MARINE CONSERVATION, ‘TIME OUT’ WELL SPENT
To master, contemplate and prayer was the order of the day in this years’ Time Out event that was devoted to the ‘Bible and the Ocean’ as the theme. The need to restructure and conserve our oceans is a way of making our environments beautiful and encouraging recreation and worship. The thought that the phenomena of nature bear the affirmation of God, the principles of nature, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, stewardship has never been advocated better!
Creation care has always been the strength towards our vision as Nature Conserved, People Transformed and dedicating our time and lives in caring for God’s wonderful creation, as exemplified in our v
ibrant programmes, we have a testimony that the struggle is real but Grace is sufficient.
The day started with Stanley Baya explaining what Time-Out in A Rocha is. We shared insights from Genesis 1:20-31, from which God’s Creation is described during the 5th and 6th Days. The aspect of the existence of the Ocean and the creatures inhabiting the ocean and seas was literally overwhelming. The vast ocean is still a wild and unexplored environment with very little exploration and discoveries made!
The Time-Out session comprised of a detailed devotional moment of Bible study and a reflective session on the role of mankind, as a ‘fearfully and wonderfully’ made Creation, given authority to subdue all of God’s Creation. And it is through the study we sorted the truth from fiction as well as unanimously agreein
g that getting the facts isn’t a walk in the park.
The Ocean holds the mystery
of the Creation, for instance the largest creature on the planet is the Blue whale that is known to be 30 meters long and could weigh up to 181 metric tons. This monstrous size is achieved by God’s own design which is a simple diet of tiny organisms known as krills. And to sustain such mind-boggling mass, the consumption of an adult blue whale is approximately 3.6 metric tons of krill daily in certain
times of the year.
Fun and games was still part of the ‘menu’ in this years’ Time-Out, having occupied a guest
house that was a haven of peace and serenity, reconnecting with nature and ourselves was integral. Sabasaba Guest House is a few meters from Watamu Town, neighboring the Bravo Seven Island Resort, and the view of the sea was a necessary ingredient. Standing on 80 meters raised cliff, the breeze blew and swept along the short green grass and palm trees, creating small ripples in the freshwaters of the swimming pool. After a sumptuous meal was served for lunch, the Team got into games with representatives in swimming, volleyball, pool table games and storytelling.
As we shared our accounts of the day, there were a few things that were clear from the Time-Out. Although the Bible is not an exhaustive revelation of both God and science, the main purpose of the Word is God’s message to the fallen mankind. What does mankind need to understand to reestablish a relationship with God? What did God do for us in order for this relationship to become possible? All this came out clearly as we answered questions from the study piece like, if God was involved in a marine conservation project, what might He be doing? What are the implications for a Christian working in marine conservation? A Rocha Kenya takes pride in the stewardship that values God’s creation, considers the needs of others, makes effort to respond ethically to environmental issues, and responds in cheerful obedience to the call to care for the Oceans. God says, “Be still and know I am God!”