I had the marvelous privilege of attending the first ever African Desert Advance arranged by Callie Roos and his team, Leonard Sweet, Stephan Joubert, Nelus Niemand and Dries Lombaard.
It was held from 8 to 11 December 2007 at the Tanda Tula Game Lodge in the Timbavati region of the Greater Kruger National Park of South Africa. What an experience! The pictures shown in this post was taken by me, but not on this trip. I had a bit of an interest in wildlife photography a while back, and these are just some of my favorite shots.
You know, pictures of Africa with a post about Africa...
Okay, okay... I admit it. I'm just showing off :-)
In any case. The theme of the advance was to learn to read the 'spoor' (meaning tracks) left by animals or other humans when tracking them in the bush, and then applying this to our responsibility, as disciples, to track Jesus.
As an absolute bonus, we got to see the Big Five. Yes... even the leopard!
One of the things that Callie Roos taught us, is that when you are tracking something or -one there are five basic principles that you must apply. They are:
1. Stand square on the tracks. You must face the direction that the tracks lead you.
2. Look up. You won't see much when you are staring down at the 'spoor'.
3. Look for the obvious route. If there is a small gap between two patches of dense bush, and the animal would have had trouble going around, chances are that it went through the gap.
4. Do not get distracted. It will not help much looking around at unimportant other things. Keep your focus on the task at hand - tracking.
5. If you lose the 'spoor', go back to the last place where you saw it, and continue from there.
This is all great, but what's the use if you hardly ever have to track animals? If you are a disciple of Jesus, you need to follow Him. Leonard Sweet helped us make the connection between these tracking principles and our task to follow Jesus.
Len taught us about semion (signs) and the new science of semiotics. Semiotics are the skill of identifying and reading signs visible in a specific context. He says that God is still giving us signs, and his finger is still writing on the wall. The greatest case of spiritual illiteracy would be an inability to see these signs.
I also have my own interpretation on how these principles apply to the life of a Jesus tracker. In short, the five principles could be adapted for followers (or trackers) of Jesus as follows:
1. Stand square on the tracks. We have to be facing in the same direction as our Saviour does. We have to know His purposes and the mission we are involved in. Thus, read your Bible, and be in constant relationship with Jesus.
2. Look up. Face the task at hand. Are you actively trying to bring God's grace to the world, or are you waiting for heaven? Do something... Change the world.
3. Look for the obvious route. God does not give us all the instructions. Sometimes we have to rely on our intuition, or that of others when facing important decisions about being the Church or doing ministry. Keep your ears open to the advice and teaching of others.
4. Do not get distracted. This life is full of temptations and pitfalls for disciples of Jesus. Watch out! The devil is one of the Big Five - a lion! He wants to devour you. Put into place some practices that ensure you are strong in this onslaught... Go read Ephesians 6:10-24.
5. When you lose your way... Don't panic. The all-knowing God knew this was going to happen before you were born. Stay calm, sort yourself or your situation out, and get back on track.
If you want to find out more about these African Adventures, please visit On Track.
So, there you have it. I wish you all success in your effort to stay on track!
Thanks for reading.
