Monday 8 October 2012

DISCOVERY OF DONALD'S LAST CAMPSITE

On day four I was in a Dogubayazit restaurant with some guides and other locals.  I showed a video clip on my camera to the man beside me who had known Donald.  The clip contained footage of my mother who looked at the camera wearing a sad expression.  I said, 'This is my mother, she's sad because of Donald.'  When he heard what I said he immediately rose to his feet, walked over to some other local men and began to talk with them.
I sat there thinking, 'Something's going on here.'  Shortly afterwards, he returned to his seat beside me and said, 'I think you will find your brother.'  I wondered exactly what he might mean.  A little later I was brought to a quiet place out of town and introduced to a man who two months earlier had found an old campsite high on the mountain.  He handed me a bag containing a few items.  The first item I was shown was a small light-brown coloured pouch. Initially, when I looked at it I thought, 'oh no, not another red herring,'  because I simply did not recognise it.  But when I opened it, I found it contained a little pocket telescope.  At first it meant nothing, but as time passed, the more I looked at it the more it began to click somehow.  All I could say at that point was, 'You know, I think there might be something about this telescope, but I'm not sure.'  The other objects, the little bits of credit card with sewing thread wound round them, compass, someone's personal card with sewing needles pushed through it, all kept in a little dust bag from a DeWalt power tool were all clicking.  I knew that the dust bag was typical of the kind of thing Donald would use as was the personal card needle-holder. The Chunks hacked out of the sides of the plastic compass body were also typical.  But I have a natural defence against raising my hopes and will accept nothing until I'm sure.  Because of this these things though clearly clicking with me weren't swinging me.  Then I read the personal card: 'Colin Macdonald, Newmarket, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.'
'Now hang on a minute, this is proof,' I said.
It was strange.  Even though the personal card had established it and the other things were ringing bells more and more all the time, belief was strangely gradual.
There is something I would now like to point out.
Two years passed before I arrived in Dogubayazit in my attempts to find out what happened to Donald.  Ideally you would not normally like to leave it so long.  The things that got in the way were marriage, job and family commitments.
When I was first contacted many months ago about the possibility of going to East Turkey and making a documentary, I made it a matter of prayer, as I was concerned that it would be God's will.
The most important discovery of this trip has been the positive identification of Donald's last camp site.
If I hadn't been there in person this would not have happened.
The campsite was discovered just two months before my appearance.
Had I come earlier the campsite would not yet have been found.
God's time is the right time.

1 comment:

  1. The writing on the bottom of Colin MacDonald's business card is very interesting. Taken from Proverbs 11:30 King James Version. The full line is... "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he who winneth souls is wise." Donald MacKenzie may have been inspired by this line. This may be the reason Donald was handing out bibles in Turkey at the time of his disappearance. From small acorns, giant oaks are formed. Donald will be for ever remembered in his selfless giving even to the detriment of his own true self. He reminds me of this paragraph from George Bernard Shaw.. “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.” Donald's torch has been passed on to future generations. Maybe one day some man or woman, will discover Noah's Lost Ark. People like Donald, follow a dream and who are we to take that dream away. Thanks for listening. George Cavanagh, Snake~opoly Inc.

    ReplyDelete