such a hard time keeping a straight face -- I now know where Shannon gets it. Just such a perfect charade, as I swirl my Fanta like brandy, and lean back in my comfy chair.
I gotta admit, the meal was a bit dodgy -- I wasn’t sure what had been washed or prepared with “tap water”. I stuck to the beef and the soup -- if it boiled, or if it burned, I should be good... right?

After dinner, we went to the sitting room again, and had our official “debrief” time. I wish I could share some of the thoughts, memories, or things the guys were thankful for, but I’ll let those things stay in our group. It was a total blessing to serve with these guys. To BE served by them.
Oh, I somehow mentioned Muppets, and Tim asked me if I was a Muppet fan. I proudly said I was, and I think Greg or Dan asked if I could sing any Muppet songs. I started singing “The Rainbow Connection”, with occasional harmonic help by Ruben (doing a Kermit voice)... I don’t know how weird that made me look, but it felt like massaging a pulled muscle. The Muppets are a touchstone in my life. Comfort food and a security blanket. Muse and jester.

Tonight, I went back to my tent rather than doing a 10pm drive into the jungle with Dan and the rest. I’m tired, and wanting to lie still. Brian and I talked about dating, being a kid (and the misbehaving we’d done), and the mission field. Such a different life from mine, even so different from his life in SA.