Mountain Goats and Buffalo and One Week to Go

The countdown to our adventure has hit the last stages.  Last night I preached for the last time in America until after our trip.  It’s been cool here lately but a wonderful warm up is approaching and will arrive tomorrow.  I’m glad since it will be much warming in Ghana.  I want us to be able for it and with it being as cool as it has been I have been concerned that it would be miserable.  I’m so grateful for all the prayers and well wishes.  If could express my thanks in words I would do it but what I feel goes far beyond words.  I so much appreciate it!  Thank you my dear friends!  I remain unsure how I will post from Africa but may put a few words when I can.  I figure the pictures and/or video likely won’t be posted until after we get home.  We return to a very busy time with our music group going out and Thanksgiving and Christmas...it makes me tired just thinking about it.  I want to share the last of the pictures from our trip now because I feel it’s a good way to leave thing off. 

 

I love buffalo!  They are such unlikely looking creatures.  Their sheer bulk is astounding.  It’s a small wonder they they’ve hurt and killed as many people as they have.  People just don’t understand the power of these animals They had many little ones with them in the herds we saw which surprised me Winter comes early in these parts and Yellowstone in particular has been known to rival Alaska for cold at certain points of the winter season.  They day we saw these animals they seemed to have not a single care in the world They were living large and the weather was beautiful so what could be better then a nice dust bath ?  I can’t help but smile every time I see them roll like this!  They are so huge and when they get down and roll it’s a comical scene!  I love witnessing their life drama as it unfolds.  Seeing this adult and calf made me smile because it seemed like a tender moment.  We watched as the buffalo lined up and took turns rolling in this dusty patch in the prairie before moving on Go ahead and smile...I sure did!  Moving alone we went through the beautiful Beartooth Pass It is a very high pass indeed...above the tree line in fact.  I love the view from up there Mountains and plains are my favorite It was unusually warm up there as we passed through but still there was snow in places .  It was a beautiful contrast to have the warmth yet the snow right there in plain view It feels like you’re on the top of the world up here !  It’s a bleak place where I’ve seldom seen more than a marmot or two They love to frequent the rocks and feel protected here I’m sure you can imagine my unbridled joy at seeing a herd of mountain goats cross the road in front of us !  It brought me back to an experience I had as a small boy years ago in Glacier National Park years ago.  I had a deep experience with God where the beauty of the place overcame me.  I was just thanking God for the wonder of it all and He told me He’d show me more...we came around a corner and came upon some mountain goats!  Here I was with my family that had never witnessed such things and they even had young!  I knew it was a moment that God was sharing with me all over again !  This time my whole family was with me and we stood overwhelmed at the power of this moment.  The young goats leapt and played while the older ones ate and were back dropped by the actual beartooth peak which the pass is named for  .  How can I explain what I felt?  I felt such unbridled joy!  These are the largest mammals that live above the tree line.  They don’t complain at the lot they’ve been delivered in life at all but thrive.  The females have been known to force big horns to submit to them and fight even bears that come after their young but for now they stood in peace and allowed us to be a part of their moment .  I love them and I so much love God for showing my family and I something like this!  I will post the video of this moment on Face Book.  God bless you all and thank you so much for the blessing you’ve been in my life!