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June 21, 2005Girl guarded by lions, Scout found, Happy Day!Two happy endings in one day! Okay the first one didn’t happen today, but I just heard about it and I LOVE this story about the Ethiopian girl being protected by lions. A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday. The girl, missing for a week, had been taken by seven men who wanted to force her to marry one of them, said Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, speaking by telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, about 350 miles southwest of Addis Ababa. She was beaten repeatedly before she was found June 9 by police and relatives on the outskirts of Bita Genet, Wondimu said. She had been guarded by the lions for about half a day, he said. “They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” Wondimu said. “If the lions had not come to her rescue, then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage,” he said. Tilahun Kassa, a local government official who corroborated Wondimu’s version of the events, said one of the men had wanted to marry the girl against her wishes. “Everyone thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people,” Wondimu said. A spokesperson suggested that the girl, crying from the trauma of her ordeal, may have sounded like a lion cub, thus winning the protection of the beasts. But I must say, her story reminds me of the story of St. Thecla, a devotee of St. Paul, who herself preached and was ordered fed to the lions. The story goes that the lions would not attack her, but instead protected her. (Scroll down past St. Linus for the story). Most people would pooh-pooh the notion, but here we see…extraordinary things can happen - things we simply cannot explain. I am sorry that this little girl had an awful ordeal to go through…but thankful for the lions! And of course, thank God, too for the recovery of Brennan Hawkins, the Utah scout who had gone missing. As a mom of scouts, I know how often we send our kids out asking their Guardian Angels to stay very near…I can’t imagine the terrible fear these parents experienced. Speaking of Scouts, btw…Buster just made Life Scout. Couple more badges and a project and he’ll be an Eagle, like his brother! http://theanchoressonline.com/2005/06/21/girl-guarded-by-lions-scout-found-happy-day/trackback/ 11 Responses to “Girl guarded by lions, Scout found, Happy Day!” |
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June 21st, 2005 at 7:31 pm
That is a great story. I like to think it WAS divine intervention. I wish the Lord would send a whole host of lions to protect all the girls at risk. Wouldn’t that be something!
June 21st, 2005 at 8:13 pm
Question - if one thanks God for one kid being rescued, does one blame God for a kid who doesn’t and dies a horrible death?
I for one try to stay away from the “interventionist” approach. I believe God helps in matters of faith but not so much in matters of fact, unless they pertain to matters of faith.
June 21st, 2005 at 8:23 pm
Wonderful story!
As for Buster, well, when he hits Eagle Scout, you’ll have to refer to him in allcaps- BUSTER.
He’ll have earned it.
June 21st, 2005 at 8:38 pm
Gerald, St. Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. I think anyone would be hard pressed to give thanks for a lost child, or for one that is never found…on the other hand, this one has been found, so I don’t see why giving thanks is a problem!
Remember the story in Corrie Ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place (in my sidebar) - Corrie and Betsy were assigned a horrible, flea and lice-infested barracks. Betsy insisted that they immediately give thanks. Corrie objected saying she wasn’t about to give thanks for infestation.
Turned out, because of the infestation, the guards stayed away and the women of that barracks had unusual freedom because of it.
June 21st, 2005 at 8:43 pm
Well, this prompted me to post something on theodicy:
I also sent it to my priest. Poor man! 
http://closedcafeteria.blogspot.com/2005/06/theodicy.html
It’s basically ruminations, since I usually don’t know what I’m talking about
Now I am off to the Padres game (once again)
P.S. How bout them Yankees
June 21st, 2005 at 9:10 pm
I find it interesting that the more we humans treat eachother like animals… and the more we treat our animals as humans; that the animals come to the protection of the human–at least in this case. All iI can think of is Aslan…
June 22nd, 2005 at 8:15 am
This story about the tree lions reminds me of a story in my family about my great-grandfather. He was a devout Trinitarian. One time people were looting property and burning down the tobacco crop, which was drying in drying houses. When the mob came to my great-grandfather’s property they found three men guarding so they left the place alone. When my great-grandfather was latter asked about it he said he didn’t know who the three men were, but everyone assumed it was the Holy Trinity protecting this very devout man!
June 22nd, 2005 at 10:58 am
Amazing story about the lions. As a parent, I am ever so glad that they found that little boy. As a Cub Scout leader, I’d like to give him a good dressing down for wandering off and for not staying put once he realized he was lost.
June 22nd, 2005 at 2:53 pm
In this broken world of ours, things so rarely go right. We are out of sync with God, creation, and ourselves.
But once in a while, you get a glimpse of how things were supposed to work.
What is more appropriate, more natural, than lions defending virtue? It’s a beautiful image.
June 22nd, 2005 at 7:22 pm
The story about the Utah Scout really hit home because my DS#2 and DH are at Scout camp this week. There are 16 newly crossed-over Scout in the troop who will be participating in “Sourdough”–the boys (and adult leaders) backpack out of the camp for one night. I can visualize one of those boys wandering off… The river is high and swift and there is snow in the higher elevations (like where the parking lot is)… Time to send a prayer to Michael Arcangel to protect them all!
As a Scout Leader, I’d want to ask the Utah Scout where his buddy was!
July 2nd, 2005 at 9:06 am
[…] force our beliefs on others.” And more recent Shea …. (catholicexchange.com) GIRL GUARDED by lions, Scout found, Happy Day! …. (th […]