Zambezi Gorge Swing

     Over Easter break 5 of my friends and I went on an adventure to Zambia.  We took a 3 day train, 4 ish hour taxi ride, and 9 hour bus ride to get to Victoria Falls.  If Vic Falls is not on your bucket list, you better change that because it is AMAZING! While there we did lots of fun activities.  One had a big impact on me, the Gorge Swing.  I had researched it months before we went and it was the BIG daring challenge I was going to take while in Zambia.  When the day arrived the nerves were there, but I was trying to just focus on the excitement I would feel.  I mean I jumped out of a plane, I should be able to swing off of a cliff....  The experience of doing the Gorge Swing was exciting and fulfilling in so many ways.  Lots of lessons were taken away form this.

1) Trust the speaker, who has earned the trust by what he has shown.  His voice is sure, clear, strong, and under control.

Kulu was the man who "guided" us off the cliff and gave us commands before we stepped off.  He was the perfect person
for this job.

Lamentations 3:22-23 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.






2) Listen. Don't dwell on it.  Just obey.  3-2-1- STEP... then it is exhilarating! 

Stepping up to the edge is so scary and you think, 'How am I ever going to step off?!  There is no way!'    I literally just listened to Kulu's voice and my body just did what he said, STEP, and it was such an awesome ride!

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.  I trust him with all my heart.  He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.



3) It would have be harder to step if you had
 doubted and faltered the first time. 

Both times I did the swing, yes I did it twice, there was no hesitation.  Don't get me wrong I was freaking out and my mind was say NO WAY this is going to happen.  It would have been more challenging if faltered.

Proverbs 24:10  If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!





4) Yet He firmly and kindly assures and guides those who falter...lifts the chin, asks them to look  in his eyes, and leads them through, nudges even. 

I saw a boy getting ready to go and he was very hesitant.  He was not listening to the commands and was very scared.  Kulu pulled him back off the edge and coached him until he was ready to go, and he did go!

Psalms 37: 23-24  The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.




5) He treats each one differently, as they need.

Kulu dealt with each of my friends differently when we were getting ready to step off the cliff.

Psalms 139:13  You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mothers womb.









6) The first moments after the step are the scariest, and most exhilarating.  Then it is JOY.  JOY to see the creation around you and to know you stepped!

I was screaming like a little girl after I stepped.  My stomach dropped and it was such a crazy but addicting feeling!  Once I started swimming I was in awe of the beauty around me and was filled with excitement that I DID IT!  This moment reminded me a lot of the step to come to Africa.  It was very scary to take that step and unsettling but it has been so rewarding and fulfilling.

Psalms 1:1-3  Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked... But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.



7) During those scary moments you can't go back.  You already stepped in faith. It is out of your hands and in the hands of what and who you have trusted.  

I was glad we did the swing last.  I was able to trust more and more the staff and the equipment with every activity we did before the swing.  They are a great company!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24  Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.  God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.