We're on safari!

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008

Safari Day!! We were up early to go to the Sarakawa Game Reserve, hoping that the animals would be more active. We were rewarded for our effort -- many excellent sightings of animals. Among them were cape buffalo, eland, wildebeest .... the variety of God's creation is astounding! We were talking about why God saw aaneed for quite this much variety. He must have had something beyond man's understanding in mind. I understand the food chain concept -- little creatures eaten by bigger creatures which are in turn eaten by even bigger creatures .... (but, I digress.) Back to the safari. We had a glorious morning, so cool that Joy was thinking she needed her denim shirt. (First time she's thought about a long sleeve since leaving Germany.) Our driver and guide (and Brett) were sharp-eyed and spotted lots of wildlife. Our last day in Kara was off to a good start!

The rest of the day was scheduled for packing and prep for our Thanksgiving trip to Lome. Joy and April did most of the prep while Brett and I went to the Kennell's new house. Their container had arrived in Kara and needed to be unpacked ASAP. Mark had hired 5 Togolese men and then Matt, Dave, Brett, and I pitched in also. Many hands make light work. The Togolese men were young and strong and eager to work. They often carried things by themselves that would usually require 2 or 3 men. Someone commented that they were trying to show off and out-do each other. Maybe. But, I suspect they wanted to prove their strength and work ethic as a sort of resume to obtain work in the future. I have observed this in the Togolese. Antionette, Erique, etc. are always anxious to handle tasks. I may be reading too much into their attitudes, but it seems that many Togolese live on the edge of survival-- or once did-- so they do not want to squander any opportunity. Whatever the reason, the Togolese I have met have an excellent work ethic. (Again, I have digressed.) The Kennell's container was successfully unloaded in under 2 hours. Brett said the hired men probably were paid about 1000 CIFA which equals about $2. He said this would be a good day's wage for a young Togolese man.

Tomorrow we begin our long trip back to the U.S. We are hot; we are tired; we are richly blessed to have spent this time with B,A,C and C and seen first-hand why they are in Togo, West Aftica.

Sarakawa Game Reserve