I am feeling valiant, having survived showering and washing
my hair in cold water – but at least here in The Gathering Place (Todd and
Patsy’s home) we have running water, and toilets - not bucket baths and latrines (with or without doors and roofs).
I am sitting on the balcony with Buddy – and as Bruce Mason
told me he felt, feeling so much more alive than normal. It is very hard to stay focused, as there are
distracting unknown bird calls, herds of zebu and goats being taken by, and
people wandering past, some carrying bundles on their heads. I was overcome with tears of joy at finally
being here.
The trials of the last two weeks before getting here are in
the past. As we prepared things seemed
to keep on going wrong. I could not
sleep because my shoulders, knees, neck, wrists(and sometimes a hip and ankle)
were all aching. The two donated laptops
were a great challenge to clean up and get working (many thanks to Chuck Saunders
for being a knight-in shining armour and getting them to behave), then Simon’s car’s warning lights all came on and the
internet connection went down. On the
flight from America to Chicago I was gripped with fear about what we are about
to do, and doubting that I could do it.
My joints are all happy again, the computers are still
working and all the flights worked fine.
Then this morning, I was reading
in Tom Wright’s The Early
Christian Letters for Everyone: “When
a Christian is tested it shows something real is happening. ….. But you wouldn’t
be tested unless you were doing something serious. Mechanics don’t test scrap metal; they test
cars that are going to face tough conditions.
Those who follow Jesus are not simply supposed to survive. They are supposed to count, to make a
difference in the world.”
Sue
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