Sunday, November 20, 2011

I ramble...

I was starting to wonder if I could ever blog again and it not be about Africa and I'm beginning to realize I may never blog the same. It may not always be about that experience but things seem sweeter now. More meaning, less clutter; it's like God magnified my life and now I only want to see what really matters. There were two experiences I haven't yet shared with you. I wanted the last post to be an over view of the safari weekend, but there are two moments in my mind that I can't shake.

On our first night on the safari we had our surprise bush dinner. Afterwards our group was headed back to the lodge, except we didn't go directly there. We were driving down some bumpy path and I shined my flash light out on the land and saw eyes light up! I'm not so sure if I freaked out as much as I excitedly shouted to Steven(our driver) "I SEE EYES TO THE RIGHT!" and before I knew what I'd said we had peeled that direction towards the EYES! We drove all through the bush as I shined my light and kept shouting "eyes! eyes! eyes!" Eventually we ended up in a wide open plain...just us and the eyes. Steven turned off the rover, we turned off all lights, and we sat. We sat in silence amongst the wildlife. Even though we could no longer see them we knew they were there and we knew they weren't a threat. We were existing peacefully together. I popped my head out the "window" and despite a full moon I could still see every star in the vast sky. So much silence and awe in that moment between all of us. I've never felt more in touch with God's creation as I had in that moment. It made me think of Habakkuk 2:20 "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." I can say with confidence that no one who experience that kind of tranquility can forget it. I find myself wanting a place like that of my very own that I can just go sit. We talked about that night for awhile; I couldn't thank Steven enough for allowing us to experience that.

The second experience was when Kari and I went to play with all the kids. One thing you have to know about these kids is they're fascinated with our technology. I had cameras, watches, phones, ipods all up on me and they were loving it! They want you to take "snaps" of them constantly so I did! Amidst the chaos of the photo taking one of the boys (Brian aka Obama) said he liked American worship. It kind of stopped us in our tracks. Ok, Obama, where are you going with this?...he then started singing me some songs asking if I knew them. Some I did, some I didn't. Then I pulled out my handy dandy iPhone (they were like the little aliens on Toy Story "oohh aahh!"). I said, "Who knows 'Amazing Grace?'"...of course they did. I started to play Sufjan Stevens version of it and they started humming along. Within a few seconds we were all singing it together. We all knew the words, we all knew the meaning. I couldn't help but think God had brought two nations together in that second to praise Him. ("He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10) As I towered over the little kids while we sang I could see all the old houses, clothes lines, green hills, muddy trails, and pillars of smoke as families made dinner. That doesn't happen here. Or maybe and does and I just haven't looked for it. All they wanted to do was sing more "American Christian songs" ha. I loved that afternoon.

Tonight Kara and I went to church at Crosspoint. Seeing as how it is the week of Thanksgiving we talked about being thankful. This seems pretty normal, that's usually what we talk about in November; however, this time it took on different meaning. There is certainly poverty in America and I realize I'm a minority in the grand scheme of things when it comes to possessions. I know that a mile from my condo there are children living "below the poverty line" so trust that that's not lost on me. But somehow, when you're in a different culture and you meet people who live in huts made of cow dung, and still praise God for his provision, you're taken back. When you meet people whose earthly purpose is to pick tea leaves but they can't because of an illness that was brought on by lack of health care...when you meet people who thank you for your service because they don't feel ENTITLED to it...when you eat rice and beans for every meal....when you lose a life of a patient over something you take so for granted back home.....you're humbled. You're thankful. You're convicted. We do not deserve one single possession of ours. It's not even ours. God has allowed us this; He has given us this life and we are unworthy of it so the least we can do is give Him thanks. Praise him for is mercy on us.

Just before I went to church tonight I was on the phone with my mom and I was so rude to her. She's doing something so selfless by giving gifts to kids who won't get any for Christmas and she asked me what she should get. I got frustrated with her because I was in a hurry to get to church....hypocrite much? I ended the conversation abruptly and immediately knew I was being a brat. We all kinda suck sometimes but we have to recognize where we fall short and fix it. So, that's me being the first to tell you I'm all kinds of whacked out and human! This soap box is only to remind me (and you I suppose?) of how God calls us to live. He never said it would be easy to be a Christian but He did say it would be eternally worth it!! Loves yaaallllll. holla.

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