As we approached the native village, I breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long, hot, tiring day of walking through the jungle. There should be plenty of food in the village and a place to sleep. Being a missionary in Africa, I had visited this village several times. I knew that my native helpers and I would be welcome.
Shortly after we arrived in the village, we were told there wasn’t any food. Elephants had trampled down all the crops. A hunting party had been sent out each morning to hunt food, but game was scarce this time of year. The natives could not get close enough to the animals to use their spears. I offered to go out with my gun to shoot a buffalo. My offer was gratefully accepted by the chief.
“But you must wait until the hunters come back,” he advised. “They will go with you so you don’t get lost in the jungle. They will guide you to the water holes where there are many buffalo.”
My helpers and I sat down to wait, but the longer I sat the hungrier I became. Finally I suggested to the chief that my men would go with me and the hunting party could catch up when they returned. The chief told us that we should not go without a guide since we would get lost on the many crisscrossing animal trails.
We waited a few more hours. Finally, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. Going against the advice of the old chief, my helpers and I started off into the jungle. The trails that we followed twisted and turned as we got closer to the river. Sometimes we did not know which of them to take, but we kept on walking anyway. We finally reached the river, and hiding in the brush we waited for the buffalo.
It wasn’t long until we spotted one. After following it for some distance, I got a clear shot and was able to kill it. My men quickly started skinning the large animal. It took about two hours to get the meat cut and packed and ready to carry back to the village. It began to get dark as we were ready to start back. We discovered we did not know which of the many trails led to the village. Every trail looked the same to us. Suddenly we heard the roars of lions approaching! We knew they were being attracted by the smell of fresh meat.
We worked fast to get as much of the meat stored in trees as we could. Then we climbed up into the trees right along with our meat. It wasn’t long before several lions appeared and began feeding on the buffalo carcass.
One of the native helpers climbed to the top of the tree to see if he could see any sign of the hunting party. He would call them, then listen for an answering call. There wasn’t any. He continued calling for the next three hours until we heard a faint answer which gradually came closer.
At last the hunting party from the village appeared. They were carrying torches and shouting as loud as they could. Their noisy approach with the fire torches scared the lions, and they ran off.
I was very thankful, but felt foolish as I climbed down the tree. I realized I should have waited and not started out on the hunting trip without a guide. We thanked our rescuers, loaded up the meat and started back to the village.
Up and down hills, through valleys and the dense undergrowth of the jungle, the native hunters led us back to the safety and shelter of the village. The chief came out to meet us and took us to his own campfire.
After we had eaten some of the meat which had been roasted over the fire, I turned to the chief and said, “Chief, I have something to tell you. I was lost in the jungle today because I didn’t have a guide. It’s not the first time that I have been lost. Years ago as a young man, I did not know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I did not have Him as the Guide for my life. Although I had heard many times that I needed to be saved, I did not obey. I laughed at God’s offer of love and mercy and decided I didn’t need it. Everything went well for a while, but then I discovered I was lost and needed a Saviour. I called for help, just like we did in the jungle tonight. God heard my call, just like your hunting party heard our calls for help. Then the true Guide, the only One who can rescue us from sin, saved me. He rescued me from Satan’s power and lifted me up in His loving arms, and He is now taking me safely home. He wants to save you, too, Chief. He shed His blood so that you, also, can be protected in His arms. He loves you just like He loves me, and He is waiting to be your Saviour.”
ML-02/22/1987