Where the Wild Things Are

At my home in Brea, we occasionally had some non-human visitors. No, not aliens, animals. We had frequent visits from possums, an annual visit from a flock of obnoxious, wild parakeets, ducks sneaking into our pool for a free dip, an injured crow who freaked me out so I called animal control and an unfortunate gopher which my dad murdered and put on a paper plate. I wish I still had the picture to show y'all. We did not cook it, I can't remember why he put it on a plate. I begin this entry by mentioning the wild critters at home because the last 3 weekends here in Mozambique, have involved several strange animal-encounters.

I'll start with the encounters from 3 weeks ago when we went to South Africa. I crossed the border again with Madalena and our friend Sabina. We spent 2 nights at a lodge right next to Kruger Park where we could look through the electric fences to see animals. The other two nights were spent "recharging" at a farm in South Africa reserved for missionaries needing to relax. I hadn't fully realized how much I needed a rest until I finally let my mind and body stop going a hundred miles an hour. I'm starting to grow self-conscious taking pictures with Mada, because for some odd reason, I end up looking like a giant in all the pictures. In this shot my head looks twice as large as hers, what is up with that? I've never said that phrase before and it felt odd but I'm not changing it.

Here are some of the animals we saw:

The first guy we ran across was this bruiser. Doesn't he look like he could have role in the movie, "Grumpy Old Men?"Sticking with the buffalo theme, I got a little freaked out the second day when I was driving for the first time on the left side of the road, when a huge herd buffalo was suddenly sprinting across the road a few yards in front of me.
In the picture on the left I am not doing an awkward smile. That is my "apprehensive smile" because that buffalo decided to stop and looked very upset and kept looking at our car. Luckily, another buffalo got tired of waiting behind "Mr. Fraidy-cat" (or should I say, "Fray-buffalo?") and charged ahead leading the remainder of the herd. I need to make an apology for my commentary in all the videos from Kruger Park. I am lame. I know this. I realize that I point out the obvious and make zero insightful comments but my lips just seem to flap when I take video.

Click here to watch the buffalo crossing the road.

Here are some of our friends from lunch. Sick. Couldn't really enjoy my meal with these creatures hanging above us, pretending to watch us with their fake eyes.
Sticking with animals that start with the letter, "B" here are some of the baboons.
Again, kinda awkward to see breast-feeding in the wild. In the picture on the right, Sabina and I stumbled upon a jail-break. About 30 baboons were in Kruger Park which is on the right, climbed a tree, swung from the branches, landed over the electric fence, climbed under the barbed-wire fence and ran into the area where we were staying. We giggled until the little Satan's stopped, looked at us, and then started running towards us. All my self-defense training out the window, I said, "Imam...Sabina, they're coming towards us." She screamed, "RUN!" So we turned and high-tailed it out of there (I have never said or typed that expression for the record) and the baboons finally stopped their pursuit once they realized we were chickens. Not literally.
Here are some ugly, obnoxious birds. I know, I should be more impressed by rare and exotic birds, but once you've seen elephants, rhinos, lions, etc..., some big birds aren't quite as exciting. Not making a "Seasame Street" reference here.
Next, the elephants! The guy on the left could be an advertisement for wearing sunblock. Seriously, no clue what's going on with his skin but I'm not one to judge one with skin problems. I will never tire of watching elephants cross the road. Watch the video below and hear my profound explanation that you are seeing elephants. Apparently when I video, I assume I am going to show the video to blind people, which actually would be quite cruel.
Click here to watch these amazing beasts cross the road.

I mentioned last time I wrote about Kruger, about how giraffes are my favorite animal to see. This time we saw at least 40 giraffes! Although less of a novelty, they still were amazing each time. We even saw them up close at the place we were staying. We stayed at a game reserve that doesn't have predators (minus the vicious and terrifying baboons) so you can walk around and see giraffes in your front yard. There was something very odd about walking next door and seeing three giraffes walking right by. Confession: I'm a wimp. I like to think that in dangerous situations, I would be a courageous hero, but when it comes down to it, I'm a wimp. Once Sabina and I got super close to these magnificent beasts, I got a little scared. I mean, my head came up to the middle of their thigh! I hadn't done my research on how giraffes attack so I was unprepared in case of a "giraffe-attack." I learned later that they can only kick forwards- that would have been helpful information. For the record, baboons and giraffes- these are the animals that I was frightened by. Pathetic.


Click here to watch video and yes, here my "oohs and ahhs" of the giraffes in the yard.

And here are the "hungry, hungry hippos." I used to think they were big, sweet, dumb animals but that one on the left looks kinda evil in my opinion. Plus, any animal who only reveals their eyes and ears cannot be trusted.

