Chariots of Fire, Goats, and Maize

This past weekend, I had one of those sweet God moments that come out of nowhere, when you least expect it. Isn't amazing how you can be doing something seemingly insignificant and feel the pleasure of God. Another one of my favorite movies is "Chariots of Fire." Eric Liddle, an Olympic runner and missionary, does not run to earn God's love or to earn the respect of others. He runs simply because when he does, he feels God's pleasure. Those feelings are such a blessing, to have times where we feel the tender love of our God.

So, this past weekend, there I was traveling in my "chariot," a very old Toyota Hilux that might have had shocks at one point, but those are long gone. We were traveling to visit the homes of some of the widows from the ministry. I was sitting on a giant bag of maize, holding on, desperately hoping that the goats would not pee on me or do even worse. =) I made it unscathed but unfortunately my friend did not. While traveling to their homes through an area with lots of open fields and farms with Mt. Kilimanjaro ahead of me and Mt. Meru behind me, a nice breeze blew and the sun warmed us. Perfect weather. The head teacher and I sat in the back together talking and sharing about the ministry and life. Lots of children ran out to get a chance to see the strange mzungu riding on the back of the truck through bushes way off the "main" road. That was my moment. It had been such a good day of spending time with children, teachers, the team, and others. And, here I was in the middle of nowhere with the opportunity to spend more time with these unbelievable women in their homes. Riding on the back of the truck, I felt the pleasure of God. It was good. I will never compete in the Olympics, never be a hero, never win a medal, but God has still given me so many moments and opportunities to simply be and enjoy His pleasure. Isn't that great....