ok so do you want to hear a scary exciting story? Don’t worry, everyone is ok….you know, apart from a burn or two…
So, last month when we were in Swaziland working at the orphanage one of our jobs was to do fire breaks around the property. That way if a wild fire broke out it would stop at the fire break and not burn the ministry down. A fire break, so we learned, is a controlled fire about 6-8 feet in width that goes around the property. Needless to say it is a dirty and smokey job. We use freshly cut tree branches to keep the fire in line and to squash the fire when it reaches the correct width.
Well…on the second day we split up and were working on two different pieces of land. In the middle of the burn Steven (anther racer) and I were in the middle of the two groups walking away when we heard a guy yelling Stevens name from the group behind us. Then we distinctly heard someone yell “HELP.” It is a good thing Steven and I were still close to both teams because we could barley hear the people yelling from where we were at and there was no chance the other team could have heard. I started running in the direction with my trusty tree branch at pretty good speed. I assumed it was just a small matter that wasn’t too demanding. Then, as I came over the hill, I saw that my assumption was wrong. The fire was out of control! It had gone past the barbed wire fence that divided some of the property and was headed towards the church the baby house, where there are about 20 toddlers. I ran to the barbed wire fence, squeezed my way through and started heading toward this huge grass fire. About this time the other group was running towards the raging fire. They had seen me and Steven running, heard the distant commotion and were coming to help. We had about 20 people fighting a fire that in some places was over 7 feet high. Our tree branches burned within seconds because of the heat of the flames so we had to get creative. At one point I had a nasty dog blanket that I had soaked in the toilet water and was trying to beat out the fire with that. (those of you who know me know that only under a dyer situation would I douse a dog blanket in toilet water then sling it by my face.) Some of the guys were haling buckets of water from a small pond about 30 yards away and others were just freaking out unsure of what to do. It was scary! The fire got all the way up to about 6 feet away from the baby house and 3 feet away from the Church before we finally managed to get it out. By the end of it we were all covered in black soot and our lungs struggled to take in air after inhaling so much smoke. Most of us had red, sunburn looking faces, singed arm hairs, and exhausted looks on our faces. We were all in shock of what just happened.
It was definitely scary how hot the fire was and how quickly it moved. The land was left looking charred and smokey with a barbed wire fence that now had nubs for fence posts. We were thankful that no one was seriously injured and that we had the rest of the day off. The wonderful South African woman who runs the ministry told us with a smile in her accented calm, cool voice, “Thats why we do fire breaks”. We all looked forward to the day when this would be a funny story we would tell our friends and family. I guess today it that day. So enjoy what was once a time of sheer chaos and fear that is now just an exciting, unbelievable memory. As we have had to tell ourselves time after time this year, “just another day on the mission field.”
Right after we finished fighting the fire with our red faces, and charred clothes.
Our faces say it all.
The damage looking out from the church, and the damage looking up to the church.
Looking out in disbelief of what just happend, the whole team after fighting the fire. What a day!
Thanks to Catherine Jackson for all of the pictures.
