Safari Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Today we visited Chobe National Park. The park is one of the best for seeing wildlife including giraffe, elephant, antelope, warthog, hippos, crocodiles, and many others! We first went on a tour by boat. We enjoyed coffee and cookies as we traversed Chobe river in search of crocodiles, hippos, and other animals coming down for a drink. We were delighted by the sight of elephants. To hear them drink and shift their weight around was a great experience. We later had lunch at the resort and continued by land crusier. We saw many more animals and were delighted to experience another corner of God’s creation.
Our group was fascinated by the animals, but missed the people of Northrise today. Being tourists was fun, but we yearned to be a part of the community of learning that we experienced in Ndola. Snapping pictures and being tourists did not seem right and a few members of our group expressed how this no longer felt like Africa. Yes, these animals are African, but the people are not the same at these touristy places. Everyone just wants the dollars. There is no respect, community, or love similar to what we experienced in Ndola with Northrise. Our group enjoyed the safari experience but wished that we could have spent more time at the university with our new friends.
On the way back from Botswana our van almost ran over a cobra on the road. The cobra raised its head ready to strike at us as we came by it. The driver of the van was willing to turn the van around to get a closer look, but made sure we closed all of the windows beforehand. Our professor told us that the conversation at the front got very wary when we neared the snake. There is a high level of spirituality in Zambia and we think that the snake was not just an animal to the driver but had evil spirits connected with it. It was another reminder that even though we meet people who serve our God there are people out there still waiting to hear the Good News.