The epic race to discover the source of Africa's largest river, the Nile, is legendary. One hundred and fifty years ago the British explorers raced throughout the length and breadth of the continent to find the tributaries responsible for such a mammoth body of water. Men like Livingstone, Speke, and Burton suggested differing sources for the world's longest river. Part of the confusion resides in the fact that the river actually has two arms: the white and blue. Both converge in Khartoum, Sudan.
Even today controversy clouds the exact spot. The Rwandans say that it is Nyungwe National park. The Kenyans say it is in Lake Victoria, which is technically true, except that Lake Victoria has two tributaries flowing into it.
In 1934 a German by the name of Burckhard Waldecker decided to track one of these tributaries. His quest took him high into the hills of Burundi on the Kagera River. He built a little pyramid there and declared to the world the true source of the Nile. Of course, this did nothing but add more fuel to the debate. When I moved to Burundi in 2007 several of my friends told me that I needed to go visit the spot. Of course, I was intrigued from a historical perspective. And the opportunity finally presented itself in 2008. To say I had high hopes would be an understatement. I couldn't wait! The source of the Nile! And in Burundi of all places!
We made the 2 hour trek to the absolute middle of nowhere. On the side of a hill is a rather bizarre pyramid constructed by the German. We jumped out of the car, walked around, took some pictures, but still didn't see any water.
"So where is it?" I finally asked.
"Down this way," came the reply from the self-appointed guide hovering around the parking area hoping to get some money from us.
We walked a couple hundred feet down into a ravine. Standing in the midst of some giant fern fronds our guide suddenly announces, "There it is!"
His voice was full of excitement and enthusiasm.
"Where?" I asked incredulously.
"Right there!"
"Right where?"
Straining forward I looked into a little crevice on the edge of the ravine. A single black pipe stuck out of the bank with a few drops of water dripping off the plastic.
"That's it?" I cried out in disappointment.
"I drove 2 hours to the middle of nowhere to see a pipe with a couple drops of water on it??"
Seeing his chances of a tip evaporating quickly, the guide explained: "This is the dry season. When it rains a lot more water comes out of the pipe."
I was totally disillusioned. "Who would put a pipe in there anyways? And why?"
The best answer I could get is that the pipe gathered water run-off from the nearby vegetation so that there would be a few drops for tourists to see even in the dry season.
We jumped back in our car and drove back to Buja rather disappointed. The more I thought about it though, the more I have realized how cool it really is to think that the mighty nile stems from a few drops of water in Central Burundi. A few drops soon becomes a a little trickle, the little trickle a small creek, the creek a tributary, the tributary a decent size river, the decent size river combines with other rivers and voila, the mighty Nile.
Similarly, I think that it is easy to do the same thing in our lives. We ask God for great and mighty things. He responds by entrusting us with a few small drops. We say, "are you kidding?" He says, "Be faithful with what I've given you." We say, "But it's so small, and I was born to be great." He says, "Be faithful in the small and you will be entrusted with much."
As I look at my life, I would have to say that the lesson of the two drops has been one of keys for seeing God use my life. As I'm faithful to steward what He's given me, even though at times it has seemed like so very little, He has always been faithful to increase it.
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