Music to My Ears...

Well, Christmas had come and gone and in case you haven't noticed...it was AWESOME! We spent plenty of time loving on, playing with and simply having fun with the girls. The week had flown by and seemed like mere hours not seven days. We had reached the day that we did not want to see...It was the day to leave. It was going to be brief morning there because our driver along with Samuel, Pendo, and baby Elizabeth would be there soon to pick us up and start our safari to the Serengeti. While we both were super excited about that adventure with our dear friends, we also hated that this adventure was ending.We got up, had breakfast with Chris and Jim, packed our stuff and began the "African wait." (Yeah, time is not an important thing in Africa!) We walked around the campus, took some pictures and spent our few last minutes with the girls.

We walked back to the guest house and sat outside with some of the girls and our luggage until the car arrived. We greeted Samuel and family, said our goodbyes to the girls, shed a few tears, and received many hugs. After a short prayer we said goodbye one last time and turned to climb in our car. As we turned we heard the girls talking back and forth then we heard what had grown to be a familiar sound to us..."milimani na bahari ni. Pendo lako la tiririka..." (Pretty sure the spelling is close!) We both stopped instantly and turned around. What were they doing?

They were singing...Singing a song Liv had taught them earlier in the week... They were singing "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever"...They were singing for us, but to Him.

We were slightly teary eyed while saying goodbye, but now we had full blown tear-age. As a matter of fact I took my sunglasses off the top of my head and put them on to cover my eyes. It was an incredible moment. I was speechless. It was music to my ears...

When they finished we thanked them for the treat, did another round of hugs and goodbyes and climbed in the car. As we pulled away Liv and I both opened our windows so we could wave and say goodbye to the girls one last time. The girls chased our car down the road waving and screaming at us. I'm pretty sure that most of our bodies were hanging out of the windows waving, crying, and screaming back at them...We didn't want to come back in...We didn't want to leave the girls...We didn't want to close the window...

Finally the girls stopped chasing us and we came back in the car. I stared out of the window just like the day we landed in Mwanza. I stared and soaked it all in. The past 7 days had changed my life and I didn't want it to end. I began to ask myself questions. "What is God doing? What are all these emotions about? Why am I not excited about going to the Serengeti like I was a few days ago? What in the world?!?" I continued to ride and stare out of the window for a few more minutes. As I stared I prayed a simple prayer that I pray often while on mission trips... "Lord don't let me forget this moment. Don't let me miss what you have for me..."

A few minutes down the road we all engaged in conversations about our week.

We were able to tell Samuel and Pendo about all of our adventures while at the girls home. We laughed, picked on each other and played with Elizabeth. As we drove I was able to get to know Samuel and Pendo a little better. I was able to hear their hearts, their passions, their vision and desires to help the street boys and I heard how God was working in their lives. I heard how they were willing to sacrifice what very little they had in order to minister to and feed the boys. I heard how they were willing to do whatever it took to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I heard a family who was truly giving their all, taking up their crosses and following Jesus. What I heard was music to my ears...

After a couple of hours of driving and a stop for lunch we finally made it to the gate to the Serengeti. By now I was pretty stinkin' excited! We stopped to pay our fees (and take some pics!) then headed into the park! We drove and drove and drove. It was awesome! We saw zebras, giraffe's, monkeys, an elephant and a whole slew of other animals. I was like a little kid going to the zoo for the first time. As I would see a new animals I would giggle, then shout out the name of the animal over and over again! Yeah, I loved it and Samuel loved making fun of me. After a few hours of driving it began to rain so we wrapped up our adventure and headed to the lodge. We grabbed some dinner then headed to bed so we could get up and see the sun rise!

****Time out for a funny story...or 2! We both were excited about a hot shower because we had gone over a week just taking a cold shower with green smelly lake water! I was the first to get in...I turned the hot water knob and nothing came out...The hot water was turned off at 9pm. It was 9:03. At least the water wasn't green or smelly! After we both showered we decided to phone home. The only spot we could get signal was on Liv's bed. We both were laying there and I was talking to my dad. I began to hear this low grumbling sound and I got tickled. I thought it was Liv's stomach and she thought it was mine! Needless to say it wasn't either of our stomachs and well, we really had no idea what it was. We laughed it off and finally went to bed. The next morning as we drove away from the lodge we figured out what it was...

A large pond full of hippos about 60 yards from our room...I guess they were hungry hungry hippos! :)

****Time in!

After a week in the "jail cell" at JBFC it was great to sleep in a real bed...Even though there was what seemed like hundreds on monkeys running on the roof all night long! We thoroughly enjoyed a great nights sleep and rose early to catch the sunrise.

We walked to the top of the lookout area just before sunrise and got our cameras ready.

It was a little cloudy, but as the sun began to peek over the horizon and I stood speechless. (And for those who know me well, that's not a common occurrence!)

It was an amazing sight...I didn't think anything else could top it. Ha!

After taking several pictures and soaking up the beauty of the day we headed back to the room to pack up and then grabbed some breakfast and headed out. We were blessed with an incredible driver named Vincent for our Serengeti safari. He is VERY knowledgeable about the animals and the land itself. He was constantly stopping to tell us interesting facts about different things. My favorite thing about Vincent is what I deemed as his "catch phrase." As we drove he would say, "What do you want to see now? I find it for you!" Let me just say, he did it. Whatever we named he found and it was awesome. Overall we saw 29 lions, 1 leopard, elephants and countless monkeys, zebras, and giraffes, just to name a few!

It definitely was an adventure. As incredible as it was tracking down the animals the most incredible moment of my day came at an unexpected time. We had just seen about 10 lions all over a rocky area and we had stopped to take a few pictures of the incredible view. Liv was snapping pictures right and left and I was peeking out over the top of the car soaking in the view. I decided to turn all the way around and capture the moment in my brain. In the brief 360 degrees I saw zebras, monkeys, a giraffe and a incredible view of the sun peeking through the clouds just above the horizon. It truly was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I couldn't help but stand in awe of my God and His beautiful creation. I simply stood and had a moment...

I heard all the animals making noise, the wind blowing through trees, His children laughing and enjoying His creation...I heard ALL of creation praising Him. What an incredible God I serve that all of creation worships Him. It was music to my ears...

We finished up our safari and headed back into Mwanza for the evening before we flew back to Kenya the next morning. Two incredible days on the Serengeti observing God's beautiful creation and once again we both were a little more different...

My prayer is that I will never forget these three moments. These were three totally different moments that God used to change me. Three moments where what I heard was not only "music to my ears", but also music to God's ears. I can't help but think that He just melts when He hears those girls in Kitongo, Tanzania singing "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever." I truly believe that He smiles big when He hears and see the things that Samuel and Pendo do to further His Kingdom. I think He receives pure joy from His creation (rocks included!) praising Him. Unfortunately, I can't help but think about what my life sounds like to Him. Is my life music to His ears? Do the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart "melt" Him? Am I doing things to further His Kingdom that makes Him smile? Do I, His creation, bring Joy to Him through my praises?

Sadly I often fall short of these things. As I reflected on these three moments I was reminded of a song I heard a few years ago. This has become my prayer...May it be music to His ears...

Let my life be like a love song

Let my life be like a love song

Let my life be like a love song

To Your heart

Lord the love You give You give so generously

You were my sacrifice You gave Your life for me

And now I want to give just as I've received

To live a life that shines Your love for those in need

Let my life be like a love song

Let my life be like a love song

Let my life be like a love song

To Your heart

So let justice roll like an endless stream

Flowing through my life to the poor and weak

Let the things I do and words I speak

Reveal the awesome love You have shown to me

Let your life be like a love song to His heart...