Buffalo Springs Safari Park - A Day I will never Forget!

Up early and ready by 4:00 A.M. February 23, 2018

After early coffee and armed with a thermos of coffee, (The roads are so rough, you can only drink a quarter of a cup at a time.) we began our four-wheel adventure of 40-miles, to the Safari Park.  Charles, our professional guide, said that he would find a lion for us!

We got to the park about 8 a.m. & put the top up, so we could take pictures without getting out of the van.  That started the most incredible 10-hours of taking pictures of things and animals I could not imagine.

Our guide Charles & Pastor Kent

The above picture is of Kent and Charles laughing at something that happened on the trip. Charles is a professional guide for the Safari Park in Buffalo Springs Safari Park, Kenya. Charles used to be a mailman, now retired to be a guide for us.
Charles was so much like me. The first thing Charles did was get off the main road, there was a sign that said, "Stay on the main road".  I've found out in the guiding business you have to get OFF THE MAIN ROAD!

I was watching Charles drive and the scripture came to mine about the Ethiopian in Acts who Phillip ran down and asked him, "Do you know what you are reading in the scripture?" Acts 8:21-31

He replied, "How can I unless I have a guide?" We had a reenactment of this scripture today with Charles, Kent and I. Kent and I had no clue to where we were or what we were going to see today but Charles, our guide knew exactly where he was going.

Like everyone else our #1 goal on our list, was to see a lion. Every time we wanted to see something we just asked and in a short time we would see what we asked for.  As the day went on we still didn't see the lion.

 I started to realize a guide loves doing what he is doing - a lot more than the people he is guiding. When I guide students who are hungry for the Word, the guide always gets more than the people he is guiding.  It's even better when the people you guide get the best picture or catch the biggest fish, or  go out and do what you have instructed them to do and are successful!  You are so proud of them.

Charles, our guide

Charles was the same way, as my camera was getting full, battery was getting low, and we still had not seen a Lion. I was down to five pictures on the memory card in my camera.  The battery light was about to turn red. Charles, just kept driving. I could tell he had taken us to all his favorite spots - but still no Lion.

4 P.M.

After being in the park all day & seeing everything we asked for - we found the Lion! Charles put us within ten-feet of a full grown female Lion. I took my last five pictures just ten-feet from the most ferocious hunter on the Kenya plains. My memory card was full and my battery was flashing red.  Not another picture could be taken - we were finished. Charles turned to us and said, "Can we go home now?" He had finished his quest for the day a happy man.  You can see it on his face in the picture.

Lion with a blue eye!

Some scriptures come to mind, well done good and faithful servant.  Another - through faith and patience we inherit the promises. As a servant of God and a guide to my students in Kenya I'm so proud when they tell me; "You told me something ten-years ago, and it set me on a course that changed my life forever."

Bull Elephant~

Thanks for reading this post.  It was a fun write for me & I hope you get something out of it.  The trip was awesome, the friends were awesome but the look on the guide's face when he found the Lion was priceless!