I tried to have some dinner last night at the lodge by the airport, and I simply sat and cried, too tired any longer to care what the staff thought about me.
ONe of the Maissai askari (night gaurds) started a fire with chairs around it. I sat, thinking and weeping. The Maissai stood next to me.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Yes and no," I replied, trying to smile, and I asked him, "What is your name?"
"Samuel," he replied.
"Mine too!" I said, perhaps to excitedly, and we both laughed.
He wanted to know what I was doing in Tanzania, so I told him my story. It was amazing talking to the Maissai man who was clearly a bit more urbanized than those I had met at the orphanage. He is a Christian (Luthern), 27 years old, single (looking for a wife.) We talked about the extreme poverty in Tanzania, malaria, HIV/AIDS, medicine, condom use, women's rights, polygamy, literacy and education, America's role and reputation in the world, . . . . We talked about everything.
At the end, he said, "Sam, we are bother's who share the same name."
We stared at the fire, in silence, for quite a while after that.
Finally, he looked at me and said, "Sam, we have saying, 'Fire makes a good servant, but not a very good master.'"
"What does that mean?" I asked.
He answered, "Fire is essential to help us cook, to keep us warm, and to light the night, and keep animals away. But when fire isn't controlled, it goes wild, and damages, and kills. When it is used correctly, all is well, when its not, it can be very bad."
"Are you trying to teach me something, Samuel?" I asked him.
He smiled, and said to me, "It is a funny sayting we have, isn't it?"
We both laughed hard. I needed to laugh, I needed to connect with someone this last night in Tanzania. Samuel, the Maissai askari, helped me.
I told Samuel that I thought this saying was very wonderful, and someday I would preach on it, and I would tell people about the young Maissai who taught it to me, whose name is Samuel.
"Happy are those who seek out justice and do what is right"
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