Kudu!! Giraffes and kudu were the two main species we saw the most of this trip. Sabina ate kudu for lunch and I tried it (although I hate sharing food, I felt I couldn't pass up this opportunity and I'm trying to not be so anal about sharing food) For the record, it tasted like brisket and was delicious. Sorry animal-lovers, they're beautiful and quite tasty too:)

Whenever we came across a pile-up of cars, we knew it meant one thing: lions. We'd hang out of windows, stretching our necks and lenses to try to capture the incredible "kings of the jungle." We saw several different lions this time but unfortunately, they did a great job of blending in with the brake. (Brake means thicket if you didn't know and it was a vocab word for the junior highers- doesn't it seem like a random one?) Challenge yourself and find the lion or lions in each picture. The one on the bottom right includes a picture of a relative of "Scar."


I was quite proud of myself for spotting this group/herd/flock/whatever of rhinos.
Now for another favorite of mine, the zebras. I've entitled the picture on the left, "brown-noser." I love the bottom picture because I imagine that the "sneaky" zebra is about to scare one of his friends. They're not quite as cute as Vander dressed up like a zebra, but they still are cool. I'm running short on adjectives. "Cool" will just have to do.
After our 2-day stint in Kruger, we relaxed on the farm in South Africa where missionaries can stay for $ 10 a night. We stayed at the house of missionaries on furlough and I woke up with a cat sleeping on my chest which made me feel very much at home. (No, the cat did not pee in my face. Long story about a tramatic experience with a cat in the past) Sabina and I went out for what began as a brief walk, and turned into a few hours of exploring the woods around the farm. An adventurer and explorer since youth, I loved this time of tromping through the woods in my Rainbows, jumping over creeks, and screaming when stray dogs came sprinting behind us out of nowhere. I realize this is going to sound incredibly lame and vain but I was ecstatic about staying here because they had a pool with lounge chairs so I could lay out! When most moms lathered their daughters in SPF 50, my mom ingrained in my sister and I a healthy appreciation of a nice sun tan and thus, I was thrilled to have a day to sit, read and absorb cancer, I mean sunlight. I felt refreshed, rejuvinated and ready to start another crazy-busy week.

The next weekend, I found myself sleeping on a farm yet again, this time in Swaziland. This farm came complete with peacocks and I learned the hard way one morning that the peacock call sounds like a very loud, very nasal, very obnoxious person calling for "heeeelp!" A thousand times worse than waking to rooster calls. They were quite beautiful despite their annoying sounds and I found it rather odd that I had a second peacock encounter within the same month. (The kids we were with would not believe me that the males were the pretty ones. The weekend before I commented to Sabina- who is Indian- that it is so unfortunate that the females always seem to be so brown and ugly. Foot in mouth, ...again.) Lisa and I went with the family who leads our bible study to a music festival in neighboring Swaziland. You can impress your friends with the following tid-bits of information about Swaziland: It is one of the very few countries in the world today that still is an absolute monarchy where the king has all the power to make all decisions. The king has several wives and he picks a new wife each year on a certain holiday. He picks his new bride by watching many single, topless women dance before him. So many jokes to make, I don't know where to begin...

I knew we were in for a treat when we stopped at a gas station right across the border and got the following free show. I live for random moments. Click here to watch.

Video clip of dancing at a Shell gas station










Swaziland is beautiful!!! It was another wonderful weekend surrounded by God's beauty. The music festival lasted the entire day and though I often felt like I was at a concert in the States, there were several clues that we were in a different world than the OC. For instance, Lisa and I stumbled upon one of the many booths and couldn't figure out what they were advertising. We were a little slow to pick up on the fact that there were pictures of condomns on the posters and turns out we were at the booth where people could get checked for HIV. (awkward giggle and quickly shuffle away) I noticed many signs that said, "Check your status" throughout the festival but I had assumed this was a philosophical call to be introspective...In reality it was literally meaning, "Check your HIV status." Every single performer during the day talked about the AIDS crisis and the importance of knowing if you are HIV positive and practicing safe sex. Queen awkward over here never quite grew accustomed to hearing people opening talk in this manner but Swaziland has one of thee highest HIV rates in the world. Almost 40 % of ALL the women in the country are HIV positive. Lisa and I marveled at the dramatically different perspective we Americans have about AIDS compared to the Swazis. More to come on the AIDS topic. I've been pondering it a lot since I've been here but am not feeling very articulate at the moment and will wait til I can better process through all my thoughts. However, soon after returning from Swazi and still grappling with the suffering caused by AIDS, I read Psalm 102: 15-20 which almost seems directed right at the Swazis.

Psalm 102: 15-20

"The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. (even the polygamist in Swazi)
For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea. (God sees the suffering and will respond)
Let this be written for a future generation, (that's us!)
that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:
'The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned death.' "

Alright, I'm struggling to find an adequate transition to the rest of the weekend. I knew there was a reason I put Danny Tanner moments at the end! OK, here are some highlights from the concert in Swaziland:

* Going to an "African drums" performance where half the crowd had drums to join in. At one point in the show, individuals from the crowd had to go to the front and dance and I willed myself to be invisible because that is pretty much my worst nightmare. (If you've seen me dance, you know why) Luckily, we were in the very back and never in immediate danger of being called up so I could sit back and enjoy this amazing performance of one of the women really getting into the music. Again, random moments are treasures to me so I repeatedly watch the following clip when I need cheering up. Gotta love the strange birds out there.

