...to discern what is of value

This weekend I joined my new friends on another sunset cruise Saturday evening and spent the night at the Nile River Explorers (NRE) campsite.  The NRE is a beautiful place, tucked back where the view of the restaurant/bar is the Nile and the people are just as wonderful.  Many folks come from all over the world to spend time there to “explore” the Nile…we’ve met people who come for days, weeks, and months at a time to truly experience the Nile River; their daily lives while staying in Bujagali Falls is full of adventure, risks, and good times.  This was my second time at the NRE and as much as one can try to expect the unexpected…this weekend was overwhelming emotional and I would like to share with you this vulnerability because for some reason, I was there in that place, on that day, and I saw with my own two eyes, the fragility of life.

There we were Sunday afternoon the group of my new friends and I spending a few hours on the “beach,” taking it all in, the breeze, the sun, the laughter… and then we realized that there was a group of people just sitting, just waiting…and finally we were told why they were sitting there with much intensity in their posture and silence among so many…they were patiently searching…

It seems that on Friday afternoon a young boy around 12 years old was swimming near shore, people were present, it was sunny, the sky was blue and all of a sudden…

There are a few different pieces of this story that I heard, but we put them together once we spoke with one of the NRE employers (kayak guide) Andy.  Just under where the group of people was waiting there are a few very small rapids, and apparently this boy was swimming in that area.  What I didn’t understand at first was how strong the current is in this particular area especially if you are an inexperienced swimmer. 

People saw him start to struggle, flaring his arms and popping his head in and out of the water, while quickly being taken off by the current.  People saw him fight for his life, up and down, up and down.  Two men were trying to swim against the current towards him, but were unable to reach him and all of sudden they saw him go under…and he never re-surfaced.

These people that were waiting…were waiting for his body; they had been waiting for 2 days. In my mind I thought, “he’s gone, it has been two days” but my friend Matt, who is a frequent kayaker explained to me that since the current carries in such a way, they believe that his body would be found in the same parameter where his life was lost.

As I was trying to cope with this news of being right here, in the same spot where my friends were swimming, a young boy lost his life.  As the time carried a bit, I decided to stand at the edge and put my feet in the water.  Sitting there, feeling the water that so many people come to explore, the same water that so easily took a boy’s life suddenly, we heard screaming.  Men and women were yelling, pointing, and a canoe with two men sped towards a small island about 200 feet from where we were…someone from above had spotted his body…and right then and there while the water was splashing against my legs, his body re-surfaced.  I cannot explain the feeling that came over me as I even today, try and work my way through the overbearing emotions.

As we watched as on-lookers, people started crowding together on the small island, and not too long after did we head back up the hill.  On our way up we looked over and could see…we could see the people there, gathering, holding each other, lost in mourning and grief.  I am not sure why I was there to experience this event, but I was and here I am sharing with all of you this surreal story. 

And not to take away from what this has brought upon me, 30 minutes later we were sitting there with Andy and another experienced kayaker came up to us and was telling us that this morning, he and his group went for an adventure.  Apparently while they were out on their route their van driver (who could not swim) decided to bathe in the water, he slipped, and drowned.  The kayakers name was Steven and he said that it was beyond bizarre the way his drivers’ drowning was recorded. He said no questions were asked of him or his group and that they were actually transported back to the campsite in the very same van that their driver drove them in that morning.  It is difficult to even try to comprehend how these events have affected me, so I am sure that just by reading these words you too are affected.  A young boy enjoying a sunny day and a man trying to make a living; both taken and swallowed by the Nile.

My prayers and my thoughts go out to the families of these two who so unexpectedly lost their lives.  I am not sure how to ever expect the unexpected…however; I do find it vital to understand the fragility of life.

Please, do not set limits on your love.  As the Lord says, give to anyone who asks of you…and try to discern what is of value…what you can do without and who can you not do without.  Live. Laugh. Love. Because you never know what the next moment, the next day, or the next event may bring your way.

“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.  A time to be born, and a time to die…a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Rest in Peace

CJ Wires

Charlie Loyd

Maurice Stroude

Robert Stroude

Stephen Kyle McNulty

Patrick Andrew Trainor

And all of whom we have known to go before us.

Much Love to you always,

Anne Therese

view of the group from the hill