A white man with a sweat stained shirt held a handful of scratches as the tall African man translated his words to the suddenly quiet room.
"This is a story of salvation. In the savannah there was a large rock. When there were fires, the animals would all run to the rock and hide behind it until the fire was gone. Once a bird was was flying over the land and he saw a cloud coming up from the ground. He flew closer and saw the flames. Fire spreads quickly in the savannah and so he started flying toward the rock, warning all the animals he saw as he flew.
Toto was a foolish monkey. He discovered honey high in a tree and started climbing. The bird flew by and called to Toto,
"Run for the rock! There's a fire coming!"
Toto looked around, but he didn't see any fire, and the honey smelled so sweet! He kept climbing until he reached the honey. Yum! It was so good. An elephant went by and called to him,
"Get down! The fire is coming and you'll get burned up!"
"no, this honey is so yummy and I don't see a fire!"
Suddenly Toto saw a cloud in the distance coming toward him! It was smoke! Fortunately a giraffe was running by and saw Toto.
"Jump on my back!," the giraffe called.
So Toto and the other animals made it to the rock and they were safe.
The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the rock that keeps us safe from the fire of God's wrath."