“He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11

Saturday, 19 July 2008
Today was a day for cleaning. Much of the day was spent picking up pieces of broken cement and bricks, and papers and wrappers from the yard. The goal is, of course to have a neat, clean yard, but also to have a clear pathway for the women who cook lunch for the children. They bring huge pots of food from the backyard cooking hut into the kitchen to fill the plates for the children. So, we collected wheelbarrows and buckets full of stones which we deposited as fill around the septic pit, and all the papers went into the trash pit which is then burned. I think Monday I will introduce the concept of a waste basket to the school children, and encourage them not to throw their papers on the ground. Trash receptacles are not something which is common here, and are virtually unheard of here in the bush. It was also wash day. We don’t have a clothes line, there are no towel rods or hooks in the house, so Ron fashioned a makeshift line by tying a piece of rope to one of the bars on the kitchen window, wrapping it around the support post on the back verandah, and then he backed the truck up to the correct position and made the final tie there. At the end of the day, all was well, although we were very tired. A peaceful evening. We had just finished supper when the power went off – and it was pitch black. The sun sets just after six, and when it’s gone, it’s really dark. We got out the lantern and flashlights and I decided to call my sister. I went out on the back verandah to try to get better reception when I spotted them. It was a small army of ants coming up the side of the porch and marching straight for the back door. I called to Ron and we got the only bug spray we have – permethrin which is for our clothing – and it did not stop them. Now they were coming in hordes. While Ron continually swept them off the back porch, I went with my flashlight to find the guards. I told Pedro, whose English is fairly good, that we were being invaded by ants. His reply was “Oh no, what will you do?” It was not the response I had hoped for. I said I was hoping he had an idea. Regrettably, he said he did not.

I returned to the house with the bad news. We stuffed a towel under the door, and soaked it with the permethrin, hoping it would at least deter them. We were stepping on the ones that had made their way into the house and we were just figuring out who would stand guard at the door first when we saw two lights approaching. It was the flashlights of our guards, Pedro and England. I went back outside to see what was to be done. When I shone my light on the back verandah it was like a horror movie. There were thousands and thousands and thousand of ants everywhere. There were areas where they were so thick they looked like a black rug, moving closer and closer to the back door. They were on the ground along the sides of the porch, they were on the porch, and they were even on the back wall. Pedro and England did not speak a word to each other, but went straight to work. As they began, Pedro said, “You may go inside madam, we will take care of this, do not worry.” Pedro quickly swept the ants off the walls and cement porch, as England poured a line of paint thinner around the base of the porch. They had brought large bundles of dried elephant grass. England lit the ends of the grass as Pedro shone his light for him to see. England then torched the thinner, burning the ants out, and sticking the burning grass into any hole he saw them emerging from, letting the grass burn so close to his hand I was afraid he would be burned. This process of burning continued for about forty-five minutes, as we watched from inside the house. There were small and sometimes large bursts of fire, burning the ants all along the perimeter of the verandah until they were confident all the ants were extinguished. Pedro informed me that these are known as fire ants, and “Yes, of course madam, they bite”. With a huge smile, he said “Now you may rest well”, and they returned to their post at the front gate.

We know that God keeps His promises, and we know that He has indeed given His angels charge over us. We know that angels are the forces God constantly provides to take care of us. However, we don’t usually see them or recognized them, but we did tonight. Tonight, those angels were named Pedro and England. Thank you Lord for sending Your angels, and for opening our eyes to recognize them.