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Health & Fitness

Hearing the Lion's Roar

A member of First Baptist Church in Ellisville finds himself in the middle of the Dark Continent during a short-term mission trip.

I awoke to the sound of the king staking his claim on the night’s kill. I knew a lion’s roar when I heard one. I’ve watched enough late night movies to recognize that distinct sound. But it doesn’t come close to the actual, in-person, just-across-the-river reverberation of a lion’s roar that is so awesomely resonant that it causes your sternum to shudder in your chest.

I sat up in bed to utter darkness. At least I think I was sitting up, it was so dark, I had no idea which way was up or down. I positioned my trembling hand six inches in front of my face and saw absolutely nothing. I couldn’t remember ever being in such blackness. It was as if I was camping in a black hole in outer space. But I wasn’t in outer space; I was in the middle of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. My wife and I were on safari with our mission team from First Baptist Church Ellisville. After a week of medical and dental clinics in villages throughout the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, our team was enjoying a little R 'n R in the Masai before heading back to the states.

I could feel Sally sleeping soundly at my side while I attempted to get my bearings. The camp where we were staying offered their guests some rather unique accommodations—basically tents erected under what looked like a picnic pavilion, connected to private bathrooms constructed of cinder block. The furnishings included an antique canopy bed with mosquito net and rustically ornate nightstands and a vanity with a large oval mirror. It was quite romantic for a bunch of short-term missionaries from the U.S., but I wasn’t in a romantic mood at the time; I was freaked out. The entire campground had turned off all electricity at midnight in order to conserve energy.

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I thought about letting Sally sleep while I hid in the cinder block shower. Actually the roar had scared the you-know-what right out of me and I felt it prudent to make haste to the bathroom. But as I mentioned earlier, I was presently situated in Dark Void Zero. I had no idea where the flashlight was, but did recall seeing candles and matches on the vanity table. I attempted to gingerly excise myself from the canopy bed, but only after frantically wrestling with endless yards of dirty mosquito netting.

With arms outstretched and vulnerable toes curled under, I moved in robotic stealthness toward the vanity. I was grateful knowing only God could see my lame Frankenstein impersonation in the dark.

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I finally reached the vanity and began my blind search for the candlestick and matches. A few seconds later, I had the matchbook in hand. I figured, if I could get a match lit, then I could see where the candlestick was. One, two, three attempts at lighting the match. On the fourth attempt, success! But as soon as the match ignited, I was horrified to discover a man staring directly at me only twelve inches away. I let out a manly scream and blew out the match just as it singed my fingers. That’s when I realized I was standing a foot away from the vanity mirror.

Scripture says that people love the dark.* While I certainly wasn’t feeling it that night, I do have to admit I find myself camping out in the darkness way too often. I think I'm having a reasonably good time, nice and comfortable in my furnished tent, but then I hear the roar of the king of beast prowling close by. In a panic, I fumble for the light, only to discover that the king of beast was actually me, staking claim on my night’s kill.

*John 3:19 "And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."

To read more of Worshipboy's adventures, check out his blog at www.spiritualsidekick.com.

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