Sunday, 07/18

Just took a swig of Kilimanjaro drinking water. That’s right, it “originally fell as snow or rain on top of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro,” (according to its label). It’s in a 1.5 liter bottle. 1,000 schillings… which amounts to less than 75 cents. Today, Brittany and I got to go to the beach. It was pretty nice. There were huge cargo ships in the distance that were waiting for permission to dock. By the way… Dar es Salaam means Port of Peace. Makes sense… shalom, salaam. I am in my motel room again, so chances are, when you read this (at least when I post this), it will be much later and I will no longer be sitting here. We’ve got church in the morning, and it starts at seven, so I’ll be brief.

Not much has happened since my last post. I’ve read a couple chapters in The Hobbit. We’ve been to Dar es Salaam University College of Education a couple of times to help register students for a conference. It was exam week, so students were cramming all over the place, but there was not a laptop to be seen. I may have mentioned this before, but driving here (for any untrained American) is out of the question. Like Kenya and Uganda, the traffic is nuts. A couple of times, I have caught myself pressing the floorboard with my foot, in hopes of bringing the vehicle to a quicker halt. And when the traffic is at a standstill, a regular occurrence, vendors walk or pedal up and down the road, in between cars, trying to sell stuff… stickers, gum, pieces of sugar cane, apples, sodas, even children’s books.

I am beginning to seek my purpose for being here. The Lord brought me here two weeks early for a reason (not just because of what happened in Kampala). Until now, I have been somewhat idle, just kinda’ chillin’. I catch myself looking forward to the fall, being back in the States, and the rest of my family getting here. And I am looking forward to all these things. However, I needn’t be focusing on them. As a Wise friend encouraged me, I ought to be focusing on my purpose here and now, moment by moment, however small or big it may be. So I suppose I need to keep in step with the Spirit and be ready for any/everything.

Before I stop writing for the night, I’d like to thank all my family and friends (and acquaintances… shoot, even some people I’ve never met) for all your support and prayers. They mean the world to me, and the Lord has used y’all in a mighty way. I have been encouraged and spurred on, loved and challenged, and I’m sure even strengthened in ways of which I am unaware through your prayers. Thanks for reading this blog. I so appreciate your comments, both here and on facebook. Thank you all.