Sunday
The clouds swoop down from the heights, pink tinged hovering as a new day breaks into the song of the living. It’s church day! Soon, we will be singing and dancing just like the twittering, chirping, cawing delights who welcome us now.
The Day
The bright yellow weaver birds are out in darting abundance, brilliant against the soft emerging green of thorny acacia. The red breasted meadowlark pauses long enough for this paparazzi to capture his remarkable pop of color as it illuminates the drab.
Our Kafika House friends gather and we pray for their journey, holding hands in a circle before we go to church at New Hope!
It is a bright day with cooling breezes as we join the prelude of song that welcomes us all to worship. There is a new keyboard and towering speaker and the music, familiar and joyous, can be heard across the land.
My favorite geologist, Massi Zgenzi, is by my side. She is described by her boss as his youngest and brightest and is here to oversee the drilling which she must wait for, just as we do. She is a kid- and people magnet and her sweetness, energy and light are my delight. We choose seats near the children and as they warm to us, we find ourselves surrounded. Mission accomplished!
The prelude dancing soon begins. I am becoming more adept at the Maasai shoulder dancing though admittedly that is from my perspective. It is a whole body workout to keep up, which I don’t, but I try. I feel like the one awkward clown who dances to her own inner rhythm. My hands as usual take on a dance of their own and I won’t mention my foot situation.
There is one child who is standing off by herself dressed in a radiant chartreuse dress. I catch her eye and motion for her to join me. It takes a bit but when she decides I’m ok, her face breaks into the most dazzling smile. I am captivated by her for the rest of the service. How can so much joy spill over from just one small bundle of beauty? She, as a living picture of beauty, connects me to the uncontainable, lavishness of God’s love. Mission accomplished again!
After getting our joy out, we have been made ready for the next celebration, Baptism! The cinder block baptismal just outside the pavilion has been built, lined and filled. Pastor Peter and Pastor Mo, wearing his Baptism Made New t-shirt from home, do the honors for our three eager young adults. They are presented to the congregation before, baptized and then celebrated again. They are given new robes to symbolize being welcomed into our family name! They, too, are living examples of God’s overflowing beauty and love in action.
Joy, like a deep well that is constantly refilling our cisterns when we seek our Living water, follows us back to the pavilion for more triumphant praise.
Mo delivers a well crafted sermon that communicates complex concepts of faith in beautifully simple, cultural enhancing, imagination engaging insights. He is a man of God gifted with many remarkable talents. It has been my blessing to work alongside him.
For lunch, we are treated to our excess New Hope roosters. Apparently, roosters are mean and give new meaning to the word Peck-ish. There are 7 of them and they are harming the egg laying hens so… it is a multifaceted and thoughtful gift for Sunday dinner.
My K opens a mini clinic for two church members in need of specialized care. She is an unstoppable investigator of Truth and history. I am amazed at how she parses through so many, sometimes conflicting, details until she arrives at the most viable course of care. She, also, is God’s beauty in motion.
Though I have been more of an observer on this trip, I have had a front row seat to the wonder workings of our God displayed in His people. How He equips and calls and sends and equips again. How He displays His depth of intimate, personal knowing of each one of us as He enlarges our capacity to see and be His beauty. It is a precious, sacred thing to be invited by God to work alongside each other to advance His kingdom.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!
I John 3:1
