An Unexpected Special Night

I have not been as faithful at blogging this year as I have in the past. It is because my schedule is very different this year. And keeping track of what we have done and what lies ahead is certainly a challenge. So, I will just list some things and not keep any sense of day order. Work has continued at the Dine guest quarters. There are two houses we are working on. One is the regular guest house. It needed mostly cleaning, which Prisca from Dine is doing, and the curtains lined. The second house, which will serve as the men’s barracks starting on Wednesday, badly needs paint. 

Bruce Painting a wallIt is this second building that has occupied our time in Dine. We went down the other day, planning to spend the night, doing some painting and cleaning. There are two rooms and a non-working bathroom that needed painting. Sherry loves to paint, but me, not so much. But I helped two young men clean and scrap walls. Painting started and the high ceilings beckoned my name, so onto the stool I went, painting. We got most of the first coat finished and much of the second. But we were training the two young men to paint. So teaching, oh, and they didn’t speak much English, and we speak even less Shona, wasn’t easy. Challenge accepted.

That we didn’t finish and there was a need to fix curtains so that people could not see into the guest house at night, meant a second (make that fourth) trip. The plan was to make a quick trip down, finish the work, and head home.  It is three hours one way, and we need to be home in Chiredzi before sunset (my rule). We got a late start since we needed to get some things before we could leave. That meant we arrived at noon and had three hours to finish. At 2:30 I realized that we were in no way going to finish the work. So, we had to decide, spend an unplanned night or make another trip. We didn’t really have many days to finish, so stay it was.

Painting a wallThis is probably what this blog is really about and where my heart is. After finishing our work, painting into dusk, we ended our night, ate some chicken noodle soup mix we brought for emergencies, and lay on our beds. Before laying down, I went out to the old landing strip to star gaze. It was a pretty night, and stars were out, but the moon was bright, and I found myself bathed in moonlight.  So back to the house I went. I have lots of downloaded music on my phone, so I put on music and Sherry and I visited about what we did, what we had to do, and plans for the next few days. It was quite warm and any breath of air was a welcome relief. So I pushed back the newly redesigned curtain, felt the breeze, and stared out the window.

Outside this window, bathed in moonlight was a rondoval. It is a round building (this one about 20 feet in diameter). This one, long ago, was my friend Donna’s bedroom when she lived there as a youth. The room we were sleeping in was her parents’, Dan and Esther Burris, old bedroom. Above the rondoval were large trees, and above them were stars. I love stars and I lay there looking out the window, staring at this almost surreal scene. It was a most pleasant moment. 

I am not sure I have the words to describe what happened next, or if I can convey my feelings at that moment, but I will try. It became one of those, “I can’t believe I am in Africa” moments. I have them on occasion, even though in total, I have spent half a year here. As I looked out the window and studied those stars, that grand picture, I wondered what the Burris family felt those first days in Dine. I suppose I will ask them when I get home. I thought back to all the missionary presentations I have seen from Africa. Missionaries from Kenya, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, and Ethiopia. All those times (usually on a moonlit evening in Caldwell, Idaho) when I wondered and imagined what it was like for them. And there I was, where I pictured myself so many score ago. It was a profound moment. This unexpected day suddenly became, at least for a few hours, a most special day. I have tried to find the word to describe the moment. It isn’t pride, nor is it accomplishment. Certainly, those words come into play being here. I have, for the time being, settled on the word “wonder.” The words of the song, “Who am I” came to mind. Another word which is close is “unbelief.” My faith is healthy and strong, but I can hardly believe that it is me who was called by our wonderful God to be in that place, in this place.

I still don’t consider myself a missionary. My role and place in all this are as an encourager to missionaries and helper. Still, that moment, looking out that window, stirs within me. The blessings God offers come in special ways on special days. And they cannot be planned.