On my recent journey to Sik@sso I saw an amazing moment in time! I’m sure it happens a lot here in M@li but not something the average person gets to see as it is happening. Things here often bring stories in G0d’s Word to life right before your eyes. That is exactly what happened!
I was driving across a bridge and as always, I looked up the river as I was crossing the bridge…water has always had a special draw to me. This time was no different. When I saw what was happening in the river, I had an irresistible NEED to turn the truck around, park it, and watch. So I did…as soon as I could slow down and turn around, I was parked and walking to the bridge.
I stood in amazement watching a large herd of cows crossing the deep river…some even swimming. I stood with some M@lians who were on the bridge watching. Then I could hear the bleating of sheep…loud bleats calling and crying. I asked someone next to me, are the sheep going to cross too. “Yes, after,” was the reply. I surveyed the whole scene and found the shepherds coming closer to the water encouraging the rest of the cows to cross. Then I saw some of the sheep just jumping in the water swimming their way to the other side. The cows and sheep were crossing side by side. Soon there were no more cows, only sheep. The challenge of the shepherds became increasingly greater as those who needed to cross became less and less. One little lamb jumped in eager to cross with his mother, but the journey was too long and the current to strong. He turned back and headed to the safety of the shepherds and the dry ground. Shortly after the lamb returned to land, I saw 2 shepherds come walking across the bridge carrying lambs in their arms. I saw another shepherd in the water carrying 2 lambs across the river. Then two young shepherd boys, each with a lamb around his neck. Each of these were a scene in my mind that I will never forget.
At first, the other shepherds were guiding the sheep gently into the water knowing the water was cold and the sheep were not confident. Then the more fearful the sheep became the more the shepherds had to encourage them…even to the point of taking them by the front feet and walking them into the water. They would walk them halfway across the river only to have them turn around and head back once they took their hands off of them. Finally the remaining few sheep were stubbornly refusing to cross the river. 
The shepherd were now dragging them by their front feet with their hind feet dragging through the water leaving skid marks on the river bottom I’m sure. They would take the sheep over halfway, so that it was closer to keep going than it was to return to the place they knew. This didn’t stop the sheep. Some still turned around and headed for the river bank from which they came. The shepherds just kept working to get all the sheep to the other side of the river.
As I walked back to the truck and drove on to my destination, I pondered all that I had just seen and experienced. Many truths from G0d’s Word came flooding into my mind:
Psalm 23—The L0rd is my Shepherd, He guides me, I will not be afraid
John 10—Jesus declares that He is the Good Shepherd. He sacrifices His life for the sheep unlike the hired hand who runs away when danger comes. He knows His sheep and they know Him.
Luke 15—The Parable of the Lost Sheep and how the shepherd goes to find the lost sheep. When he finds it, he carries it home on his shoulders.
Moses and Joshua—As I watched the shepherds leading the animals across the river and then saw the difficulties of getting them all across the water, I thought about these men leading the people of Israel. How they faced so many difficulties, how some followed well, some always wanted to go back to where they had come from, and how some followed but dragged their feet the whole way.
It was a day of sweet fellowship with My Good Shepherd as He taught me much about life, as He made His word come to life before my eyes, as He taught me how to use these truths to tell of Him in a culture where shepherds still live and work the way David did.