Listen

I've forgotten how peaceful the village can be. The crickets are singing a full choral masterpiece outside my window. And when I was walking down to the new guest houses next to the river to check on the visiting team, the sound of the river was inviting me to simply sit down and listen.

I've been trying to do that more. Listen. Over and over in my class notes I wrote things like, "Listen more. Truly listen. Speak less. Listen with your heart." I could add more. Listen to your heart. Listen, above all, to God.

I catch myself still speaking more than I should. But at least I'm becoming aware of it now. And I can step back and choose to quiet down.

Even with a team here it's easy to slip into "do"-drive. It's been refreshing to do, yet slow down significantly, at the same time.

(Ah! It's raining. I love, love, love the sound of rain on my roof and on world around me. You can literally hear individual drops land on leaves.)

So, I'm back in the village. I stopped by Ilula this morning since Laban who picked me up at the airport needed to get the team from there, in any case. It was a joy to see my friends from there. My car is at Ilula, sitting patiently under a tarp. I looked at it, just briefly, but decided it was more important to spend the little time I had there to visit with the staff. I'll deal with the car issues later, perhaps next week.

Mark Tarus was beaming when he told me how well Sifuna's doing after rehab. I hope to be able to baptize Sifuna sometime in the next month. That would be amazing!

The only frustration about the visit was that the kids were at school. I didn't get to see them at all. I'll have to find a way to go back soon and visit them. Even in Kipkaren, I have not yet seen the kids since I was visiting with people who stopped by to say hi, and then spent time with the visiting team. They're a great bunch. I look forward to seeing how God will reveal himself to them this week.

I should crawl in. Flannel's already curled up on my bed. She's been following me like a shadow much of the afternoon and evening, purring non-stop!

Tomorrow, I'll be spending time with the team, then joining the celebrations for our Dynamic Business Startup Program graduation. I'll head over to the children's home after that to go hug the kids at the Kipkaren Children's Home. In the evening, we have small group. Saturday's packed with both a kids' rally and an AIDS event. I won't bore you with the details of everything lying ahead, but needless to say, life in Kipkaren is going at full speed. As always.

It's good to be home, though.