Our Safari...the zoo has nothing on this!

I am still processing the fact that we just spent two days touring the African wilderness and floating the Nile river. We had not gotten 100 yards into the Safari when we drove right up on a herd of elephants. We witnessed giraffes, water buffalos, about 3-4 different breeds of African deer, hippos and probably best of all we were able to witness a lion having lunch by chowing down on a water buffalo. We didn't get as close to the lion as we had hoped, but close enough to realize we were witnessing something few people get to see in person. I have seen all of these animals at the zoo, but take my word for it that seeing these animals in their own environment is a unique experience. We were fortunate to have Medi as our tour guide as well. He came in handy on the tour, but was even more useful as we had a flat in the middle of nowhere on the way to the safari. Jamie and I struggled somewhat with the thought of the safari and whether our time would better served beginning the mission work. However, having finished the safari it gives you such an appreciation of Africa and the awesome design of our Creator. This country is beautiful - there is not any other way to describe it. During the afternoon of the first safari day, we floated for 4 hours on the Nile. You couldn't help but visualize the baby Moses being put into the water. The best part of the afternoon was seeing the largest crocodile I could have imagined. I know he was thinking of what he could do with a couple of tourist and some salt and pepper. On the second day, we visited Merchison Falls which empties into the Nile river. This was absolutely breathtaking. There was so much "power of nature" in those falls you really felt like a small fish in the sea. How someone could witness this and deny that there is a creator is beyond me. The falls actually consisted of two falls, one being Merchison Falls and the other Uhuru. Uhuru is Swahili for "freedom". I should mention that we met so many people from all walks of life. it was inspiring to meet people in their twenties from countries spanning the globe serving in Africa with so many different organizations. The sights we saw on our two day safari will last for a lifetime, now let's get on to the mission work!