Our story is about a camel named, Shai, pronounced shay meaning gift. Shai lives in Israel. Israel is a small country in the Middle East.
Camels are amazing animals which have endurance.
There are one-hump camels called Dromedary which inhabit the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa. Two-humped camels called Bactrian are found in Central
Asia.
Camels have been domesticated, meaning they live with and work for people. Many countries use camels to carry people and supplies.
Shai is one of many camels working for a man named
Amit, pronounced Ah meet, which means friend. Amit loves his camels and takes
good care of them. He uses them to carry tourists and their belongings around
Israel. Israel has many interesting places and landmarks that people
want to visit. It’s more of an adventure for these tourists to travel by camel
instead of a jeep. They pay Amit to take them.
A group of tourists hired Amit to take them throughout
all of Israel. This journey would last a few weeks. The group wanted to sleep
out doors and visit all the wonders Israel had to offer. Amit was a little
surprised they wanted to go this time of year because it’s hot. The best time
to travel would have been earlier in the year.
Amit picked out the best strongest camels he had. He
needed camels for the people, luggage, food, and water. Twenty five camels for the six people and
their supplies would be sufficient.
The day arrived for them to leave and they left
before dawn. The sun barely started to crest the landscape. Amit wanted many
miles behind them before the sun hit mid-day--the hottest part. Everyone on the trip seemed to be in a pleasant mood, even the camels. Amit was relieved. Some groups of people were cranky.
For four days they traveled and stopped at
interesting places for the tourists. The fifth day was brutally hot even
before the sun tried to poke its head above the hills.
Amit walked around his camels talking sweetly in
their ears. He did this every morning and night as he fed and watered them. “My
pets how are you this morning? Did you rest well? We'll undergo a hard day but I know you will make me proud. It’ll be very hot today so make sure you
take in enough water for our journey.”
Shai loved Amit’s soft mellow voice which almost
sang to them. Shai felt loved and appreciated. Today like most days, Shai
made soft noises of his own when Amit came near. Amit rubbed Shai’s ears as Shai
wrapped his long neck around him. They stood that way for a minute. “Shai, you
are my favorite. You’ll need to be strong and endure this journey today.”
Amit didn’t realize how right his words were. In the late morning when the sun beat down it became almost unbearably hot and the wind picked up. At first they welcomed the relief of the breeze but soon it turned into a howling whipping storm. Amit lead the group to an out-cropping of boulders to hide behind against the storm. As they were nearing the out-cropping, one of the ladies fell off a camel! She landed hard and didn’t move. One of the men stopped and got down from his camel and ran to her. The strong wind made it difficult to tell if she had her eyes closed because of the dust or she was unconscious. He pulled her over to the boulders. By that time everyone had arrived safely behind the protection of rock.
Amit was told the lady needed medical attention.
She had broken an arm and maybe some ribs. Amit didn’t know who to send. He needed to
stay with the group and no one else knew the way to the nearest town to get a
doctor.
He stood for a moment rubbing his hands
together with a frown on his brow. “Ah, yes. What a great idea!”
He ran over to Shai. “Shai, I need you to do an important
job and you have to hurry! You my prized pet, are they only one
who could possibly make it in this dreadful storm. You need to go to Bethlehem.
I know you will find your way. Here is a note that will bring the doctor. You will
need to bellow and moan until someone investigates and finds the note. Now go!”
He swatted Shai on the rump and Shai took off with a leap.
Shai wasn't sure what Amit said. He remembered
a person fell. He felt Amit’s fear and heard the note of command mixed with
urgency in his voice. He recognized the word Bethlehem and thought he
understood.
The wind was terrible. His long lashes kept most of
the sand out of his eyes but he had to clear them with his third eye lid many
times. His nostrils had naturally closed to keep the wind out and he only
opened them for brief gasps of air. His long strides and wide feet made his journey
steady as he raced to the town. He was lucky he was a camel. A horse would not
have made it. The design of his body made his task easier. He was also a
strong camel who normally went further than other camels on less food and
water. There were many more miles to go. On the road, he hadn’t passed any other animals or people. They must be in shelter. Shai kept going. In his mind he played the sound of his master’s voice over and over, which made him hurry.
Finally, he arrived at Bethlehem. As soon as he entered,
he bellowed, moaned, screamed, and made a terrible racket. The wind quieted
down a little bit so he was heard. Shai moaned loudly at a man who came to investigate.
The man ran his hands over Shai thinking he was hurt. That’s when he found the
note, which he read and patted Shai’s neck. Shai stopped making noise as soon
as he saw the man reading.
Together they went in search of the doctor. The doctor grabbed his bag and splints and stuffed them into Shai’s pack. He led Shai over to the watering trough but Shai pulled away and bellowed. Shai got down for the doctor to get on him. The doctor shook his head and climbed on. “Okay, you must sense the urgency. Come on. Lead the way!”
Shai leaped forward into a fast smooth gate. The
doctor was surprised how fast yet smooth the ride was. The doctor had a thick
scarf tied around his face to protect his eyes and nose from the sand. The wind
had quieted some more, so the journey back was not as bad. Together they went in search of the doctor. The doctor grabbed his bag and splints and stuffed them into Shai’s pack. He led Shai over to the watering trough but Shai pulled away and bellowed. Shai got down for the doctor to get on him. The doctor shook his head and climbed on. “Okay, you must sense the urgency. Come on. Lead the way!”
They finally reached the group. Shai got down so the
doctor could get off easily.
Amit grabbed Shai’s collar and took him to get water
and food. “You are my smartest animal. I’m surprised how fast
you made it back. You must not have stopped long, my friend. Endurance must be your middle name!”Shai drank gallons of water to quench his thirst and ate. Then he plopped down for a nap.
The doctor was able to treat the injured woman. He
put a splint on her arm and wrapped bandages around her ribs. A patch of gauze
was placed over the gash in her head. Shai glanced over. The lady sat drinking
a mug of tea, and telling Amit thank you. With a contented sigh, Shai closed
his eyes.
One time a man offered to buy Shai but Amit said he
would rather sell his right arm. He would never sell his favorite pet. Shai was
a special camel who had greater endurance than most. Camels have a special
ability to go long periods of time without food or water in extreme temperatures.
Endurance is something we learn. We can strengthen our
endurance and stamina. I hope you have a good understanding of endurance from
these two lessons. Keep working on your endurance.
The verses are the same as last time. Memorize one
you haven’t memorized yet: Philippians
3:14 I press toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ. 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. . Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.
Love how you sue animals in your stories.
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