Click here to watch a bizarre performance.

* Hanging out with hilarious little kids with painted faces. Philip is the four year old of Molly and Wesley who is an avid Star-Wars fan, speaks "American" in his words, and asks hilarious questions. Elvira is a five year old Swedish princess who speaks no English. She is my neighbor Henrik's niece and we randomly ran into their family at the concert where she decided Lisa and I would be her new best friends.
* Listening to native Swazi music. Actually, that's a bit of a lie. The music was borderline annoying but I loved seeing the Swazi's dressed in the native clothing. I have no qualms with asking strangers to be in pictures. (ie- asking Hailey Duff to be in a picture with us on the streets of New York. My friends will never let me live that down... tap on the shoulder, "Umm...excuse me Hailey..." For those not aware of the celebrity D-Listers, Hailey is Hillary Duff's sister) My point is, I had no problem asking the natives to join us in picture although I'm not sure if they've seen a digital camera before. They seemed willing though, so Lisa and I jumped into the shot with them. Let me give you a glimpse behind the scenes: I was debating what to do with my arm closest to the woman..I always have this internal debate, especially when I'm next to a stranger in a picture. I have never looked casual in these pictures but I always try. I did my best to casually drape my arm around her to look like we were friends and I can only imagine what was going on this poor woman's mind and she proceed to put her hand on my butt!!! My brothers used to hit me on the butt and run because they knew to expect a beating from me for doing this and so I am very surprised that I don't appear more awkward than I do in this shot. The man on my left was not originally in the picture but must have felt left out so he joined us. With one Swazi's hand already on my butt, I didn't risk sending him mixed signals and did not attempt to "casually drape" an arm around him. * Dancing with the crowd to the native Swazi music. I know this sounds contradictory since I've mentioned that I have zero rhythm and try at all costs to avoid dancing but this was actually fun. Lisa peer pressured me into joining and since it looked strangly similar to line-dancing, I succummed to the pressure and had a blast. The dancing then evolved into some form of congo line and I must confess that in situations like these, I usually have more fun watching people dance and laughing at their expense than actually joining it but this was actually fun because I was surrounded by weirdos and druggies and didn't fear their judgement for my lack of skills. Plus, Lisa was doing the chicken dance so I knew she wouldn't judge me and she was the only one I actually knew. In the midst of the crazy dancing, a helicopter flew overhead filming the festivities and although I'd love to say this was a picture of people lifting their arms in worship, they are actually trying to get on tv.

The following weekend I encountered yet another rare creature. One night Lindsay, Lisa and I were watching a movie at Henrik's (we share a wall with him) and he checked on Lubito who was once again barking up a storm. Henrik sprinted back into the house, leaped over a chair, strapped on a head light (I know- who really owns these except miners?) and yelled, "Come look!" as he bolted out the door. Perched in a tree in our backyard, was an animal normally only seen at Kruger. It has the body of a giant house cat but is spotted like a leapard, has a 3 foot long striped tail, and a fox-like face. I believe it's called a large spotted gentel but if you are an Animal-Channel freak you may call me out on the spelling of gentel. After marveling over the beauty and rarity of the creature in our backyard, Henrik, being a typical guy, wanted to create some action. He grabbed a stick, scaled the tree and proceeded to poke the poor gal (I'm convinced it was a girl) until she jumped branches. She eventually tired of being poked in the face by a giant Swede and made th 7 foot leap to over the sidewalk and the drooling "lion-hunter" (aka Gizmo) to another tree in our neighbors' yard. Much more exciting than those nasty possoms that always seem to be crawling on our backyard fence.

The Lord has been continuing to teach me to use my "eternal eyes" to see things from a heavenly perspective, rather than my typical, worldly view. However, He has also blessed me richly with opportunities to be surrounded by His amazing creation where I feel closer to heaven. Psalm 103 has been a real encouragement to me lately. It still baffles me how I can read the same verse or chapter several times, yet it feels like I was reading several of these verses for the first time. I love how the Holy Spirit works that way:) May this promise and reminder encourage you as it has encouraged me:

Psalm 103

"Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his Holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits- (I too need to remind my soul to praise this Holy God of ours and remember everything He's done.)
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit (he has given me purpose!)
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisified your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (I ask for this renewing on a weekly basis!)

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel;
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve. (Thank you Jesus! I'd be toast!)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him; (still trying to grasp this concept of love)
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (still trying to grasp this idea of forgiveness)
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust. (Help me remember this, LORD)
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourished like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all. (HIS kingdom needs to be on my mind more often)

Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul."