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Mali Trip: African Attack Lizard

So apparently Africa has attack lizards!

As I was walking around with Tom to make a list of items the team would need to bring from the States, we walked outside to look at the generator room and tool room. I was standing just outside, enjoying the sun, when we heard a massive ruckus above us on the metal roof. I stepped back to try and catch a glimpse of what it was, when over the roof ledge flew about a 6 inch lizard in a sky dive position, claws out, and a mean look in its eye, except for a slight smug grimace of enjoyment on its scaly mouth. Of course it seemed like slow motion as the attack lizard hit me square on the left temple, tail striping my collar bone. He slid down my face, leaped triumphantly off my shoulder, and retreated around the corner of the tool room laughing the whole way. I was so stunned at what just occurred that I lost everything Tom was telling me and mumbled some incomprehensible sounds ending in “Damn Lizard!”

Over lunch I learned that when Mamado was the only Christian in this area, he prayed for over a year straight, not missing a day, for missionaries to come and give his language the Bible. In fact, Nohoua and the other two Christians in Tangrela, Cote d’Ivoire are starting to pray the same now since they have no Bible in their language.