Day 11 Story 10- Timing

"Jump! Jump! Jump!" The voice of the captain of the little boat shouted with excitement.  

It was my first visit to  Mafia island.  Mafia is located just a few miles off the coast of Tanzania. 

 It boasts a population of some 40,000 people as well as some of the most exquisite aqua-marine life in East Africa.  

Our contact on the island, who I will refer to as Brother O  for safety reasons recommended that we should go see the whale sharks. None of us had ever seen a whale shark before.  When Brother O suggested that we could swim with them we were all elated.    Whale sharks are reputed to be among the most docile of the large fish measuring up to 25 feet long.    They have huge mouths to gather small minnows, but a very narrow and constricted throat just a couple of inches wide that would keep them from eating a human.  

So we hired a little catamaran with an outboard motor, a captain, a 1st officer, a few snorkels, masks, and off we went to find the rare whale sharks of Mafia.  As we cruised through the Indian Ocean just a couple of hundred feet off the coast of Mafia we began to contemplate what we were doing.  Our captain had instructed us to put on our snorkel gear and wait for his orders.   When he shouted jump we would have to throw ourselves off the deck of the little boat into the depths of the Indian Ocean while the boat still coasted along in hopes of catching a sight of the fabled whale shark.   The conversation went something like this. 

Captain: "Standi-by." (His English wasn't the best). 

Us: "This could be it!" 

Captain: "Standi-by" 

Us: "Now?"

Captain: "Standi-by" 

Us: "We don't see anything." 

Captain: "Standi-by" 

Us to ourselves: "I don't think he knows any other words in English" 

Captain: "Standi-by" 

We were wrong.  He did know one other word. And he knew it well.  "Jump! Jump! Jump!"  A tale fin had just surfaced a few feet from our boat.  

Being the brave and intrepid adventurer that I am I looked at my colleagues to see who in their right mind would jump into the water.  Three teenagers on the team took the plunge leaving myself, Peter, Rick, Brother O, and another brother who we will call Brother K looking at each other in bewilderment (names changed to protect the innocent).  The captain wasn't happy that only 3 had obeyed his orders.  So he turned the boat around hollering: "Standi-by" "Standi-by" Standi-by".  

Then came the clarion call again: "Jump!"  Off went Paul and Roger.  

Now it was just myself and the two Tanzanian brothers.  

They had on floaties as neither of them knew how to swim.  

"Are you ready?" I asked. 

Brother O shook his head vigorously. 

The whale shark had turned around and the captain was at a fever pitch. 

"Jump! Jump! Jump!" 

We took the plunge much to the relief of the ship captain who probably would have thrown us overboard in had we delayed yet again. 

As I opened my eyes I felt Brother O's hand tight around my arm. I turned to look at him. 

His face was distraught with fear as he pointed off to the side.  As I turned my eyes in that direction I could see the wide open mouth of the whale shark heading right towards us.  At the last moment he changed his depth and went right between our legs.  It was surreal feeling the rush of water move around my legs from the force of the whale shark's momentum.  

Brother O panicked.  "I want out!" I certainly didn't blame him. For a split moment I thought we were going to be swallowed whole by the whale shark.  I could see the headlines: "Missionary and Tanzanian Pastor swallowed alive on Mafia."  Of course, most people would think it was a typo and that some Italian mobsters took us out, but I digress from my story. 

The lesson I learned from the Captain that day is that timing is everything when it comes to whale sharks.  The ocean is a big place and seeing a whale shark up close and personal requires lots of waiting.  Followed by an immediate response to the Captain's instructions.  I think that's how it often is in the Kingdom.  "Now Lord?"  "Now Lord?"  And I can hear the Captain of our souls saying: "Standi-by, Standi-by, Standi-by."  And then suddenly He will shout "Now!"  When coupled with obedience God's power and purposes are always released.