Day 9: Environment--Wa

We saw the hippos today! It was great to see God's creation very close in their natural environment and away from obnoxious tourists. It was only our small canoe out there, complete with holes and the ever-present danger of the boat sinking. I'll admit, I was a little worried when we got so close to the hippos. The locals are unaware that they can kill people. But luckily, we made it out alive. It was so peaceful, floating on the Black Volta in the canoe. Some Americans would kill to be in a secluded place like the hippo sanctuary. I find that so refreshing here in Africa. They respect the wildlife here; they live with nature rather than forcing it to leave. Although I love cities for their professionalism and diversity, I am sometimes smothered by all the man-made structures. I think a lot of Americans are smothered, too; they just don't know it. We tend to forget that God created the natural wonders that we are destroying. And when someone expresses concern for the environment, they are laughed off as a lunatic. What happened to humans as the caretakers of the earth? God never gave us permission to destroy and terrorize the environment and the beings living in it. We're supposed to appreciate and love this world, not cover it up with our buildings and skyscrapers. It's as if we crave power so much that we need to build our own environment to cover up what God created; an environment of steel and iron that destroys God's gift to us. We're eliminating natural beauty for malls and exploiting creatures for "food." Satan thrives in slaughterhouses. Think about it: workers raise an animal for the sole purpose of killing it, all the satisfy the bottomless stomachs of glutenous Americans (when 60% of us are obese). Personal testimonies of slaughterhouse workers recount that animals actually scream because they understand what they about to encounter. The workers themselves develop PTSD and turn to drugs as an answer, all while fat ole' Freddy can enjoy his Big Mac. This is an outrage! We are exploiting God's creations and justifying it with, "God intended for us to use this earth for us." While this maybe true, I know God didn't want us slaughtering innocent animals, chopping down rain forests, and melting the ice caps. We are stewards of this earth, not enemies of it. The earth and the animals cannot speak for themselves so we must do it for them. Just spending a weekend in the outdoors builds an appreciation for nature. I can't even bear to think of the misery that the environment and animals are experiencing. Why do we dominate and destroy life? This question continues to haunt me.