I love trees.
Big trees that start in the valley and greet me on the rim. Little ones peaking through the undergrowth. The midliners stretching for the sky.
Their trunks are covered in vines or white bark brilliant in the morning rising. Their branches are moss laden or crumbling and moist and even a smooth greyness against the riotous greenness in all it’s variety.
This green verdance takes on innumerable shades. Watercolor softness; smudged subtlety; sharp, pointed brashness; brilliant, dancing lightness illuminated against the darkening depth of mystery and decay,
Trees speak to my soul. They open me to wonder. They beckon me to climb up and see.
Instead, we descend as we enter a sequestered magical place today. The Nogorogoro Crater. Overcast above and below, the clouds hover over the basin as we dip into the shrouded majesty. Grant’s gazelle and the crater’s disco chickens, the ginuea hens, quietly enjoy their morning meal beside the road.
A large herd of Zebras walk in a line of sorts across the road in a steady, slow procession. They keep the babies close beside them until one breaks out on his own. It is laughing, the only one among them making a sound. He runs with his head held high, wind brustling his black and white mane. Another baby joins him and joins him in both rthe run and the song. They are beauty and music in motion. Two older ones who have been running since we arrived, have completed their circle around the herd line and join these two babies. The runners are in the minority but the energy of the joy is big enough for all.
Two lions come up from an unseen river and take a languid glance at their mama asleep in the sun. She is motionless lying next to another young male who raises his head. The three boys wander off down the lane disappearing into the tall grass. Mama lifts her head, rolls onto her back and after a mighty stretch, lies motionless again, her large paw hanging in midair.
It is midday and the animals are gathering en masse at the watering hole. Like dogs in my living room at home, there are zebras everywhere! They surround our truck. They wait in line to cross in front. They run skiddishly up and out when we startle them. Mama’s with their fuzzy, brown striped babies are almost close enough to pet.
There are the elephants, fewer in number, but spacious in size; a pod of dark hippo piles in the water; bustards walking regally on their strong legs; crowned cranes with their fabulous golden mohawk crowns. This beauty in abundance is a feast for these eyes. The surrounding delight of God is the best place to be.
I am going to see Neema! Four years ago, I left our medical clinic in Ketumbeine with a young girl named Neema. She had severe burns after repeatedly falling in the fire when having seizures. She was ostracized and beaten by the community, malnourished, dehydrated and burned but found her way to us. My task was to accompany her to a faith based burn center in Arusha. Several months later, after her treatment course, she was welcomed at the Maasai Girls Rescue Center. (www.maasairescue.org) A beautiful place that offers a home to Maasai Girls like Neema providing a loving family environment, nutrition, education, and job training to all who live there.
In the last four years, the MGRC has grown in size and scope and it remains a haven.
Neema is happy, healthy and thriving today because of the work of many hands that were and are guided by God Who provides a way especially in the dark.
TanzaniAnne
March 11, 2025
Tripping with God: Stories of Faith and Inspiration 