Oh When The Saints Go Marching In

Hippos are huge and their short legs and pink underbellies make them look rather cute and a bit clumsy. However, regardless of their appearance, these animals are incredibly dangerous. During our second night at Marula Lodge, we had one right outside our tent munching away on the grass. I was asleep so didn’t hear it but Claire said that this giant beast was stood right next to our safari tent enjoying a midnight meal. She told me this at breakfast, which was again served at 5.30am, in order for us to be ready for our drive at 6.

Breakfast was served in the large dining area that is sort of half indoors half outdoors, sitting beneath a gigantic thatched roof. Claire and I had our own table, Cristina and Kate were joined by Christine on their table and the Dutch family who were our new safari buddies had their own. There were also two giant tables taken up by a very large group of Americans, who were working as Christian missionaries. They’d been there the previous day also and as they did before each meal they all said Grace. In unison all twenty of them would say a short prayer, before tucking into their meals. Each time it would catch the rest of us off guard. You’re sitting there eating away, the low hum of chatter in the air, only to be startled by twenty people chanting in unison.

Back in the UK it feels like I know very few Christians. And I had, until this trip, never experienced the phenomenon of Grace before a meal – we’ve since seen it a fair few times. But since landing in Africa Claire and I have come across a number of Christians who have mainly been missionaries. And my main observation is how all of them have been so incredibly nice. Every American Christian we’ve met has been warm, friendly and softly spoken and almost all of them have had immaculate teeth and neatly pressed clothes. They all take a keen interest when you speak and ask questions showing enthusiasm at each answer you give. You get used to speaking to new people when travelling around like we are, but you don’t get used to the level of genuine interest that the Christians show above most of the other people we’ve met. It can almost feel slightly unnerving at times. Missionaries are supposed to promote Christianity, is this their way of getting you on board?

One of their group was a pastor and he was the one that would often lead the prayer. He also spoke quite a lot about God and Jesus when in general conversation. Due to me being unexposed to such levels of devout faith, I found it incredibly interesting to eavesdrop into their conversations to hear just what real Christians talk about. I was, I must admit, surprised at how often God and Christ came up in conversation. Though I am sure that these guys were most probably more devout than others, so I am not assuming that all Christians talk about their Lord as much as this group.

The Christians at the lodge looked to be made up of around five or six families, each with teenage children who were as interesting to watch as the adults. How does a big group of teenage Christians behave? I’ve been a teenager and hung out in big groups of teenagers, so I know the sorts of things that teenagers often speak about. But this group, this gang of Christian teens from the USA, they were so different from what I was used to, so alien, that I found myself watching them as if we were still in the safari truck. ‘And here, on the left you can see a group of human teenagers. These are of the Christian subspecies and tend to come from the United States of America. They have very pale skin and often gather in groups. The collective noun is a congregation. They wear t-shirts with Christian slogans on the back, and share similar facial characteristics that make them hard to tell apart. Some say that this is an advantage as it allows them to blend together to avoid detection from predators’. In general, however, the teens didn’t really do much.

On our first evening, after dinner, the big group of Christians all sat down and did a mini service in the bar. Claire and I were having a beer when they broke out into song. We were stumped. Were we supposed to join in? We didn’t know the words and kept to our conversation, but it was hard to focus with a sermon going on in the background. I did feel sorry for the teenagers. They didn’t look like they were as into the singing as their parents, and probably just wanted to get back to playing cards. I had my back to the group for most of their songs but couldn’t help but chuckle at the one woman who was giving it her all. Whilst most people were quietly singing the hymn, she had broken out into full falsetto and was really going for it. There have been a lot of Christians on this trip.