Livingstone, I presume

A more upbeat story about Zimbabwe:

Victoria Falls owes its reputation as one of the seven natural wonders of the world to a British missionary doctor named David Livingstone.

Finding himself in Africa doing missions and medical work for the mother country, he wrote prolifically and his letters spread like wildfire through England.  He said that Africa was a beautiful and lush country, filled with industrious people.  He said that it was not a dark and lost continent.  Africans credit Livingstone with helping their countries' reputation and spreading good news to the "civilized" world.  The beginnings of marketing, if you will.

Then Livingstone contracted malaria and was unable to keep up with his writings.  News from Africa stopped and Queen Victoria became so concerned that she asked her country, who would go look for him?  Who would venture into this new world to help find him or, God forbid, bring his remains back home?

A man by the name of Henry Morton Stanley volunteered to go, and it took him over a year to find Livingstone.  He would travel from tribe to tribe, and unable to speak the language(s), he would blunder his way through communications, trying to make his point.

At last, he came to a tribe and saw a man in the distance.  This man was shaggy, extremely gaunt and unkempt.  Stanley put his hand to his eyes to block the sun and shouted, "Livingstone, I presume?"

 

Livingstone was (and still is) beloved by the Africans.  Before he became sick, as he would travel through the continent, he would denounce the slave practices that were occurring within tribes even though slavery was supposedly outlawed.  Quoting scripture and preaching God's love, he would defend human dignity and repeat endlessly that slavery was a sin against creation, against how we are meant to relate to one another and live together.

At one point, out of desperation, he "bought" two African slaves simply in order to free them.  As he turned to walk away, they followed him, asking if they could work for him.  They said they would be willing to do anything at all for him.  He turned and said, "I do not need workers.  I need friends."  So they became his friends and traveled with him until the end.  After he died, they carried his body across the continent until they were able to find a boat that would take his remains back to his home land.

Livingstone is remembered (as I think all missionaries should be) for his love.  He deeply loved Africa and its people.  He named the falls "Victoria Falls" not only to honor his queen but also in the hopes of making the area more relate-able, more approachable, for the rest of the world.  In his mind, Africa was a place to be visited, appreciated, explored.

We agree.