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52. To Hawaii without a compass
Have you ever observed how migratory birds gather together on power lines before they fly away? If they have the travel bug then?
Each year, oscine birds, swallows and storcks leave almost to the day to fly south. Who tells them that it’s time to pack their suitcases? God, the Creator, wired them like this.
They respect His instruction and that saves their lives.
Some birds fly over 6000 miles and return in the spring to the same nest again. Isn’t that a miracle?
Do you know the American golden piper? He lives in Alaska, there, where the ground never thaws 100%. After 26 days, he hatches from the egg. Cranberries and fat caterpillars are his favorite food. He’ll grow as big as a pigeon, and his feathers turn a shimmery golden green. He can’t walk very well, but he can fly. This is much more important for him, for he spends his winter vacation in Hawaii. This means that he has an 88-hour non-stop flight.
Speaker: "For scientists his travels are a great mystery. Before his take-off, he gains half of his body weight. Imagine that this would happen to you. During his flight, he flaps his wings 250,000 times up and down. Could you do a quarter of a million push-ups without taking a rest? If the birds had a speedometer, it would show that they can fly 31 miles an hour.
The American golden piper weighs a total of 0,7 pounds and burns up 0,6% of his body weight every hour he flies. The calculator says that with this high consumption, he should fall exhausted into the sea almost 500 miles before getting to his destination. But this doesn’t happen because these birds fly in a V-formation and take turns at the front, so that they can save their energy."
The golden piper follows the instructions that God put into him. Without a compass and flight plan, he flies through the night and through clouds. And even though the young birds were never in Hawaii, they still find the small island in the middle of the great ocean. This is no coincidence. They follow God’s good instructions and sing their songs of thanks to Him.
Shouldn’t we do the same?
God’s good instructions for us are in the Bible. Whoever follows them will get to the final destination.
People: Narrator, speaker
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