Burping Camels

How old were you when you first thought what it might look and sound like when a camel burped? I mean, of course they must, but it had never occurred to me until it happened in front of my face. I was only 7 years old, and it certainly left an impression.

I know this website is Marvelous India and is set up to help folks travel to India. But please indulge me with this story from a Pakistani childhood. After all, I was in the same desert just on the other side of the very tense international border. And if you are unfortunate (or fortunate? I’ll let you decide) you may run into a burping camel in India too.

Our family was dressed in clean, ironed Pakistani salwar kameez. You may not expect it, but they are very comfortable. However, our plan for the morning was not so comfortable. Us boys were dragged away from our legos, dressed up and shoved into the old white Toyota Land Cruiser to go take a family photo. A photographer and a man with a camel were waiting for us at our dusty, shrubby photogenic destination. Before the shoot began, I stood staring up at the gigantic irritable camel from my vantage point down on the sand. “BLLUURRGG”.......an enormous, purpley bag slopped out of the side of the beast’s mouth and bubbled out a burp that startled all of us. It slurped the slimey bag back into its mouth and stood there, proud and aloof as only a camel can be. We blinked a few times and then laughed despite being grossed out.

The eternal photoshoot was difficult for a child my age. Endless combinations of positions and stances for the five of us: standing in front of the camel, camel sitting, camel standing, some of us on the camel…all of this punctuated by “Smile,” “Keep your eyes open!” and “BBLLUURRGG.” We would squint under the sun until the signal to open our eyes and smile. This was pre-digital camera, so we had to take what felt like a million and a half photos to ensure we got at least one with all three boys’ eyes open, attempting smiles and with the camel’s burp-bag in its mouth. This is torture for any child. Why did we have to do this? Why!? Of course I knew the answer but it wasn't for another 10 years until I truly grasped why. But, the photoshoot ended and in the background our camel companion began to fight a nearby rival camel and the two men with the leads struggled to get them under control. Upon research as an adult, I discovered the unsettling truth that the burp-bag I witnessed was actually a male camel asserting dominance over other males and trying to attract a mate. I suppose camels are attracted to signs of indigestion. The more you know!

It's an odd story. Burping camels and photoshoots. But that day, and other periodic family photos, were an essential part of our life in South Asia. Folks back home loved us, cared about us and had strong convictions about the work my parents were doing. Taking these pictures and sending them to families in America served as reminders to pray for us and the Pakistani and Indian people. As a child, it was a chore to visit numerous churches back in America filled with strangers who somehow knew me. However, that attitude dramatically shifted as I grew older. I began to attribute any success or safety or deliverance or provision to those strangers in those small rural churches in America. I was worlds apart from them in more ways than one. I did not know them. And honestly, you couldn’t really say they knew me. And yet they prayed faithfully for my family. God heard and honored those prayers. My family and I were carried through our collective challenges, twists and turns on those quiet prayers. Some of these folks I have never met to this day!

Do you ever feel like something is too little to pray for? Or too big? Or too far away? Do you ever feel too tired to pray? Do you ever feel like you do not have enough faith to pray? We all do at times. But please remember, prayer in and of itself is an act of faith. The simple fact that you are praying is an implicit confession of our inability and God’s ability. Remember, all it takes is a mustard seed-sized faith-filled prayer to move a mountain. God was at work in my life because of the prayer of a stranger on the other side of the globe. I do not know how God is using my prayers, or yours, to influence the nations, and we may never know until we are with Him. But keep praying. Across the world there may be a small boy like me whose life will be forever changed because you took the time to pray.