The Northern White Rhino

This is Sudan, a 38 yr old Northern White Rhino, at home in his home in the Czech Republic. Sudan was captured at age 3 in Kenya and sold to the zoo. He has lived in this indoor 30x30 cage in the winter due to the extreme cold of the Czech Republic and then alone in a concrete surrounding outside when the summer weather permitted. In 2009, the same 2 men who worked so hard 35 yrs earlier to trap and sell Sudan worked to have Sudan and 3 other Northern White Rhinos at the Czech zoo released back to Kenya at the Ol Peteja Conservancy. These 4 rhinos (3 of which were born in captivity) make up 1/2 of the Northern White Rhino population (the other 5 are in a conservancy in N. Africa); Sudan is the only living wild bred White Rhino living. The move from the Czech Republic to the Ol Peteja Conservancy 4hrs north of Narobi would prove to be long but beautiful. The zoo and the conservancy began working together - thru the 2 men who once trapped and sold to zoos - to make begin the hopful repopulation of the rhino in its native land. Ol Peteja is a 90,000 conservancy in Kenya that is surrounded on its perimiter by 6 foot high tension electrical fencing and is patrolled on the outer edges by highly armed guards who watch the borders and perimeter for poachers - their only job to shot on sight. Ol Peteja home to a growing population of the black rhino and Southern White Rhinos as well as all other types of released zoo animals in an attempt to repopulate the wild endangered Africa. The move of the rhinos was more than complicated they would be boxed, literally boxed, individually, and shipped by plane to Kenya. The zoo and conservancy worked with a woman - Berry White- commonly known to zoos as the rhino whisperer, spent many months with the rhinos to teach them to be still and load in the dark boxes and to keep the 3 ton animals from getting upset. Her only job to keep the rhinos at peace throughout the trip. It would be 30 hrs of traveling to make it home for Sudan, home to a land he had not set foot on in 35 years. Ol Peteja worked day and night to get the rhinos' temporary homes ready and suceeded just a few hours before their arrival. After unloading the much younger 2 females and 1 male, all of which immediately and without hesitation entered Kenya before Sudan, the group moved to release Sudan. After placing the crate carefully on the ground and removed the door. For the first time in 35 yrs Sudan was about to set foot on his home land. The picture here in the wooden enclosure is deceiving. Sudan took many minutes looking and smelling the air and the ground before he ever stepped out of the crate. And then took a few minutes of sniffing the ground and he quickly moved toward the small area of grazing grass provided for him. Without the hesitation of his traveling companions, Sudan immediately he was welcomed home.

I saw this story on "Last Chance to Survive" a BBC show that tells about endangered species and their journey to survival. When I saw this I was just filled with hope for the rhinos being placed back in their home, especially Sudan. What I didn't expect was that this story would relate to my life. It took a couple days, and I have no reason for why this story kept in my head, constantly restoring itself to me and after of these moments, I looked up something, I looked up a couple of words and found something I didn't expect: John 14:18 "..I will not leave you as orphans, I will come for you." and then 2Peter 3:13 "...keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new earth and new heaven, the home for the righteous." This is how Sudan's story affected me.

Over 19 yrs ago Lee and I were blessed with a son, 19 yrs and 1 day ago two friends of ours were blessed with a son. These two sons, born a country apart, became friends. They lived in this world - in this human zoo - for 18 yrs, and in April 2010, they went together on a trip, a trip home. As I watched the BBC special and saw Sudan look out of his dark crate at the warm Kenya land and I watched Sudan hesitate and then walk out of the dark crate and onto the warm ground and the land he knew as home, I thought of our sons. I thought of how they were not really home. And when they were presented home last April did they hesitate before coming out of the dark and into their warm homeland? Did they look at the brightly lite area and wonder if this was real, if they were really on the edge of walking into their home? Or did they just step out? I don't know what happend last Spring, I don't know how long it took for these two friends to step into the warm home that they had been away from for 18 yrs. I hope for this, it is their home, and even though they may have hesitated - looked - and weighed the step they were taking - they walked on their homeland's ground and were immediately at home. I know that they were not orphaned, no matter what was their life here in this zoo, that Jesus was standing beside them holding their hands and helping them walk into the dark crate that they had to enter to make the journey home. I know that they are home.

So how does this odd story about a rare white rhino affect my heart? Greatly. This story about an endangered creation of God has finally made it faithfully home to the land he was stolen from 38 yrs before. Sudan's story is not much different then the story of our two sons and their journey home before us. Just like Sudan'syounger traveling companions who touched their homeland ground first, so have our 2 sons, they have touched a land that we have not been released onto. So how does Sudan's story affect your heart? If you think it doesn't you might be wrong.