Truth

Moving into the girls compound at Made in the Streets, me and Kristin found ourselves the proud owners of the two stupidest dogs in all of Africa. Now don’t get me wrong, they can have their moments and for all arguments sake, if I was subject to the care of 33 teenage girls who have grown up on the streets, I would probably find my state of mind to be compromised as well. Our dogs aren’t like normal dogs-these dogs are special. They resemble a very large, very unkempt rodents. However, the state of mind and appearance of these dogs are not the moral of this story. One day after classes I was sitting outside, reading some C.S. Lewis contemplating the genius of a man that he was when one of our scrawny dogs caught my eye. A tiny bird had flown down right beside him and he was staring at with intense curiosity. As the bird fluttered around completely unaware, our dog placed himself in a more appropriate position for the attack he was surely formulating. I sat there unmoving, aware that I may just witness an atrocious act of murder. However, as our dog pounced in his awkward fashion the bird took flight and the chase was on. Our other dog caught on to the fun and both scrawny rat dogs chased that poor bird. And then I witnessed the stupidest bird in all of Africa.  Around and around the girls compound that bird flew, with two skinny dogs in hot pursuit. And around. And around. And around. And around some more. You’ll be glad to know that the bird did manage to escape his carefully plotted death after dizzying our dogs for a while. As I sat there, I couldn’t help but think of the stupidity of that bird. And how applicable that bird is to all of us. First mistake: he was so concentrated on the ground that he did not notice the approaching danger. Second mistake: when he finally realized his situation and attempted to flee, instead of flying up and out of the girls compound, he proceeded to fly around. And around. And around. When all he needed the whole time, was to turn his gaze upwards. I find myself in that position often. I am so focused on the immediate concerns that I forget the bigger picture. I am so concentrated on the letters, that I miss the word. Lastly, why do we attempt to solve our own problems knowing the whole time that we are merely running in circles? It’s a simple formula and God is the answer every time. Every time. Me, I turn to books about God. I talk to people about God. I ask others what they think about God. I go to everything but the source. Why is it so easy for me to talk about God when it would be so much easier just to talk to God? Maybe because at the source, there is also truth. And truth can be ugly and truth can be beautiful. And maybe I, maybe we, are scared that the truth about God, about ourselves-will be ugly. But maybe only by uncovering the ugly, can we also uncover the beauty.

I feel like I haven’t had much to report lately as far as Kamulu and myself and maybe that is a good thing! I am still teaching art classes and library and beginners math every week and every week we also go into Eastleigh. I can’t believe me and Kristin have been here for 4 months already! Everyone said that time in Africa goes by slow, but I feel like our time here has flown by. We are slowly but surely learning how to cook and cooked our first big meal for some of the team members (with no electricity!) And we are proud to admit that no one got sick! So we are venturing into new territory as far as food goes and trying to lay off our daily sandwich and cereal diet. As far as the kids go, please be praying for our girls and boys and the team here, as we all need as many prayers as we can get. I am definitely looking forward to the next 2 months and hoping that they go by a little slower than the first four;)