THE ONLY HOPE!

The only hope for humanity is the Messiah, Jesus.  The Body of Christ must band together out of love for our Lord and each other. We must build each other up; encourage each other, help restore each other when we sin, help each other be Godly people.  The world has gone insane with sin.  Christ alone is our sanity, our safe haven, our hope for all the tomorrows.  

Wake up, people!  Look what has happened since we took God out of our schools, our government, our businesses, and our families.  Now we are killing full-term babies.  Tomorrow we will kill the old, the infirm, the deformed, the mentally ill.

Wake up, Christians!  It isn't about politics or religion.  We must become loving, caring forgiving people.  The Body of Christ(the Church)must set an example for the human race.  Our time is short.

Marshall K Warren    

         

African Puff Adder

 As head of security for Coutada 5, District of Machanga, Sofala Province, Mozambique, I was hunting poachers in the mopane forest of central Mozambique, about thirty-five miles from the Indian ocean, when I cut the trail of a Nyala bull.  I decided to follow the animal.  The grass was about a foot high with scattered leaves on the ground.  As I slowly crept along the doves suddenly ceased their singing, the bush fell silent. I froze.  The song of Africa had stopped. It is as if the birds and animals were warning me something was about to happen.  Everything was holding its breath and watching.  My heart pounded as I looked around.  Then, as if it materialized from nowhere, there it was, three feet in front of me.  The sinister coil of a huge puff adder.  Its brown and grey leaf pattern made it almost invisible.  They hunt by lying await in ambush.  One of the deadliest snakes in Africa.  In another step, I would have been dead.  

I know that no one ever sees small snakes.  They are always huge, but this puff adder was as big around as a man's arm and four feet long.    
As I eased back and circled around the snake I heard the Nyala before I saw him.  The snake had distracted me, ruining my stalk.  He was a nice bull, with his horns laid back, he ran through the thick forest with amazing ease.  In a flash, he was gone, but I was still alive.  Bush sense had saved my life.  That and my doves with their song of Africa.  
In Africa, there is no such thing as being “at the top of the food chain.”  Everything, man included, is both predator and prey. 

Marshall K Warren

  




                  

Africa, My Song

In the predawn darkness, I lie on my cot, secure in my mosquito net cocoon.  The only sound is that of the large white baobab blossoms as they fall to the ground like wet sponges. The dawn breaks as the sun leaps into the sky, shattering the darkness with unexpected suddenness.

The silence, as well as the darkness, is broken.  Sounds erupt.  Baboons immediately began their raucous squabbling.  Warthogs grunt as they emerge from their burrows to start foraging.  I hear a leopard cough and the baboons warn the bush that he is still on the prowl.

The giant baobab next to my tent explodes with shrieks and squawks as dozens of parrots fly from their nesting holes, forming a group they head off into the bush.  Every morning they fly off in the same direction, returning at sunset.

Birds and monkeys add their voices to the morning sounds, but through it all, I hear my song.  Every day, all day, I hear the song of the mourning doves.  Their soft cooing cuts through everything and touches my heart.

I emerge from my cocoon and start a fire.  There is still a slight chill in the air, but it will soon be gone. By the time I finish breakfast the day is already heating up.  The song of the mourning doves is the only sound that remains..... What song of Africa will they sing for me today?

Marshall K Warren