Africa still conjures up exotic images. The River Nile. Egypt. The Sahara. Lake Victoria and the Victoria Falls. The Great Rift Valley. The gold and diamond mines of South Africa. The African Safari remains a prime adventure destination for travelers from all over the world. The lions and rhinos and elephants and giraffes and cheetahs and leopards and baboons and all manner of primates - roam the wide landscapes creating long shadows and bright colors under the setting African sun.

Those stunning scenes from Disney's "The Lion King" took their inspiration from the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania and Kenya.

Cities modernize, as Africa becomes an active partner in the global economy.

But as the millennium transitions from second to third, Africa is also embroiled in all of the tangled challenges that face emerging nations.

There is considerable political instability. Old wounds remain unhealed. Ignorance and poverty claim a heavy toll.

Other historic images are anything but exotic. Idi Amin's Uganda. Rwandan genocide. Famine. Drought. Apartheid. And today one of the highest incidences of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV is out of control.

For thirty-seven years, Dr. Michael Cassidy has devoted his energies to the continent of Africa. It is his "life's work." Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Michael was educated at Cambridge University in England. There, he became convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the primary solution to the challenges of his homeland. He pursued his graduate education at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Since his graduation in the early nineteen-sixties, with the encouragement and support of Dr. Billy Graham, Michael has been a key player in the work of evangelism and reconciliation across the continent.

He has authored books. He founded the first multi-racial, multi-denominational church in South Africa. He mobilized leadership from forty-three African nations to build bridges and heal the wounds of a fractionalized Africa. He has trained and mentored hundreds of African evangelists to be agents of reconciliation, establishing local centers of ministry and service in scores of urban centers not only in Africa, but in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States (among others).

When strongman Idi Ahmin decimated Uganda for eight devastating years in the late seventies and early eighties, Michael and his team were there. On February 2, 1990, when President F. W. de Klerk lifted South Africa's ban on the anti-apartheid African National Congress, and freed Nelson Mandella from a twenty-eight year prison term, Michael and his team were there. In 1994 when one of the twentieth century's most brutal slaughters took the lives of over eight hundred thousand Rwandans, Michael and his team were there.

And now, as South Africa adjusts to the transition of power with the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa, Michael and his wife Carol are there.

This week, I spent a full day with Michael at a Catholic retreat center in the foothills of Monrovia, California. Michael and his wife live in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa in the home in which they raised their two children. This picturesque residential community has not escaped dramatic increase of crime and violence occurring all over South Africa.

Michael's wife Carol is home alone while he is "on the road," as he is on this California trip. The new security system is in place - and we pray for her safety from a quiet library half way around the world set aside for the purpose of spiritual renewal.

As we come to the end of that prayer, several in the room press Michael - "is it time for you to relocate to a safer place?"

Later that evening, I returned to my own home two hours away. Waiting for me was my weekly edition of TIME Magazine. In the index of the current issue, I found confirmation of our day's discussion. "South Africa: Rape of the Beloved Country," was the blazing headline. Inside - "An Epidemic of Rapes." The article continued, in South Africa "there are more than 1.6 million rapes a year - the highest incidence in the world, according to Interpol." And since AIDS is rampant, a rape can very well bring a deadly infection of this dreaded disease.

Most troubling of all was a sentence buried in the center of the story describing "medieval attitudes" toward rape - "many believe raping a virgin will cure HIV."

Earlier that afternoon, our meeting turned somber as Michael responded to the challenge to leave the clear and present danger back home.

He told of the many close friends who have suffered because of the mushrooming crime - all over Africa. Murders. Assaults. Vandalism. Theft. Rape. These are not just newspaper or radio or television reports, he said. These are my friends. We have wept together and prayed together and sometimes, he said, the burden is more than we can bear.

But then he addressed the issue of relocation. "There has been a virtual exodus," he explained. Good people. Intelligent people. People of integrity. Those who have decided they can no longer remain in South Africa. They are packing up and making their exit. And he added as a matter-of-fact, "I will not stand in judgment of those who have left." It is entirely comprehensible.

"But," and he locked his eyes on each of us, "Africa is my life. I am called to minister there. This is not an attempt at high drama. Carol supports me completely when I say - we will not leave South Africa simply because it is an increasingly tough go."

As I watched and listened, it became crystal clear. This was not foolhardy. Or reckless. This was courage. Straight on valor. I felt honored to witness such backbone and grit from such short range. I was across the table from a man I have come to admire. I am privileged to call Michael my friend.

And then I thought of others who have followed the call of God with equal courage. Even though it meant risk. Real risk. For them it is not to win some sort of prize or sympathetic recognition. There are thousands of missionaries serving in dangerous and remote parts of the world - including my twenty-one year old niece. Stacy Michels lives and works in a little village tucked away in an obscure corner of Kenya. She brings hope and laughter and joy and health care to an otherwise neglected people. We pray regularly for her safety - and that her good work will bring rich rewards.

And then Michael told us a story. From the Bible.

"Remember when, for the first time, Moses led the children of Israel right up to the border of the land of promise?" Michael asked. Moses chose twelve spies to cross over. It was a covert due diligence trip. Their assignment: bring back a report. Tell us about our prospects. Tell us about the land. The agriculture. The topography. The current occupants.

The twelve were dispatched.

By the time they returned, they had divided into two distinct and opposing factions. On one point, they agreed. The land was magnificent, and rich. After that narrow escape from Egypt, and the long trek through the bland barren desert, this land was indeed far more inviting and colorful and abundant than one could imagine.

However, the majority - ten of the twelve spies - declared, "Mission Impossible." No way. We are outnumbered. The land is filled with giants. We will be slaughtered. The suggestion that we go in there and occupy the land is a one way ticket to self-destruction. A suicide mission.

The minority - two of the twelve spies - saw it differently. "Mission Possible," they claimed. Yes way. The biblical record identifies them by name. Caleb and Joshua simply reminded Moses and all the people - we've come far. We have overcome the odds. Our God is big enough and great enough and powerful enough to make good on the promise - this land is our land. Let's go for it, they said.

But the people listened to the ten. A big mistake.

In contrast, Michael concluded - "as for me and my house, we will listen NOT to the TEN, but the TWO."

We got the point.

* * * * *

The ten and the two are everywhere present. You've heard their voices.

The ten are never hard to find. They say, you can't do that. It'll never happen. You are wasting your time. I'd understand if you just tossed in the towel. Called it a day. Checked out. Looked for something else. Somewhere else. Someone else. After all, you tried. You did your best. It was a nice thought. It was a pleasant dream. But really, why put yourself under so much pressure? It's not good for you.

And you are tempted sometimes, to think the ten are absolutely right.

But then there are the two. Always a distinct minority. They say it will happen. You are not wasting your time. Don't toss in the towel. Don't call it a day. Get back in there. Check in. One more time. That significant thing that only you can do will not happen anywhere else, with anyone else. It is a worthy wonderful dream. Take on the pressure. Your God is sufficient. Powerful. You can do it.

So today - to whom are you going to listen? The ten? Or the two?