“Oh my God, what have I done!”
That’s all that was going through my mind as we approached the first
rapid on our journey down the mighty Nile River! That’s right, I went
white water rafting on the Nile River. It’s hard to believe that just
a few months ago I couldn’t even swim and was terrified of water.
(thats me in the bottom right of the picture flying out of the boat!)
I wasn’t really sure what to expect on
this trip, other than it would be fun; I didn’t know that I would
end up fearing for my life and thinking I was dead or going to die at
least 8 times in the course of the day! We started the day walking
down a very slippery, muddy, wet hill, barefoot to get to our rafts.
In typical Ryan fashion, I totally wiped out on the hill, feet flying
over my head and paddle flying out of my hand, as I fell down the
hill uncontrollably.
We pushed off from shore and started a
brief training class in the still water before we paddled into the
rapids. After finishing training, we headed to the first rapid; the
instructor told us that this rapid was a class 4 and was called
“Overtime.” We made our way into the first wave and we went
airborne, but we stayed in the boat and landed back on the water. For
a brief second I thought to myself, “I can do this;” then as we
landed, a wave came crashing over us from the side, flipped the boat
and threw me into the river like rag doll. Once I hit the water, I
don’t remember much for about 10 or 15 seconds, then as I came back
to reality I was under water, rolling and tumbling down the river
violently and gasping for air, I couldn’t tell which way was up and
the water was rushing white. I thought to myself, “This is how I
die. This is it. Oh my God what have I done”. Then I come shooting
out of the water like a rocket, thanks to my life jacket, and took,
what felt like, my first breath of air ever in life. Luckily there
were safety kayakers who helped save my life multiple times and take
me back to the safety of my raft.
You would think that one fall would be
enough. Not for me. Throughout the entire day, I flew out of the
raft on all but one rapid; praying I would come up for air and that
the kayakers would find me. On one rapid I stayed in place, in the
boat, until the instructor came flying across the raft, knocking me
in the head, and pushing me into the raging river. Let me tell you,
flying out of the raft at least eight times really does a number to
your body. I was hit by the boat, by teammates’ paddles, slammed
into rocks, and tossed like a doll in the waves. The result of this
is a number of cuts and bruises all over my body and a busted lip.
(What happens when you pick a fight with the Nile River!)
So what did I learn from this
experience? Do not laugh at people when they fall down a hill of
mud, because surely your turn will come soon. “Nose and Toes,” is
not just a suggestion, but survival. When you see your raft
instructor flying in the air over you, then you are officially
screwed. If you make it safely through a class 5 rapid, don’t push
your luck and try to do it again; the results don’t get better! The
man that invented life jackets is a saint. Don’t go white water
rafting if you make a living off your face and looks! Blue rubber
tubes were never meant to go down the Nile River with white people on
it safely. And sometimes, it takes experiencing death for us to
realize we are alive.
Live like you’re dying. Be excited for
your life! PTL. Praise The Lord, that I got to experience His
creation, and I have scars to prove it. Oh, and a fat lip!
Im going bungee jumping next week,
so….To Be Continued!
Living Joyfully,
Ryan
