We did our turn-around in Dakar. It was in many respects a non-event. From the airplane we saw stucco buildings, open fields strewn with boulders, palms, and a fifties-style terminal building.
When the sun began to come up they pulled away the boarding stairs and pushed us back from the terminal. Off to the side I saw one of the Senegalese ramp agents, shoeless, kneeling and bowing near a large jet blast deflector.
He lowered his head to the ground three times, then sat back, raised his hands in prayer, and stood. He bowed towards the rising sun, then lowered to his knees again and repeated his faithful fealty towards Mecca. As the sun came up he did this one more time still, rising all the way to his standing prayer before kneeling again. Then he put on his shoes and walked away.
We took off into that same sunrise over Dakar and it struck me that we prayed to the same God, no matter how strange his worship seemed to me.
We probably interpret the will of that God in vastly different ways, but we recognize One source of life and light who is beyond us. If he were to observe our worship from afar he'd probably think it a slightly familiar but completely odd exercise.
We're going to see a lot of interesting things in the coming days. I need to remember to keep my mind open.
Next stop Johannesburg.
Later that day...
Landed safely, cleared customs, collected our bags, changed our money and headed to our hotel. The sun set as we were riding the bus, marking one whole day in Africa. Seemed odd since we spent the whole thing in an airplane.
Dave did his long-distance greeting while we were checking into the hotel. We met for dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants, where even Dave was not brave enought to try the infamous "Monkey Rump Sauce" on his entree. I think the name loses something in translation.
We're heading to Kruger!
When the sun began to come up they pulled away the boarding stairs and pushed us back from the terminal. Off to the side I saw one of the Senegalese ramp agents, shoeless, kneeling and bowing near a large jet blast deflector.
He lowered his head to the ground three times, then sat back, raised his hands in prayer, and stood. He bowed towards the rising sun, then lowered to his knees again and repeated his faithful fealty towards Mecca. As the sun came up he did this one more time still, rising all the way to his standing prayer before kneeling again. Then he put on his shoes and walked away.
We took off into that same sunrise over Dakar and it struck me that we prayed to the same God, no matter how strange his worship seemed to me.
We probably interpret the will of that God in vastly different ways, but we recognize One source of life and light who is beyond us. If he were to observe our worship from afar he'd probably think it a slightly familiar but completely odd exercise.
We're going to see a lot of interesting things in the coming days. I need to remember to keep my mind open.
Next stop Johannesburg.
Later that day...
Landed safely, cleared customs, collected our bags, changed our money and headed to our hotel. The sun set as we were riding the bus, marking one whole day in Africa. Seemed odd since we spent the whole thing in an airplane.
Dave did his long-distance greeting while we were checking into the hotel. We met for dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants, where even Dave was not brave enought to try the infamous "Monkey Rump Sauce" on his entree. I think the name loses something in translation.
We're heading to Kruger!
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