Sorry its been so long since I posted anything. I haven't really had any new and exciting news to share :-) I wrote this somewhat philosophical piece a few weeks ago, so I hope it helps give you a little bit of an overview of life here and tides you over til I come up with a real blog :-)

It was like something out of a fairy tale or a fantasy novel. I never thought that such a thing could exist, but there it was, right in front of me. It was beautiful and amazing, and I know it was God’s gift to me that night.
I’m living in West Africa right now, getting a taste of life in another country, another culture, and to be honest, I’m struggling with it. The glamour of “I’m in Africa!” has faded, and the reality of living in a politically unstable country has set in. I’m seeing needs I have no idea how to meet and problems that I’ll never be able to fix. One minute I’m laughing at the antics of a trio of goats trying to cram themselves into the same garbage bin, and the next my heart breaks at the sight of a heavily veiled woman, unable to even show her face to the world. The mixing of beauty and ashes is so much more vivid to me here in this place of such stark contrasts. Do the gorgeous tropical flowers and lush green trees cancel out rutted streets paved with trash and garbage heaps so large they cause detours in the road? Does the laughter and solidarity of the women make up for a history of inequality and abuse?
Last week when my team returned to our home base for a time of rest and debriefing we made a trip to a nearby rock quarry for a bonfire. We noticed the lilies right away, probably a dozen or more all folded up tight, and someone commented that it was too bad we hadn’t gotten there earlier to see them in bloom.
It wasn’t until a few hours later, after the sun had gone down and we were gathered around the fire singing and stargazing, that I noticed. The lilies were blooming, each petal unfurling and glowing white in the light of our fire. It was one of those moments when you can’t help but marvel at the awesomeness of God. That’s when I realized that sometimes it takes the darkness for something to become all that it is meant to be.
I pray that this will be true in my own life, that the darkness that I sometimes feel is overtaking me is nothing more than the night that will blossom me into the person I was created to be.

Petals tightly furled
Waiting for the night
They will not bloom before then
They were not made for light
They blossom in the darkness
Hidden from prying eyes
Beauty seen by very few
Before they wither and die
And so I wait in darkness
With my heart closed up tight
Knowing you use darkness
To show the world your light