*I have permission to share this story
This is a story about a man named Corneluis. He lives in Nelspruit, South Africa; pretty close to Kruger National Park. Has a daughter whose name is Mae, which means God is near. A beautiful wife and a life full of seeking Jesus. He happened to be my safari guide a week or so ago during our time at Debrief.
We hopped on a truck around 5:30 am and headed into the bush to see some animals. Corneluis was full of fun facts, both intriguing and hard to hear. He told us the myth about the Kudu, a deer looking animal with swirly horns and a white ring around its tail. He joked that the story goes that on Noah’s ark the Kudu couldn’t wait to use the bathroom and sat down before the paint dried. He also told us the issue of poaching left only 1500 rhinos in the whole park; which was bigger than Israel . He described so many things in the bush to us, never ceasing to fill us in on the details and always pointing out the intricacies of creation. We saw squirrels, hippos, and alligators right off the bat. A giraffe that I could have reached out and touched. Many elephants and many more Impala than we could count. We saw 4 lions total and a herd of giraffe on each bend. A leopard who was taking a nap in a tree followed by an array of monkeys and birds. We were blessed to see 12 rhino, more than he had seen in years. All of the big 5 (rhino, lions, leopards, Cape buffalo, elephants) except Cape buffalo were seen that day. It truly felt like Narnia or something. The mountains were the backdrop for all the beauty but I’m not convinced that it was here on earth. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to get the privilege of witnessing that many of God’s cool animals.
Although all the animals took my breath away, that’s not what made this day so magnificent. In the midst of all the excitement from animals, Corneluis constantly was giving us story’s and perspective about why he thought God had some certain things. He kept us in the loop, that’s for sure. We sometimes would ask questions and he would respond “well that’s just the way God made em”, at a sheer lack for words. It was amazing to see someone, a safari guide of 25 years, still baffled by creation. He repeatedly said “How? How can people just believe this was an accident or that the animals just knew how to be. It’s impossible!!!!”
What struck me the most was his demeanor, he was so interruptible. Never ignoring a question or stop for the sake of time or scheduling. He carried a joy to simply BE in creation with God. We even stopped for him to explain this tree that was the cousin of an acacia tree; the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross. Corneluis even shared his testimony with us. How Jesus pursued him through the radio and how he came to know him as his personal savior. We asked him if he evangelizes at his job and his response was just a hearty laugh. He said something along the lines of, “I just can’t help it, I can’t stop talking about Him. Almost got me fired one time.” Story after story he told us about peoples lives changed because he allowed God to take president over everything else. When you love something you just talk about it all the time.He was always willing to be interrupted by the Lord to share something new. It honestly blew me away.
He asked always when we had been stopped to see something, “guys, are u happy to go?”. Thinking back, maybe that’s what the holy spirit wanted to whisper to me all along. We always said “yes!!! happy to go” because we knew Corneluis had more to show us. He for one was always happy to go. We trusted him when he said, “oh there will be more” or “no what’s up here is better”. I think Jesus taught that in his life; that when we trust God has better up the road we can always be happy to go. Always happy to go with him because I know that he’s always got more to show me and more to take me to. I want to be more like Corneluis, because Corneluis looked something like Jesus. He showed me a new depth to God’s face. I am going into the rest of time in Swaziland, “happy to go” forward into this transition. Knowing that I can trust his voice when he says to go on, trust his direction as I walk forward, and trust that I can be “happy to go” towards whatever he has for me. Whether it be happy or hard or beautiful or even thorny. Walking forward happily enamored by the Lord. He leaves little notes everywhere for us to stumble upon, even on a safari in the middle of Africa.
As Corneluis dropped us off at our hostel, he teared up and said, “I am just feeling that on my heart to say that you are all daughters of the king and the Lord loves you so much. I just really wanted to say that.” It was a tender moment where we were so blessed. We got to pray over Corneluis big things. That he would continue to do the work of the kingdom from his safari vehicle’s front seat. For his daughter and that she would grow to know the Lord. For more people to come to visit him that just understood this good God we have. We said our reluctant goodbyes to our new friend. He echoed “You will have to come back!! There is a reason you didn’t see a Cape buffalo, next time you will!”
I for one cant wait to find out the reason.
Kind of a silly story, but one I love.
Signing off for now,
C
